I felt the same way, especially when the mobile engineer we used said that he was quite happy to come and look at our 30 year old van but he "might upset" me!
As it turned out all it needed was a couple of new tyres and a couple of bits and bobs amounting to no more than a fiver. He checked the gas and it was fine, no leaks, but he replaced the old pipe with new free of charge. :)
Quote: Originally posted by Ronni54 on 06/8/2013Just bought a 1990 Avondale Wren and had a full service,including all gas and electric appliances. Gas hose changed and new pump fitted. Tyres replaced and I now feel confident that the van is roadworthy and in reasonable condition for it's age. The total cost, including tyres was £240. A small price to pay for peace of mind!
We've already replaced a tyre as it had a leaky valve so hopefully not too much else to do then. £240 is more than reasonable :-) You can't put a price on safety anyway!
i hope you didn't replace it just because of a leaky valve ,had one of mine go recently and the tyre place replaced it free of charge !!!!!
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You're braver than me. I've had my 1992 Elddis sitting on the drive for 9 months and I've not dared take it out! Got a mobile engineer over, it was £150 for a service and it needed a handbrake which I went out for at £54. I asked him to fix/get everything working so there was an extra 2 hours which bumped his bill up to £200 but his advice & the peace of mind I've now got is invaluable.
He said the tyres need replacing - they should be changed every 5 years. I'm getting Quick fit out for that. There are a couple of things need doing but not imperative for going off for the weekend so I'm having a think about how far I want to go with it or spend another £200 or so (heating the water - or use on site facilities then battery charger - or use on site power?). The gas fire needs a clean or maybe repair before we use it as the flame is orange and it should be blue it so I'll get that done and take a portable for this weekend (very grateful for that info).
So don't panic you'll feel better after, plus you'll KNOW it's safe!
Just need to fit the blinds and cover the upholstery and we are no longer beige
The gas fire needs a clean or maybe repair before we use it as the flame is orange and it should be blue it so I'll get that done and take a portable for this weekend (very grateful for that info).
Portable electric oil filled radiator for me. I had the gas fire taken out of my van altogether as it was as old as the van (30 yrs) and looked like it had never been serviced. The mobile engineer said he wanted to condemn it anyway!
We had to tow it miles down the motorway to get it home in the first place so it seemed a bit daft to panic too much after doing that. We only go a few miles down the road anyway and it wont be going near a motorway again until after it's service in a couple of weeks. The bloke who runs our storage place has been brilliant with pointing things out and has given us the name of a mobile bloke who does most of the caravans where we're stored so fingers crossed now.
We too have a portable oil filled radiator. OH would like the gas to work for the oven but I am happy just using the EHU and would happily never connect it if it was up to me.