What are you all up to

Then there was the car to empty as we need to use it tomorrow, and also managed to bring in a few essentials from the caravan and turn off the fridge. Still plenty stuff out there to deal with, one downside of returning from a trip. Will get to it all eventually!

I’m afraid to say KjellNN but this scenario was one of the reasons we sold our caravan.  I, particularly, was getting to the ‘I could scream’ stage!!  When the preparation for a trip and the sorting after a trip was no longer a pleasure or joy we couldn’t see the reason for doing it albeit we enjoyed the being away part.  As you say, it all gets done eventually.  

Bet I'm the first one to read your post heddlo - assuming the times on here being correct!

Same here heddlo. I suddenly realised that I just wasn't looking forward to all the preparations and packing and then all the sorting out, unpacking and cleaning when we got home. So we had a discussion and decided to sell the van. It is a good job we sold when we did as we would have been forced into it this year with all OH's ill health which would have been a totally different scenario. I hope you are enjoying Maccau. Dont wear yourself out KjellNN. As heddlo says it will get done eventually.

I suppose that we are all different, I never once minded the caravan packing, in fact I enjoyed that bit, and the unpacking was never an issue. While cleaning the caravan I’d often take a break in it and just sit for a while. However the hooking it up, getting out of the drive and the actual journey made me very anxious, and I wasn’t the one driving! With so many cars on the roads now and I’m afraid to say, so many stupid drivers, it was getting worse. I see that they are saying again that Smart Motorways are dangerous. Well whoever came up with the idea wasn’t at all ‘smart’, I hate travelling on them. OHs health made us give up and it was the right time and the right decision for us. We have some great memories though and visited some lovely places.

The thing I hate most is cleaning the outside of the caravan.... especially the roof.  We clean the inside of the van just before we leave the site for home. 

All clothes, food etc travels in the car (when we just have a 3/4 night trip).  We take things from the car to the caravan when we arrive on site, and then repack the car before we leave.  We take the caravan stright back to storeage and then unload the car when we get home.  We tend only to take a tiny bit of food with us.... we buy when we get there and use it before we leave.  Everything in the car fits into foldable crates.... usually a maximum of just 3 foldable crates, so we just carry the crates from the car to the house....  It works for us.....

However, I do have very detailed lists of what we keep in the caravan and where we keep it, and what we need to take in the crates. (My lists have to be seen to be believed!!!  😀😀)

We don't use an awning these day.... just the wind-out Thule canopy.  Outside chairs and cadac travel in the car and tend to stay in the car permanently during the late spring to early autumn.

David

I too despise a roof clean David, a friendly fellow suggested a product called Wet & Forget but I’m a bit concerned about using unknown chemicals. The wind-out canopy is also a chore I’m non too keen on.

I’m never happy about keeping food stuffs in the unoccupied van, particularly those that may attract rodents.

And we're the opposite, David.  I think Ros has spent too many years living on / being on boats and applies the same principles to the caravan and no amount of 'discussion' about weight seems to have any effect!.  The freezer is full, as is the fridge and cupboards contain a fair amount of tinned and bottled goods - 'just in case'!  Even if away for two weeks, we don't have to do a great deal of shopping.  I fear that even our very generous payload is compromised sometimes.  All the really heavy stuff goes in the car and the fact that there is also a dog cage in there means that packing it is quite an intricate job and there certainly isn't much room left.

We use Wet & Forget on our composite decking at our static caravan, very good stuff. We apply, spray on, on our first visit in the spring, then just leave it, once it rains it starts working, gradually all the dirt, green and algae just comes off, after a few weeks it looks like new. Not sure about caravans though, never used it on the van. Couldn’t use it this year though as the river rose and flooded even the decking, leaving all the river debris behind, needed a days power washing to get it all off.

I'm very conscious about weight, Richard....  Every so often we visit the weighbridge.... and I have a list of *absolutely everything* that's in the caravan when it is weighed....  I then judge from there.  Out last visit we were 1890kg (out of 2000kg).  We're due another visit now we've had the E & P fitted.  I'm expecting aroud +25kg for the E & P.

David

Did you go for the full system - or the Compact, David?  I found the system had a few 'quirks' to start with but it's fine once you get used to it.  If you have any questions - please ask and I'll do my best to answer them.  We've had ours for nearly five years now - so I've had plenty of time tome to play with it. Fitting the twin Alko locks is an absolute doddle with E&P and I'd say it was worth it just for that - well, for me, anyway

I keep threatening to take mine to the weighbridge fully laden but that would mean interrupting things when we were ready to go away, so I never get round to it.  I really ought to sort something out.