It wasn’t so much as a White Christmas for me last year but more of a “Yellow” one.
Another two Dewalt Powertools were added to my toy collection at Christmas and one of them is already proving it’s worth on our current tour. The Dewalt 18V XR Air Inflator.
It uses the same 18V batteries as my drill which accompanies us for dealing with the corner steadies and it made ultra light weight of inflating our bike tyres. It’s just a bit too big to fit in with the puncture repair kit though!
Dewalt air inflator
Dewalt air inflator
It has a multitude of adapters and whilst we are using our poled awning on this trip, I reckon it will inflate our porch air awning in no time at all.
Job number two on the first trip of 2022 was to sort out the awning light. The current one has been on the van since new and been shipping water for several years. At first we thought it was just a little condensation but it wasn’t – this is a common fault on the Swift caravans.
And now the light has pretty much totally failed and there are no replaceable parts. It’s a new unit only. We didn’t want to install the same product again so we decided upon one of the “wrap-around” lights. The first challenge was how to get one shipped over to Spain (we spent countless hours trying to find one in Spain but couldn’t locate a supplier) – previously we have had all kinds of products shipped over from suppliers directly and indirectly, via eBay and Amazon. Even Electric bike kits costing hundreds of pounds would arrive in 4 or 5 working days.
Not any more. Seems like most of the suppliers don’t like all the paperwork involved in sending out to the EU any more. We did find one supplier, after a tortuous hunt around eBay and placed the order. A reasonable £35 became inflated to £60 after the addition of £12 freight and £13 customs duty.
It took three weeks to arrive. I guess someone got a Brexit bonus from the large freight cost and customs charge… Considering the charges, packaging itself was on the light side!
Awning light poorly packaged
As well as no replaceable parts, the existing light had been bonded to the caravan with a mixture of VHB tape and a silicone adhesive such as Bostik Simson STR-360. It was a pig to remove, achieved with:
Heat – very important
Stanley knife
Fishing Line to effectively “cheese cut” under the lamp
Eventually it was freed from the side of the caravan.
Removal of the old awning light
The connection block was then teased out through the hole in the sidewall, disconnected and then the wires held in place with a small clamp. Note there are 4 wires here – two are for the light and two are for the alarm indicator. The alarm indictor is a small red led which flashes when the alarm is set. On a dark night, it’s like some kind of emergency beacon shining across the campsite.
We had already disconnected the source of those wires so the new lamp not having the red LED would be no problem.
Awning Light bonding
Water damaged light unit
Side of caravan cleaned-up
Ideally I would have had a new replacement connector but I clearly wasn’t going to be able to find one of these in Spain so I carefully teased out the metal inner pins, un-picked the old wires and re-used. Finally sealing the wires into the male part of the connector with a silicon adhesive (see below).
To bond the new lamp, I would use a mixture of VHB tape and Sikaflex 522, which is a very strong silicone adhesive which can only be removed mechanically once it has cured. Full curing takes 48 hours.
Various adhesives to bond the new light
I now made a right mess of sticking the lamp on. There are several things which need to happen at the same time and I thought I could manage this. The VHB double-sided tape had already been stuck on the back of the lamp and I needed to remove the sticky backing. Then I chose to apply a bead of silicon adhesive all around the edge of the lamp. Then I would connect up the lamp and simultaneously fill the hole in the side of the van with clear waterproof silicone.
This proved impossible. By the time I’d connected the wires together and filled the hole with silicone, I’d got adhesive everywhere. On my hands, on the side of the van, on the awning. Eventually I bailed out of this idea and cleaned off the Sikaflex adhesive.
That is what I should have done from the start. It was over-ambitious to think I could manage with a bead of silicone around the lamp. Eventually I got the lamp in place, stuck down with the VHB tape and then I ran the Sikaflex around the edge of the light.
Final result looks good and the bond seems strong. Lets hope it lasts and we don’t see the light dangling from the side of the van as we travel along a motorway!
It’s about 90 days short of two years that we were last at Camping La Rosaleda in Conil-de-la-Frontera. That was the frantic end to our last visit to the continent as the plague took it’s grip in Europe and we headed home via France and the Eurotunnel.
