Share Your Top Tip for New Motorhomers

buy one you can afford to use a lot ours is in use almost every weekend and school holidays
 
Make yourself a checklist so that you can confirm before driving off that nothing's been forgotten. Examples are is EHU unplugged / all windows closed / cupboards and contents secure / gas switched off etc. etc. Also, if not using the MH for a while, is fridge door left open (stops smells) and is handbrake left off with MH in gear. Lots more to suit yourselves, but can be really useful (not all MHs are prohibited from starting the engine if the EHU is plugged in :O )
 
robell;n28193 said:
Make yourself a checklist so that you can confirm before driving off that nothing's been forgotten. Examples are is EHU unplugged / all windows closed / cupboards and contents secure / gas switched off etc. etc. Also, if not using the MH for a while, is fridge door left open (stops smells) and is handbrake left off with MH in gear. Lots more to suit yourselves, but can be really useful (not all MHs are prohibited from starting the engine if the EHU is plugged in :O )

Lol! That sounds like the voice of experience talking :Smiling_Face_with_T

I was that close to doing the same once but the penny dropped. Mind you, many a time I've driven miles with the tv aerial up and once Ieft the Heki open... thought I was going to lose it! Just about every trip I have to stop and secure the bathroom, wardrobe or fridge door :Flushed_Face_Emoji:
I should make myself a checklist :Thumbs_Up_Hand_Sign
 
Oh yes, definitely been there and done that! :( window open, cupboards not latched or aerial left up were usual ones. Worst one was many years ago - forgot to turn off the gas bottle (van was borrowed - even worse) and when we put the cooker lid down, thinking it would be cool, we drove off and 5 minutes later the lid exploded. Turned out that I had put the gas ring to low instead of off. Luckily the OH was sitting up front rather than in the rear passenger seat as she would have been showered with the glass! Lesson learned :Grinmacing_Face_Emo
 
Dont go out buying loads of accessories until you've tried your van out, its amazing how many things you think you need but dont.
 
When we started Motor homing there was no Satnavs. Back then it was Wifenavs Which was Wife siting with a map on her lap. It was much the same as the Satnavs I use today only difance instead of When Poable Make a U Turn It was I Think That was Our Turnoff BACK THERE & Putting me down One Way Streets. But she also use a highlighter to mark off the road that we had travailed and where we stayed overnight. And the next year she would use a deferent couloir of highlighter A if we was in the same area she could look back on maps to see if we had travelled that road before and when possible chose a deferent road
. Map 1.jpg
 
robell;n28193 said:
Make yourself a checklist so that you can confirm before driving off that nothing's been forgotten. Examples are is EHU unplugged / all windows closed / cupboards and contents secure / gas switched off etc. etc. Also, if not using the MH for a while, is fridge door left open (stops smells) and is handbrake left off with MH in gear. Lots more to suit yourselves, but can be really useful (not all MHs are prohibited from starting the engine if the EHU is plugged in :O )

If you have your van parked up with heating and are not intending to use it for a few weeks, open ALL the cupboard doors to ensure the heat gets all over and therefore no cold spots to allow condensation. Your cab windows will not be double glazed, so an external Silver Screen will be invaluable in both hot and cold conditions.
 
Good advice Rog. I keep the van on ehu on the drive and put a little low-powered electric heater in there to keep the chills and moisture at bay and, yes, all the cupboards open. I discovered I'd forgotten to flip the power switch on for the heater for a couple of days in February and found an inch of solid ice in the washing up bowl! Won't make that mistake again...

I filled up with water yesterday, just in case the Greywell gathering went ahead today - which it didn't. Now I'm not sure whether to drain it down again or not. Hate wasting all that water...
 
Minisorella;n28632 said:
Good advice Rog. I keep the van on ehu on the drive and put a little low-powered electric heater in there to keep the chills and moisture at bay and, yes, all the cupboards open. I discovered I'd forgotten to flip the power switch on for the heater for a couple of days in February and found an inch of solid ice in the washing up bowl! Won't make that mistake again...

I filled up with water yesterday, just in case the Greywell gathering went ahead today - which it didn't. Now I'm not sure whether to drain it down again or not. Hate wasting all that water...

I'd drain it, better than the hassle of getting frost damage. Incidentally, I don't think that there should be any condensation forming if the van has no one in it, if there is maybe worth checking for dampness.
 
