18 November 2024

Malibu Molly's First Overnight

When we picked up Malibu Molly (MM for short) of Tuesday we had already decided that we needed a trial run trip away to have a shake down.  

MM is a 6m campervan based around a Fiat Ducato van. Old Molly was a 7m coachbuilt motorhome.  It's amazing what that extra metre can do!  Size does in fact matter!

MM also has a fixed bed with lots of storage space underneath. There's also a removable floor that fits in so that instead of stacking stuff up we can fit storage boxes, if the are 20 litre sized (!),  under the floor and other more accessible stuff on the top.  The floor space is about 7ft by 4ft. All the boxes that used to fit under the bench seats in Molly fit nicely under this flooring.  I was going to take a photo but never got around to it, and oddly, none of the similar vans on the internet at dealers all across Europe actually have the floor and the brackets fitted.

There does seem to be a range of Malibu 600 vans.  Ours has the two portholes in the rear and many don't.  The interior can be different with a fridge mounted at the end of the sink/hob unit. Ours has a high level fridge between the bedroom and the dinette.

MM is the DB and comes with the transverse double bed. The LE model has two single beds that are lenghways in the bedroom area.

Anyway, the shake down trip was to see how we would cope in the smaller van. MM is fitted with an S7 rated tracker and a Cat.1 alarm.  The alarm was always going to be the one thing we had to remember how to use. Of course, of all the handover items, it's the one I forgot. 

It's easy to set from the standard Fiat key. Lock is a padlock. You can unlock the front doors separately from the side/back doors. It's a good idea to make sure the doors are closed properly before trying to lock it! The sliding hab door is a bugger to slam shut from inside! It's a case of pressing the button and then again and hopefully disabling the inside sensors.... 

We decided to stay local and chose the Black Horse Farm Caravan Club site at Hawkinge. It's about 10 miles from home.  Just far enough to be "away" from home and not have travelled far if it all went tits up.

We arrived after a quick stop at the Sainsbury's at Park Farm in Folkestone to get some snacks and stuff for lunch. Arriving well after the 1pm opening time we were greeted by the wardens who used to run the Daleacres site near home.  It was nice to catch up with them. We found out pitch after a drive around. I chose 78 as it was in the middle of a few empty pitches.  It seemed almost flat as well and so I wouldn't need to break out the levelling ramps, kindly left by the previous owner.

The darned electricity wouldn't work. So when we went up to the reception the tell them which pitch we had chosen we told them about it. When we got back I gave the breakers a wiggle and pressed the reset button and eventually it worked. I went back to tell them.  Later another van came onto pitch 80 and had the same problem.

we had a few walks with Reggie.  Tested the heating on electricity. I had already tested the gas to the fridge was working before we set off to get it cold. When driving the fridge runs on 12v electrics but all that does it maintain the temperature, so you need to get it cold. We use gas as we don't have a drive where we can connect to the mains electricity. On the site's EHU the fridge can run on electricity. 

We had a snug night.  The alarm only went off once when Claire tugged the hab door handle before I had unlocked it, so that proved it worked. It didn't go off inside after I locked it and did the second press to disable the interior sensors.  

There are a few things that we need to iron out before we go away on Saturday for our next trip. More on that later.

Incidentally, the Black Horse Farm site is really nice. The facilities are a little dated but they are warm and clean. There's a shop right across the road and a pub, the Black Horse, around 100 yards away. 

13 November 2024

Malibu Molly - First Trip

We had Slimming World this morning. Possibly the nerves and not sleeping contributed to the 1lb lost this week despite not really trying to lose weight!


Anyway, that's not what today's blog is all about.

Once back from SW we took the new mattress protector, sheets and pillows/cases across to MM. It's easier than Malibu Molly all the time!

Whilst out I took a few more pix.

Today's short trip was to the National Trust site at The White Cliffs above Dover.

When we were there in the car last week we noticed the car park along the cliff from the visitor centre is now for motorhomes. That's where we aimed for. 

When we arrived we were the first there, or rather the only ones... 

Instead of using the vans power I made coffee in a flask from the Tassimo.

A short walk along the cliffs and then back to the cafe and shop. Claire invested in some "cookies". They are really soft baked biscuits. We really wanted shortbread but they had run out. 

France is about 20 miles away and it used to be a source of amusement when mobile phones picked up French telecoms over ours. Today Claire's phone did and mine didn't... The giveaway was hers said it was 1638 at 1538 and we thought the cafe was closed. It wasn't.

I took a photo of the view out of the front window as we drank our coffee and munched our cookies.

We were joined by a Spanish registered Rapido A-Class on our right and a British old couple in a car ..  Maybe the signage needs improving?

A few other pix showing the location....

It's a nice parkup. Plenty of walks plus there are loos and the restaurant.

12 November 2024

Malibu Molly has arrived!

 



We arrived at Choose Leisure in Canterbury just before 10am ready to have the handover of the new to us 2020 Cathargo Malibu "Charming GT" 6m van based on a Fiat Ducato 2.3 litre diesel van.

The handover mileage was 7710 and I drove back the long way via Folkestone to avoid our narrow country lanes. 

A trip out later to fill the diesel tank meant Claire got her first go in Molly. We have kept the name but have added "Malibu" to the tags!!

To activate the Fuelly app needed a first full tank. It came with a third of a tank of fuel. So filled 7745 taking just over 60 litres.

Staycation 2024 - Chatsworth Christmas Market

If this sounds familiar to you, it's because we went in 2023.  We both love a Christmas Market and the one at Chatsworth House is pretty good. 

