Category Archives: Public

Anyone can see these items

Cooking – Courgette Provençale

One pan, slow simmer as you enjoy the countryside or even just a glass of wine

Ingredients – serves 2-4

2 Courgettes of about 10 inches long
A similar weight of tomatoes
1 Onion
A small punnet of mushrooms
3 good sized garlic cloves
Passatta sauce or tomato puree (optional)
Some grated cheese (optional)
Herbs (optional)
Salt and pepper
Butter or olive oil

Heat the butter or olive oil in a frying pan or good sized saucepan and fry the onions and the garlic for 3 to 5 minutes. Once well under way and smelling wonderful, add the other ingredients except the cheese and simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Bring the heat down and continue mellowing the flavours for at least another 10 minutes but if you are low on time just simmer for longer! Once nearly ready to serve, add the grated cheese and stir in until it melts.

Serve with crusty bread or as a side dish to a BBQ. And a glass of wine of course!

Member’s Motor – John “Undie” Underwood and LottyAnne

John “Undie” Underwood did his own front end restoration – Part 1

For those who don’t know us, this is LottyAnne a 1976 Devon conversion late bay. We bought her 7 yrs ago as a running wreck, but after a clean up and engine renovation she runs like a dream, but like most buses of this age other work is needed, looks are deceiving!

So the time has come to bite the bullet and take on what I have been delaying for a while, the front end replacement. From the lower windscreen down to the deformation panel, new windscreen rubber and a few other bits along the way.

First thing was to remove all the ancillaries, lights, grill, indicator units and bumper. Bumper and grill were taken away and sanded back to the bare metal and filled and primed and painted while the other work was being carried out.

Now that everything is out and doors and windscreen (nerve racking moment to say the least!) have been removed we realised that the lower deformation panel was shot, so for an extra few pounds I bought a new one. The old one had to be cut off and the new one welded into place first for the main front panel to be removed, as we needed a datum point from which to work from for the new front panel to sit back in place correctly.

Cutting into the main panel was nerve racking but YouTube and the Haynes manual helped no end, especially around the grill area.

As you can see within the lower part of the internal main panel several holes were discovered, these were plated over seam sealed and Hammerited for protection. Now that we’re happy that everything is watertight the prep work and sanding down of the old panels could take place. This is probably the most important part as this determines whether the new panel fits snug or not.

With all happy the new front was positioned, and lower windscreen marked, cut and placed in position, so clamped and held we spot welded in place along the deformation panel, folded around the door pillars and tapped into place with a mallet and block of wood as to not distort the edge then welded the windscreen area. On sanding down we noticed the internal windscreen area had more holes, but instead of going for the expensive option of a new lower windscreen deformation panel we opted to plate the damaged areas, and again welded, seam sealed and painted.

Now that this was all done, we put the old windscreen in complete with the new rubber seal. It was so much easier with a bit of army rope, fairy liquid and 3 of us to hold and gently push down, but this went really well, and we were very surprised at how easy it all went. (I was waiting for something to go wrong!)

The next club magazine is on its way – issue 191

The next edition of the club magazine has been finished by our Editors and looks fantastic. It should be arriving through your door soon! If you are enjoying the club magazine and have a story about a trip, an upgrade, a restoration or just a tip, send a contribution to our Editor at editor@vwt2oc.co.uk.

Inspect A Gadget – USB time!

USB gadgets

Most of us will have a USB socket in the camper van, but are you using it for more than just charging your phone?

Fan

An 8 inch fan powered on USB will keep you cool in summer and can be purchased for under £15. We have one similar to the one in the picture and it hangs neatly upside down from the roof aperture on the Dormobile.

Power pack

If you are charging your phone then going out, sometimes you need just that little bit extra. Or if you have no leisure battery and only use USB when driving to avoid flattening the starter battery, this is another option.

