Caravan Tips

Moving your van in a confined space. 

Do you have trouble moving your van in your yard? On gravel or someplace where it is not practical to use your vehicle. We have a gravel drive and we park the van across the front of our property. The Maco Mule is very good but because of the loose surface, the Mule wheel slips and does not have traction. I cemented three pieces of water pipe into the drive in different locations. I then bought a second hand boat trailer winch ($30) and welded it to a frame attached to a piece of slightly smaller water pipe. As in the picture you can see how easy it is to move your van anywhere you wish. If you wish for more details, just email us.

Velcro. (what would we do without it ).

There's nothing worse than trying to find something in an untidy boot. The answer is Velcro.I just stuck vertical strips of velcro to the back of the boot. Place the article ( jack winder, small stools,poles, broom, clothes dryer etc ) against the back wall and velcro in place. Stops rattles too.

Another use of velcro is to staple or glue about 10 cms of one part of velcro to the back of the end of a piece of the mating velcro about 30 cms long. This can be used to wrap around the top of your awning supports. Makes you feel sure your awning won't roll out during travel. Make several of these and use them to secure your electrical cable, sullage hose, water hose etc, during travel. They are so simple to make and will help keep your boot tidy.

Wheel Chocks. .

One of the essential accessories you should carry is a set of good wheel chocks.You can buy a set or better still, these can be made from any piece of scrap wood. Make a wedge of wood    approximately 10 cms wide and about 15 cms long. You will need four of these. Another good idea is to carry a piece of wood about 3 cms thick by about 35 cms long and 15 cms wide. On one end cut a wedge and the other nail a block of wood about 3 cms square across the end. This is used as a levelling block. Just drive your van onto the block to level it when on an uneven site. Don't forget to paint them so as they will last. Any left-over paint will do.For information on plastic, lightweight chocks, see our Products section on this Webpage.

Stone Guard Positioning Lock Pin.

Tired of the wind moving your front window stone guard down? After positioning the guard in our favorite position, We drilled a small hole through the two parts of the slide. Place a small clip or piece of wire through the hole, and the guard will stay in place. We recommend that in high winds, close the guard down.

Clothes Dryer Hanging Bracket.

The width of an "over the door dryer" is the same as the screwholes in most van windows. (see picture ). By making 2 small brackets and attaching them to the appropriate screws in the window frame ( bottom of course) you can now hang your clothes dryer on them.You can do this to several windows and then hang the dryer on which ever window is in the sun. Make sure to have a window under your awning prepared with brackets ready for when it rains.

Awning Wind Break. ( Sarlon )

If your handy with a sewing machine, you can make your own windbreak for your awning. Buy the required size of sarlon from your local hardware or garden centre. Sew a length of small diameter rope ( 3 mm ) into one side. This is to slide into your awning runner. Then hem the other three sides, place eyelets in the opposite side to the runner ( to peg into the ground ) and your ready to go. We made our own for about $45 and as you can see by the photos, it does the job beautifully. They are light to carry and easy to fit in a moment. Gives you just that little bit extra privacy.

Awning Flap Control Strapping.

An easy way to stop your awning from lifting above your annex walls and coming adrift from your annex wall clips is to hold it down with a piece of webbing ( seat belt material ). Attach some Velcro ( wonderful gear ) to the end of the webbing and wrap it around your awning stays ( see picture ). Cut the webbing to length and attach velcro to suit this end and tension. We have used this method for some time now and it certainly stops the flapping in strong winds.

Four Way Hatch Skylight.

If you have a four way hatch with a skylight in it you will have noticed that it can get quite warm after sitting in the sun. You can help keep your van cool by obtaining a piece of SMOKED PERSPEX (455mm x 440mm) and gently place it in the top part of your hatch.. Make sure that you remove it before you move the van. I have taken the photos with the perspex not fitted properly so as to show you the difference in shading. I obtained my piece from Menzel Plastics 8357 4111.

Refrigeration.

For all Caravan or Camping Refrigeration enquiries, Repairs or Installations check

www.caravanrefrigeration.com.au

or use our "Links" section. This webpage has many answers to all of your refrigeration problems.

Wagon Boot Storage Idea.

The first thing most caravanners want to do after setting up on site is to sit under their awning or shady tree and have a cuppa or a cold beer. Where are the table and seats? Under all the gear in the boot. A simple framework can be made from any scrap pieces of aluminium and a piece of plywood. As you can see in the pictures, place this in the boot and slide your table and chairs into it. All the rest of the camping gear ( BBQ, gas bottle etc ) can be placed around or on this framework.

Table & Chair Covers.

A simple set of portable table and chair covers can be made from any old blankets you have at home. They not only protect your chairs and table, but stop that annoying rattling.

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We will update this section with more tips regularly. If you wish to cantact us our email address is;               caravanning@hotmail.com