All set to get out on the road? Before you head off from home or leave your campsite, make sure you’ve checked the essentials, says Sammy Faircloth
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With the summer holidays now very much upon us, we all just want to jump into our ’vans and head for far-flung places.
However, before we do, there are important checks to carry out, to be prepared for the journey ahead.
I like to use checklists to keep things organised. When starting out for the first time with a new motorhome, or getting ready for the first trip of the year, a checklist reassures you that you have not forgotten anything (1). Key items in your checklist are:
GAS
Before leaving home or a campsite, it is imperative to turn off the gas at source (2). I use the phrase ‘Righty tighty (closed), lefty loosey (open)’ to remind me which way to turn the valve.
The gas cylinders must be strapped upright inside the gas locker (3), never left loose inside the vehicle.
Some motorhomes are fitted with portable cylinders, while others have permanently installed cylinders, such as Gaslow, which can be filled at any service station selling LPG.
Before setting off on your journey, check that there’s plenty of gas in the cylinder. The last thing you want is to turn up on site late at night, only to find there is no gas.
Assessing the amount of gas in a cylinder can be quite tricky, but there are some retrofit devices that indicate the bottle’s ‘fill level’, such as Truma’s LevelControl (4). This attaches to the base of the cylinder with an integrated magnet and using ultrasound, relays data to the Truma iNet Box, which in turn sends information to your phone or tablet by Bluetooth or SMS.
If the gas is a little low, check if the campsite sells gas, or where the nearest supplier will be while you are there.
Most countries in Europe tend to use Campingaz rather than Calor Gas, so you won’t be able to swap your Calor Gas bottle abroad. When we travel overseas, we take one Calor Gas bottle and a spare Campingaz bottle, just in case we run out (5).
There are two types of gas on the market – propane (red bottle) and butane (blue bottle). Butane does not work as well in colder temperatures, so if your destination is likely to have temperatures that will fall below freezing, opt for propane.
ELECTRICS
Don’t forget t
