Inhaltsverzeichnis für August 2020 in Practical Caravan

EN ROUTE // ON SITE // AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN…

I REMEMBER A time, not so long ago, when we were all excitedly planning trips for the coming months. Yet now we find ourselves at home, wondering when we might be able to wander again. It hasn’t taken many weeks of being cooped up and having our freedom to travel suspended – a decision that I wholeheartedly support, given the seriousness of the situation – before we have started to feel a deep sense of longing for what we cannot have at the moment. Our wanderlust goes into overdrive – hardly surprising, given that we all, as lovers of travel, share a keen passion for touring and seeing the world. And so, as we sit at home, we let our minds wander, forwards to the future or, more often than…

1 Will you need to change your car? First and foremost - and especially if you are new to towing a caravan - you need to follow the 85% rule. This states that when fully laden, the caravan should not weigh more than 85% of the car’s kerbweight - so you’ll need to find out the latter figure before you can start to consider which caravan to buy. If you find a caravan that fits this rule with your existing car, all you have to do is fit a towbar (if it doesn’t have one already). That way, you save yourself all the hassle and expense of having to buy a bigger car, and in particular of ending up with a car that, when you are not towing, you might…

OUR TOURER OF THE YEAR awards always attract a great deal of attention. Over the years, we’ve changed the way they are judged almost beyond recognition, but we’ve still managed to come up with the same result every time – a list of the best caravans to choose, for all sorts of different situations and circumstances. Of course, not everyone wants to buy a brand new caravan – and besides, used models can make an excellent investment, because the initial owner will have absorbed the depreciation that’s bound to occur. With that in mind, we’ve been taking a look back at our great Tourer of the Year winners from the past 10 years, to see how they’re faring and what they’re worth now. So, if you’re in the market for…

REPLACING THE DEFENDER must have caused the engineers and designers at Land Rover more than a few sleepless nights. Just how do you replace such an instantly recognisable classic vehicle, with a legion of loyal owners? Perhaps the answer is that you don’t, at least not directly. Whereas the original, which could trace its roots back to the Land Rover Series 1 of 1948, was a utility vehicle, the new version of the Defender is a thoroughly modern 4x4. Its styling reinterprets the looks of the original and, just like the first Land Rover, the new model has been engineered for exceptional off-road ability. But in other respects the new Defender is a high-tech and luxurious car. Some will be disappointed that the new Defender has moved so far upmarket.…

If you have the Alde heating system in your caravan, you’ll know that from time to time, you have to reset the clock on the display unit. This usually occurs when the caravan’s 12V battery has been disconnected. But now you can stop this happening. Alde’s Battery Backup unit comprises a 2 x AA battery holder and the means to plug it into the rear of the control panel. This is what I fitted in our van, but it’s simple (and a bit cheaper) if you fancy making a unit from scratch, or if the cable on the Alde version isn’t long enough. To make your own unit, you’ll need: 2 x AA battery holder T-shaped PP3 clip Twin-core 6A figure 8 cable Two-way PCB latch housing (Molex block) 2…

Coordinates 50.6121° N, 1.9571° W Why tour here? The beautiful county of Dorset epitomises a traditional view of the English landscape. Walk the chalky uplands of the Purbeck Hills and search the Jurassic coastline for fossils, visit stately homes, historic towns and nature reserves, and enjoy the pleasures of seaside resorts, such as Swanage, pictured here. Don’t miss… Corfe Castle, the walk from Durdle Door to Lulworth Cove, the historic town of Dorchester, Brownsea Island, Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens and Swannery, and the Punch and Judy show on Weymouth beach. Photographer Colin Burdett…

BLAENAU FFESTINIOG, SNOWDONIA, WALES Once the ‘slate capital of the world’, the former quarries that slice into the impressive Snowdonian mountainside now form one of the UK’s most popular activity centres. Mountain bikers will love the downhill trails, where you can set off from amid the clouds. Alternatively, for the ultimate thrill, swoop down the mountain courtesy of three zip-lines, or head below the surface to take on a unique underground course in a disused slate mine. › www.zipworld.co.uk › www.festrail.co.uk Where to stay Quarry View Touring Park is a 10-minute walk from Blaenau Ffestiniog and near the Ffestiniog Railway. › www.pitchup.com RATHLIN ISLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND The Giant’s Causeway is as curious a place to visit as any, but for something different, this amazing island five miles north of Ballycastle…

FACTFILE Price £1135-£1295 Web www.sunncamp.co.uk Dimensions 900-1100 x 250cm Fixing height 250-265cm Weight 32-39kg Access Two side doors, two/three front panels Selling points Narrower depth, single-point inflation with multiple access points Optional extras Annexe (£290), carpet (£110-£130), extra verandah pole (£27), LED lighting system (£75), 12V electric pump (£65), packing pads (£8.99 for 12), wheel arch cover (£14 for single axle, £18 for twin axle) ESTEEMED AIR is SunnCamp’s slightly shallower version of its Icon range. Whereas the latter spreads to a depth of 325cm, the Esteemed Air comes in at 250cm. That means the slanting side doors are not as large as they are on the Icon, but it is more convenient if you tend to visit campsites where pitch size is at a premium. For the 2020 season,…

