2020 season preparations...

It's been a long boring Winter, and what with the Covid-19 virus, an uncertain start to the year, but time to revisit our trusty Pegasus and get her ready for the caravanning season.

On first look, all appears well, but a peek in a few cupboards reveals a few black spots here and there, so the first thing to do is empty everything out, clean it all and repack carefully (The Caravan is loaded with as close to 650kg over each wheel, and 85kg on the tow hitch for better stability)


We now have a few mods to make holidays easier, such as plumbed in charging points for the Dyson, Apple Watches and iPhones, and the TV, including aerial, which saves getting wires in and out every time we pitch up, and a novel water system, which means we can safely plug our hose into a tap, if the site has one, and have everlasting running water! (If not we have 50 litres in containers, which is a bit of a drag at times)

Now the exterior: A bit Green here and there but after a good washdown, Polish and Diamond coat and it looks absolutely stunning! Far easier to do than the Boat was, and far shinier. Now the car looks scruffy, but thats a tomorrow job!

All systems appear to be OK, but we will be pitching up this weekend to test everything works before we go far from home!

A trial run...

Hitched up on the same day as we picked up the Pegasus, we headed off to Canterbury, as it was a mere 95 miles, and with a Camping and caravan club site booked up and paid for.

After a slight issue with the towbar wiring which neccesitated driving in daylight hours only, so not a big problem, we landed in Canterbury a couple of hours later, and used the motor mover to guider the Peg into position.

This was a succesful trip, proving the stability of the tow rig, and showing us what bits we required for the future (Step, USB plug etc...) and a chance to screw the number plate back on after it's sticky pads failed (Why oh Why do dealers stick them on?)

The best speed to travel on UK motorways is actually 56mph, in lane 1 with the HGV's. The maximum speed is 60mph whilst towing in the UK, and 4mph isn't going to get us there any quicker (Less than 10 minutes difference on a 2 hour drive) and it saves all the frustrating overtaking required to use the overtaking lane (lane 2) and upsetting all the nice people in normal cars who mainly want to do 75mph. It also saves a bit of fuel...

Fuel consumption averaged at 30mpg, which is less than I hoped for but apparently pretty normal for a 2.0 Diesel 4WD with a 1.4 tonne 'van.

We arrived home a couple of days later, after seeing a fair bit of Canterbury, which is highly recommended!

Quelle difference!

So whats changed since 1969?

Caravans still have evocotive, sometimes ridiculous names (They used to be called Musketeers, Majors, Glens, Eribas, Pioneers, Alpines and so on, staggeringly many of these names are still used!)

Many of the old manufacturers disappeared along with Riley, Wolseley and Humber who made the cars that frequently towed them, but lots are still recognisable, Sprite, Eriba and Ace for example, are very popular marques/models, although perhaops in different ownership, rather like Mini!

The entire fabric of the vehicle itself has changed, however.

1960's Caravans were built on a steel chassis, little more than a braked trailer, with a wooden superstructure clad in Aluminium, sporting mastic-sealed joints, which were prone to leakage, and thus internal damp and rot. Furniture was flimsy wooden frames, with foam cushions trimmed in nasty checked cloth, usually in some unappetising colour such as Mustard Yellow or
Turd Brown. None were stylish in any way.

2019 is incredibly different in some ways, with electronically stabilised alloy chassis, and heavily insulated but lightweight bodies equiped with insulated doors and extremely light but effective PVC double glazing. On a cold morning, the water is dripping down the outside of the windows!

Instead of a foot pumped cold water sink fed from a two gallon plastic container ('Whos turn is it to fill the tank!?) we enjoy electrically pumped hot and cold to the kitchen sink, vanity basin and walk in shower, complete with heated towel rail! Water can be fed from a plumped in hose on most sites, and the waste also plumbed in via an external hose if available...

Heating is either 12v/LPG Gas (car/leisure battery when in the wilderness) 240v (on sites) and refrigeration the same, with Solar power assistance in many units. Lighting isn't the fragile and feeble Gas mantles any more, but super-bright LED's to rival any showhome, and a single caravan may have strips, spots and ambient lighting, even plinth LEDs on recent models.