Not knowing what to expect with the latest Omicron variant of Covid, we decided we would probably spend most of our trip at Rosaleda. With the site being well-managed and the staff helpful towards all the campers here, we felt that if anything un-toward were to happen, we would receive decent help and support.
We arrived at Conil after a 4 or 5 hour trip South from Cacares and our favourite pitch was waiting for us.
Our pitch at Rosaleda, situated on Calle Margerita
This was a good thing because any ideas we had of maybe renting a larger or double-pitch were immediately dispelled. Any thoughts that we might be one of only a handful of units to venture south were quickly dispelled as the site is close to a sell-out and certainly the busiest we have seen it.
View along Calle Margarita
The mix of residents has also shifted significantly. UK outfits were always a majority but not anymore – the site is probably more than half occupied by German motorhomes, with the remaining 50% split between French, Dutch, UKs and other nations.
We have been here around 10 days now and not much else has changed. There have been two communal meals and a quiz night so far, attended predominantly by Brits. We missed out on third prize in the Quiz by just a point – we’ll give it another go tomorrow!
Despite the low numbers of Brits, it’s safe to say that they are contributing a high proportion of the bar and restaurant takings. We ate at the restaurant on the second night here – the hanging kebabs as good as ever. Two years on and Ahmed, the waiter, recognises us straight away and even commented that we were occupying a different table to the one we sat at the day before the restaurant closed due to the Spanish lockdown!
Hanging Beef kebab
The beach shack is still in business with its stunning views across the Conil beaches and onwards towards the Port.
Views from the “Shack”
Views from the “Shack”
We have managed one cycle ride so far – from Conil towards Faro De Trafalgar and then back along the surfing community of El Palmar.
The cycle track at a cost or some 3.5m Euros now runs along the entire route. It’s now complete with its splendid green surface.
Cycle track (Via Verde) Spanish style
Cycle ride to El Palmar
Views from the cycle trail
Conil in the distance
Adherence to mask wearing within the campsite is less than total. Outside of the site, indoor mask wearing has total and utter compliance. Mask wearing outside is also mandatory, although we think that if social distancing is possible (such as a walk along the beach etc) then it remains optional. In town outdoor mask adherence is also very good.
A Dutch chap is also running Spanish lessons twice weekly so we have signed up… Lesson number three is on Saturday!
It’s always the same at the start of a towing season. Some things just don’t make it through the winter. Our first issue is with the electric flush on the Thetford C260 toilet. It doesn’t work.
A quick look around the internet and there’s a few possibilities:
Fuse failure
Corrosion on the controller circuit board
Pump impellor stuck
Pump failure
Our first challenge was to find out the model number. It seems the older version is the Thetford 250 and this has it’s own fuse at the back of the cassette enclosure. There should also be evidence of the pump showing as on this older model, the pump is accessed and replaced from the toilet cassette void.
We found no evidence of either of these so concluded we have the later Thetford 260 unit. This should be easier to troubleshoot…
The fuse on our main 12v board serves both the toilet flush and water pump. The water pump is working ok so we probably have power to the toilet. A multi-meter would have been handy but we don’t have one with us.
There’s apparently a technique to tell if the toilet has power – switch on the caravan 12v internal lights and press the flush button. If they dim slightly then that would indicate power is at the control panel. Our 12v LED lights gave no indication whatsoever that power was being drawn. I still suspected though that the unit did have power and it’s just an artefact of 12v LED lights.
I think another way to tell would be to raise the float inside the toilet cassette and see if the red led lights up but I didn’t have any gloves so I gave that a miss and started to dismantle the unit.
Thetford 260 control panel access
Access is under the silver sticker. In this instance it was easily removed with my fingernails and no damage to it whatsoever. I’ll be able to re-use.
Control board removal
Once the cover is removed, the circuit board “pops” off, revealing two screws and access to the pump below.
First impressions are that this compartment is bone dry. I was expecting some condensation and possible damp damage but absolutely none. Everything looks pristine.
Removing the pump
Having disconnected the pump from the control board, the two screws were undone and the pump unit can be teased out.
Toilet flush pump released
Again everything looks in order so time to check the impeller.
