November 17th 2019

[H] Our caravan is now up and running! It's had a full deep clean and Malcolm needed to 'fiddle' with the electrics to get that working, fix a leaking tap, buy and fit a new water supply connection into the side of the caravan (as the original one had been discontinued) and change the regulator so we could connect up a gas bottle to heat the hot water. But by far the biggest job was finding and solving a leak at the back of the caravan that had rotted much of the rear panel. We did eventually find the leak and have sealed that up. Then began the work of stripping out the rotten framework at the back of the van, replacing it with new timbers and insulation, making, painting and fitting a complete new window surround panel in the shower room and installing a new seal around the rear window opening. We can't get the built-in heater to work so we've just plugged in a small electric heater instead and that works fine.

The space is perfect for us as a site office/base and it's amazing how much you can fit in. We have a gas hob, oven and grill, fridge, kettle, toaster, microwave, sink with hot & cold running water, seating for up to 4 people, toilet, the shower cubicle is being used for hanging wet jackets and keeping buckets, brooms, etc. and we have enough storage space for food, pans, cleaning materials, vacuum cleaner, first aid kit, work boots, working clothes, extension leads, hard hats, gloves and a few everyday tools. Originally we didn't want a shower room as such (we were just looking at caravans with tiny toilets) but as it turns out having the more spacious shower room has been very handy - it's functioning as a utility room and changing room as well as being the toilet with wash basin. And we've converted the two side bunks into very useful storage space underneath with the upper bunk being our site office desk. All in all we're delighted with it!