A Power bank is a battery with a USB or two to keep your mobile charged when away from a power source. You can also use it when outside to power the fan when sitting outside enjoying the warm weather. Power banks are readily available but be careful buying the really cheap ones – they are often very small capacity. Look for at least 10000mAh (milli amp hours) and avoid anything with claims of more than 100,000mAh – they are not that powerful! Expect to pay around £20.

If you own an iPhone, you do not need to buy a battery pack that says that it is suitable for an iPhone. They are all USB and they all work fine!

Toothbrush charger

We used to take out bulky toothbrush charger with the 2 pin shaver plug and the 3 pin converter. Then every few days whilst at a camp site with a shower (we cannot go too long without a proper shower and have not invested in the Karcher portable shower as featured last issue), we were plugging that into the socket in the shower blocks! Then we discovered the joys of USB. Now we charge when we want, in the van and the charger is a lot smaller – every little helps! These can be purchased online for under £5 and now we have the big one at home and the little one permanently on board!

WARNING – if you have the 240-volt charger for a toothbrush, do not use it with an inverter on your vehicle. The electronics in the charger will flatten your battery.

Voltmeter

Upgrade your USB socket! Whether you have 1 or 2 USB sockets in the standard round hole, replacing it with a built-in voltmeter will give you easy access to check the charge level of your battery. Available for about £5, there are 2 pins on the back that you can pull the cables off the existing one and replace with a new one. Or supplement a new pair! You can never have enough USB sockets – we have 1 in the front, 2 by the sliding door and 2 each above where we sleep (charge the phone and run the fan at the same time!). Available for about £7 each which is almost the same price as buying a pair of USB sockets without the voltmeter.

Just be wary of buying a really bright voltmeter and fitting it right where you sleep! They can be very bright!

Time for bed!

As the long season comes to an end and following on from the recent winterizing post, some owners may elect to cover their pride and joy with a cover.

Please. Pretty please. Pretty please with little chrome covers on. Don’t cover your expensive paint work with a tarpaulin that will get condensation inside it, press that moisture onto your bodywork and accelerate the attack on the paint and the metal underneath.

If you don’t have access to a garage or a car port that will keep most of the weather off, try to invest in a good breathable cover. Get the right one for your vehicle and make sure that the material is not flapping around, abrading where it touches.

Ideally park on hard ground that will not have standing water. Parking on grass at the bottom of the field will collect water underneath which will evaporate upwards into your van and its little cover. A breathable cover will let some or most of that collected moisture out but ideally you should remove the cover over winter every month to let things properly dry out and then put it all back to bed once more.

If possible, get a cover with straps that go under the vehicle from side to side, so that the wind cannot lift the cover off the vehicle. It is disheartening to get home from work in the dark and find your expensive van exposed to the elements and a wet cover wrapped across your hedge.

For those of you lucky enough to have a garage, a dust cover is optional but again, think about the possibility of trapped moisture pressing against the bodywork. Does a quick dusting or a nice spring time wash and wax give more benefit than the winter cover?

Got to dash, I think my van might be snoring.

Another one in the bag – Busfest 2024

Our key show of the year. 100 member vehicles, 6,000 vehicles at the event, 6,000 people through the gates each day. Stands selling everything and music all weekend. Except in our nice, quiet field at night!!

BBQ on the Friday free for club members, the same on Saturday. Coffee morning (with cake!) on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

We had prizes for the furthest travelled (won by 5 metres by Birko who came all the way from Germany over 400 miles for the weekend in convoy with his daughter Lena who narrowly missed out!) and “Best van”. This one went to new member Phil Allmark with his unique Bay window pick up.

Winterizing your vehicle

Yes, it is that time again, winter is very much heading our way. For anyone with a vehicle, VW or not (apparently other vehicles are available!), winter in the UK is the worst time for metal on the roads.

Some suggestions:

Inside

Water

If you have anything containing water, drain it all out. Water tanks, boilers, kettles. Don’t just empty the tank, drain the whole system including the pipes. Remember that water in pipes still expands when it freezes, not just in the tank. It also goes stale after a period of standing. If possible take the tank indoors to keep it above freezing and/or clean it thoroughly.

