Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i Practical Motorhome

★ star picture Email your pictures and their stories (40 words, plus name, address and contacts) to hotshots@practicalmotorhome.com. The best photo will win these guides: All the Aires Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; Go Motorhoming and Campervanning; Seaview Camping Wales; Seaview Camping West Country; Road Trip Europe – The Great War and More; Road Trip Europe – Go Dutch. All are from Vicarious Books, www.vicarious-shop.co.uk, 0131 208 3333.…

HOW CAN I SELECT THE RIGHT AWNING FOR MY MOTORHOME? Q I want to buy an awning that will fit along the canopy awning rail on my motorhome, but I’ve been told I need to be careful because awnings come in different sizes. Is this correct? Michael (surname withheld) A Peter Baber replies… It is true that the size of the rails in canopy awnings differs according to manufacturer. It is usually either 4mm or 6mm. However, you can easily buy drive-away kits that have adaptors for either size. So if you have an awning that will only fit 6mm, you can slide on an adaptor that will take it to 4mm, and vice versa. Some awnings now have dual beading, so you can fit either size with the same…

We’re all looking forward to getting back on the road, and Marcus Leach is planning to seek out some of the UK’s glorious hidden gems, just waiting to be explored Right now, although many of us are clinging to the hope that we will be able to ‘leave the island’ at some stage this year, the safe, and dare I say sensible, bet is to be planning a trip somewhere in the UK. This is by no means a bad thing: after all, we are blessed with truly stunning locations within our shores and (not wanting to tempt fate) some glorious weather at certain times of the year. Over the past weeks (we lost count a long time ago), during which time we have been confined to the four walls…

Whatever would Jane Austen have made of modern-day Bath? Hordes of tourists, booming street music, fast food, and a man dressed in top hat and tails (and purporting to be Mr Darcy) at the entrance to a museum dedicated to her life and work. Fortunately, it’s easy to escape some of the excesses of 21st-century life that cluster around the core of the city’s Abbey, Roman Baths and Pump Room, and get a real flavour of what the UNESCO World Heritage Site was like when the author chronicled life here two centuries ago. We dodged the crowds on a warm and sunny (pre-lockdown) September day by following the City Trail, a walk of about 90 minutes meandering through the elegant streets. The trail (available to download at worldheritagetrails.co.uk/whtb.pdf) starts at…

The rear-lounge Europa has been a staple of WildAx’s range, based, as it was, on a Renault. But this year, faced with restrictions in supplies of that base vehicle, the Yorkshire converter has redesigned the Europa to sit on a Citroën Relay base; or, as in our test model, a Fiat Ducato that includes Fiat’s new(ish) nine-speed automatic gearbox. The latter option costs £4000 extra. Our test ’van had the standard Fiat Ducato cab; although production models, we are told, will be on Fiat’s new Series 8 Ducato, precise details of which are still being kept under wraps. The Europa remains a two-berth, two-belts vehicle, but those familiar with the previous version should spot one difference straight away. WildAx has adjusted the size of the washroom to allow space for…

Camperco releases ex-rental ’vans You need to check an ex-rental motorhome over as carefully as you would any other secondhand motorhome, of course, but there are good bargains to be had if you purchase one from a trusted and respected source. At the time of writing, Camperco had some 21 such vehicles, recently decommissioned from its Bunk Campers hire arm and now up for grabs at its outlets in Coventry, Edinburgh and Belfast. All of these ’vans are under three years old and come with a six-month warranty. As part of the decommissioning process, they have undergone the following pre-sale procedures: ■ A 40-point appraisal of the vehicle and a de-fleet report is submitted, outlining details of any mechanical work (such as servicing, brakes, fault codes and so on) and…

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT www.magazinesdirect.com/99AF Or call 0330 333 1113 and quote 99AF WHY SHOULD YOU SUBSCRIBE? ■ Delivery included in the price ■ Never miss an issue ■ Expert content delivered to your door EXCLUSIVE! Subscriber-only covers CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE! DIGITAL ■ 5 ISSUES FOR ONLY £5! ■ SAVE UP TO 69% ■ EXCLUSIVE Subscriber covers ■ NEVER MISS another issue with convenient home delivery ■ INSTANT ACCESS anytime, anywhere on IOS and Android PRINT ■ 5 ISSUES FOR ONLY £5! ■ EXCLUSIVE Subscriber covers ■ NEVER MISS another issue with convenient home delivery ■ SAVE UP TO 81% Terms and conditions: Offer closes 29 April 2021. Offer open to new subscribers only. *After your trial ends, your subscription price will be adjusted to reflect a 10% saving against the…

