Lost in the wilderness

Same here. 2018 van. Was ok for first 500 or so miles, then started creaking and groaning. Always clean the ball before use. Found cleaning the pads as well will stop the noise for about 50 miles, although it only seems to do it at low speeds

When hitching up, after hooking on, it’s a good idea to wind the jockey wheel down, to raise the rear of the car slightly, then give the hitch a good wriggle, to ensure it’s properly connected

Just get your car updated to a 13pin socket. Iirc it cost about £25 for local towbar fitter to do

I’d be more concerned about an adult nicking them.

Also. When storing the van, make sure to turn off the master switch and check the fridge, radio and tv aerial are off, else battery will go flat in a couple of weeks

It sounds like your pressure switch needs adjusting. It’s normally located near where the water enters the van. It will have a knob on the top, and two wires going to it. I find the best way to adjust is with a tap running fully on, adjust the knob 1/2 turn at a time until clicking stops, then turn tap off, any make sure pump stops after a few seconds. Repeat until it works.

For novice tower, the 85% guide is a good starting point. Towing with an XC60, you have a wide choice of vans. Taking your 1800 kerb weight, I make that a van of 1530kg for an 85% match. Of more concern would be your licence entitlement. My XC60 has a plated max car weight of 2540kg. Giving a max of 960kg trailer weight to stay under 3500kg that a B only license entitlement gives

Try disconnecting one panel wire from the controller, them measure the panel volts. If the open circuit volts are 18v plus, it’s probably the charge controller that’s failed

We had an over sensitive one on a previous van. It would go off just boiling water. 05:30 in the morning, winding the legs up, and the smoke alarm went off. Door was latched open. Alarm mounted just inside door. The cause. Fumes from our house gas boiler, about 10 foot from the smoke alarm. Luckily it did not disturb the neighbours, but did get me a telling off from the wife. Anyhow, A new unit and all resolved

Do you have a filter inside, close to where the water enters the van?

I think a lot depends on your circumstances. We used to store our van near trees. It would be green every year, looking like it had been neglected for years. In this situation a cover would have been good. We now store in a barn. It gets very dusty, but it rinses off without any effort. In this situation a cover hardly seems worthwhile

Have you considered central bathroom models? No need for any sneaking around beds. There are several makes with this layout

12v at 100w is just over 8A. Are you sure your reading the correct scale? If it’s voltage you are seeing, I would expect that your battery will fry fairly quickly

We just turn off the heater after morning wash / shower. There is enough hot water to do the washing up after breakfast. It does not stop the dumping of 8-10 litres, but it’s cool / cold water, not hot so less damaging to the ground

Alternatively, look into Safefill refillable gas Bottles. They are lightweight and a lot cheaper to fill compared to purchasing Calor. The only thing to check is available filling points in your area