BS: Good home wanted for caravan

Subject: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 10:41 AM

Linda and I should be buying another caravan soon. We will therefore be looking for a good home for our rather ancient and knocked about 11' Europa. I'm sure quite a few 'catters have seen it at festivals etc (and quite a few have slept in it in our drive). It has electric lights (and a gas one), a small cooker with hob, grill, & oven, a sink with pumped (cold) water and a hook-up connector with plenty of sockets inside (including one fitted with a thermostat for a small heater. There is also a patched, but very serviceable awning included. It's very easy to tow and this year so far has been to Miskin, Humberside, Sidmouth, Walton and many other places. Just what accessories will be with it will depend on what comes with the new one.

We're not too worried about money, but would probably suggest a contribution to "Friends of the Mudcat".

The caravan is presently in our drive at Mottingham SE London, but we will have to move it elsewhere when we get our newer one, and the probable temporary storage place will be at "The Black Horse" Stanstead, near the top of Wrotham Hill, Kent.

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Bill D
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 11:39 AM

sometimes a teeny bit more information is needed in titles...

my poor American mind imagined this

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: open mike
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 11:52 AM

or
this
i presume this is what we would call a trailer?

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: GUEST,Mingulay
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 12:01 PM

Dave, I hope you don't mind me jumping on your thread but I also have a caravan for disposal. 12ft Adria 3 berth with awning etc. As above a donation to Mudcat would secure. Like me it's seen better days and has to go. If anyone is interested leave a post here and I will work out a way of contacting you. Incidentally it is moored in deepest rural Middlesex.

Pete

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Blowzabella
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 07:42 PM

I'd love a caravan but I've nowhere to keep one and husband hates towing things so...guess it'll be the tent again next year (getting too old for this!)

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Sorcha
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 08:03 PM

Caravan===RV camper, either towed, drive away or 5th wheel. Dave's is a hitch tow and a nice sweet little thing it is too. Don't suppose he'd pay for shipping to US? LOL!

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 05:01 AM

Over here in the UK, a trailer is usually something used for transporting things which is towed behind a vehicle - although we do have trailer tents. I used the term "Caravan" because I couldn't imagine anyone outside the UK being interested. Sorry Bill - you'll have to satisfy your fetish for camels elsewhere.

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Mr Red
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 07:54 AM

My caravan is sometimes called a trailer - or a sawn-off Reliant - but of course it was purpose designed as a caravan, tho' Trdent did make a version without windows and seats and cooker etc which they sold as an enclosed trailer. There was even a red trailer version I am told.

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: kendall
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 09:37 AM

bILL, i HAD THE SAME THOUGHT!
However, if I have to give up Llamas, you can give up camels too!

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 10:09 AM

I'll even offer free delivery within a radius of 25 miles - any longer distances I'd want money for the diesel fuel.

No Sorcha - I know you enjoyed staying in our "annexe", but I'm not willing to try and bring it across the Atlantic.

One of our favourite things about the caravan is being able to go to an afternoon concert or session, while a roast dinner is slow cooking in the oven and then come back to find it ready to eat.   It's also nice to only spend 20 mins setting up on the campsite (including getting the water) and not to have to worry if it's pissing down with rain when it's time to go home !

I could send pics if anyone wants to PM me an e-mail address.

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 02:59 PM

Hi Dave,

We were only saying last night that we will have to get a little caravan for when we go up north to see Beth's family, and locally when there is a folk 'do' on, then we can take Danny (3yrs old) with us instead of staying at home.

We would be very interested in yours and donation to Friends of Mudcat is a great idea, perhaps you would like to name a figure just in case we have not got enough saved up.

Sounds terrific.

whb

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Bill D
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 03:46 PM

is 'caravan' a generic term there now? Or is it a brand which has most of the market, making it almost generic?

And I do NOT have a camel fetish..."we just use her to ride to town"

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: wilbyhillbilly
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 01:27 PM

We are leaving for Staithes TONIGHT, Friday, and will be away from my 'puter until 9th/10th Oct.

Just wanted to let you know in case you email me and get no reply, we are definitely still interested in the caravan.

Thanks

whb

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 02:38 PM

Drat! Wish these both were across the pond. I am looking for a small, old, decrepit:-), almost free one to make into a getaway/office in the backyard! Most generous of both of you. Sounds like fun!

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: GUEST,Hesperis(nocookie)
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 03:47 PM

Kat, check out freecycle.org - it's amazing what things show up on it sometimes.

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 04:46 AM

Refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: GUEST,Mingulay
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 05:36 AM

Katlaughing - maybe we could tie some old oil drums to them and float them across. How about the 1st Transatlantic Caravan/Raft race. No vans under 20 years old, no camels (sorry BillD), no outboard motors the only motive power to be provided by an outstretched awning.

The voyage could be enlivened by tasks to be performed en route (that's your actual French for on route) such as gas bottle changing in a swell, porta-potti emptying in a force 7 and pegging down an awning.

Thinking about it, most folky caravanners do this on an average festival weekend anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 10:49 AM

I've done the gas bottle changing in a swell many times. When you're breasted-up outside another 4 narrowboats at a rally on the Thames and you have to carry a 15kg bottle (not a little 4.5) across the other boats, there's always some silly hire boat or gin palace which chooses that moment to come creaming along the river !

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: GUEST,Mingulay
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 11:13 AM

Don't you always find that the higher the swell and the more hazardous the conditions, the more inaccessible is the gas cabinet. You invariably find yourself hanging on with one finger whilst balancing a cylinder with the big toe of the opposite foot and trying to undo a rusty padlock with a bent key. All the while concsious that someone needs tea NOW.

Ah, happy days.

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Oct 04 - 05:31 PM

Mingulay...LOL...my daughter says you should sell the idea to a reality tv show producer! Watch out though for bears on icebergs!

Hesperis, thanks! I will check it out.

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: GUEST,Mingulay
Date: 05 Oct 04 - 04:10 AM

Kat - is your daughter after a cut? Unfortunately reality like that can't be recreated on demand. It needs a full day boating in wind and rain with stiff lock gates, immovable paddle gear and the thousand and one things that go wrong including the 2 mile walk to buy another cylinder of gas. Reality beyond belief. Fortunately we don't have too many icebergs, and even fewer inhabited by bears. Unless of course you include the ones with sore heads incurred from a surfeit of intoxicating beverages. Maybe the ice would come in handy!

Subject: RE: BS: Good home wanted for caravan
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 12 Oct 04 - 07:07 AM

. . . and a supermarket trolley round the prop when the water's so cold that even with thick rubber gloves you in pain after less than a minute groping in the weed-hatch . . . a boken diesel injector (miles from the nearest road or pub. I think my lest favourite memory is coming into a lock just as my (then) partner had a tray of coffee mugs for us and two accompanying boats. I put the boat astern, nothing happened, as I revved her up I realised that we weren't in reverse gear after all - the gear cable had come adrift. The top gate stopped us OK, but all the mugs kept going !

Anyway back to dry land, Wibyhillbilly has PMed me to say that his daughter has offered him her old caravan, so our little old caravan is still looking for a home. If anyone would like some photos, please PM me (or e-mail me).   It's only a small 11' van and doesn't take up much space, but believe me, it knocks spots off sleeping in a tent - especially outside the summer months - we've been warm as toast at new year !