Impellor – plastic cog-like structure
It turned out the impellor was frozen and needed releasing with a screwdriver. It was possible to free the mechanism and apply some dry silicon lubricant. Whilst it’s called a dry lubricant, it is a spray and in liquid form!
Success! Now the impellor is free, newly lubricated and the pump spins up. It all goes back together in reverse of the dis-assembly
I can also fit the sticky cover on straight and properly aligned with the recess.
After 36 hours at sea, across a very calm Bay of Biscay, we arrived on schedule at 08:00 Spanish time in Santander.
Spain 2022, a very calm Bay of Biscay
Moe making use of the outside gym
We made full use of the Commodore lounge and it’s complimentary wine and Tapas service. We’re not sure what the additional cost of a Commodore cabin and pass is, because this was the only cabin available when we re-booked. Still, we thought the service was great.
Commodore lounge Tapas
Complimentary in the Commodore lounge
Dinner was also included in the price. I think in the price of the ferry ticket as it looked like all passengers were enjoying a free breakfast and lunch. Main course dinner was shoulder of lamb for Moe and the strangest looking quid for Joe.
Spain 2022, Galicia dinner
The food has a Spanish “twist” to it throughout the boat.
After arriving on-time at Santander, we were subject to a temperature check and then disembarked in rapid time. We had cleared customs and passport control and on the road a mere 25 minutes after the 08:00 arrival.
Given the early start, we drove 350 miles to Caceres and the municipal site next to the football ground. The one with the personal toilet block on each pitch! We arrived at 15:40 so a pretty decent run South. Just 250 miles left tomorrow on the final leg of the journey to Conil-de-la-Frontera.
Spain 2022, our pitch at Caceres
Inside our personal toilet block – uninvited guests!
It’s fair to say we’ve faffed about with this crossing having originally been scheduled for an 11th January departure. Due to the relatively unknown effects of the Omicron Covid-19 wave at the turn of the year, we decided to delay the trip by two weeks.
We regretted this change in that folks we know had a perfect crossing over the Bay of Biscay on the 11th and with the weather still holding fair, we made a snap decision on Monday to switch our crossing forward to Thursday 20th. The advantage of the Brittany Ferries Flexi tickets although it’s also clear that many of the crossings are beginning to get full.
The forecast for the Bay of Biscay remains calm, in contrast to the chaos of getting ready for a few months away at short notice.
We finally hitched up the van at Woodbury, Devon at 3:00pm on Thursday and set off on the 150 mile / 3.5 hour journey to Portsmouth. Our route was via the A30 / A303 / A34 and M27, arriving at the port around 7:00pm.
Check-in was slow with all the added paperwork checks. We had our NHS Covid passes and our Spanish health forms to hand, all of which seemed in perfect order as we were presented with our Cabin passes and access to the Commodore lounge.
The Spanish health forms are a nuisance to fill in. They must be completed less than 48 hours before arrival on Spanish soil which on a 36 hour crossing, meant another task to accomplish before we were able to hitch up the van. Once completed, the emails failed to arrive and it took yet more messing around before we received and printed off the Spanish forms.
We boarded the new Brittany Ferries ship Galicia, promptly, and on one of the lower decks, are marginally hopeful of a quick exit at Santander. The lines of vehicles at the dockside included a large number of caravans and motorhomes and whilst the car decks seemed to have extra capacity, I think most of the cabins are fully booked. Everything on the ship is new and clean – even the vehicle decks.
Car Deck on the Galicia
We headed to our cabin, which apparently is a Commodore cabin which includes access to the Premium Commodore lounge. Our two berth cabin is very comfortable, larger than usual and equipped with comfortable beds, TV and en-suite.
Galicia, Spain 2022, Commodore cabin
Galicia, Commodore cabin including “mood” lighting
And a poorly stocked bar with views over the Mont St Michel ferry to Caen
We returned the hired campervan to Oxcampers on Monday morning and a quick return process was followed by the refunding of our £500 security deposit.
I would recommend this company for any campervan hire requirements.
Now to the camper van. Are we going to buy one and use it as a towcar for our caravan? That’s a very good question and fortunately not one we can answer at this point in time. Not that it’s relevant because there simply are no Transporter vans (new) to buy and allegedly the order book is presently closed to new orders whilst VW sort out production issues.