THERE ARE SOME crucial choices and checks to make when picking your next caravan, which will help you come to the right decision – first time! Take detailed notes while you are assessing the caravan and use any repairs that are required to negotiate the price down. Don’t be seduced by any stylish touches if the practicalities of the van aren’t right for you. You’ll quickly come to regret it. Ask the owner about the caravan’s use. Does it sound feasible and realistic, or is it a sales pitch? Be slightly more wary if it sounds like the latter. Before travelling to view, and even if you’re not intending to, ask the vendor if you can have the caravan checked over by an NCC AWS-approved technician (although this is advisable).…

THESE DAYS, THE traditional family car is not quite as popular as it used to be. Buyers tend to favour crossovers and SUVs for their more rugged, adventurous image. But there are some sound reasons to choose a family car, especially an estate. If you want plenty of space for luggage, estate cars beat crossovers hands down. VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT ESTATE Our favourite GTE Price £38,310 Kerbweight 1760kg 85% match figure 1496kg Legal towing limit 1600kg Noseweight 90kg There’s very little that the Volkswagen Passat doesn’t do well. It has been one of the very best estate cars for many years, and recent revisions have made this perennial tow car favourite even better. Most significantly, last year’s updates saw the reintroduction of the GTE plug-in hybrid. This had been withdrawn from…

Getting ready to hit the road when you can? If your van is stored on the drive, this could be the moment to get down to completing some of those tasks you’ve been putting off! In part two of our series on brilliant DIY, we have seven simple projects you can do right now Future Publishing Limited, the publisher of Practical Caravan, provides the information in this article in good faith and makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Individuals carrying out the instructions do so at their own risk and must exercise their independent judgement in determining the appropriateness of the advice to their circumstances. Individuals should take appropriate safety precautions and be aware of the risk of electrocution when dealing with electrical products. To the fullest…

Heavy tables are more easily accessed from floor-level storage spaces, but mine was stowed away inside the wardrobe, above the fridge. It was also rather awkwardly tucked behind a fixed, vertical part of the wall at the front right-hand side of the wardrobe, making it even more difficult to manoeuvre the table in and out of storage. To resolve the problem, I planned to form a separate table compartment in the same place, but to remove this piece of board to create the narrow compartment door. To make the new wardrobe/table compartment partition, I first needed to source some matching board. After trying (without success) to find a piece that had the same wood finish, I decided that because it was inside the wardrobe, a 1220mm x 606mm piece of…

‘When you’re leading a race the danger is you spend all your time looking over your shoulder. We try to push ourselves and our boundaries’ › Tell us about your role I’m Swift’s Group Commercial Director, which sounds very grand but is really sales and marketing director for the firm. Swift is unique, in that we’re the only UK manufacturer that operates in all three streams: caravans, motorhomes and holiday homes. I oversee a sales manager in each of those areas and a sales team below them, along with a head of marketing and a full marketing team. › How long have you been with the company? I’ve been with Swift for nearly 14 years and prior to that, was chief executive of Brownhills, which at the time was Europe’s…

THE SPRITE BRAND is well known and has been for decades – 2020 sees the name become 70 years young! Over such a long period of time, it’s almost inevitably had some ups and downs. But under the aegis of the Swift Group since 1994, Sprite continues to be a top-seller in the UK. Although the brand left the UK market after 1997, it was still built for export. After Bailey’s Ranger became another strong seller, with lots of value-added kit, Swift then responded by reintroducing the Sprite brand for 2005. It took a while, but after a few seasons, it was fending off the Ranger. Old model names, such as Alpine, Musketeer and Major, were brought back into use and then in 2012, the new-look Sprite came into being.…

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Many sites offer a boosted TV signal – you simply plug one end of your coaxial cable into the socket on the site’s electric hook-up bollard and the other into the back of the TV. That’s all very well in warmer weather, but in winter, it means leaving a window open so the lead can be fed through, or missing programmes so you can unplug it and close the window. It can also mean coaxial cable trailing through the caravan. In addition, many caravans, especially the fixed-bed models, have more than one TV point. Boosted signal One of our favourite sites offers a boosted TV signal, but we’ve generally been lucky and managed to get a reasonable signal using the van’s antenna. However, my parents, on another pitch, could only…

My daughter’s rather mature caravan developed intermittent problems with the aerial, and she found she could only watch TV while jiggling the aerial amplifier from side to side. My first thought was the coaxial 12V power lead plug, which can cause problems in small appliances, particularly after rough handling and with constant connection and removal. That did not apply to this aerial amplifier, which had been unmoved for years. Using my meter (although a 12V bulb on a short wire would also have been acceptable), I established that no amount of bending the power lead would stop current flowing. My attention moved to the power socket on the amplifier, but this seemed fine as well, so plugging in only the power lead would light the red LED warning light without…

YOUR VAN BUYING QUESTIONS ANSWERED How do I match my car and caravan? The most commonly asked question in caravanning is whether a certain car is appropriate for pulling a certain caravan. To answer this, you must know the kerbweight of your tow car (X), the legal towing limit of your tow car (Y) and the maximum technically permissible laden mass (MTPLM) of your caravan (Z). Car details are often found in the handbook, but if not, you can contact the car manufacturer. The weight of the caravan can usually be found on a chassis plate, by asking the seller or, if it is a new model, by checking the brochure. Choose your favourite layout – the letters above each are referenced in our guide FIXED BEDS What can I…