How to set up a Caravan on site
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ค. 2024
- Video of all steps needed to set up our Bailey twin axle caravan from parking all the way to switching the TV on.
Includes close up shots of.-
Parking hints
* Fitting ALKO wheel locks and levelling using Lock'n'Level system.
* Unhitching
* Steadies
* Filling water system (including Bailey onboard cold water tanks)
* Waste water and toilet setup.
* Gas and Electric hookup
Good video, common sense would suggest not to tow with the hitch lock on surely, i.e accident, fire, those wheel locks look secure and also look like a time consuming faf, lovely caravan and great car👍
Thanks Dave. Because several people have raised the point about the hitchlock I've looked into it quite thoroughly. It’s one of those things where the obvious reasons for not using the hitch lock whilst in transit make less sense when considered carefully. For example in the case of fire I’d rather have a hitch lock on and therefore deterring anyone to try and unhitch the van. In a case of fire the recommended advise is to get as far away as possible. In case of an accident a lot of people think the hitch lock will stop the van from detaching and thus flip the car. Hitches don’t work that way and so the lock will make no difference at all. I’ve triple checked with Alko who make both the lock and the caravan chassis, and they say it is safe and legal to travel with it on. (There are other designs which are not!!!!!) The club guidance is that it is recommended not to use it but only because it “may hinder police etc from moving the vehicle” which would be the case if you had pulled up and left the vehicle. Of course I totally respect any body’s decision to travel with or without it but according to all the it’s not the major safety issue that people suggest (according to ALKO etc). (And yes the ALKO locks are very much a love hate relationship but the lock-n-level system make it much easier on a twin axle.)
Hi Dave, relative to the water, do you ever use a fully serviced pitch? I have the type of caravan that you have, only a different model, and I also have the same onboard tank.
I wanted to introduce the capability of being able to use fully serviced pitches but am worried about the possible issues being connected to the mains, as in the pipework, my on board tank etc. I have read a lot of bad press relative to the whale system and it bothers me
I wondered if you had any advice on it.
Pete
Hi Pete, we have used fully serviced pitches a few times. I purchased a kit that fixes to the aqua roll.
This means that with the onboard tank, it is only half automated since when the onboard is low we have to run the external pump to refill it. But of course the aqua roll is then always full, so we don't have to go outside or take the aqua roll for a walk.
There are kits that connect the mains tap directly to the caravan. I haven't had a bad experience with these but just didn't like the idea of connecting a constant supply of mains pressure water (I believe they may actually lower pressure) to the van. If anything goes wrong, then the flooding would be pretty catastrophic.
Were the bad things you heard about whale purely related to the mains connectors?
@@DTSquared Hi Dave thanks for the reply, yes it was about the Whale equipment, in particular, the Aquasource one I think, a complete connect-up without a barrel, complaints were about low pressure, potential floods, by damaging pipework. What kit did you purchase? and I have inherited a Waterhog as opposed to an aqa-roll, I think its a 51litr its fairly big, will the same kit be suitable for that?
Hi good advice but I never travel with the hitch lock on as this will hamper any attempt to detach the caravan in an emergency
Hi Leigh, Fair point and I have heard this before though no no one has yet suggested an emergency situation where it would apply. The main thing to consider if you DON'T travel with the hitch lock in place is that your caravan insurance would be invalidated if the van is stolen from whilst parked hitched to the car and with the hitch lock is not in place. So anyone reading this must remember to re-attach the hitch lock whenever the van is left, for example at a service station for a loo break. P.S. A lot of commercial trailers (not HGV) actually have a locking mechanism built in so a key is always required to unhitch.
DTSquared hi totally agree I always use the lock and also a easy fit wheel lock if we stop at any services and leave unattended
Hi
What are you using to chock the wheels? Large yellow rectangle?
Thanks
The large yellow wedges are levelling ramps which you can buy from most caravan/camping stores (or Amazon) for about £25 to £50 depending on how fancy you want them. You are supposed to pull the van up them to level it. But with the "Lock'n'Level" airbag system we don't tend to use them anymore. But they are good to have around either to use as a chock (used in reverse) or to add height to the steadies if you are on a slope. If you are new to caravaning then definitively worth buying.
Good informative video..... However it's not recommend to use hitch locks whilst the caravan is under tow.... The only time I use a hitch lock whilst the car is hooked up is in a services......removed again before towing.....
Hi James, yes this has already been discussed in the comments below. There is a PDF on the caravan club sit which does as you say state that "for safety" the lock should not be used when in transit but does not give any specific reasons or examples why. The Alko site says that it can be used in transit. Also as mentioned previously a lot of commercial trailers have built in locks which lock automatically.
As previously mentioned in comments it is CRITICAL from an insurance perspective that the hitch lock is attached whenever the car+van is unattended. It is also legal to travel with it fitted. So if anyone reading this does decide to not fit the lock when travelling then they should religiously ensure that they fit and remove it every time they stop somewhere.
Good video, lovely caravan but so dangerous to drive with a hitch lock on 😬😬😬😬😬
Hi Vicki glad you liked the video. In terms of the locks you are correct in saying that SOME types of Hitchcock should not be used when travelling because they can interfere with the movement of the hitch. HOWEVER the lock in question is the ALKO lock (same company that make the caravan chassis) and they explicitly state that the lock IS safe to tow with. There are some recommendations about not having lock fitted but that is because it may inconvenience emergency services if they need to unhitch and didn’t have a key. So THIS LOCK is not a safety issue and not dangerous ( according to the leading manufacturer of uk caravan chassis).
Hope that helps
You made a good choice for a tow vehicle .......Shame about the caravan
lol . . LC is certainly reliable. Had a Swift van before which had it's own issues. Let me know if you find a perfect van :-)
What's wrong with the caravan? I've used bailey's caravans for 20+ years and they're solid vans