On the Road Again!

Fack me! The wallet took a bashing a week ago with the services and checks and today it's another wallet smasher! Today it's taxing the vehicle.  I have done it for six months so that in September we can do the year and move it to a different time of the year to avoid this year's big bill!   There's not much we can do about the insurance as it will always need renewing on April 1st! As with all insurance it seems the UK motorist is being fleeced right, left and centre.  The renewal with Lexham had gone up around £100 over last year.  Last year they were the cheapest cover I could find for me with only one year's no claims in a motorhome.   The fact that I have over 20 years as a named driver on Claire's car, plus have ten years on my own cars, the Punto and Insignia, of accident and CLAIM free motoring has no effect.  It seems that two years without a single claim,  since I first insured Suki, has little or no effect either! Still, hopefully ...

A couple of weeks ago we had to go to Rye to JC Leisure to get them to look at the habitation door handle I broke. They have since sourced the part and it's booked in for this coming Tuesday. A little bit of pressure is off as the MRI scan appointment on the 8th means our Suffolking About trip is delayed. Q: So what's in the box? A: New mirrors. We have also got to replace the broken left mirror, don't ask, and our friend Matt kept on at us to get the Peugeot short arm mirrors instead of the long arm type traditionally fitted to motorhomes. He has them fitted on Suki. Yes. He bought our old motorhome! They work well. The short arm mirrors should make the overall width less. The downside is that the replacement mirrors come with the electric adjustment but the left one doesn't have the radio aerial. We found this on Suki when I broke that mirror!!!  I have checked a few forums and it seems transplanting the aerial from the broken mirror into the new one is do...

Yes. The day has come where Suki, our Elddis Majestic 115, has gone to the dealers in Rye for the last time in our ownership. Let's go back a few weeks .... ⏳ Suki was booked into have her annual service, MoT and habitation check. We had stripped everything out of her that might get in the way when the mechanics need to get into all the tight spaces to check the body for damp etc. Claire took a turn around the used and new vans on the kit and decided that we should see what trade-in we could get.... The figure was pretty decent. We could probably have got a bit more privately but would we have sold when we needed to. She also saw an Elddis Autoquest 175 on the lot. It's a 2019 model. So only 4 years old in June this year. The 175 is based around the Peugeot Boxer front end. This is the face lived version that was introduced in 2016. Where Suki is a Majestic model made for a dealer and comes with unique decals and a silver front cab, the Autoquest is plain white. ...

After packing the van in dribs and drabs over the last few days we were finally ready to leave at 11am.   Our destination was Fen Farm on East Mersea.    Paul worried me en route saying that we were on a grass pitch.  With all the rain we had been experiencing I had visions of us getting stuck on the pitch.  The campsite confirmed that the wardens would take care of us if there was a problem and tow us off if necessary.   We had a good run up to Essex.  Even the Dartford tunnel was kind to us.  We stopped at Thurrock services to let Reggie out for a pee and we had some coffee and cake!  We weren't in  too much of a hurry as we could not cross the causeway until the tide had gone down.  How exciting!   So a good run up to Mersea with the satnav taking us through Colchester.  Once on the island we headed for the Company Shed where I had high hopes of getting some nice fish.   We managed to park Suki ...

Today we picked up Suki from the storage and site so we can get her ready for the trip to Mersea Island in the week.  We drained off the water and I ran the pump to get some clean water through the waste water to flush that out too. It means we currently have no water onboard. We'll need to fill up or at least have some onboard when we set off on Wednesday.  So today, we took coffee made in the Bosch Tassimo machine in the Waitrose Travel Mugs and a hot cross bun each!  The drive was about 20 minutes to the parking at Dungeness.  We had a walk over as far as the  Polish Airman's Memorial .   We didn't go far as I started to get a migraine. This manifests itself with flashing/flickering in my eyes and a rather strange problem where I can't read and I can't remember words!  Back at the van I took a couple of  paracetamol as I didn't have any  migraleve  with me. We had our coffee and I went to have a look at the steam engine that had ...

