Reclassfied

Back in June I discussed the subject of having the van reclassified on the V5 from 'Panel Van' to 'Motor-Caravan'. The main advantage being that we can now legitimately travel at the the indicated speed limit for any given road, rather than having to reduce by 10mph - as explained here on the Department for Transport site.

So after writing a short letter to our local DVLA office in Leeds, along with some 'before, during and after' pictures of the conversion, we were then called to pay a visit to the local VOSA inspection site...

Thankfully this was merely a formality; a quick check to make sure the vehicle in the photographs was the same vehicle - they checked the chassis number, took one look at the rear seat:
"so that folds into a bed does it?"
"yes, do you want to see?"
"nah, it's okay..."
He took a quick look at the hob and sink, asked where the gas bottle was located, shuffled about a bit and said the paperwork will be through in a few weeks, no problems.

One further upshot is that we may be able to get cheaper insurance and will certainly be shopping around some specialist 'Motor Caravan' insurers when the time comes.

Which Winter Wheel?

It seems as soon as I finally get the BBS wheels fitted, its nearly time to take them off again. Here in North Yorkshire the council likes nothing more than to cover the roads in grit salt at the slightest mention of the word frost! And there's no way I'm letting that ruin my rims, so after the last couple of shows; Viking Fest in Northallerton and my local Bradford & District Show & Shine, the original steel wheels will be bolted back on.

But they need a bit of a tidy-up. So should I take the opportunity to do something a little different?

Here's the options:

Option 1: Standard wheels - repainted in silver

Option 2: Repainted in gloss Audi Nimbus grey

Option 3: Repainted in gloss Audi Nimbus grey with silver rim

Option 4: Go for a wildcard such as satin black with orange rim

So, it is over to you, what do think? Leave a comment and your option choice below.

Time to warm things up

As regular readers will know, I'm a big advocate for being as comfortable as possible whilst camping. Years of camping under canvas in the rain have taught me to keep things as dry and warm as possible - once you start to feel cold and damp it's already too late!

Camping in the depths of winter in the UK comes with some great perks -  the campsites are generally quieter, the scenery is as equally stunning as Summertime, Christmas shopping trips are cheaper than finding city hotels and, most importantly; it fights-off that 'hibernation' feeling when only camping from April to October.

So to complement the insulation work (one of the first jobs done on the van), time has come to think about comfortably camping in the van all-year-round.

After a few phone-calls, we made our first visit yesterday to Ribblesdale Auto Electrics in Preston to discuss the fitting of an Eberspacher Airtronic D2 kit.

The Airtronic seems to be the tried-and-tested route for heat in many motorhomes. Excellent quality, reliability, warranty, after-sales and service make this unit the obvious choice. Having seen a few of these already fitted to T5s we knew it could be done.

We chatted with Graham, a friendly and knowledgeable chap at Ribblesdale, who suggested the unit be fitted internally under the driver's seat - the advantages being that there is less ducting of hot air, therefore more efficient heat and the unit is sat 'upright' as oppose to on it's side when fitted under the vehicle (the unit can be side-mounted but again, doesn't run as efficiently), internally-mounted also has the advantage of keeping the heater itself clean and dry, away from the elements - potentially increasing the lifespan and lengthening service intervals.

So, we're booked in. For the end of October - they've said one full day for fitting and testing, but to be on the safe-side we're letting them have the van for two days. We've gone for the full package which includes a 7-day timer (just like your central heating at home) and an extra silencer so as not to annoy any neighbouring campers.

I'm so looking forward to reporting back after a toasty night away in the depths of Winter!

When is Stone Blue not Stone Blue?

I consider myself quite lucky to have found a secondhand van at the right spec and the right price in a colour that you don't see too often. Stone Blue (or SteinBlau to be Germanically precise) was an optional extra. It seems a little odd that the initial purchaser chose this option over quite a few, more practical offerings, such as electric windows or air-con for example.

I'm always happy when I see another Stone Blue T5 on the road (we've even waved at quite a few - with mixed reactions) so it was a great opportunity whilst in the car park at Vanfest to scout around for some fellow 'Stoners'.

It became immediately apparent that Volkswagen must have had a tough time when it came to mixing up a batch of Stone Blue paint as none of them seem to match. Ours seems quite 'grey' in comparison to others that seem to be a touch warmer - please tell me my (slightly colourblind) eyes don't deceive me and you too can spot the difference in the colours above...

Let me know if you're a fellow 'Stoner', maybe we should have a meet-up at a future show to see how much this colour fluctuates!

Cornwall in September

We're just back from a refreshing break in Cornwall. I love heading down there at the end of the school-holidays when there are fewer kids around, the roads are quieter and you can feel more like a local than a dreaded 'tourist'.

Staying on my all-time favourite campsite, Trewan Hall, we pretty much had the place to ourselves with it being the last week before they close for Winter.

Shortly after arrival we had some pretty grim weather; constant rain throughout the day, high winds at night, so the decision was made not to put the Kyham awning up and just live out of the van instead - something we would never have contemplated without the interior fitted!

We coped pretty well. Although having said that, we probably ate out more than we did cook in the van. Thankfully the weather cheered up for the remainder of the week and some proper chilling-out ensued. You can check out some of my snaps here on Flickr.