The GrovesMobile has arrived at last!!
On Thursday last week we drove up to Dereham in Norfolk to collect our new bailey Senator Louisiana Caravan.
The hand-over took almost three hours as there quite a lot to learn about setting up all the equipment etc. As it was quite late after the hand-over and that we had booked the Caravan for a security system to be fitted the next morning approx 20 miles away we had decided to stay overnight at Barnham Broom Golf Club. A nice dinner to celebrate and early to bed.
The next morning we got up bright and early to collect the van only to find they had lost the keys, what a great start. However one hour later we left Dereham and very gingerly drove down some dual carriageway en-route to a place called Downham Market, a small but interesting little town. The security Company facility was not easy to get in to and as I was not yet fully experienced in backing this large monster back around a 90 degree bend we did cause a minor traffic jam, well minor to us living in Surrey. Anyway we got it back down the driveway and we left the van for three hours whilst they fitted the GPS tracking system. This works on the principal that if the van moves without us doing it, police, army and helicopters and parts of the European defence descend en-mass to stop them. Or so the say in the advertising booklet. let us see.
Then off to the Fakenham Camping Club site where we arrived at mid-afternoon and then we had to start working where all the plugs and pipes and bit's of metal go. We now have three security systems on the van, insurers require, and hopefully it should be safe.Three hours later after reading multiple handbooks and trying things out, we now had electricity, gas and water all up and running, but no food for dinner. So we went to the Club site restaurant for a hard earned meal and glass of wine. The bed is a little bit smaller than out king size at home but is very comfortable.
On Saturday morning we spent more time playing with our new toy and we need to buy a torque wrench to be able to check the caravan wheel nuts. No luck locally and after phoning our daughter at home to get on the Internet we went of to Halfords at Kings Lynn. We bought the appropriate equipment only to find when we got back that it did not fit. Will have to go to Halfords in Weybridge to sort this out. what a pain. Dinner in the Caravan Saturday night , a nice salad followed by a walk around Fakenham town.
Sunday morning saw us towing the van on the 160 mile drive from Fakenham to Chertsey Caravan Site where we are to stay for a few days before putting the caravan in to storage. (This is unfortunate as we had planned to go away for a few weeks in France but Jennifer's dad is not well and so we are grounded for the time being). This caravan is a twin axle type and the wheel security system requires that you get both wheels in exactly the same place so that you can thread through the security bolt only during driving ,the wheels are taking difference routes, and so we can only align one wheel. It would appear that we have to jack the van side up to ensure that they are both the same, not a great idea but at least it helps stop people stealing it. When we parked the van on the site which has its own electric hook-up, fresh water supply and and waste outlets it well organised/
The washing facilities at this site are really very good even though we do use our on board bathroom.Early evening we headed back to our house in Weybridge, 10 minutes away to raid the fridge for food and booze as we had no time to shop. A nice evening checking over the instruction booklets before giving up and going to bed.
Well we have had a great time in the last few days, towing this monster was not that bad and the Land Cruiser is an ideal towing vehicle and just sits there and chugs away without any effort.