After a trip to JC the other day we decided that we would trade Suki in for a newer and slightly larger model. Enter Molly. The price was right to make the deal. Molly is a 2019 Elddis Autoquest 175.  She is a little longer at 7.2m and comes with a larger lounge and a rear bathroom. What she didn't some with was solar panels on the roof and a reversing camera. We opted for both these to be added as the solar kit enables the leisure battery to charge when you aren't running the diesel engine. The reversing camera comes in handy when reversing!  Suki wasn't fitted with one but she had reversing sensors fitted to the read bumper area.  Although, when reversing, other than off the drive at home, I use my co-pilot to see where we are going and I generally do a manual check first. It seems that one of the questions asked by insurance companies is about whether one is fitted.  Of course, a year ago when we bought and insured Suki, no one said a damned thing. Some companies ...

It looks as though Suki, who has served us very well for the last year, is destined to be going to a new owner soon. After we get back from Staycation #2 next week she will be going to JC for the last time as our Moho. The 115 is a perfect "starter" motorhome for anyone looking to get into the #moho lifestyle. Or simply want to be able to pack up their things, their dog if they have one, and just go away.  We have successfully had trips to Devon for two weeks, to France for a fortnight and later in 2022, to Spain for three weeks. So what will replace her? All will be revealed. You may have noticed the blog name has changed..... 😉

 A collage created by Google Photos.

Today we wanted to get Suki out for a drive. Since we picked her up last week we have been to get LPG from Dover and then up to the White Cliffs to walk Reggie and get a coffee. So today. It was Sissinghurst Castle Garden.  It's not all that far away but gave us a chance to give Suki a run out to get some miles under the wheels. I have a new Ohrex satnav they sent me as the last two have gone up the swanee!  So I have to set it up. It's still pretty poor locating places based on address or postcode. But Sissinghurst was easy enough to find from the map! The run over was okay. No roads too narrow or low bridges, then  again, it took us the way we always go!! We parked in the coach parking area, it's where over the years there have been moho's and campers park. There's not much to be seen in the garden. The crocuses are out and the daffs are just appearing. After a walk around the small lake we went back. Got a coffee and then had that sitting in the van as we ate the...

Saturday Whilst Claire was cleaning Suki she found a table mat that looked like it had been chewed, and what looked like a mouse turd. PANIC! Not good. We checked all the soft furnishings for mouse infestation and found none. The vents in the floor around the gas and electricity inputs are all wired and covered with a plastic cover.  We left a piece of biscuit on Reggie's food mat to see if it attracted the mouse. Nothing. Something to mention as they do the hab check next week. Whilst they are checking for damp etc! 🐭 The other job was to fill the fresh tank and add the purifying stuff. Easier said than done! The funnel we had wasn't long enough or the right shape! We ended up using an ornamental watering can! Next job to empty the tank and then refill twice. Each time draining and flushing with fresh water. So far we have managed to fill the tank to the top, add the Puriclean, and let it rest. Sunday Drained the tank off and it took ages to empty.  Next time I will run a st...

This is the trip we have planned for June. We decided to go earlier this year so that the end of the holiday should be over before the French school holidays begin.  It's not that I have anything against the French per se, it's just that once they get to a holiday campsite, the inner problem child escapes. Last year we had a quietish holiday until the last longer stay at a campsite near a beach on the Atlantic coast.  Once the families arrived, and I mean families, it was bedlam.  Everyone from Grandad to tiny kids seemed to think that despite being allocated their own pitch to put their tent or their caravan, that walking across my little piece of holiday heaven was okay. Once they had fallen over the bright orange guy ropes to our wind-break a few times it was becoming a joke. We use the wind-break to of course break the wind that comes off the sea or perhaps from the other direction, but also to save Reggie having to see passing mutts and bark at them.  Having nei...

