[Mumoffive]

Well, maybe all set is a bit overstating it. We are definitely planning that this weekend we will be Motorhoming for the very first time overnight.

We have done several afternoon drives and a cup of tea in the motorhome!
Now to be known as Eve's Wagon!

Last weekend we drove to Worcester, stayed on the parents accommodation but drove down to Taunton to meet My Mum, brother and Sister in Law. It was a bit brought at times, David fretting over lack of power, a puncture, Kwik Fit not being able to change the wheel and the RAC man worried about the spare wheel being rather old. But we did it and now ready to do it again but this time camp too!

There are some minor irritations and compromises to be made. But Eve's smile when we get in her Wagon and the giggles and smiles as we drive along make it all worth while for me. There is going to be a slight lack of space as we are ring for a hard standing so can't use the awning, I am wondering whether putting the frame of Eve's Wheelchair outside and cycle locked to the ladder would be OK overnight??
The seat unit can sit on the drivers seat but the wheels travel either in the shower/loo cubicle or between that door and the cooker. Not practical when we are living in there.
So it will be Me and David, Eve, and Joshua and Joshua's guide dog Norris.
We are planning to stay at Lower Lacon camp site in Wem Shrewsbury. We have to stay on a site with hook up as Eve's Ventilator, Feed Pump and Suction machine will all need charging and the humidifier for the Ventilator over night needs to be plugged in. So no wild camping for us.
But I am quite excited. I am sure November isn't the best month for Motorhoming in Britain but we don't know how long we have with Eve so we are not going to waste time waiting for good weather.
Watch this space!

 

[p-c]

Hi
My admiration and best wishes for a great time. I am sure you will enjoy your time and will overcome all adversities. The smiles on the kids faces will tell you everything. Relax, chill out and enjoy. As you are on EHU make sure you keep warm, a small fan heater or we prefer a small oil filled heater.
p-c
PS The chair stays outside, it can be washed dried or whatever. If on a site they may let you store it somewhere inside.

 

[talogon]

Have a great time, I'm sure you will love it. As p-c says the site will find somewhere for you to put the chair, and the oil filled rad is a great thing to use.

 

[Mumoffive]

Was thinking halogen heater rather than oil filled???
Cant leave her seat outside as it is fabric but hopefully the frame will be ok.

What is EHU????

I was trying to find the list of campsites on MHF but can't find it can anyone point me that way??
Thanks for your good wishes

 

[Jamsieboy]

Why not use the awning with steel pegs. We do on all the hard standing pitches we have used.

 

[Mumoffive]

The site says no awnings on hard standing, plus we haven't worked out how to attach it yet lol

 

[tugboat]

EHU is electric hook up. i.e. connected to the mains power.

 

[dlball]

E.H.U.= electric hook up
We use a small oil filled radiator cos it`s safer than halogen especially with the dog. Lovely and warm, controlled heat so you can turn it down overnight and not worry about setting fire to anything. Hope you all have a wonderfull time. Dave

 

[Grizzly]

Have a great weekend ! The weather forecast is cold but dry. If you've got plenty to do then even rain and cold won't stop you enjoying yourselves.

Why not call in a bed shop and ask for one of their very large polythene bags - the sort that they get their demo mattresses wrapped in ? That will more than cover the wheelchair and cushions and keep them dry. Either that or buy one of the tarpaulin garden furniture covers from Argos or B& Q. We've always left things outside on campsites and never had problems with theft.

Let us know how you all get on.

G

 

[p-c]

Hi again
I should have said that I'm glad you took the advice and paid the subscription.
I saw in Asda a 600W oil filled heater for £20. Not highly powerful but you can leave it on low and turn up as required, also low height so storage is easier. Ours is often between the drivers and passengers seats.
p-c

 

[barryd]

You can search the campsites on here under the review menu or just click these links.

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Campsites&file=map

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Campsites&file=map

EHU = Electric Hookuip

When we are on hookup I use a 2KW convector heater from Argos with 3 settings. 750w, 1250w or 2000w (2KW). Its silent and pretty effective. Cost £20.

