Hi Ben

I had them fit some reversing sensors before i picked up so all was good with reversing

Was you having some work done on yours?

Darren

 

Hi

Hi All,

First post from some newbie Caricoca 656 owners just to say Hi !

We bought ours 2nd hand in July this year, 2008 plate , 7K miles. We also thought the offer new from Geoff Cox looked fantastic value but in the end decided we couldn't stretch ourselves that far. Also once we had seen ours in the flesh we just had to have it within the week rather than wait a month for a new delivery ! We thought that might have been a mistake when we noticed water dripping from above the top bunk while we were away in October half term but looks like that was just condensation. We had it checked when we got home and no damp was detected, will be keeping an eye on it though.

We had some great times over the Summer and are now researching laying up partially for the Winter. We plan to still get out and about once a month but still plenty of prcautions to take from what I'm reading, so much to learn and so little in the Manuals !

Any Carioca specific over wintering tips anyone can share ?

Cheers, Sean & Tracy

 

Hi Darren, yes I had a little self inflicted damage repaired on my van. The door took 10 months to get from Italy so that was the main holdup.

Hi Sean and Tracy, we also have condensation in the top bunk in the morning. I think t is just due to a little hot bodied 5 year old sleeping for 12 hours in an enclosed space. There isn't any airflow when the curtains and shut at the front and the window closed overnight.

In the morning we open the window in that area and over summer she slept up there with the window open. The blackout blind stopped a lot of airflow again but it was a little better.

We try to use ours in the winter as well, if there are just the 2 of us when driving we put a blanket hanging down from the overcab bed to keep the heat in to the cab whilst moving or the hot air just goes backwards.

When setup on site we tend to leave the blanket down to keep the heat from a blower or the heater in the living section as the cab can get draughty.

When on site with EHU we have a electric fan heater and a remote controlled adapter for the socket. ASDA sell 3 for £5. In the morning I remotely switch on the fan heater and give the van time to warm before getting out of bed.

Our van is drained off at the moment, boiler valve is manual on mine under the rear facing seats, main water tank under the forward facing seat has drain valve against the wall that twists.

Waste water outlet open to drain.

Taps all open, shower head off and stored in one of the build in moulded shelves in the shower area.

The toilet cassette is stored in the garage.

I leave the main large window blind open and use the curtains to block out eyes and light , the blinds don't like being down constantly anyway and the springs wear out.

External silverscreen on the front hooking over the doors and tied on to the mirrors.

Alarm on which uses the main battery, crooklock style lock on the wheel.

I have also been using the habitation battery isolator on the side of the passenger seat as once I came out and the hab battery had drained quite a bit. The isolator has stopped this.

They also make excellent Santa Sleighs

Hope you enjoy your van

Ben

 

Thanks

Hi Ben,

Thanks for all the useful information. I'd found the tap for the main water tank but thanks for pointing out the one for the water heater, just in time before the frosts this week !

One tip I got from the guy who checked our van for the damp was to put a few bowls of cat litter out rather than salt or shelling out for a dehumidifier. Haven't heard that before so will give it a go.

Thanks Again.