The road toad

Not sure if this is the cause but the door can slip down on the hinge mounts. I noticed that there was daylight at the top of the door on our Lunar and the door still shut cleanly it had slipped down by about 5mm on the height adjustable hinges. It could be that rain water driving in the top gap and finding it's way down each 'edge' of the door and onto the floor.

marchie 1053 Did you check the date stamp on the tyres? The TT may have been only 16 months old but the tyres may not have been the originals fitted when new . Even then the tyres fitted to new units can easily be, and often are, up to 2 years old.

Wheel lock, hitch lock, security pole and set the van alarm. Make it as difficult as possible for the potential thief. We keep our van at home with all of the above and a full size cover so I hope it would not be an easy nick!

Have you guys checked the pump fuse?

The connector bottom left corner in the picture 'saved' us last year at Loches in France as the site water connectors require a slightly larger one than the standard 22mm - it is 2 connectors in one, one screws into the other.

We also have the Nextbase 512GW, front view, which I think we got from John Lewis as it was on offer and a fitting kit from eBay. Easy installation ounce I had located an appropriate 5v fuse - one live with ignition, with cable tucked behind trim. Excellent image quality, records GPS location, sound, date/time, speed and your reg number - some of which are optional. Made no difference to insurance, but, as others have indicated, may be a god send if any disputes arise following an incident. Great fun reviewing footage especially through the Alps and the Italian lakes. Footage can be viewed and downloaded to iPhone (or Android) or remove the micro SD Card and read via Mac or PC, but preferably a Mac as it is so easy, 'they just work '. However, if travelling in Europe, some counties like Luxembourg and possibly Germany and Austria, have strict privacy laws and dash cams are illegal.

Spotted today in Lidl - all the water connectors you will ever need, and 2 other packs of hose fitments - all @ £2.99.

I suppose the first question is - do you have an onboard water tank with the option of a direct-to- tap water connection or do you, like the majority, not have an onboard tank and use an aquaroll or similar?

Regarding insurance, do as others suggest and troll the various providers but read the small print. I have also found the Caravan Club a good benchmark in terms of cover and price. We did not bother to renew the Phantom Tracker service as we don't think we would want the van again after some low life had used it! If you are keeping it at home ensure it is alarmed, add a security post, a caravan cover and leave the mains charger attached to the van and that should be enough to deter most would be thieves. And don't leave your most treasured possessions in it!

We never use water from the caravan system for drinking but use a water filter jug filled directly from a tap. What with water laying in the pipes undisturbed for sometimes a few months I dread to think of the germs etc that could lurk and breed in them.

I'm sure everyone would like to see your ideas. I assume that it will involve some form of second roof fitted on top of the existing similar to what we see on the continent fitted to semi-permanent caravans. Quite how you might achieve this for a tourer would be interesting or are you proposing a pop up shelter of some kind? Personally I'm not sure it would be commercially viable.

AndersG I stand corrected re the French 'Danger Zones' warnings on the TomTom Go app and I also find the 'live' traffic situation very helpful especially the advance warning of a queue or very slow traffic ahead. Also, have you noticed that when in a camera controlled average speed zone that the App displays your actual average speed.

smino0_1 Why do you want to turn off speed camera 'warnings' in France? I know speed camera detectors are illegal in France so TomTom and the like cannot warn and display their exact locations but they are allowed to show up 'Speed camera areas', there is no audible warning only screen warnings but still very useful.

Have used the TomTom iPhone app since it was first launched and then it cost, I think, £45.00. However they stopped supporting it about 2 years ago and the replacement we were all offered free was TomTom Go for mobiles. It was really, really, awful so I tried some of the free ones for some months but none had the intuitive interface that Tom Tom used to have. After a year and many complaints from users TomTom finally sorted out their Go version and I have been using it ever since and have free map updates for 3 years. It also has speed camera warning. But, never rely totally on SatNavs, always double check the route - we have had some interesting 'diversions' over the years, especially in France where we have ended up on tracks with grass growing down the middle.

So, keep to the speed limits and there is no problem or is that too obvious a solution? Talking of speeding cars, I would support legislation that decreed that every 'go faster' exhaust that was sold came with an automatic 2 points onto the buyers driving licence.