Stormy Weather Forecast

 

Last night we had a phone call from Joe (who we first met about 6 months ago at a Happy Hour session) to alert us to the forecast of stormy weather that was heading our way.

I think Joe was reminded of the incident of when our awning was partly blown over the top of our caravan. It was great to hear from him, especially as he reminded me that I could check the progress of the storm using the radar images provided by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

This particular storm was forecast to arrive in about an hour so we had to make the decision to leave the annexe up or take it down. Since we have the van sited so that the side of the van would be facing the wind, and experience at Christies Beach and McLaren Vale in strong winds showed that the annexe can take quite a battering, we decided to just batten down and ride out the storm.

That decision turned out to be right in this situation. All flaps were closed, the guy ropes and pegs checked to make sure that they were holding. The annexe door was zipped up. The annexe took all that the winds could throw at it, and held firm. The only adjustments that had to made today were to fix the awning ends back into the anti-flap devices, and tighten the guy ropes.

A quick look around the park last night saw everyone who had just an awning (no annexe), had rolled up their awnings. The only van that had an annexe erected, like us chose to leave it up, and they too did not seem to suffer any consequences from that decision.

It was, however, a little concerning to hear the sound of the canvas sides and the awning roof flapping in the strong winds, with the support poles creaking and groaning as the force of the wind battered the walls and roof. The occasional rocking of the van in the sudden gusts also did not fill us with confidence, but everything turned out fine.

Next time, we might make a different decision. Better to be safe than sorry. I guess it’s a matter of judging the circumstances, and not becoming over confident in what the van and annexe can take in the way of battering from stormy conditions, and taking note of the prevailing direction of the winds.

 

Preparing for windy conditions.

After what turned out to be the little incident with the awning that could have been a lot more drastic, it has come time to put up the annexe again.

The repairs have been carried out. That involved fixing and reinforcing the bracket where the awning arm became separated. Luckily there was no damage to the awning itself, or to the arms and anti-flap devices.

This time we are parked on a concrete slab, rather than the gravel or lawn which we will encounter in other parks. That gives us a solid base on which to park the caravan, and also firm footing in the annexe. The only problem is the slab is wider that the width of the caravan an annexe.

To be able to peg down the walls of the annexe would mean moving the caravan out and putting it back again but further over. And I am not going to do that.

The solution:

Do what many have done before, and drill some holes into the slab, fill with a plastic plugin and screw a hook for holding down the side walls. The slab has many little holes filled with small plastic plugs.

Actually my solution was to screw in an eye (not a hook) and connect it to the eye at the bottom of the wall with a small d-shackle. It makes a neat little alternative to a tent peg, even if I do say so myself.

Since putting up the annexe we have had one night with some strong winds, and everything held well. When it’s time to move on it just a matter of undoing the shackle, removing the eye, and packing them away for next time.

Back Home for Grey Nomad Times

This blog has returned to its original home, and a lot of changes have been made in the time it has been away.

As suggested by the title of this post, the major change has been moving in to the recently purchased caravan that will serve as our home for the next few months or years.

The house we owned at Laura sold without any hitches, and after a short period of renting a unit, we moved into our caravan just before Christmas, 2011.

We decided on a floor stock caravan that was as close as possible to the ideal layout for our purposes.

The choice of caravan was made on a day when we set out to look for a tow vehicle, and on the way we stopped to look at some second-hand caravans, before planning to check out some 4WD vehicles.

None of the second-hand vans were suitable so we took the fatal decision to look at the new ones. One, in particular, seemed to be just right after sitting around in it for a couple of hours, opening all of the cupboards and storage areas. The price was just within the budget, and being floor stock it was available immediately. This overcame the wait that is necessary for a completely new build, especially over the holiday period where manufacturers close down for a few weeks.

We still do not have that tow vehicle!

Handover.

After the usual 3 or days to organize finances, and for the caravan yard to detail it, the caravan was ready for handover. That is an intense orientation and introduction to all of the little details about how everything works. I meant to take detailed notes, but found that was not going to be as easy as expected, so it was a quick session of being shown where everything is and how all of the features work. These instructions were quite explicit, and I thought, pretty easy to follow. In any case there was a huge folder of manuals supplied to help with anything that I might have missed.

Well, that’s the theory. More on that later!

Setting Up For The First Time

Since we do not yet have a tow vehicle (one day I will get used to calling it a Tug!) we arranged for the caravan to be towed to our first port of call, the Lakeside Caravan Park at McLaren Vale.

Once on site, it was then a matter of unloading our faithful little Toyota Corolla and setting up with the first things to put in the caravan.

Then the task of erecting the annexe for the first time. That all went quite smoothly, and the extra covered area that the annexe provides is really appreciated at this stage while we base ourselves at Lakeside and become accustomed to the new lifestyle before heading out on the road in a few months.

Day one went relatively smoothly, with the caravan on site and the annexe set up. Things were looking good, and the weather was kind.

Day 2 was looking to be interesting with the family coming to visit and check out the caravan and the park.