Not the start I was expecting

gratefulj

Guest
So I completed on the sale of my house last Wednesday (belongings sold or given away). Grabbed my dog and jumped in to the Rapido fitted out 1985 plate MK1 Renault Trafic I had bought the week before and switched on radio 2 just as they started playing "aint no stopping us now" I was feeling on top of the world.
First scheduled stop was Dungeness on the Kent coast about 40 miles away and we cruised all the way there. Pulled into the Pilot pub carpark went in for fish and chips and gave them my reg as I was staying there for the night. After eating I thought I'd shoot down to the local shop for some treats, it's about a half mile down the road. Stocked up with goodies and bang the starting motor went. Tried whacking it with a hammer (worked on a car I'd had before) but no joy so I phoned my breakdown company which I had bought in conjunction with my insurance. They had no record of my policy and the insurance company was shut.
So I got the AA out for a fee of £100 (plus a months membership) and he managed to get me going though advised I would not be able to stop so should give careful thought about where I go next.....
I headed home to Deal and parked up not far from my old house on the seafront. I spent a week and £234 getting a hard to find new starting motor (I also changed the cambelt and fitted a new split charger system and leisure battery as the original had also had it) as well as explaining what had happened to everyone I met in the highstreet who I'd said goodbye to previously.
Yesterday I set off again and went back to the Pilot for fish and chips and stayed in the carpark. The weather was horrendous and as it's so flat there we were battered by the barrelling wind and rain all night and I remember thinking "omg what have I done".......
Tonight I am the only visitor on a tiny site just outside Hastings and it is beautifully dark and very still.
I am a bit more grounded than I was last week but really excited about whats to come.
Please let me know if you are interested in my progress and I will keep you updated through here.
 
Hi but fact is there are more downs than ups in this world,only thing to do is push on for the better times,cheers and do keep posting and some pictures please.
 
interesting start to your new life !!! vans are full of challenges.... please keep posting - is interesting to know how others solve problems along the way.

i always carry my insurance policy AND Recovery policy after my first emergency proved so difficult to sort out in South Wales 4 years ago.

Last year, like you, the recovery company i had to call had no record of my having a 'product' and i had a serious transmission problem in the south of france. I was a really difficult situation to deal with in France - although my french improved dramatically during all this !!! i finally convinced the french that i was in a British recovery programme and they towed me to a garage where i waited on the side of the road for 10 days waiting for spare parts to arrive. finally in sheer desperation i got the mechanic to print out the parts we needed, took them to a local Internet cafe, where the Monsieur scanned and then emailed the parts picture to my local garage in somerset, who couriered them over to Bordeaux in 36 hours. (Courier cost £50 - well worth it) Meanwhile the UK Recovery people who called me with a cheerful "HELLO i hope everything is ok now" got a shed load of tears and an ear bashing - low and behold the UK parts arrived half an hour before the French parts turned up ... (I returned the UK arts on my return for a refund.) All this with 2 of my 3 water tanks with holes in them !!!! Challenges at every turn.. but .... necessity really is the mother of invention and i like your solution to joining the AA to get help.

just before i go away for a long trip i phone the recovery and pretend i am broken down just so that i can check i AM on their database this year.

For the regulars on here - the recovery policy was provided by AIB. This year i had to call out recovery in Pembroke and once again recovery said i was not on their database... so... AIB customers... do check if you are on it before you set off.. this seems to be a systemic problem....

anyway ... sorry for the rant.... hope all is well now.. do continue with your adventure...

bw
 
We were like you 3.5 years ago - setting out full time. Like babes in the wood. No technical know how but unlimited enthusiasm. Do post here or blog your travels.
 
Thanks for the post, be great if you do keep us updated on your travels.
 
Hey Gratefulj,
My view is ‘Everything is Relitive’...The Bad is often Good (Because it’s all learning & confidence building), The Good is Very often Good & Even teetering On BRILLIANT at times, BUT it’s almost always varing degrees of ‘Constant Preparation’ So don’t Fight it, Roll WITH it & I find that Thinking ahead a little is the key in my chosen lifestyle.
At the end of the day a mechanical & or Electrical Problem is bound to occur from time to time that will incompacitate your Vehicle (& in our case our Home). Probably in the most awkward place you can imagine in the Dark & when it’s Raining or Freezing cold. Most of us ‘Try’ & prepare for what is the more reasonable ‘What ifs’ but an unwelcome surprise in the form of a curveball will hit its mark from time to time.
I hope to catch you on the road at some point. (I’ve got Spanner’s a Hammer, Coffee, Cider & Donuts. The first 4 I’m happy to share !).

Just Accept this as ‘The Law’ in this lifestyle & you will find that you will Smile more than you Frown.

Keep your phone charged, Make sure you have internet access & a click onto this forum will often point you the way out of a pickle & give support if asked.
Good luck & Stay Safe.
 
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Van life house life both have good and bad I just prefer the good in my van life ;)
 
Hi,,

Keep posting, we all learn from others experiences.
The joy of waking up every day looking at a view you have chosen, must be worth a few problems.
Safe travels.
 
