Volkswagen Type 2 Owners Club – The VW club for all Type 2s!
Category Archives: T4
Always trying to stay ahead of the curve, the T4 used all the automotive design enhancements that had occurred in the last 10 years. The very essence of Volkswagen usability.
Join us for a full day of entertainment at Moorhampton Park Farm, the home of Gwatkin Cider in Herefordshire. Golden Valley Classic Show will be exhibiting hundreds of vehicles including classic cars, engines, motorbikes and tractors. Taking pride of place will be the John Fowler general purpose engine. VF 2984 – owned by David Williams.
There will also be falconry, archery, medieval re-enactment, farm animals, gun dog demonstration, clay pigeon shooting, dog trick training, tug of war and a range of country stalls selling produce, crafts and more, with lots of fantastic food and drink to enjoy too.
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.
Just a week away is the ABC, our annual AGM, BBQ and Club Camp – are you going?
Get together with members and hear what’s happening in your Club at our short AGM. The Barnstones site has served us really well over the last several years, and is located in Great Bourton, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX17 1QU, just a couple of miles off the M40.
Scene of our earliest club BBQs, which are free for members, we’re very much looking forward to going back. We will be using a local hall to host the AGM part of proceedings, along with light refreshments. Just bring your membership card with you.
Price per night is about £15 for a pitch (van with or without awning), but electric hook-up prices cannot be quoted at the moment, due to uncertainty in the market. I’ll share this information as soon as we have it, but please be reassured, we will be able to power the BBQ food storage safely.
I will be making all the bookings, just let me know your dates, how many adults, children and dogs, whether you need electric, and whether you’re bringing an awning. Places are limited so contact me soon to reserve your spot! Please do not book direct as there may be insufficient space on the rally field.
The site itself says, “Barnstones is a very attractive 4 star AA award winning site situated on the edge of the pretty village of Great Bourton. 3 miles from the historic town of Banbury, other attractions nearby are Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle, Oxford, Blenheim Palace and the very beautiful Cotswolds area all within a 20 mile radius of the site. The site is very mature with beautiful landscaped grounds, full serviced pitches and hard standing pitches are available, all pitches have hook-ups provided, the high quality toilet block provides free showers, dishwashing facilities and a full laundry room. Wi-Fi and a children’s play area are available. A local pub serving very good food is 200 yards from the site.”
A vegetarian option but equally you can substitute the lentils for lamb
Ingredients – serves 4
500 grams sweet potato 1 white onion 1 carrot 1 can of chopped tomatoes 1 cup of mushrooms 150ml red wine 400ml can of lentils, drained Cheese (optional) Butter Herbes de Provence or other dried mixed herbs Stock cube
Chop everything into fairly small chunks. Fry the onion in the butter for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, mushrooms, a teaspoon of herbs, the wine and the stock cube. Simmer for 10 minutes then add the lentils and tomatoes, and cook that all for another 10 minutes.
In a separate pan, add the sweet potato and bring to the boil from cold then drain and mash after 20 minutes. During the mashing, add butter and salt to taste.
Once both pans are ready, spoon the lentil mix into a nice serving bowl, top with the potato and then grate cheese over the top if required.
I don’t know about you, but I am at the age when I need to wear glasses when I read, or anything else when I come to think of it. I love to read for a while in bed especially when I am all snuggled up in our T6 campervan Ginny and this is where the problem starts. It’s easy to pop your book under the pillow and it doesn’t really matter all that much if it slips down the side of the bed, however, where do you put your fragile spectacles to go to sleep? If I had a pound for every time that I have had to get out of the van to retrieve my glasses case and my mobile phone/torch from under the rock and roll bed, I would probably be driving around in a fancy VW California.
In our first van Misty the T25 Holdsworth Villa there was a shelf overhead so you could pop your book, glasses, torch, mobile phone, midnight chocolate supply etc. on it to go to sleep. We do not have this luxury in Ginny and we didn’t want to start drilling holes to fix a shelf and Steve was getting fed up with me waking him up every time I had to lean over him to put my bits and pieces on the work top area. So, what to do?
After trialling all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas including sticky Velcro (not good when you get your hair caught in it – don’t ask!) and with the help of You Tube, I discovered the joys of Magnetic Hooks.
