david 1220

Beware of low bridges......

Dont know about the heat but the road conditions are the same.........

Just looked at the video -- those caravans appear to be in use ( awnings etc ) so on electric etc.....

More of a case of -- IF they were insured...... Yes up to a point -- when the heat causes the gassing off to exceed the max flow of the safety valve......... POP .! i was treated to the sight of senior officers crawling in the gutter at a gas cylinder storage fire to avoid exploding gas cylinders & shrapnel........

True , BUT - how many houses go over pot holes , get towed at 60 M.P.H. for miles & twist & flex into the bargain.........

Went out to the van the other day -- the crack was noticeable , ( cold day ) went back yesterday ( hot sunshine ) & had a job seeing crack ! now thinking of glass mat & wire reinforcement....... So it would seem thats it possible that thermal expansion plays a part in the problem.

I have been bitten in the B*m -- went out to move the van for the service engineer tomorrow to find that one of the screw cracks i repaired has re-cracked ( if theirs such a word.... ) wasn't there the other week-- but it is now ! Now thinking of fibreglass replacement front . The only firm that makes them gets a terrible write up.........

We had a crack in our front panel ( Amara 520/4 -2012 ) contacted coachman & i was told to select a repairer. Chose one in Lancashire who is supposed to be the best.... Got told they were waiting for parts to arrive from coachman ...... months later ( in the autumn ) i got a phone call to bring the van in -- they now were -er-ready. On arrival the service bays were empty Three staff set to on our van . we left & three days later received a phone call to pick it up. On arrival we were told that there was more than one crack. The person we spoke to was rather evasive in his answers -- we were led to believe we had a new front. Last year at our last rally of 2018 the wife pointed out that we had another crack above the front window. On stripping the windows of the van found 12 screws ---- & 11 cracks ! the repairer had been paid to fix 1 crack & thats what they did...... It became obvious that the front hadnt been changed( indeed one workman at the repairers said there was more than the one crack we could see ) So faced with 11 cracks i repaired it myself-- stitched it with copper wire & mixed some bits of old caravan plastic with Acetone & filled in the cracks & holes . I removed the screws & enlarged the holes to remove any stress . made good with Sikaflex & replaced the windows & mounting bar,we are due away soon .............. Might add this was done in our storage compound---- no shelter !

Hi, As stated --- measure the area you have thats clear for mounting the panel( s) if you plan ( or are forced to use ) two panels make sure they have blocking diodes fitted otherwise if one panel is in the shade the panel in the sun will send its power to the shaded one -- not the battery ! Panel regulator -- mount it as near the battery as possible-- it avoids voltage drop thus kidding the regulator. Wires-- as you state its a new van if possible DONT drill holes in the roof-- we have on our last two ( new ) vans run the cables down the offside awning rail then up through the floor. Panel(s) avoid glass panels -- heavy ! instead have a look at semi flexible panels, not only are they lighter but also a lot thinner. We have two 9Ft long X15" wide "peel&stick " panels ( from America -but now available in this country ) this gives us 138 watts BUT the regulator will reduce this to save damaging the battery. So in our case the regulator keeps the charge to around 5 amps ( 60 watts = 5 amps x12 volts =60watts ) where the higher output counts is in the low light conditions ( dull day ) when the higher output will give you a better charge. Regarding buying the regulator-- buy the best you can afford, we have ours in one of our overhead lockers with a ammeter to see the output. You will find people advocating mounting them loose( the panels ) so as to be able to aim them at the sun --- this means moving them every few minutes . .......... i have done both fixed & movable & have concluded there's little to choose regarding output . But when it comes to security. .... On the roof its fit & forget on the ground its another item to bring out & set up plus making them secure. Fixing-- Reading on here there's only one "glue"-- Sicoflex 521 ( think thats correct ) its a glue & a mastic. The first van we fitted " peel & stck " panels to ( a Lunar clubman ) we tried to remove them when after 10 moths of trouble we decided to get rid of the van-- NO way ! it would have been a paint scraper job, we left them on the van. ..... We have been using panels since the 1970's ( 6x 1Ft square panels = 1 amp output !) as we are ( by & large ) "green field" caravaners & have no regrets, we run computers, charge Quadcopter batteries, telephones, electric toothbrush. ........ If you are considering a inverter get ( if you can aford it ) a pure sine wave inverter. The "modified " inverters can upset some electrical equipment. Wires,- use the thickest you can to avoid voltage drop. Hope this is of help, Dave.

We bought a new Lunar Clubman, after it going back to the factory to get faults sorted we found they only did some of them. When the front windows ( all 3 ) started leaking we got rid 10 months old. .... bought a coachman van, at 5. 5 years the dreaded crack appeared in the front molding, the dealer no longer being a coachman agent we delt with the factory. Whole front was replaced though the van was 51/2 years old ( under water ingress warranty ) Regarding L/R-- look at J. D. powers owners survey. ............

Hi Folks, Thanks for the quick & informative replies --- much appreciated. david

Hi, brother -in- law has just bought a M/H . On the front above the cab is a solid outline of a black bull- could this be a logo from a caravan club of some sort ? Any info . .......

Hi, Found this a while back & in case you are wondering -- I have a mobile phone, L. E. D's in the caravan & a laptop. .................. ( read the Mail on Sat morning as well :0 )