caravans

[CitigoAllen]

Here is a picture of the most extreme cravan mod I have ever seen.  This was done to generate enough electricity to run his stereo when on sites with no electric hook up.

[mender]

We took a step back and earn less but have more time, so 10k is an awful lot and could be used better elsewhere...!

I have the luxury of more time now, so we research everything first and buy as cheap as poss-hence the Travelodges, but with our circumstances (school/weekend hours, no storage, need finance) a caravan just does not work for us.

 

I've picked up a few interesting points along the way though, thanks to all

[mender]

Here is a picture of the most extreme cravan mod I have ever seen.  This was done to generate enough electricity to run his stereo when on sites with no electric hook up.

Was it loud enough to drown the engine out?!

[sparks03]

Hee hee, an al ranger.

[CitigoAllen]

Was it loud enough to drown the engine out?!

It is a hot air engine, which runs at a very slow speed, so not too noisey.  The van is left a bit drafty however .

[domhnall]

Oh on depreciation, my best effort so far has to be the grey VW pictured earlier, sold it for a £2k profit over what I bought it for.  

[lozparry]

What I dont understand are so called motorhomes (camper wagons) as you have to up stakes from the site every time you want to go somewhere.  A caravan that leaves you the freedom of your car is far better.  Genrally more comfortable as well.

 

There are the pro's and con's to motorhome/caravanning. I accept that I can't just drive off in the car like caravanner's can do. In fact we don't, we go to a Campsite for 2 or 3 days at the most. We plan where we go and what we want to do, mostly and hopefully its near a pub with good walking/cycling routes and if need be close to a bus route. 

 

 

[keystonedriving]

Having spent a couple of days ploughing through the whole thread.......

 

I'd like to know where people are finding all the LGV's sticking to the speed limit.  In my experience your average truck driver only has two speeds, staionary or on the limiter.  The only time you find them going slower is when they physically can't go faster.

 

I don't have a problem with people driving under the speed limit, I'd rather they did that and stayed safe than went faster and crashed (that will hold me up a lot more).  The people I do have a serious problem with are those who are going slowly on bends or hills but then speed up dramatacally as soon as we get somewhere there might be a sniff of an overtake (and in my experience 95% of trucks come into this category).  Round here the tractor drivers are pretty good at pulling over when they get a queue behind, so that isn't a major problem.

 

We share the roads with people who haven't a clue what they are doing, some who think that they know what they are doing but don't, and some who actually do know what they are doing.

 

Isn't there something about anybody slower than us being a dangerous dodderer, anybody faster than us being a mad bugger, and we get it right.

 

Happy days.

[mender]

The people I do have a serious problem with are those who are going slowly on bends or hills but then speed up dramatacally as soon as we get somewhere there might be a sniff of an overtake (and in my experience 95% of trucks come into this category). 

Surely trucks and coaches are forced to slow for bends and hills then go as fast as allowed when they can to avoid holding up the traffic?

 

When I drive a coach, I have to be able to brake to a stop (without throwing the passengers off the seats) within the visibility I have when going around corners; eg if I am obstructed by a cyclist or similar, I have limited speed uphill, but will return to 50mph as soon as visibility allows to prevent delaying others behind me.

 

Drive a large vehicle for a while and try it for yourself 

[LadyVienna]

Hee hee, an al ranger.

Yeah you got the game good now lol

[domhnall]

I get on enough planes for work, the idea of willingly going to the airport never enters my head. Good point about pitchforks though, never thought of that. :-)

Sent from my MZ601 using Tapatalk 4

[gadgetman]

Keep it friendly and civil folks, regardless of your views.

[domhnall]

Keep it friendly and civil folks, regardless of your views.

That WAS me being friendly :-)

Sent from my MZ601 using Tapatalk 4

[domhnall]

they say a picture paints a thousand words, so here's a few (from another forum) which highlight the attractions of camper vans (and perhaps caravans too though they are rather more dependent on camp sites)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[@Lee]

 

 

Where is that road? I feel like I need to drive it at 'slightly' above the posted limit

[booke23]

What I dont understand are so called motorhomes (camper wagons) as you have to up stakes from the site every time you want to go somewhere.  A caravan that leaves you the freedom of your car is far better. 

 

It depends what sort of holiday you want to have. I have hired a motorhome a few times, and each time I have done a proper touring holiday.......never stay in the same place more than a night or 2 and see as much of the country you're in as possible. You can't beat a motorhome for that kind of touring, and you can cover a huge amount of ground and see so many sights in a relatively short time.  

 

If you want to go and stay on site for a week or 2 then you'd probably be better off with a caravan.  

[gadgetman]

What I dont understand are so called motorhomes (camper wagons) as you have to up stakes from the site every time you want to go somewhere.  A caravan that leaves you the freedom of your car is far better.  Genrally more comfortable as well.