Things with wheels are designed to move, but low-season weather, high-season crowds, global pandemics and more can mean your motorhome spends time sitting still. Such spells of idleness make things deteriorate, rather than wear out, but being aware of potential problems and doing preventive maintenance will avoid difficulties later on. With a few simple items and basic tools, you can ensure your first trip out this season is memorable for all the right reasons. We are taking for granted that your motorhome has passed its MoT and the vehicle and habitation servicing is up-to-date. These tips are specifically for ’vans and owners who have been hibernating. Essential tools and kit You don’t need loads of tools or specialised kit – a few basic items will go a long way to…

BUTTERMERE, CUMBRIA Coordinates 54.5313° N, 3.2646° W Why tour here? Offering one of the best lake walks in the Lake District, Buttermere measures some 2km long and is 23 metres deep. The path around the lake is 4.5 miles long, making it an achievable and popular walk. The National Trust suggests that if you take your time, the route should take around three hours. For more on the Lake District, see p42. Don’t miss… The view looking down the lake towards Fleetwith Pike, which descends in a near-vertical cliff from the fell summit. practicalmotorhomeuk…

Kampa storage drainer This clever drainer helps to dry washing-up in a small space – it’s easy on the wallet, too. Price £6.50 Web www.campervanbits.com Personalised bus blind Immortalise the coordinates of your favourite touring destination in a unique way, with this impressive ‘bus blind’ print. Price £55 Web www.notonthehighstreet.com Sun protection Designed in Australia, this adjustable hat has a reversible double layer of cotton-linen blend fabric, with a drawcord to keep it secure. Price £40 Web www.solbari.co.uk Outwell Dreamboat self-inflating mattress A non-stretch inner and a soft stretchy outer fabric make this quicker to inflate and deflate. Price £164.99 (7cm), £199.99 (12cm), £224.99 (16cm) Web www.outwell.com Playmobil camper The young – and young at heart – will love this bright and breezy Family Camper from the popular Playmobil range…

April ■ 29 April - 2 May If you enjoy the occasional wee dram, why not visit the Spirit of Speyside Virtual Whisky Festival? At this online event, you can find out more about the great whiskies of this wonderful region, which has no fewer than 51 working distilleries. The plan is to move the full festival to 3-8 November 2021. For the event programme and to book tickets, visit spiritofspeyside.com. June ■ 8-19 June What’s new pussycat? June sees the return of Hampton Court’s glorious summer concerts (1), with Welsh warbler Tom Jones headlining this great series of outdoor shows. Bastille ReOrchestrated, Rick Astley, Lionel Richie, George Benson and Björn Again (2) are among those who will be performing. To find out more and book your tickets, go to…

This was our final tour of the year, so we decided to take Hilary Hymer to Cumbria between lockdowns, opting to base our trip in Penrith just a few miles north of the Lake District. We booked into Thacka Lea Caravan Park, a small site within walking distance of this historic market town. As we prefer to set up and leave our motorhome on-site, we booked a hire car through Enterprise, which has an office in Penrith. Unfortunately, because of the virus, this was temporarily closed; so we had to go to Carlisle to pick up the car. But this was fine, because the city was on our list of places to visit. Carlisle lies at the confluence of three rivers, the Eden, Caldew and Petteril, and just 10 miles…

Caravan, Motorhome and Holiday Home Show is cancelled again The organiser of Britain’s biggest annual holiday home show, which had to cancel a move to a new venue last year that was partly designed to attract motorhomes for the first time, has decided to cancel this year’s rescheduled event as well. However, the Hull & East Riding Caravan Manufacturers Association says that when the newly renamed Caravan, Motorhome and Holiday Home Show opens to the public at Harrogate’s Yorkshire Event Centre in September 2022, it will include motorhomes. The show had run with caravans and holiday homes for more than 40 years in the grounds of the University of Hull – hence its former name, The Lawns Show. Meanwhile Caravan Salon, the world’s largest motorhome exhibition, will go ahead as…