We use a mild Milton solution to thoroughly clean ours including the impeller that sits in our tank and its associated pipe and electric cable. Then we rinse everything and air dry it all. Other options are available too!

Power

Leisure batteries like ambient temperatures and extreme cold will reduce their operational life. Keep them above freezing by removing them and keeping them in the garage or similar. Remember to keep the electrical contacts in the van safely insulated if applicable.

Keep those batteries charged using a trickle charger that is fit for purpose, which will also prolong their life.

Gas

Butane or propane tanks and bottles should be removed from your vehicle and stored safely with their openings closed properly – don’t leave the regulator open relying on the gas tap on the cooker as these can fail. Now is a good time to weigh them against their empty counterparts to know when you need to change them!

Boring cleaning

Now that you have opened up your van, removed the relevant tanks and bottles, you can get all misty eyed and miss the peace and tranquility of your van by getting in there and cleaning it all. It gives you a great sense of personal achievement as well as going into the winter with a nicely clean kitchen area, the fridge has been bleached and rinsed, and if applicable the bathroom, the shower and maybe the hot tub are all clean. Leave internal doors slightly ajar to keep mould and mildew at bay.

Soft furnishings

If possible, remove curtains, bedding, that emergency woollen blanket from Granny and take them indoors for a good wash or airing.

Ingress

Don’t be tempted to leave doors open or windows more than cracked open. All sorts of miscreants can get in and eat your lovely interior.

Outside

If possible store your vehicle in a garage. If that is not possible, a car port will do a similar job. A breathable cover can be good but make sure it is listed as fully breathable otherwise moist air gets under the cover, rises when things warm up and the vehicle will get wet, holding that wet against the bodywork. Avoid a heavy cover for sure!

Tyres

Tyres degrade from extreme temperatures and long periods of standing still. Winter does that very well! Inspect the tyres, check the pressures and consider putting the van on axle stands if you are not using it for a very long time, taking the wheels into the garage or shed. It also makes theft more difficult!

Moving parts

Lubricate everything. Hinges, moving parts, sliders, mechanical parts. Check the oil level. Use the right lubricant for the part in question. It will pay dividends next year and will keep water away, which is good for the life of the part.

Boring cleaning

Again, give the outside of your vehicle a proper clean, ideally by hand. Dry fully including the fiddly bits inside doors and between panels. Give it all a good quality wax polish. This also keeps water away and prolongs the panels and parts. It also makes you happy as you pass over the cold season when you don’t want to be away.

Underneath

If you are an advocate of underseal and waxoil, get the old visible stuff removed and apply new underseal to dry clean parts. The jury seems out on the benefits of underseal against the downside of it trapping moisture but waxoil or similar applied hot into cavities must be better than not applying it?

Engine

Some texts state to start your engine once a month and run it on idle for 30 minutes. More than that is not necessary and I don’t touch our air cooled engine at all.

An oil change just before the winter alongside a fuel-storage additive in the fuel tank if you like that sort of thing.

Main battery

We leave the main battery connected and the solar panel bolted to the roof of a van in a car port for the leisure battery. If that was not the case, we would trickle charge the main battery once a month over the winter. Again, this just makes sure that you don’t degrade the battery and end up having to replace it all of the time.

Another one in the bag – RAF Odiham 2024

Wow, what a cracking event. 4 hours of Chinooks taking off, circling and landing, 2 hours of aircraft displays including 20 minutes from the Red Arrows and all from the comfort of a ring side seat. 10 of our vehicles attended with a pub dinner before and after.

An air show unlike most public events and free of charge for our club members.

Photos by Brian Coles and David Eaton amongst others.

Member Report – Bill Jowett

My first trip to Ireland

(or “What I did on my holiday”)

Friday

Well I guess this is, firstly, a lesson in being prepared! I left sunny Surrey one Friday afternoon and made my way to the M25 where I was able to enjoy looking at the back of a lorry for a couple of hours as I was travelling 5 junctions!! but, hey ho though ‘tis but the M25, the M4 will be much easier. It is only 2pm after all.