Today we had a run to Rye to pickup Suki from storage to bring her home.  It's a bit early for our trip next week but we have a few things to do. We have to clean and purify the fresh water tank. I have a neutral chemical to do that. So today the drive to Rye took about 50 minutes. We discussed the problem we are having with the replacement left side mirror. The original was broken when we hit a piece of wood jutting out of a hedge. That was three days before we went to France last June. The cheap replacement works but there is a problem with the indicator when turning left. The system comes up with an error. The mirror indicator does flash okay though. Hopefully they will have better luck than us in getting a genuine Peugeot version. Amazingly after about a month or six weeks since she was parked up after the warranty work had been done on the leaky kitchen tap, she started first time. I had taken the dbPower unit with me to give the battery a boost if needed. She ran well after I...

What's the difference between a Staycation and an Awaycation?  Staycations are in the UK. Awaycations aren't. I have already blogged these on Travellerspoint and so here are the links.  They should open in a new window. https://invictamoto.travellerspoint.com/354/ https://invictamoto.travellerspoint.com/366/ Awaycations to follow.....

So here we are.  The start of a new blog - The Motorhoming Devalls . First of all let's introduce ourselves.  We are Paul and Claire. We have other blogs but not together.  The blog is owned by the misspelled Eldiss115 and we both contribute. We bought Suki the Moho in March 2022. Messanges Plage - December 2022 We had been looking at the idea for a number of years and didn't think we could afford it. At least not as long as we had a mortgage on our bricks and mortar house.  With that finally paid off, it gave us a little extra in our banks at the end of each month. Claire retired from work a few weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. I continued to work from home after March 12th 2020, returning to my place of work in London just twice. Once to collect a new laptop and once to hand my laptop and other work owned stuff back to my boss!  That was two weeks before I retired on January 4th 2022. The pandemic brought many things into perspective. Just how easy i...

A few pounds spent on two purchases this week. Firstly, Puriclean. Odourless and tasteless water tank purifier for fresh water. Suki is fitted with a 100 litre fresh water tank and this should treat that. Second purchase is a gas sniffer. This is used to check for leaks in the LPG system in the van. Not a legal requirement but handy to have after the gas gas been used and after a fill-up.

Claire has been looking at these for a while and so we bought some from CarSeatCovers-UK on eBay.  Some idiot though didn't read the advert properly and ordered two. When two pairs arrived today I was nonplussed. Checking the order I saw I had clicked two, that's right, but each one was a pair!  DOH! I have emailed through eBay to admit we cocked up and asking for a refund if we send one pair back (at our expense) ASAP. Waiting for a reply....

 This is the latest purchase we have made for the van.  It is a versatile piece of cooking equipment that we can use on the gas or electric rings in the van.  It doesn't work on induction cookers.

The longest day in the van for a long while if not ever.  Google not totally accurate as the crossing from Calais to Dover was more like 22 miles and 95 minutes. But the road miles isn't too inaccurate.

For Suki. Not us. Replacing the one that I managed to lose when we were away recently. One second in my hand. Next gone. Went for brass this time! The Kettle. It seems this is the de-rigeur kettle to have. It comes in a variety of colours and Claire chose this green colour. I preferred a more restrained blue. The prices range from £20 to £38 for this size and a few pounds more for the 2.5 litre version. I bought this on eBay as local suppliers were around double the price. I do support local shops but not when they want double the money. The levellers we bought months ago didn't come with a bag. So I had to buy one.  The bag is supposed to fit the triples that we bought.  We won't find out any time soon as the bag is here and the levellers are with Suki in the storage unit.

Owning a motorhome is a costly business. On top of the  costs of buying one, running it (fuel, insurance, road tax) there is having somewhere to store it. Suki has just gone to secure storage at JC where we bought it in April. Whilst there there are a few jobs that need to be looked at in the workshop.  A leaking tap and a problem we had with the EHU needed fixing.