Adria Compact SC Supreme Adria’s Compact range has been around for some time, offering a ’van with a narrower width so you can navigate those twisting lanes and city streets more easily. But the new SC is the first model in the line-up to include an island bed. In addition, it has a clever dividing partition that snakes into place, providing a very generous dressing area at the foot of the bed. • Price £57,400 • Sleeps 2+1 • Belts 4 • Base vehicle Fiat Ducato • L/W/H 6.99/2.12/2.75m • Payload 563kg • MTPLM 3500kg Auto-Sleeper Broadway EL Auto-Sleepers has gone for a midway length of 6.63m in this new two-berth, with a slightly wider body than the standard Peugeot Boxer. So the rear lounge is exceptionally roomy. The central washroom,…

Used ’Van Buyer isn’t new to some ‘California Dreaming’*. This time, our ‘Dozen Doozies’ mini-series is concentrating on the most recent incarnations of the popular marque, built on the short-wheelbase versions of the T6 and T6.1 VW Transporter. VW’s California can trace its roots back to 1952, when the very first mass-produced VeeDub camper ‘set sail’, with official VW converters Westfalia Coachworks at the helm. This arrangement continued until 2003, when Daimler Chrysler took over the coachbuilder. VW then decided to bring the California range in-house, where it remains to this day. The idea of placing a double seat/rock ‘n’ roll bed towards the rear was to address the conundrum of how to make best use of the area at the far rear, where the engine intruded in the original…

1 To get the cleanest cab glass possible, you need to clean the worst muck off the windows before you polish them. Run up the ’van and squirt the washers over the screen for 10 seconds or so, to push through all the fluid that has been sitting in the system pipework for months. Remember to top up the washer reservoir afterwards. 2 Turn off the wipers and now clean the screen as normal. A good car shampoo and a sponge will get the worst off, but can dry a bit smeary. The next step is to hit the screen with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and warm water. This will cut through oily or greasy deposits, such as tree sap or soot on the glass. We would advise avoiding…

how to buy… Choosing the number of berths You may feel that this one is easy – you simply have to go for a motorhome that has the same number of sleeping berths as occupants, right? That’s one way of doing it – but taking a look at the bigger picture is a better method, and likely to cause you less frustration in future. If you’re travelling as a couple, opting for a four-berth can be a great way of getting a motorhome that offers just that bit more space, meaning that you’re less likely to get in each other’s way when moving about. Conversely, if you’ve older children, you could consider going for a smaller motorhome and letting them sleep in an awning or a pup tent - that…

letter of the month I was interested to read in a recent issue (243) your news story about the rising popularity of motorhomes as a base for working from home – the story felt very relevant to me, as that’s exactly what I have been doing during the second and third lockdowns. Our coachbuilt motorhome was originally kept in storage, but we decided to move it onto our drive during those lockdowns, so I could use it as an office while working from home, and my wife could use our spare bedroom for the same purpose. We are intending to move it back to storage as soon as the lockdowns are finally over (and let’s hope that’s very soon), but for now, it’s proving handy – it allows me to…

The North West 1 THE LAKE DISTRICT It’s a national park and a world heritage site, with mild winters, cool summers and an awful lot of rain – around 80 inches a year – but not enough to deter the millions of people who visit one of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes. They come for the views of mountains, plunging into long lakes that have filled valleys carved by glaciers. This is serious walking country, with four of its peaks – Scafell Pike, Scafell, Helvellyn and Skiddaw – topping 3000 feet. Catbells, at 1481 feet, is one of the more accessible fells and a favourite with families. It offers 360-degree panoramic views that take in Derwentwater, Keswick, Skiddaw, Blencathra and the Western Fells. Take to the water Cruise boats on Windermere,…