Always have a back up plan even the most experienced get caught out. But the no1 never get caught out with a shortage of Booz
 
2cv;n28666 said:
I'd drain it, better than the hassle of getting frost damage. Incidentally, I don't think that there should be any condensation forming if the van has no one in it, if there is maybe worth checking for dampness.

Yes, I'd drain it too. If you have any form of heating in the van with sub zero temps outside, it's important to allow good ventilation I believe.
 
Jezport;n28454 said:
Dont go out buying loads of accessories until you've tried your van out, its amazing how many things you think you need but dont.

Too late! (but thanks! ;) )
 
2cv;n28666 said:
I'd drain it, better than the hassle of getting frost damage. Incidentally, I don't think that there should be any condensation forming if the van has no one in it, if there is maybe worth checking for dampness.

I came to the same conclusion Bill... just couldn't settle knowing there was a mass of water in there! Typically, after our biggest snowfall yesterday, the temperatures rose last night and everything's pretty much melted today. Still, belt and braces :) The only place I ever see any condensation in the empty van is on the outside of the toilet flush tank because I tend not to drain that... and I do check for damp regularly. The ice in the washing up bowl was totally my fault... I'd left the bottom dregs of dirty water in it (final day flinglish!) because I'd intended to bring it into the house to tip and give it a good scrub, which I did once it defrosted! :D

Which leads me to another good tip for newcomers. Always thoroughly wipe over your crocks and utensils with kitchen towel before washing up, so that you don't get lots of food bits making the grey tank smelly.
A washing up bowl helps too because you can take it outside and water the hedgerow :Wink_Emoji:
 
Minisorella;n28734 said:
I came to the same conclusion Bill... just couldn't settle knowing there was a mass of water in there! Typically, after our biggest snowfall yesterday, the temperatures rose last night and everything's pretty much melted today. Still, belt and braces :) The only place I ever see any condensation in the empty van is on the outside of the toilet flush tank because I tend not to drain that... and I do check for damp regularly. The ice in the washing up bowl was totally my fault... I'd left the bottom dregs of dirty water in it (final day flinglish!) because I'd intended to bring it into the house to tip and give it a good scrub, which I did once it defrosted! :D

Which leads me to another good tip for newcomers. Always thoroughly wipe over your crocks and utensils with kitchen towel before washing up, so that you don't get lots of food bits making the grey tank smelly.
A washing up bowl helps too because you can take it outside and water the hedgerow :Wink_Emoji:

Is this acceptable waste disposal!!!
 
I always save old tea towels that Mrs GMJ deems unacceptable for use in the house anymore, for use in the MH. I got hold of a plastic type old fashioned sweetie container and keep them in there in the garage in my MH. They are great for drying the BBQ after washing and general cleaning outside etc. We call them 'man rags'. They can then be rewashed and used or if too minging, just discarded.

Graham
smile.gif
 
We must have lots of new members here now, so I thought I'd revisit this thread in case any are new to motorhoming.

I learned a useful tip from my friend Alan recently.... save the plastic lids from containers for things like Kenco and Milicano coffee or Bisto tubs, etc. They'll fit perfectly over a half-used, standard 400g tin of soup, beans, tinned tomatoes, etc.

Another top tip from my friend Paul... always, always, always do a final walk round the van just before you drive off. Aside from the biggies like ehu cable, windows or heki open, step down, aerial up, etc, you might have left something tucked under the van or forgotten to close a cubby after putting things away, etc. A quick walk round would have saved me from driving away from my house the other week with the leccy still plugged in :eek: No damage whatsoever done to van or house - I was so lucky - but the cable ripped apart in the middle with multi-coloured entrails all over the drive!
 
As an add on to this which is really great advice, write a "moving off" check list and keep it on/near your dashboard. You would be amazed how many times i have left a cupboard open or sky light open.
 
Even when I've checked 'everything' we usually have flying fridge contents or cutlery drawer or left step open..... not to mention the Heki slamming down as we get up speed. Beginning to thing we need a checklist
 
My fridge contents fly too! The door catch is iffy, so I have to remember to anchor it with something through the pin at the top. Mostly, I forget to latch the bathroom door, which soon becomes the only thing I can see in the rear view mirror :rolleyes:
 

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