phil1946
Subscriber
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
- Messages
- 859
- Location
- PO32 6RU
- Member No
- 1,781
- RV Type
- Caravan, motorhome, RV and caravan (again) since 1970.
- Model
- Elddis CARAVAN towed by 3 Litre Mitsubishi Shogun.
- RV Experience
- Many Years
[FONT="]Our first 12 months with an RV[/FONT]
[FONT="]Hilary and I caravanned between 1970 and 1990, when we took a break, before buying our first motorhome, home built and based on a Volkswagen LT30, in 1998 and then a Hymer 694 (called LUKE from its’ registration) in 2000. We retired in 2001 and spent 3 to 4 months of every year in the Hymer with which we were very happy. Realising that most motorhomes are near the maximum capability of the chassis and powered by sub 3 litre diesel engines we had often thought of buying an ‘American’ but, with expensive ferries to pay, did not want the extra length brought about by having a fixed bed – this also ruled out many European vans and so we thought we would keep LUKE for many more years. At the 2010 Peterborough show we saw a Burstner with a double bed that descended from the ceiling but, at over £70k, it was beyond our budget. The salesman told us that the bed system was licensed from Monarco in the US of A. Google led to us discovering the Safari Trek and we duly bought the third one that we viewed.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We then discovered that SAGA, who had always insured LUKE for less than £120 per year, would not insure an RV. Quick decision made and all was well but much more expensive.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]LUKE was sold to a couple who intend to ‘full time’ in Europe and was last heard of going South in France heading for Andora.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Hilary and I started 2011in the new RV (named RHYS after a very good friend whose initials happen to be RV), with our 3 dogs, 2 tortoises and the budgie. We went to[/FONT] [FONT="]Anita’s campsite near Banbury, then to Sacrewell Farm campsite before the Peterborough show. As we only collected RHYS days before the show we had a very hectic few days packing and preparing and have to thank Steve of Mobile RV Maintenance for speedily supplying the necessary parts to enable us to take our toad. We did not have time to book and found ourselves parked in a general area with other Americans. Although it was further to walk to the show we did use the shuttle bus and found an ‘escape route’ to the Little Chef where prepared food was cheaper than on the showground. [/FONT]
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[FONT="]We then travelled up the East coast via the C&CC site at Mablethorpe, Broadlands campsite at Durkar near Wakefield and the CC site at Stockton On Tees. We entered Scotland and stayed at the C&CC site at Lauder before going to Witches Craig campsite at Blairlogie near Stirling. Now heading South we visited Moat Vale CL at Kirkandrews Moat near Carlisle (Hil is a Stobart fan) before Dale View CL at Whitechapel on route to stay at Morben Isaf campsite near Machynlleth to visit family. We then stayed at the CC site at Brynich and the C&CC site at Devizes before heading home at the end of May. Six weeks away, 1165 miles at 14 to the gallon and all well? Not quite, for, as we pulled up at home the brake pedal went to the floor! Fortunately we live on a hill and stopped without incident. We emptied what we had to from the RV before having it recovered to a local HGV garage where the master cylinder was found to have failed. Although I have full continental recovery with Britannia Rescue I do not have home start and as I was parked at home I had to pay. Recovery, master cylinder, labour and MOT came to ‘ouch’.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We next left home in the first week of September and went to Pembroke Dock, via the CC site at Tredegar House and Windmill Hill campsite at St. Daniels Hill. We sailed to Ireland and stayed at The Trading Post before starting an anti-clockwise tour via campsites at Camac Valley, (C&CC) Delamont, Ballyness (where we discovered Irish whiskey!), Sleepy Hollow, Ballyshannon, Ballina, Cong, Adare, Blarney and Dungarvan before returning, at the end of October, and staying at the CC sites at Pembrey and Tredegar House before returning to Anita’s with the intention of getting home in the middle of November. [/FONT]
[FONT="]It was while leaving this lovely site near Banbury after travelling 1,380 miles that we realised we had a problem. We had no drive whatsoever. Thank goodness it went when we were at a very nice, and very understanding, site (very many thanks to Anita and to Darryl who towed us back onto the site when we stopped in their entranceway) We made our plans and decided not to try to get the RV home but to have it repaired by a specialist RV firm. The nearest was Mobile RV Maintenance but Steve was on holiday so I arranged for Britannia Rescue to recover the RV (four days later so as not to curtail our holiday) to Dudleys, 40 miles away. Fortunately we were able to get ourselves, 3 dogs, 2 tortoises and the budgie into the toad to get home. Dudleys quickly found that the bolts holding the gearbox to the engine had come loose and three of the lugs had sheared. Movement of the now loose ‘box had broken the flexiplate that joins crankshaft to torque convertor. Dudleys’ initial estimate was 5 to 6 thousand pounds but they suggested that I try to get a replacement gearbox myself as that would be cheaper. The problem was that my gearbox casing was scrap and therefore I was not able to get an exchange unit. Many emails were sent to anybody who might be able to assist and it seemed that I would have to obtain a casing in the states, import it and then have the ‘cogs’ from my box installed. This appeared cheaper until the costs of getting it flown in were added to import duties, VAT and the labour of the rebuild when we were back to Dudleys’ (very fair) estimate. At this time I received a reply from Lee, the manager of Derby and Manchester based [/FONT][FONT="]www.theautomaticgearboxcompany.co.uk[/FONT][FONT="], who quoted a figure of just under £1,000 to supply a reconditioned gearbox using a casing that he had found and my ‘cogs’. He even managed to save me money by getting his courier to collect and return the unit from Dudleys who kindly packaged it for transport. Result! Even with the dreaded VAT the total cost, including a new flexiplate, was under £2,000. In an attempt to forestall any future problems I asked Dudleys to carry out a service and tell me of any other possible problems. They found the turbo actuator to be faulty so that needed replacing and I had one or two other niggles, like the generator not starting from inside, sorted. That little lot was even more ‘ouch’ but it is only money and you cannot take it with you.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]With me taking time to find an answer to the transmission problem and Christmas and New Year holidays we finally collected the RV from Dudleys in January. We decided to test it by going to Anita’s, the C&CC site at Oswestry, Pantmawr CL (Llanilar), Cwmcuttan CS near Llandovery, the CC site at Tredegar and the C&CC site at Devizes. This took three weeks and I am happy to report that our second year of ownership of an American RV is about to start with us pleased that we made the change to an RV. Although we have had problems we accept that breakdowns happen and feel sure that the gearbox trouble was down to poor servicing before we bought the vehicle. The advantages of having much more space, a chassis and engine that are lightly stressed and being able to tow the toad without concern are considerable and we have thoroughly enjoyed the facilities of the RV when parked.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]I now have to sort out the insurance and have a short list of jobs to do before the next trip, planned for April and May, and we are looking forward to many more years of traveling where and when we please.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]All of the sites mentioned, Mobile RV Maintenance, Dudleys and The Automatic Gearbox Company are highly recommended and their details can be found on line – I have no connections with any of them.[/FONT]
