So it's been a little while.. not much has been going on. Except a lot of prep and messing about with the van, in the hopes our first delayed trip would be success. And it was! Thank the lord.
The van didn't miss a beat, it got us to Durdle Door and back without any worries at all. Which was a massive relief given how much I have spent on the van for both the conversion and to keep the engine running. It may have helped that I gave it a fresh service just before we left, new oil, filters and just a bit of lovin'.
It wasn't a long drive there, its only about 76 miles from Portsmouth apparently (according to google maps). But it takes a while, about an hour and a half of lovely motorway through the New Forest. It's actually quite simple, you just hit the M27 west, and just keep going until it merges into the A31, and then just follow that for ages, and turn left a bit!
When you arrive, you'll be met with the steepest and fairly narrow entrance ever (seems so in a van you haven't driven much anyway). We knew where to go as we had visited for the day before, so it wasn't too bad. Once we found reception we checked in, and were greeted with lovely people and smiles. They gave us a little map, drew on it where we were and where we needed to go, and then we were off.
They make you drive towards the day visitor car park, and then double back through a barrier that you need a code for, and then you just find your plot. Very easy as it happens as they are all signed, and hedged off. Each plot is private, having a hedge border fence. They are easily mostly big enough to get at a push, 4 camper vans? inside them, so you could in theory have a great time with a few different parties together, in your own very little private plot.
Each plot comes with its own electric post, which is included in the cost of the stay, so no need to buy electric tokens or cards etc. We set up, plugged in and it was that simple.
The facilities aren't far away either, we were far enough away not to notice people coming and going all the time, but close enough it was never far for the loo! The facilities inside were very good, awesome in fact. Saying that, we haven't been anywhere else yet except for Comforts Farm in Cowes to compare it to. They easily win compared to Comforts Farm as everything was inside, the heating was on and they were kept very clean. Not that I'm saying Comforts Farm wasn't clean, they were and were lovely. But as it is a farm, the facilities are more of an outhouse affair, despite having electricity and good showers etc. Just no heating, but in summer you don't need that. Going back to Comforts Farm again this August - love the place, was such a good find for our first ever proper trip away.
Durdle Door is an interesting place to go to, the arch is iconic and the Jurassic Coast is an awesome place. If you walk East over the hill and back down it, you come to Lulworth Cove, which is equally as lovely, except this has a cafe called the Beach Shed Cafe. Local seafood is served here, the Whitebait, Plaice and Calamari is all excellent and recommended.
I did want to get my drone up for some awesome shots, but there are signs up saying no drones and no bbq's, which is a shame. Shame some people have to ruin it for everyone else.
BBQ's however are allowed on the touring site, but no fires. BBQ's must be off the ground, but the same applies wherever you go to be honest.
Would deffinetely recommend Durdle Door Holiday Park, for tourers, camper vans or even tents. If you have none of them, you can also rent pods in the same area. Take your kids!
As far as the maiden voyage for 2018 goes, this has been awesome and went very well. The Sheltapod went up a dream too and was a doddle to use, it lived up to its reputation, especially after receiving it and having to leave it in its bag for a few months. See below for the videos of setting up and packing away the Sheltapod, with a review to come soon after a few more uses.
Apparently a common problem with Renault Traffics, Nissan Primastars and Vauxhall Vicars is the EGR Valves. (These vans are all the same minus the badge). I found this out the hard way when the van turned itself off in a McDonalds drive thru. It was just like the key had been turned off. Embarrassingly, I had no choice but to knock on the window that I had just ordered from, as the lady had disappeared. Eventually three guys came and pushed me out, and then one guy came and handed me my order whilst I tried a few things I thought may be the problem and called the AA. Turns out the EGR was blocked and sticky. The AA man smacked the valve with the bottom of a can of Easy Start spray, sprayed some in whilst I turned the key, and she burst into life! After that I removed it and cleaned it, quite well I thought, but sadly to no avail. It stopped a few more times, and I saved myself by smacking it with a readily available hammer in the back. After some research it was decided it n...
So, the van we decided on. We went for a Renault Trafic, to keep size down and ease of parking up. As its also the first conversion, we decided on short wheel base and low roof. Keeping it basic, we decided we could also buy an awning type thing to extend our home from home by the side door. You'll have to excuse the bad picture, my car was the victim of number plate cloning recently and I'm not taking any chances now! It's a nice size van to begin with, assuming we get it right, then maybe that opens up to a larger van eventually. We paid £1150 for it, but with very little history for it. Only came with a few invoices etc. The biggest reason we bought it was because of the new clutch and reconditioned engine, both put in recently, and with paperwork to go with it. Because of this, the first thing I set about doing was to service it completely. New oil, new oil filter, new fuel filter, new air filter, new pollen filter. We then had to spend a little more money on ...
So the van is at last mostly complete! We have had our first few nights out, and she is very comfortable. We will deffinetly be buying a drive away awning though to enlarge our space and to ensure we don't get too stuffy inside in the summer.. We have some rough edges to tidy up such as the side of the table obviously, and some other holes in the chassis, the rear doors are still uncovered (might just be painted), and it needs a little more storage. We've got a load more of those little net compartments that are great for holding phones and nick backs, phone charger cables, battery isolator keys, etc etc. The table was made from a piece of kitchen work surface I found onsite where I work, and then a small wooden frame made with quite cheap wood from B&Q, as I didn't want anything too heavy. It has been screwed in so it doesn't move, but is easily removed to use the van as a van. Sadly I still haven't put enough into the van to be able to ta...
Each plot comes with its own electric post, which is included in the cost of the stay, so no need to buy electric tokens or cards etc. We set up, plugged in and it was that simple.
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