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Quote: Originally posted by rhiannon134 on 30/5/2011

General questions...
- Using inverters instead of EHU. We want to avoid having to use EHU, for several reasons, but we will be wanting to charge batteries, mobile phones and lanterns. My brother in law recommended an inverter run off the car as he has one (which he used in our tent this weekend connected to the EHU plug/4 way thing it came with, to charge his phone) but we wondered whether that would be enough for charging all the things we want, or would we have to get a leisure battery? Do many other people do this or do you all use EHU?

We use EHU so can't answer that one

- Toast! What's the best kind of toaster (our built in grill is dodgy) for use on the gas hob? With 3 kids I need to be able to do 2 slices at a time!

We use the grill but otherwise i'd use a 2 slice electric one

 
- Gas heaters. My brother in law bought one at the show ground, I was initially against the idea because of safety of flames/hot things in tents until they pointed out I'm happy using the cooker! It worked well and kept the chill off but it seems like they go through cartridges pretty quick. Any advice about them would be great.

I really wouldn't use a gas heater if i could avoid it :(  Again i use ehu

Conway Classic (trio 2001) questions...
- Grill. Our grill has not been used much but it is 11 years old. The flame burns too orange (not enough air/too much fuel?) and it makes a horrible smell so I don't like to use it, has anyone else had a problem with their grills? Do you replace them with something else?

Wonder if the smell is because its not been used? 

- Pup tents. Is a generic cheap one (£20-30 on ebay) any good in these or do I need a fancy one?

The conway ones are wider which is why they are more expensive but if you only want it to sleep a single airbed then the cheaper ones are fine :)

- Curtains - We go the tent with the curtains set up in it, some of the plastic its have snapped so I made sure they were folded neatly away (and I cleaned all the windows, probably getting very funny looks from neighbouring campers) and put in the drawers hoping they would last longer. Is this right? Or will I wish I hadn't when it takes me ages to get them all back on?

I've always taken mine down and both tt's we have owned have had the curtains already off :)

If you've managed to get this far, thank you so much for reading my questions. Any help will be gratefully received.

Sorry that i couldn't answer the non ehu but hopefully someone will be aloing soon to answer those

Glad that you had a good weekend and how nice of your family to have already set it up for you, though i think i'd feel a bit disappointed that i hadn't helped as i still need more practice at erecting it lol

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Inverters are very power hungry, so you will be running your car a lot.  Do bearin mind you will need a pure sine wave one - very expensive - if you are dealing with any electronics, including mobile phones and laptops.

If you use a cheap inverter or generator, they are known to fry electronics.

Jim

I've been using a TT for 15 years now, a Conway Camargue for the last nine, and only in the last 5 have I had EHU. Now I do and we have the option of taking it or not but if not I don't have a batterty or any palaver like that. I just go with the easily availible non-electric way.

1) Clean out the grill and use that for the toast. There's probably a spider web or similar grot in it. A bit of compressed air (blow hard, or use an airbed pump!) down the hose is a great help. A good old fashione pipe cleaner and a bit of flexible wire is helpful too. Failing that buy a couple of the flat toaster gadgets that sit over the gas rings. Or do what I do when I'm camping with just a burner and use a pair of tongs to hold the bread over the flame. Works a treat. Mind you I make the family eat cereal or bread and butter for breakfast on site. Life's too short to be standing over the grill making ten bits of toast.

2) Gas heaters. I don't use heaters in the TT, period, but if I did get a non-electric one it would be an ever-reliable Black Cat as they have suitable safety cut-outs and are appropriate for tents. Don't put it on a groundsheet, use a bit of heat resistand board. Don't leave it unattended. Don't let dogs or kids play round it. Don't dry clothes over it or near it.

3) Undertents. I did buy a generic Sunncamp one once and returned it at the end of the day as unfit for purpose. Thin enough to spit peas through and really, barely worth hanging up as it was so flimsy it would let every draft through. I can only assume the ones Sunncamp provide with their TTs are better quality. Anyway, look on Ebay for a proper Conway or Cabanon one. For the sake of a few ££s the decent ones are many times better.

4) Batteries. Charge them off the ciggie lighter in the car. We have a battery charger that plugs in there that can do a variety of batteries very effectively. Phones get charged up direct. We did have a problem with a non-standard camera battery one year but my OH just asked neighbours politely if he could plug it into their EHU. I had a hairdryer back then...I used it in the toilet block. You don't need a leisure battery for any of this.

5) Coolbox. Most ampsites provide some sort of ice pack refreezing service. Buy a good quality coolbox, not a supermarket cheapie. Don't be tempted buy one that plugs into the ciggie lighter or leisure battery as it can drain either in 3-4 hours. Or go the whole hog and buy a 3-way fridge that runs on gas as an option. One of the best buys out there imho.

6)Lighting. I don't like gas lamps in the tent either. Yes you've got a gas cooker but that's in a very stable kitchen unit with heat resistant backs wheras a gas lamp can get knocked over/kids can burn their fingers on the glass. I've used low energy bulb battery lamps for years and 4 D-cells last a week in one of these, so it's hardly expensive.  UFO lights from the £ shop for pods and undertents.

We've done holidays of a couple of months abroad without EHU so I know how to do it, belive me. I still rarely bother with EHU for long weekends. However I also think it's a lot, lot easier to have an EHU setup as well for longer trips. I don't take heaters, toasters, electric kettles or even a hairdryer now I have long hair but it's nice to have a good light and the option to charge up anything you like, plus run the fridge on electricity as an option. And last year when we were away the small desk fan I took was an absolute godsend, lol.

If you do take a leisure battery btw watch your noseweight if it's in the front box, and your overall payload as well. From memory the Classic has the same payload as my Camargue, around 100Kg. That can get pretty tight when packing for a family of four or five. Might be better to keep it in the car boot full time.

Oh yes, tables. I have the Conway one that folds up and lies flat in the base of the trailer. Excellent object. I use it as a kitchen worktable though so we eat off one like this and use our normal folding chairs to sit on. I just don't have space to take two sets of chairs.

Curtains. I take them off at the end of the year for washing. It takes less than ten minutes to thread them all back on again. You can get spare hooks from Pennine., here. (Ignore the £15 quoted postage...you'll be given a more appropriate charge for small items if you email them.)