You are bound to come across things you don't expect, more so with a new to you vehicle AND a new lifestyle. You have to expect some bad weather now as well although there are benefits to that, different scenes to look at, storms can be spectacular if you are inside looking out :)

Keep posting, it helps when we are sat at home reading and better luck going forwards :)
 
I hate to sound like a sourpiss killjoy.. But.. It might help someone else considering buying A 33 year old vehicle, any type, but ESPECIALLY a campervan .... To realise that said vehicle will have had numerous previous owners, some not too careful.
Imagine how many young Surf dudes arrive, buy a cheap van for the summer, and sell it before the bad weather arrives ?
Then someone, ( naive? ), wants to live FULL TIME, in it. ?
No criticism of you, young lady, of course.
Vans older than 15 years old.. Any kind of vans, should be made to carry a warning on the log book,saying:.

" DANGER! THIS VEHICLE MIGHT BREAK YOUR HEART..and your bank balance...!".

We wish you all the luck in the world, and feel slightly jealous of the adventures ahead of you.
 
Pauljenny said:
I hate to sound like a sourpiss killjoy.. But.. It might help someone else considering buying A 33 year old vehicle, any type, but ESPECIALLY a campervan .... To realise that said vehicle will have had numerous previous owners, some not too careful.
Imagine how many young Surf dudes arrive, buy a cheap van for the summer, and sell it before the bad weather arrives ?
Then someone, ( naive? ), wants to live FULL TIME, in it. ?
No criticism of you, young lady, of course.
Vans older than 15 years old.. Any kind of vans, should be made to carry a warning on the log book,saying:.

" DANGER! THIS VEHICLE MIGHT BREAK YOUR HEART..and your bank balance...!".

We wish you all the luck in the world, and feel slightly jealous of the adventures ahead of you.
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Was it a campervan she bought or was it an old builders van with a caravan interior fitted inside.As she stated a renault traffic with a rapido interior.I only say this PaulJenny as the van could of had a harder life from new?but I see where you are coming from with your valuable advice..


Anyway op keep posting with your travels and pictures please

Atb Michael
 
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Pauljenny said:
I hate to sound like a sourpiss killjoy.. But.. It might help someone else considering buying A 33 year old vehicle, any type, but ESPECIALLY a campervan .... To realise that said vehicle will have had numerous previous owners, some not too careful.
Imagine how many young Surf dudes arrive, buy a cheap van for the summer, and sell it before the bad weather arrives ?
Then someone, ( naive? ), wants to live FULL TIME, in it. ?
No criticism of you, young lady, of course.
Vans older than 15 years old.. Any kind of vans, should be made to carry a warning on the log book,saying:.

" DANGER! THIS VEHICLE MIGHT BREAK YOUR HEART..and your bank balance...!".

We wish you all the luck in the world, and feel slightly jealous of the adventures ahead of you.
Click to expand...

my 25 year old delica has cost me a shed load of money and occasionally i threaten it with a sale... but... its pretty unique, its 4WD, and suits me perfectly its bone dry (the hab unit has no seams at all) and i now know it inside out - so i adopt the view "better the devil i know" rather than start all over again with another old van slowly discovering more and more issues
 
Good luck and glad your sorted. Thanks for the tip about calling the insurance before leaving with a potential breakdown.

As for the starter motor issue if anyone else reads with similar problem, always worth putting the vehicle in a gear and then gradually push/rock it back and forth to try and release the jam, (if it is a jam)
Can be common on older motors.
 
Pleased to hear that you are sorted for now. Good luck on your travels.

I'd actually say any van over 10 years old rather than 15, Pauljenny, speaking from experience (and a depleted bank balance). :lol-053:
 
My van is a 1988 and I've taken it to Portugal for the second time. Old vans are simple, and if something breaks it should be cheap to replace.

The only thing that broke on my last trip was a cv boot, and unfortunately cost me £300 at a garage to fix as I'd pretty much destroyed the cv joint by the time I decided it wasn't making it home and had to have a new driveshaft.

I say 'only' thing, what I reallly mean is only thing I couldn't fix myself. You learn to be handy with old vans. Since it's your first campervan, try to fix things youself as this knowledge will carry over forever, and face facts, it's a cheap van that can be bodged. I'm assuming since you've sold a house, if you enjoy this lifestyle you'll upgrade eventually.
 
You're always at the mercy of how previous owners have treated a motorhome and what made them decided to change / get rid of it. Especially if it is a self build on a used van. You have no control over it's history.
.

The more owners, the more chance of a bad or ignorant one doing something wrong.
Or am I just being a jaded, grumpy old pessimist .
Shall we have a poll ?;)
 
Pauljenny said:
You're always at the mercy of how previous owners have treated a motorhome and what made them decided to change / get rid of it. Especially if it is a self build on a used van. You have no control over it's history.
.

The more owners, the more chance of a bad or ignorant one doing something wrong.
Or am I just being a jaded, grumpy old pessimist .
Shall we have a poll ?;)
Click to expand...

I think only the people that know you ‘Personally’ would be able to enter into THAT kinda poll Matey !!.

(Lol Lol Lol)
 
antiquesam said:
Houses develop faults as well.
Click to expand...

True, Sam. But how many people pay surveyors, to check a house over, before buying.
.
How many novice motorhomers have a van surveyed before buying.
.

Our first van, a 3 year old Autosleeper, had Turbo written in the log book, but one wasn't fitted. We trusted the dealer.. Don't tell me that the builder, Brownhills, the original dealers and our dealer hadn't noticed? The previous owner didn't admit to knowing either.
That van was a dog.. Only a love-struck novice would buy, without checking under the bonnet.. That was us, 19 years ago.
That was the first of many adventures that we've had to sort out, over the years.
 
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