Just wondered how many people still go camping in their FC's later on in the year. We were hoping to go in September, but unfortunately we are not be able to go until the beginning of October.
We have been away in March, April(in the snow) and October. Just wrap up well and take the hot water bottles and you will be fine! We have also made extra linings for our curtains which helps to keep out some of the draughts. This year we have got plans up until 6th October at the moment.
yes we have done october half term in the tt several times. We took appropriate clothes and bedding kept the awning heater on as long as we were in (I dont leave it on when we out) and like poped it on first thing for half hour before getting up etc. we were all toasty. kids liked watching the sleet run down the windows and nothing better than a frosty morning to look at. Just be sensible about clothes and bedding and it fun.
------------- Oh am loving the tin tent after campaining against it..........I was wrong.
I'm not an October half term fan as it is often very windy with the tail end of the hurricanes arrriving but we have camped in February and in very cold weather with no problems.
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
Im with Jan on this one the cold does not bother us , good sleeping bags zipped together , electric blankets, etc ,It is the very strong winds you can can get in October that terrify me , you can combat cold quite easily , strong winds i havent found a cure for yet , saying that if you can go last minute you can get good weeks in Oct
We are hoping to go to Northumberland in October in our Dandy folding camper for my husbands birthday but the comments here are putting me off a bit.We are not bothered by rain or cold(have heaters) but I personally dont like the wind. Will we be alright in the Dandy? We read here that these campers were 'Bomb Proof' what experience have others had please.
To be fair we have camped in really strong winds in the pathfinders which damaged caravans around us. We put the storm strap on the awning and were fine. Next door said their caravan was lifting off the floor and their awning was ruined. But the noise upset me and I couldn't sleep at all.
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
What are these storm straps that are mentioned for use in very strong winds and how do you use them? Can we buy them in camping shops ? Can we use them on our Dandy FC. I am very wary of wind as I experienced a stormy night in our tent,never slept a wink and was nearly put off camping for life. I do hope the FC will be better if we are unfortunate enough to have stormy conditions in the future.
Most caravaners use them on the awnings you see then black webbibg from the front corners to the ground. They basically fix to the ground adn go right over the top of the awning and fix via a darn great spring to the ground the other side. They hold the canvass to the frame and the frame to the ground as extra security. You do have to make sure you protect tha canvass fron chafing and sometimes they like get the wind through them and make a buzzing noise as they flap. They are good and I have seen people put them over FC as if the wind gets under your wings there is not alot holding you down. We used 2 last year in scary gales in cornwall and boy I was pleased we had them and we never moved an inch. If you are expecting wind and want to ease your mind then go for it. They are not expensive about £8 from towssure so worth it. Some of the new awnings have them like built in but you will need to throw it right over the top and anchor both ends.
------------- Oh am loving the tin tent after campaining against it..........I was wrong.
Thanks everyone for your advice and tip on the storm straps. We got caught up in the gale force winds last year in May down in Pembrokeshire and saw an awning being ripped right off a caravan - we were unlucky to pick all the wrong weeks, we went again in July 08 and had gale force winds and torrential rain down in Cornwall.
We noticed how much warmer it was in the FC compared to being in a tent last month when we also picked a wet and cold week. So hopefully we will be able to get a few more breaks later in the year now
Just wondering if those with FCs and TTs use two storm straps, one on the awning and one across the actual camper/tent unit itself. I haven't used our new Fiesta yet (next week, yeehah) so I'm not sure how stable it might be under a heavy wind.
Out of season camping in a tt or a fc means allowing for drying out of your canvass. Remember frost will melt and turn into water, but it will not easily evaporate and leave your canvass dry to pack away. If you do not have space at home to dry your canvass then winter camping is not for you. However, we have been camping in february in the frost and dried our unit for packing just fine. We were lucky with the sunshine. Packing damp canvass and not unpacking will lead to mouldy canvass and a big bill. Keeping warm is easy with a fan heater and when camping is no problem. Drying your unit for packing can be alot more tricky - especially if you have limited space
------------- Why am i doing this instead of camping??!!