The internet claimed that the Llyn Peninsula, in North Wales – known as Snowdon’s Arm – “enjoys a unique microclimate, benefiting from the Gulf Stream, which brings warmer sea temperatures and weather”. The weather forecasters, however, seemed to have other ideas. They were predicting that, while the 40mph winds would have dropped by the time we arrived, the heavy rain would not. But when we read that about a quarter of this 30-mile-long peninsula is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – and one of only five such regions in Wales – we were sold, nonetheless. It was settled: this was where we would be spending our (pre-lockdown) fifth wedding anniversary. We made the journey westwards to Llwyn Ffynnon, our selected campsite, situated about three miles north of Pwllheli. Unlike…

Laika expands Ecovip range Laika has added two new models to its sporty Ecovip range for 2021. At 6.99m long, the L3010 has a transverse rear island bed and the H3119, fixed single beds at the back. Both have four berths and four travel seats, but the L3010 can include two additional berths as extras. They also have a heated, illuminated double floor that is accessible from inside and out, housing all of the technical systems. The front lounge has an L-shaped settee containing the travel seats, and a side settee. Both are on a Fiat Ducato, with a 120bhp engine as standard, and have a standard MTPLM of 3500kg.…

Like the tyres of a car, the most important part of your outdoor gear is the bit that grips the road or trail, and a good quality pair of hiking boots are the critical tools you need to enjoy the outdoors. The very best hiking boots will not only be comfortable, grippy and supportive, but will also be adapted to the type of hiking you’re most keen on. That might be anything from speed walking on low-level, long-distance trails, casual countryside footpath rambles of a weekend, or more serious expeditions into the wilder parts of the world. Either way, there’s a boot at a budget point that will suit you down to the ground. Here we review four to help you find the best boots for you. Jack Wolfskin Force…

1945 REME, the British Army Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, takes over control of Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg Factory. 1946 To assist in moving parts around the factory, Plattenwagens are built – a motorised flatbed trolley based on the Type 1 (Beetle car) floor pan and mechanicals (1). 1947 Ben Pon, a Dutch VW importer and retailer, sketches out a proposed ’van based on the Plattenwagen. 1949 First prototype of the ’van, thanks to the determination of REME’s Major Ivan Hirst and VW MD Heinz Nordhoff. A new unitary body and ladder chassis are used, but the Type 1 air-cooled Boxer powertrain is retained – providing a measly 24bhp. The vehicle is officially named the Type 2. 1950 First Transporter (T1) commences mass production. Windscreen is divided and mounted in…

DEALING WITH A DIRTY WATER TANK Just about all motorhomes will have a fresh-water tank on board nowadays, which supplies water to the various taps. We have become used to having fresh, drinkable water on tap at home, so a lot of motorcaravanners are drinking the water from their fresh-water tank. This is not necessarily a problem, especially if you regularly flush the system or use a microbial filtering system. I often see people on forums saying: “I’ve been drinking from my tank for years and never had a problem,” and that is great. But what about after the motorhome has been laid up for a while? During one recent habitation inspection, I ran some water off into the handbasin and what came out of the tap was not a…

Cycling has boomed during lockdown and thousands of shiny new bikes are being pedalled. That leaves motorcaravanners with a few questions. Chiefly, how on earth do you get your bike to the campsite? While more Lycra-clad cyclists might think nothing of riding a mere 200 miles to a site, for most mortals, a bike carrier is needed. So what are your options? It all starts with payload Before you start comparing bike racks, you will need to check your payload. It’s best to have your ’van weighed on a weighbridge, with all of your usual touring kit on board, as a first step (search online for ‘public weighbridge’ or ‘scrap metal merchant’ to find your nearest one). Brochure weights do not take into account accessories you might add or the…

how to buy… Choosing a layout People’s needs differ, and your layout choice will depend on your companions and how you want to use your motorhome. To understand which layouts are available, spend a day at one of the big shows, where manufacturers and dealers will be showing their latest models. A dealership is also a good place to start, but will be affiliated with a limited number of manufacturers. A chat with a dealer, though, could raise some issues or offer ideas that you hadn’t yet considered. Will you carry bikes, sports kit, barbecues or outdoor furniture, or tow a small car? If comfort is higher on your list, you might want a separate sleeping area, parallel sofas and TV points. If you tour in Europe, your preference might…