It was our first caravan trip last weekend, we only travelled local without electric hook up to make sure we could get by on a 12 volt car battery/gas.
These tips may help you.
Before you go make sure you know how to connect up the water (inlet and waste), do you have all the neccesary connecting pipes. If using an aquaroll do you know where the attachment is to roll it along. A mistake we made was only connecting 1 waste pipe to the Van, we didn't realise we had 2 waste outlets so none of the washroom water got collected.
Do you have suitable pieces of wood for chocking up the van if on uneven ground, we were advised to keep some larger pieces 6"x4" in case the ground was soft to help spread the load.
Once the water is connected up you may then need to prime the system before the pump will pump any water, we didn't know this but under our sink was a foot pump for priming the system. We also had to turn on the pump from the distribution system.
Do you know how to start the fridge off the gas?
It took us a very long time to get our fridge going, this was due to a dirty thermocouple, I gave up at one point and decided to run it off the 12 volt supply but I couldn't get it to run whatever I did. What I didn't realise was the 12 volt supply to the fridge only works if my car is running. I finally got the fridge to work by keeping the keeping button pressed in on the max gas for a few minutes, this burned off any dirt and allowed the thermocouple to work.
Also when the fridge wouldn't work I decided I would try changing the gas bottle over but found out I didn't have the spanner to undo it, when I eventually a suitable spanner I didn't realise the thread was also left handed.
Another Tip would be to find out how your electrical distribution system works. If you don't have a manual for it I am sure a friendly person on this forum will be able to help.
If your van has a 240 volt hookup have you checked the van also includes a charging circuit(12 volt transformer), A lot of older vans may of had 240 volt hookup fitted at a later date but not fitted the charging circuit. If you don't have a charging circuit fitted you could find out you flatten the 12V battery from the lights/water pump as these are usually 12volts only running off the battery.
Do you have a bulldog stabaliser with the van? We were given one but chose not to use it on our first journey as we only travelled on minor roads. I am told by friends that these are essential if motorway driving in windy conditions with lorrys overtaking you but this all depends on the shape of the van and the viechle you are using for towing. If you do decide to fit a stabaliser you will need to remove your towing ball and fit the connecting block between towing ball/tow bar and you may then need longer bolts, don't be tempted to use bolts too short or threads may get stripped.
Do you have a spare wheel?, if so do you know how to change it? do you have all the correct tools?
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Topic: new to caravanning