Sadly, weights have gone up a bit too, with a 1960's Sprite coming in at under 500kg, while a modern one is over twice that, but the towcars are way better, so this is of little realistic consequence. The end result is always worthwhile when you're on a muddy campsite in '60's Bude with the only source of warmth being a large, moist German Shepherd dog instead of an 'Alde' central heating system with several radiators!

While we look with fondness at vintage cars, motorcycles and caravans, they were all crap compared to even ten year old stuff.

Viva la revolutione! This is a Pegasus interior, huge seats, walk in shower, great galley and seperate dining area!

 

The end washroom offers a nice place to get dressed or shower, and has a silent flushing WC.

The dining table converts to a bunk bed, but we use it to enjoy the fruits of our hard labour in the lovely galley, often using locally sourced produce such as Welsh lamb, Somerset pork or French bread!










 Galley. Not quite a kitchen, but complete with decent oven, Hob, Microwave and grill for cooking, a Nespresso machine for top quality coffee and a sink, to clean up afterwards. The fridge has a crackiong freezer for Cocktail ice too....

The shower is pretty decent, and matches our home En-suite! Best used with plumbed in water supply rather than the 5 gallon on-board tank though!












We both love the lounge, which is airy and spacious, ever so comfortable and converts in 1 minute to a huge super-king sized bed which is as comfortable as a hotel room. It has blinds, curtains, flyscreens and a rooflight, so infinitely variable to suit the climate or mood, and plumbed in TV and HiFi.

Fifty years later, I feel I have recovered enough from the 1969 family holiday to venture forth once again, albeit in sunnier times and climes!

Caravan technology has moved on a lot in half a century, with almost everything on the market bristling with creature comforts such as Hot and Cold running water, Central heating, Double glazing and flushing loo, they are warm, extremely comfortable and a very pleasant place to be even when it does rain.

Cars too are very very different. A modern 1.0 litre supermini probably has more power than the Ford Zephyr 6 we used to have, with its 2.6 litre 6 cylinder engine, and so the options are highly promising for anybody wanting to dip their toes into towing.

We chose a Seat Ateca as our 'Tug' with all wheel drive and a 190hp TDi engine, not only plenty of power but good traction and stability too, all essential for our proposed travels around Europe. It's no coincidence the Ateca has won several Towcar of the year awards judging by our early forays around the South West.

On the towbar is our Bailey Pegasus 514, which weighs in at 1466kg fully laden, has an Al-Ko ATC stability system (anti-snake) which is also important as it's 24' long so probably could be the tail that wags the dog under some conditions!









On the roof are our Mountain bikes, so we can explore, and keep fit whilst sampling the local gastronomy, and in the boot, a 1.6 metre inflatable boat with a 4hp outboard so when we get to a nice beach, we can go and have some fun in the surf too.

Thats the plan, but will it work?

We are about to find out....

Where it all started...

The year was around 1969: I remember, as a child, being hustled into the rear bench seat of the family Zephyr 6, a huge red vinyl thing (the seat, not the Ford, which was Purbeck Grey!) with my three sisters, and told we were going to the seaside.

Inevitably I would lay along the rear parcel shelf away from the constant fighting and elbowing, while my father occasionally swore at other drivers while mother tutted as he taught me lots of 'new' words, and I always remember the weather would turn from fair to raining every time we arrived at what appeared to be a slightly moist, occasionally muddy field with our Caravan in tow.

I remember the car and caravan well, after spending what appeared to be days driving from Watford to Devon or Cornwall, I remember the solid click of the  foot operated headlamp dip switch, from the times it was my turn on the centre of the front bench seat, the strip speedometer and the column gear change which made no sense at all to a six year old.

I also remember the Sprite Musketeer
caravan, which had a 'step' in the roofline, promising something special within, and exposed gas cylinders on the front 'A' frame, not tucked away in lockers like modern ones.

Inside, even then, I realised the interior was a rather garishly trimmed affair made from what appeared to be modelling wood and old pub curtains. A single tap splurted cold water when you pressed the rubber floor pedal, the gas lights had magical 'mantles' which glowed between Blue and Orange whilst creating a dangerous but undoubdtedly rather evocative mood once nightime fell and the rain eventually stopped.

It was exciting, adventurous but ultimately a little bit shit, as we had no heating, TV or flushing toilet, it was crowded, flimsy and damp.

So why would anybody ever want to go away in a Caravan ever again!?