Sadly, the M4 was not going to be nice to me either! I travelled easily down to junction 16 only for signs to light up “J18 SEVERE DELAYS”. Now, I happen to know some of the back roads (A & B roads) between there and Bristol, some of which are particularly lovely (no photos as I was driving by myself, you’ll here that lot in this story!). Instead, I took myself off through some lovely Wiltshire villages, crossing the M4 several times and seeing it stationary. I prided my self for moving at a nice pace, not admiring the back of an Amazon lorry! Of course this still left the M32/M5/M48 section, but I had missed loads of standing traffic!

Alas and alack, I had forgotten the Carn Gals tunnels, but at least I was nearly in Swansea a mere 60 miles to go. Swelling with pride I decided to fuel up at Cardiff Gate. Well, some of you might have read about my breakdown and recovery at the pump? I may have had a hot start failure! I finally got to Swansea and was able to enjoy a pint at 9pm. 8 ½ hours after starting off!!! Let us see if tomorrow goes better!!!

Saturday

So here we are! Clare fully loaded and ready to go (yay!) NOPE! The unnamed brother is about to tell me that he can’t afford the trip! (ok, he’s still alive but only just!!) So what do I do? As he’s been brewing for a fight all morning, because he’s not sure how to tell me, I’m now having this adventure by myself! Selfish? Maybe, but better than rowing all the way! So far from a good start to the day!

Now, here is an important message to learn from the Internet, I searched for ferries only from Fishguard to Rosslare. The booking mechanism booked me from Pembroke!! Did I check? Well that’ll be resounding “No” then! Anyway nice, but rainy, trip to Fishguard. I arrive 2 hours early and drive up to the gate.

“Sorry, mate you reg isn’t recognised”

I stop at the gate only to be told this by the staff! No panic, I get the paperwork, some cameras can’t read black and silver plates. The chap looks at my papers and declares “Wrong port, you should be in Pembroke!”

Well that’s ok 2 hours to do a 40 mile journey, hang on why is this guy getting out the car next to me? He seems very concerned about something, has he done the same thing? Ha, ha, ha! “Do you know your rear tire is flat?” No of course not!! What???? I filled up 300 yards down the road, I’d have noticed if I’d been driving on the rim! I literally must have done it as I stopped! OK! Now is the time to panic! Is my spare ok? Have I got the tools to change it!! AA again?

Quick tip people! Always chock the wheels that are going to remain on the ground, you may not notice but you could be on a slight slope! Chocks applied to front and rear wheels that’ll stay on the ground, jack grabbed from under the passenger seat and….. Oh, no! How to get the hub caps off!? Thank fully the staff nip off to get a flat head screwdriver.

20 minutes after hearing those fateful words “You’re in the wrong place” I’m ready to get back on the road! (Is that 3 things, I hope that’s 3 things? It is, isn’t it? Oh, please let that be 3 things). The wind is picking up as I make my way back to Pembroke Dock and I’m hearing on the radio that a named storm is on it’s way! Oh my, is this the start of another 3? Things are starting to look better it’s 1:35 and I’m arriving at the ferry port only a few cars and vans in front of me. Great I’ll be on first and away early!!

No such luck! There has been a hold up coming from the west, so once again the wrong port malarkey was a blessing in disguise! The sudden arrival of all the vehicles has caused a blockage on the roads near the hospital so, rightly, they have to clear them before we can start boarding, but finally we get under way and Ireland awaits!!

If anyone wants to hear more I’ll be sending the further adventures in time for the next mag!!

Another one in the bag – Classic Cars at Holly House 2024

Colin invited us to “camp in his back garden” last year, so we did. He had parking for the public plus enough room for 232 classic cars. This is the 5th annual event that has run here and he has asked us to return again next year.

It was a lovely chilled out weekend.

Photos by David Eaton and others.