Will we go down this route when / if supply problems recede?
Well, feedback from some questions posted on Facebook groups have allayed our fears that the 150PS version could be under-powered. Also we have seen numerous pictures of a Transporter campervan towing with a bike rack on the tailgate so there is enough room to turn without snarling caravan and rack.
On the plus side, the campervan was everything we expected. It’s perfect for a long weekend off-grid and probably good for a week or two touring with decent site facilities. The Rock and Roll Bed would need additional comfort measures to be serviceable. The upper bed in the SCA roof likely the same comment. This would be a great space in summer, avoiding the need to convert the main bed.
If we do go down this route, we presently have three preferred options (subject to availability!):
A conversion by Hillside Leisure
A conversion by OxCampers
A factory produced VW California
There is little to choose between the two conversions above so it would be decided on price. The main benefits of the Hillside leisure conversion were underslung water and waste tanks, hot water and a fancy food cupboard in front of the fridge.
The water availability in the Hillside leisure conversion is fine but hot water is only when hooked up to 240V and with a tiny sink, just how much water can you carry before it’s no longer fresh? So “nice to haves” but probably not key in a small van conversion.
The VW California is an interesting option. We had a tour of one at the Wharfedale CMC site by its owner and it had some really neat features:
Outside chairs attached to the tailgate
An outside table stows away in the door panel
Better storage overall
Looks like a more comfortable bed arrangement
Fixed pull-out awning
But do they justify probably an extra £10k of investment…
A walk into Grassington from Long Ashes was the daytime activity for Day 5 (Friday). Whilst the Wharfedale CMC site is some distance out of Threshfield (via road) there is a short path which eliminates walking any distance along the narrow roads. It is a 40 minute walk into Grassington which has latched onto the popularity of the filming of the latest “All creatures Great and Small” series.
In the village there’s a wine bar opened called “The Darrowby” and the Devonshire Arms in Grassington was the “Drovers Arms” in the said series.
Joe is still suffering from a back strain suffered whilst twisting and opening the pop-top on the Campervan. The bed comfort level isn’t helping this to heal so we took the bus back from Grassington. £1 each and the service drops you off at the main reception area of Long Ashes.
Dinner was at the Old Hall in Threshfield.
The campsite has been busy all week although now the weekend has arrived, it is a complete sell-out. Every pitch booked out and we are at the end of December – unbelievable.
Morning view across CMC site, Wharfedale
Saturday and it was back to Threshfield and “The Avenue” to watch the National 2 North game between Wharfedale and Chester.
John Inverdale from the Daily Telegraph once wrote – “To be among a large crowd at a National League match at Wharfedale Rugby Club . . . . was to have found sporting nirvana. If there’s a more wonderful sporting venue in the country for serious competitive sport, I’ve yet to visit it.”
We met with old school friends and dined at the Fountaine Inn, Linton in the evening.
Wharfedale v Chester 20th November 2021
“Old” Friends!!!
Joe and Moe at Wharfedale RUFC
Sunday and it was time to move on. This time to Savernake Forest near Marlborough and a very cold night with temperatures well below freezing.
Camping in the Forest – Savernake – crazy tent dwellers at the red car!
Savernake forest
Dinner was courtesy of some good friends in nearby Ogbourne St Andrew.
Day 3 had concluded with our arrival at Tarn House, near Skipton around teatime. During my childhood and early adult years, Tarn House was a magnificent country pub; a small group of my friends would regularly meet on a Sunday lunchtime for a few beers before roast dinner with our respective parents.
Well…
Tarn House is now a massive Static park with 18 touring pitches… The once magnificent bar and dining room has been converted into a reception area and a smaller bar which was at least open (until 10pm). But the view from Tarn House itself, is now a landscape of static caravans…
A few pictures from Tarn House.
View towards Tarn House from the Touring park
Our pitch at Tarn House
Notwithstanding the somewhat altered landscape, the touring facilities were excellent and it’s just a 30 – 40 minute walk into Skipton. Moe and I enjoyed drinks at the Boat House, overlooking the canal basin and then Fish n Chips at Bizzie Lizzies (still highly recommended). A night cap at Tarn House following the predominantly slow uphill walk from Skipton.