Im sure the chair would be ok outside. If your worried about security could you not get a bike chain?

It sounds like your all very excited and in for some fun adventures. This is just the beginning! Dont worry if you mess a few things up. We all did (I still do after 5 years).

On our first night in the van I had the campsite warden out 3 times as I thought his EHU was faulty as all our lights kept going dim. This is before I realised I still had to have the 12v hab switch switched on inside.

Keep us informed of how you get on and have a superb time!

 

[Tucano]

Have a great weekend all of you, best wishes.
Norman.

 

[GROUNDHOG]

Homebase, Wickes etc have some quite good tarpaulins, different sizes, that are cheap and would be ideal for covering the chair, we use them for protecting carpets etc when decorating. Useful too in case you need to work under the van in any emergency situation! They fold up very small and are not heavy!

 

[aldra]

Have a fantastic time

And come back and tell us how it went

Aldra

 

[Mumoffive]

Thanks all.
I will certainly let you know how we get on. Interesting about the 12v. Our sockets only work if 12v is off.
Haven't acturally tried the lights. Perhaps I should.
Like the mattress bag idea. May investigate that one.
Need to do some food shopping for easy meals now.
Any tips on how to tell how much has we have. And how long does a 15kg bottle last?

 

[delawaredandy]

Mumoffive:

dump the halogen heater to dodgy get yourself a oil filled rad much safer.

regarding the chair frame maybe something like a small patio table or chair winter cover like you would find in a garden centre.

Get yourself down to Sainsbury's/Tesco's whatever and get yourself some cheap oven ready meal's job done.

Its a bit long winded to tell how long a gas bottle will last until you do some serious sums, best thing to do if it's just for a weekend and the bottle is new/full it should last you.

Most of all no matter what you do enjoy yourself.

M

 

[barryd]

If your on hookup all the time a 15KG Gas bottle will last you weeks and weeks, probably maybe a couple of months.

We hardly every use hookup and our 11KG bottle lasts about 6 weeks in summer and even in deep winter 2 weeks. ITs refilable though so its never been run empty completely.

I cut the ground sheet out of an old tent for a tarpaulin. We use it to cover stuff in the winter and to lounge about on in the summer!

Your 12v system maybe different. But if our 12v system isnt turned on even on hookup the lights stop working after a minute or so.

 

[Kaytutt]

Have a great time I dont get on very well with the campsite database on here, I use the one with a name like UK Camp Site (shh)

 

[rosalan]

What a wonderful adventure life is!

As an extra thought, you may consider getting yourselves a small quiet generator, Honda or Kipor. That would allow you to charge the batteries even if you are not on EHU (I hope you have been paying attention), allowing you greater freedom still.
As you work your way through all of the Motorhoming possibilities, I am sure that you will come across wheelchair lifters for Motorhomes and all sorts of extra aides that are available to help you get the most out of your travelling home.
The initial frustrations of remembering where you have put things and finding them when you get home, only adds the development of a creative 'make do' mind.
Some motorhomes have 'Strikeback' security alarms and systems. If you have this and you come across a rather odd cable with A caravan hook-up plug as we did; this is plugged into a socket at the back of the van and the cable would go through the wheelchair and the two ends plugged together. If the connection is opened, the alarm goes off.
If not, you could try a motorcycle security chain and lock the chair etc to some fixed part on the van.
In your case, having an awning could be advantageous but they are not always fun to assemble. A new (and rather expensive) one is recently come to the market, that blows up, which is very easy and rather heavy.
Having taken young children and others all over the place in vans, including France and Spain, I can assure you it is so much better than sitting in a car. They have somewhere to sit, with a table to use for whatever and although it is not advisable, they can go to the toilet without the stress of having to stop every time.
My wife has often sat at the table and made sandwiches for me while driving. So many good things to explore.
Have fun!!!

Alan

 

[Mumoffive]

There are two sockets in the Motorhome with little round three pin holes. I assume these are 12v sockets. Can you buy things to use in these?