BOC BLOG: A day in the life of a technical officer...

'Plastic' Windows on Caravans and Motorhomes

Roadlight Checks

Recall of Calor Lite 6kg Cylinders

Summer is here at last!!!

Motorhome Radio Reception

Logging in to the BOC Website

The Process 

Open your ‘internet browser’ – Windows Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, whichever you use, and type in www.bessacarr-owners-club.org.

What you will see on the Home page is of interest to Members and non-Members alike and gives you an overview of Bessacarr Owners Club information and activity. However, to get the full benefit of BOC Membership, you should ‘log in’ to the Members' area and browse what is available.

You should have a username and password from when you first joined the Club, but if you don't have a record of it, or it does not seem to work, e-mail the Webmaster to check, and if necessary reset it. If you have just forgotten your password, you can click the 'Forgot password?' link under the login box, and the system will send you an e-mail with a reminder of it.

On the left hand panel of the Home page is a column and the fifth choice is ‘MEMBERS AREA’.  Click this box and you will be offered several more choices.  The first one is ‘LOGIN & PREVIEW’.  Click on this and at the top right hand side of the page will appear the ‘Username’ and ‘Password’ boxes.

Log in to the MEMBERS AREA and while you are there you may wish to click on ‘Update my profile’ and check that the information there is correct.

Caravan Movers - a Personal View

Having caravanned for many years now and become reasonably adept at reversing an outfit, I didn't feel any need for the new-fangled caravan movers when they were first introduced to market.  They were expensive, used up precious payload, reduced ground clearance and, if you were 12 Volting, used up equally precious battery power.  My first experience of seeing one in action was on a BOC Rally at Moreton-in Marsh when an outfit drove past my pitch, then a couple of minutes later the caravan rolled back on its own, seemingly out of control, which was immediately refuted by it executing a perfect turn into position onto the pitch next to me.

I soldiered on for years with the 'I can manage without one of those things' mentality, right up to the point when we changed our 9 year old Bessacarr for a new one in 2010.  Whilst we were reviewing what we should have fitted to the new 'van, my other half suggested I might want a caravan mover.  I queried why I would want 'one of those' to be told that a 10½ stone bloke with a bus pass shouldn't still be pushing 1½  ton caravans around.  I had to admit she had a point and so checked them all out at the NEC Show.  We had one fitted to our new 'van by Couplands...(and 2 out of 3 Bessacarr tourers supplied by Couplands now have motor movers fitted).

Having taken the plunge, I immediately started to reap the benefits.  Although quite capable of reversing the caravan into most places, I had to agree that it was more controlled and safer to do it with the mover, particularly when doing it without an assistant.  But gradually it dawned on me that the mover really was a game changer. 

Unhitching.  If you accept that the best way to fit the Al-ko Secure wheel-lock is to line it up by fine adjustment using the mover, then the first thing you do when you arrive at your pitch is to engage the mover (don't go near the handbrake yet).  If the overrun gaiter is compressed, then use the mover to de-compress it, so that the hitch head doesn't try and bury itself in the rear bumper when you unhitch!  Unclamp and drop the jockey wheel and then raise the nose to uncouple the 'van.  Complete all the disconnections then 'move' the 'van into position on the pitch (saves cutting up the grass verges with the towcar wheels).  Once clear of the towcar, drop the nose, but ensure the jockey wheel still has sufficient clearance to swivel the whole 360⁰.    If necessary, use the mover to climb up a ramp until the 'van is level side-to-side.  Finally, use the mover to line up the wheel- lock holes perfectly so that the bolt slides in easily, and assemble the rest of the lock.  Level the 'van front-to-back and drop the legs.  Chock the wheels if necessary.  Now apply the handbrake.  Disengage the mover and switch it off (putting the remote where you can find it again!).  All much less effort and quicker than the traditional tugging and heaving. 

Hitching Up. It is quite possible to hitch up 'manually', indeed most of us have done this over the years.  But again, it is much easier with a mover.  Just reverse the unhitching procedure (above) and you can be connected without any physical effort, without any near misses on that expensive rear bumper and your 'other half' can remain dry and unflustered!  Just remember to warn anyone still in the 'van before you start moving it.  Once again lower the nose (as described above) to reduce any shock to the A-Frame caused by the jockey wheel running into an obstacle.

And a Thought for Motorhomers.  What is there to stop manufacturers fitting a mover to the rear axle to give you temporary 4 wheel drive to be able to creep the few yards off a wet pitch onto the track?           

Solar Panels

The Problem of the Falling 'Fridge Shelf

The Thetford ’fridge fitted in recent (but not current) Bessacarrs has many good qualities.  But it also has a couple of bad habits!  One of its more irritating habits is that the upper shelf can come loose on tow, particularly if the ’fridge is only half filled.  This does no favours to the food on the shelf below!

I have raised this with Thetford staff on their stand at the Caravan Show in the past and they were evasive about the problem or any cure.  At the last NEC show (Oct 2012) I was unable to demonstrate the problem with the ’fridge on display.  So I took in my own shelf and compared it with the one on the stand.  It was fractionally less wide, so allowing the securing clip too much room to spin round at will.  They agreed to send me a replacement shelf.  I left details of my ’fridge (a photo of the data plate). 

 They sent me a shelf for the wrong ’fridge, which fitted perfectly but was too short front to back, so losing valuable storage space.  I rang the helpline who agreed it was the wrong shelf and said they would put the correct shelf in the post.  It arrived and had exactly the same problem as my original shelf – it wasn’t quite wide enough to keep the securing clip in place.  Having exhausted my options with Thetford, but now knowing the problem, I worked out how to cure it.

The Fix?

Bind a couple of turns of hygienic tape (Rescue Tape is ideal) around the rail at the left hand of the shelf, the rail that fits in the groove in the casing.  This will make the action of the securing clip on the right hand edge a little stiffer and it will now have an ‘over-centre’ action – just as it was always supposed to.  Use as few winds of tape as will achieve this effect – one may be enough. 

If you use too many turns, that might produce too much force on the internal ’fridge casing.  Better to ‘creep up’ on the ‘fix’ and keep adding turns until it feels right, than to over-do it and crack the casing. 

I carry some white Rescue Tape in my caravan tool box so if we meet up on a rally anytime, I would be happy to carry out this ‘fix’ for you.