Beginners....she's at her new home

Monday, May 14, 2012 at 23:30

Member - Arsenal Phill

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Well the towing aspect that I was worried about was actually a breeze. It was nothing like what I had expected. When I gave her that first tug out of the dealership I was expecting a bit of a strain, but the Cruiser just rolled on and I almost had to check the mirrors to make sure the van was attached.

The guys at Perth RV were great. Nick was in charge of handover and he was superb with his explainations and demostrations. He didn't rush us in anyway and we took everything in our stride.
The finishing of the van was excellent. It surpassed what we had been expecting in our minds eye. Everything was in working order and ready to go. We checked everything did what it was supposed to so think we pretty much covered our bases.

Once we got home we started to load her up with our regurlar camping gear and all the other little accesories that we had bought at this years caravan show. Tomorrow we will finish the job and the cherry on the cake will be when we go pick up my personal plate.

I think the hardest thing now is the wait. We won't be going on our first little jaunt until next Thursday week. It's going to seem like a lifetime. Oh well everything comes to he that waits!!!! LOL.

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Submitted: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 23:17

Member - Arsenal Phill commented:

Well its getting to feel like the night before Christmas. I am getting pretty restless. In my supreme wisdom, I decided to take tomorrow off. I thought that with the early start out on Thursday, I'd take the day to get those last minute things done and double check everything.

The last couple of evenings have been spent putting the knic-knacs in the van and putting in clothes the cupboards and draws. There really is ample space in this van for what we need and can't believe we still have some space left over. It's great. I have to be honest though. Although I am satisfied I've got all the kit we need in the van, I've gone through the shed and garage a couple of times to see if anything has been left out.

My very good mate and neighbour is a plumber. He has got me all the hoses and fittings we needed to make us fully operational. He is going to close the overflow pipes with a tap and check that the breather is fitted. He wanted to do it before we go away on Thursday but I told him that it wasn't important and that it could wait. Once again, and its my only complaint about Retreat, is that I am STILL waiting for a reply to correspondance regarding the issue I have with these open tanks. They want to clear all modifications otherwise the warrenty will be void. I won't get the pipes fitted with a tap until I here back. On past history this could be months or even never. They do come up with some strange excuses when they want to wriggle. I will wait till next week and get back onto them again.

Another stupid thing we've done that most of you experienced vanners will laugh at, is to make a departure checklist. Everything seems so simple just looking at it, but we are a bit nervous about missing something stupid when we hit the road. So, much as the airline pilots tick things off prior to take-off, we will be ticking our own departure checklist for the first few trips, until we are completely comfortable with what we are doing. I think because the set up of the van is so much easier and less hassle than the camper, it would be easier to overlook something.

That will do for this evening. The next input for my blog, hopefully will be from Hamlin Bay. We do have one stop on the way. We are calling in at Bunbury as my other half's sister has a curtain shop there. She is going to do some measuring up for us and fitting the curtains. She that must be obeyed has already chosen the material so it should be a quick and painless exercise. I just hope that I can find somewhere to stop without any problems.
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Submitted: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 21:13

Member - Arsenal Phill commented:

It has been a very satisfying day. Started by getting paperwork finished thus enabling me to relax and enjoy the next few days off. Then it was out the front to clean and wax the Cruiser before it got to warm. I have always waited for the sun to pass over and clean her at the end of the day, in the shade, so it was kind of novel today doing it in the morning.

Once that was done I headed out for supplies. Just needed to pick up some fresh meat and veg to get us through the weekend. I put the fridge/freezer on first thing and left the van to be powered by the solar. There was no drain on the batteries at all and the meter was showing a happy 14.2amp. I put some beers and some Turkeys in at lunchtime and they were all beautifully cold by late afternoon. Very pleasing!!!

I had one business errand to sort out mid afternoon which involved dashing out. Once this was done though, it enabled me to finally hook up the van and attach the WDH. I also put on the towing mirrors and did my light check. All of this was effortless, and didn't take too long at all. The only thing left to do in the morning is finely tune the mirrors and tighten up the actual lenses, as I found that the did move when I towed her home for the first time.


The other half was at work, so I did everything on my own and found the check list we did for departure very helpful. So maybe it wasn't such a waste of time or a thing to be ridiculed by, after all !!! LOL

Will let you know how the drive down was tomorrow, or whenever I am nexxt able to log on.
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