Thursday morning and we filled the Transporter with Diesel. I was pleasantly surprised that we still had half a tank remaining (300+ miles) and the van had been returning in excess of 40mpg. Quite impressive.
It’s beginning to get a bit wet and wild up here in the Dales and after a morning shopping in my home town, we headed to the Caravan and Motorhome Club site at Long Ashes near Threshfield.
An afternoon worthy of staying in the van with the doors and windows fully closed and the heating on. A time to catch up with the blog.
Joe catching up with the blog
Our pitch at Wharfedale CMC site
A sandwich for tea and then a couple of drinks at the Gamekeepers Inn (part of the Long Ashes park). It got somewhat busy later on as the local Rugby team descended for drinks, presumably post-training.
We wrapped up our short visit to Devizes with a nice meal and drinks at the Three Magpies, Seend near Devizes.
Wednesday morning was our first attempt to pack up the Campervan. It was very easy to stow everything away and collapsing the sunroof and bunk bed very straight forward. Everything is nicely balanced with the gas struts. Our sleeping bags are still constantly getting in the way as we haven’t needed anything in addition to the quilt overnight.
The diesel heater soon warms up the space and we have been quite comfortable. The Rib 112 bed still isn’t as comfortable as the one in our caravan, even using the upper foam mattress as topper. If we go this route there’s definitely some work to do to get a great night’s sleep.
Our travels on Wednesday would take us to Tarn House near Skipton (my birthplace). A drive of around 250 miles but with a detour via Hillside leisure in Derby. We have identified Hillside Leisure as one of the companies we would potentially purchase from. We thought it would be really useful to compare our hired campervan with Hillside Leisure’s Birchover Classic – their most popular van conversion.
We had some specific questions:
Location and size of the water tank
Ditto the leisure battery and gas bottle
Porta potty location
Storage
We were met by Ron at Hillside leisure full of doom and gloom. He could show us the conversions but he has nothing to sell. Apparently VW have closed their order book on Transporters until 2022.
Hillside have 257 on order for 2022 with very few confirmed build dates. All the 257 on order are spoken for if they ever arrive…
Still, we have to hope this situation improves so we spent time comparing the Birchover Classic to our OxCampers conversion – Colwyn. Bear in mind that Hillside leisure are a huge conversion company with maybe up to 10 workshop bays whilst OxCampers is a man and wife team.
Overall, both conversions compared very well. The Hillside leisure guy thought our Colwyn was excellent and appeared top quality. There were a few differences between the two, which would probably push us towards the Birchover Classic, assuming similar pricing. I suspect a Colwyn conversion will be less expensive making the choice rather more tricky.
The main points were:
Both conversions were on the VW Transporter Highline so base vehicles were identical
The Birchover Classic comes with two swivel front seats whereas our Colwyn only has the passenger seat rotating. Again this isn’t a clear-cut advantage as you loose height adjustment with the swivel seat and the drivers seat can’t rotate more than 45 degrees due to the location of the cupboards.
Both utilised the top quality SCA extra height pop-top and Rib 112 Rock and Roll bed
Both opted for a Dometic two burner hob and miniature sink unit combined
The Birchover Classic has a 65l water tank and 35l waste tank slung under the van. Our hire van has a 10l on-board container
The Birchover Classic has hot water, so long as you are hooked up to 240v electric
Gas bottles and leisure battery were probably better located in the Birchover but either way, they eat into storage.
Storage solutions were good but slightly different on both vans
The Birchover Classic had a very clever food cupboard which was hinged and latched closed in front of the fridge. We really liked this.
The Birchover classic comes with a Porta Potty stored under the bed. Some loss of storage though.
Overall, the main advantages of the Birchover Classic were the hot and cold water and the underslung tanks. But… you need electric hook-up so are likely to be on a site with hot water facilities and can you really utilise a 65l water container with a miniature sink!
I must also add that we haven’t spoken to OxCampers regarding conversion so some of the differences may be solved with some bespoke customisation.
Here are some internal pictures taken during a prior visit to Hillside leisure.