Most people I see with them take a small car any tow it behind them.  Say a KA or 500.

[Brijo]

Most people I see with them take a small car any tow it behind them.  Say a KA or 500.

 

A bit like this ('A-Frame' in Jasper) -

 

 

[domhnall]

Yeah the Canadians really know how to go camping. We first saw one towing a range rover in Jasper 15 years ago. We couldn't believe it but as has been said you see people towing cars over here now too (admittedly smaller ones).

[KenONeill]

 

Where is that road? I feel like I need to drive it at 'slightly' above the posted limit

I think I may know; If I'm right then you can't drive it much above 40 due to the blind summits.

[sparks03]

An al Centurion

[keystonedriving]

Surely trucks and coaches are forced to slow for bends and hills then go as fast as allowed when they can to avoid holding up the traffic?

 

Drive a large vehicle for a while and try it for yourself 

I don't have a problem with large vehicles when they are sticking to their speed limits, it's the majority who ignore their limits I object to.

 

With regard to driving large vehicles, I have.

[mender]

I don't have a problem with large vehicles when they are sticking to their speed limits, it's the majority who ignore their limits I object to.

 

With regard to driving large vehicles, I have.

Things have got much worse over recent years for drivers with more and more regs....

 

I can understand why they exceed 40mph on a clear straight road because the limit is ridiculous and they are battling with driving hours, working time regs and everything else.  It should be 50mph as it is for coaches.  They can't win-people complain if trucks hold them up and complain if they break the stupid 40mph limit!

 

Soon tachos will include GPS so VOSA and the police will know which stretch of road they are doing which speed along-at the moment, it is hard to prove that they were in a 40mph limit and not on a dual carriageway or motorway if not pulled over at the time.

 

VOSA are now self funding; so pay themselves from fines.  If the CPC training* is anything to go by it will all be a pointless revenue (fine) raising exercise.

 

*For those out of the loop, professional (eg HGV, PCV) drivers must now complete ongoing training amounting to 35 hours every five years to be able to drive for reward.  A great idea, but there was no syllabus or content requirement and the training is a shambles-so many drivers just did the same one day first aid course five times over to get the hours needed, which was utterly pointless and only helped the instructors make money, not improve driving standards. 

I tried very hard to make my CPC training worthwhile but over the 35 hours, only an hour or so was any use-which considering it cost around £300 and meant losing 5 days wages was maddening.  This is how VOSA operate and now they have a licence to disrupt at will in the search for self funding revenue.  Cosmic.

For those interested, search articles about the VOSA traffic light ratings for operators-perhaps worth emigrating now!

Edited 28 August, 2013 by mender

[Llanigraham]

But at least it does mean that some of the cowboy operators are getting closed down!

 

I'm waiting for them to start on some of the timber hauliers running from Mid Wales to Chirk; some of them are plain bloody dangerous!!

[mender]

But at least it does mean that some of the cowboy operators are getting closed down!

 

I'm waiting for them to start on some of the timber hauliers running from Mid Wales to Chirk; some of them are plain bloody dangerous!!

To be replaced by EU drivers in foreign trucks who may be less "accountable"

 

If the new traffic light score for operators is rigidly policed, there will be a lot of hauliers going out of business for minor issues such as failed marker bulbs.

 

The new VOSA teams have mobile access to central computers which can be updated at the roadside, so if a lorry is spotted driving past with a light out in one county, the fault can be added to the system and if stopped another day by another patrol, they can reference this and fine the driver and operator for not carrying out daily checks if this bulb is out again.  Now, on our bumpy local roads, bulbs can be replaced and go again in days...  

Operators will have to pay to access their traffic light scores and may not know if a driver has been stopped until they see this info.

 

Hauliers are under immense pressure to make ends meet with fuel prices, ever more regulations etc and will now have to face a team of "keen" inspectors with a huge amount of technology and who are self funding from the fines they take.  With local teams having uplink to a central computers and the next gen of tachos being GPS linked, it will be near impossible to run a fleet without getting fined for something minor.

 

The idea is to increase professionalism and safety for large vehicles*, but with a self funding agency and draconian fines for minor infringements, it could be hell for hauliers-and in time this will affect us all with higher carriage prices for everything we use day to day.

 

I'm not excusing the irresponsible truck drivers out there-I see them as well 

 

 

*Much in the same way that compulsory CPC training was-see previous posts most agree that has been a total farce, benefiting only the agencies who get paid for it

 

The best way forward in all of this would be to standardise dash cams to have a GPS location and speed display and get insurers to give huge discounts for having these standardised designs installed.  Once fitted, most drivers drive better and have no reason to start road rage-they have evidence.

 

To see footage of these, go on youtube and type in Russian Dash Cams 2013 or similar-it seems that many cars have to have them for insurance over there.

Be warned-footage can be upsetting.