What clinched it for us is that we can stay at the Caravan & Motorhome Club campsite right alongside the Chatsworth Estate.  There's even a private entrance for campers to get into the deer park and walk around to the market.

This year we are going later in the run for the event than last year. 

Last year there had been a lot of rain and the river that runs past the campsite and the bottom of the estate had been flooded. By the time we arrived it had receded but a lot of the grass parking near the house, for day visitors, was still boggy.

Fingers crossed that this year it's not that bad. With global warming on the agenda all the time, maybe it will be 25 degrees centigrade and we can all wear t-shirts and shorts....  ;)

11 November 2024

Staycation Autumn 2024 - Suffolk

This will be the last staycation or possibly any trip in 2024.  From January 1st "staycation" as a title will be archived and replaced with "trip", after all, that's what they are!

This trip  will be to Suffolk to see Claire's family before Christmas. Once again we plan to stay at the Waterpump CL in Badingham. We have booked two nights there. It's still £20 a night with water and EHU.  

Sarah and her husband run a really nice 5-pitch site as a certificated location under the banner of the Caravan and Motorhome Club.

I expect we'll need to pack warm clothes and make sure the gas bottles are full for the heating and water!!!   

We are hoping to get across to the pub for lunch on one of the days we are there. They are dog friendly in one of the bars and so Reggie doesn't have to stay in the van on his own...

We were due to go at the end of August and I had to cancel as both sisters decided to have medical/dental problems!  Sarah is very understanding and we were able to re-book for this trip.





10 November 2024

Staycation Autumn 2024 - Black Horse Densole

The first of the new era staycations will be quite local at the Caravan and Motorhome Club site at Densole near Hawkinge in Kent!

Just one night and more will be revealed in a report about the trip.....

What could it be?

9 November 2024

Illegal Eagles 2025

Traditionally, the Illegal Eagles play Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall in February.  This year, or rather 2025, the date has been snaffled by the Marlowe in Canterbury.

So instead Folkestone with host them in July.  I have tickets bought early to get a decent central view.  This year we were to the side.



Trips 2025 - Van Love

At the moment whilst I think about the "die Burgenstrasse" Awaycation, I have seen a few events/shows/rallies to go to.

The first is Van Love 2025.  It's been on quite a few YouTube videos over the years.  Loads from the 2024 event.




It's held on the runway at Elvington Airfield. The airfield is usually the base for land speed record attempts due to the long runway.

So that's a weekend in July sorted.



P.S. Staycation has been archived and we'll use Trips for 2025...





7 November 2024

Awaycation Summer 2025

As soon as we were back from the trip to Spain and France it was time to start looking for somewhere to go for our early summer trip next year.


We have toured France and Spain a few times on the motorcycle, car and motorhome. 


I prefer Spain (cheaper cost of living and fuel!)  and Claire likes France.  She is pretty decent at speaking French whereas I last learned at school.  That was 51 years ago!


So my thoughts have turned to further east, and to Germany.  It's another country we have been to good number of times, but apart from wine festivals mostly driving through. 


In 1986 we went across Germany on the A3 through Austris to visit a friend in Brno and then onwards to Hungary for the FIM Rally. In the late 80's, before the Wall came down, I did a few trips to the Suzuki Owners Club Czech Centre "Invader Rally" on the bike and that meant either the A3 route to Nuremburg  or the A4 route via Dresden, both going via Prague. 


In the car the route has been one of the two, A3 or A4! In 1992 we went in the Fiat Panda to Brno in February.  I was made redundant from GrandMet just before Christmas and then had just finished a course in London to qualify to teach English as a Foreign Language but was struggling to get a job.  Language schools wanting recent graduates who they assumed would work for peanuts rather than a 36yo!  Who actually did work for peanuts.  We "did" the Eiffel Mountains and then the A3 route.


In 2011 we went in the car, a Peugeot 207CC, to visit my former colleagues from the Gimnazium in Zastavka u Brna. This time we went the A4 route, with a stop over at the youth hostel in Colditz Castle for a couple of nights to visit the museum. On the way back through Austria and into Bavaria we did part of the Romantic Route.


The last time was in 2022 when we once again went on the bikes to the SOC's "Invader Rally".  We did the Romantic Route on the way back from Fussen, and the Schwangau castles, to Rothenburg o.d. Tauber.


So where to this time?  Germany is on the cards. But the Castles Road or "die Burgenstraße".  


It's nigh on 500 miles from Mannheim to Bayreuth. I have downloaded the GPX files from the official site but need to find something to import them with, as MyRouteApp claims there are no waypoints!  I have the map (in English) and the "old timer guide (in German) to work my way through.



The route does pass through Rothenburg o.d. T and so that might be a good point to split off and have another look at the Romantic Route. Claire hasn't been to the Neuschwanstein castles and that might be a fitting end to the outward journey.


By then the "Molly" will have morphed into "Malibu Molly"! That change alone should make parking easier.  Once I have worked out a rough idea of stops I can start to get each day into MyRouteApp and then from there into the TomTom Camper Max.


There's plenty of time....


Scroll forward.

5 November 2024

"The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own satanic herd.”

"The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own satanic herd.” - Edmund Blackadder.

Mine is much smoother than that but sometimes the stress of simply making a change to the vehicle you own makes you feel like you are treading through a cowpat minefield.

Sorted today.  A total of 134 minutes of phone time! Luckily, my mobile contract has unlimited minutes....

Coming soon....