Bought the caravan - lots of questions!

[MovingtoEssex]

I'd really appreciate some help with a few things. We've had a fab few days away, and a small amount of rain. It's a pretty small 4 berth and fits the 4 of us (me and 3 kids....and 2 dogs) really well.

Awnings - we don't need lots of extra space, but a small porch awning would be handy for keeping outside bits dry. Any recommendations? I saw the SunnCamp Swift 220 today that looks good. The caravan is at the lower end of the height range - will the awning then be weirdly low down? (The caravan came with a very old full size awning, but when we tested it out it was a dead weight and I think would be a massive hassle to use and store).

Spring/Summer/Autumn - do you just keep all of your stuff in the caravan?

Winter - what can I leave in during the winter? It will live on our drive. Do i need to hook up to the house electric and keep it heated (I can)?

Toilet - do you use the blue and pink stuff? I'd read bio washing tablets work well inside the waste holder and better for septic tanks. Does anyone do that?
When the van is back at home, do you just leave the dose of blue and water in the waste tank or do you clean it out fully? (Emptied before we left the campsite).

Shower - a design flaw, but there's a gap between the plastic bathroom floor and the door of about 1cm. The shower is a soak-the-whole-tiny-bathroom one (shower head is the sink tap). Just mop up any leaking water? Ordinarily we'd just use the site showers, but they were closed due to covid.

Thanks loads for your help, and for encouragement in my previous post. Despite being a seasoned camper and used to long drives I had a massive wobble before heading off last week and changed from a long distance 2 weeks away to a few days more locally. I loved it, towing was fine and can't wait to head off again now.

I have that awning and really like it. Very quick and simple to put up and has stood up in 60mph winds! I’m not sure what you mean by height range....aren’t caravans all the same height? I thought it was railing length not height you measured?

I use blue in the loo, but in sachets as I spilt the liquid everywhere. Some people use Persia/Aeriel pods I think. I did use pink in the flush but people said it causes black bits and isn’t good....I’m switching to fabric conditioner .

Always empty the loo before leaving site.

I keep everything in the caravan all year. I tend to put sleeping bags and pillows in giant bags where you squeeze the air out and seal them. I don’t heat the caravan over winter. You’ll probably want to charge your battery up every now and then. I’m going away next weekend and haven’t touched my battery in 18 months, I’m expecting it’ll be dead!

And join some of the caravan fb groups and ask on there about your shower issue....someone with the same caravan may have come up with an ingenious solution. In the mean time fold a towel there to soak the water up?

Shower
Try fitting a curtain behind the door to let the water run in to the shower tray
Storage
Just check for leaks on a regular basis, clean the roof etc and look for seal damage and reseal with Sika 512
Plug in at home monthly and just test everything leave the battery on charge overnight
Porch awnings are great for hang wet stuff in wells etc, we had an old Isabella one it was heavy but excellent quality.

Make sure all water is drained from the caravan over winter in case of freezing.

Oh and you must get a carbon monixide detector and ideally 2. I nearly died from carbon monxide in my caravan 3 years ago. New caravan, I thought the water heater was on electric and I'd put it on via the gas and not taken the cover off.

Woke up in the night to the alarm going off, thought it was faulty as I didn't think I had anything running on gas. Put it outside, went back to sleep. Got a new alarm in the morning. Had a nap as I felt dreadful and the new one went off!

I have the SunnCamp awning- 325 I think, as it is a big van. We are pleased with it as it gives us space to eat and leave shoes etc. Can’t face doing a full awning to be honest!

I use green in top and bottom of loo. Saves carrying 2 lots of chemicals. Smells like pine (sort of!).

Yes, I leave the stuff in the van, I can’t face loading up plates etc each time. My MIL was pleased to see that I was using her mum’s “vintage” cutlery in the caravan (she gave it to us for camping years ago) I like the idea of taking it with us as GMIL died about 10 years ago and it’s nice to use things of hers.

Thanks everyone.

Now I know why there is fabric conditioner in the tools/chemicals bucket! Will try that on the flush water.

Got rid of the big awning on facebook (freeing up a whole underseat storage box now filled with camping chairs), and will order that sunncamp porch. Thanks for the reassurance.

Now to find campsite space for last 10 days in August........argh!

First time owners here, only had one about six weeks.

We had a sunncamp 325 awning bought for us by a fellow van owner and it's great, really easy to set up. Nicely fits a Kampa table and chairs and a little fold out kitchen in. We got an awning carpet for £15 in Aldi which fits almost perfectly.

I bought a multi cooker from B&M for £24 to cook outside (in the awning) so the caravan doesn't stink and it's absolutely brilliant. Have done several fry ups, spag bol and pizza in it so far. Cleans really well and stores in its original box under a bed.

Leave your fridge open to stop it smelling if you are going to be parking up and not using it for a while. I also put kitchen roll in the freezer when I turn off the fridge after use.

We have been using pink and blue liquid. We haven't been draining the flush each time but always empty the cassette at the end of a trip.

We will be leaving everything in it though the winter, hopefully we might sneak a couple of trips in. The only things i'll take it bedding and towels to be washed, maybe mats but leave everything else.

We don't always have the loo empty btw as we use it en route on longer trips or if we have overnights.

We leave everything in if we are sure about damp, but might not have things pressing up to sides over winter.

We leave it on ehu on drive all winter although that is probsbly overkill. We would turn off the fridge in winter but not in summer as we are lazy. I even leave butter in the fridge in thr summer.

Older caravans can be lower btw, but it will just mean that the skirting pulls out a bit further. It won't be noticeable.

I love our caravan and am really struggling with such limited use this year. We clean it out at the end of the season and store sleeping bags, plates/cups, toiletries etc ready for the next outing, we have the full size awning due to the extra space it gives.

🙂 thanks!
Currently in Cumbria in the pouring rain, sitting all warm and dry with a cuppa at one end.
Kids playing monopoly at the other.
Dogs sleeping in between.
Caravan is tiny but I'm really appreciating the solid walls and comfort.
Bought the sunncamp porch - will put it up tomorrow at our final destination.