You can buy them in all sizes and weight bearing capability, and if there is a metal base you can move them around the van to suit your needs. If I use them on the outside of the van, I do put a small piece of thin fabric between the metal and the magnet just to protect the paintwork.
We use the Magnetic hooks for a wide range of things including but not limited to:
Hang my glasses and phone bag on at bedtime (yay)
Coat and hat hooks (great for hanging up wet clothing)
Hooks to keep the dog lead on and other dog related apparel
Internal and external fairy light holders (I love a fairy light!)
Shopping bag holder to keep shopping goodies off the floor and away from doggy temptation
Rubbish bag holder
Washing line holder fixed between the barn doors (perfect for rinsing out your smalls)
Securing an old shower curtain to the barn doors for privacy when taking an outside hand shower and perfect for holding the towel and toilet bag.
I can go on, but I think you get the idea. I bought ours from Amazon from the Ant Mag Store and they are called Heavy duty magnetic hooks 36KG (80LBS). As at the date of writing, they cost £15.99 plus postage for 6 though there are certainly deals to be had for different sizes and quantities and other providers of course. As with all these things, read the instructions of use carefully, take care to where you put them, I found that popping one in the middle of the top of sliding door wasn’t a wise move and I wouldn’t attach one to any of my electronics or my mobile phone.
A simple dish made in a single pan using mainly store cupboard items for a wholesome winter treat
Ingredients – serves 2
4 sausages One large white onion One can of tomatoes One can of baked beans One can of sweetcorn A clove of garlic (optional) Spicy sauce (optional) Olive oil
Slice the sausages into cubes and fry on a moderate heat for ten minutes. Add the onion and let that cook for another five minutes. Add everything else and simmer for ten minutes with the lid off to reduce it slightly. Serve with crusty bread to dip into the stew!
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.
Yes, it is that time again. Hurray! Finally, after the long winter in our non-mobile houses, we can get out our beloved vehicles.
Checklist
Hopefully you all followed the article Time for bed/ to help put your vehicle to bed for the winter. Now that spring is in the air and we are starting to think about getting out and communing in nature, this is a key time to get things ready.
Doors locks – there’s nothing more annoying than a failed lock. get it fixed now before the season really gets going. Door lock issues can be very straight forward but a simple lubrication can be key. Pun intended. A non residue lubricant is best to move the dirt away as WD40 can leave enough gunk to create issues. We favour silicon spray. A little into each lock.
Windscreen wipers – did they perish in the cold winter freezing them to the windscreen. Inspect and replace now.
Water – check the radiator if you have one. Ensure that the bottles that you emptied in the Autumn / fall have no mice, carefully hidden Christmas presents or mildew. Clean with a weak Milton solution if it is drinking water or food related.
Batteries – check the charge on each battery with a good meter. A flat battery can indicate an earth leak. A failed battery needs careful investigation.
Carburettor – Or equivalent. Check for good operation, no stuck flaps or other deterioration over winter. If you are a professional, this will be straight forward. If you are an amateur, a test drive very close to home will highlight problems! But only after the other checks.
Brakes – your vehicle should roll easily, otherwise this can indicate jammed brakes. Parking in gear for long periods of time can be better for your brake health than a jammed set of brakes. Check the brakes for operation. Check the brake fluid level. If it has been more than 5 years, change the brake fluid as it is hygroscopic and slurps up water incredibly quickly. Water is not a good fluid for applying the brake pads to the disks.
Seals – inspect all door seals for any signs of damage, water ingress or other problems and sort them out now. Glue any loose bits back down with the correct glue.
Windows – ensure that they all open and close fully. Or at least as fully as they did last year if applicable!
Ignition – Once you are feeling confident, get in to your pride and joy and turn on the ignition to number 2. Look at the lights on the dashboard. Check there ARE lights! Are they what you expect / are used to seeing? Have you got fuel (for those with a working fuel gauge)?
Crank it over – don’t expect it to start immediately but things should kick into life within a few seconds.
A little test drive on your driveway will allow you to test the brakes, maybe the steering and other important parts. Softly, softly.
Stay local, take your phone with you and warm clothing. Just in case!
Once you get home, assuming that you have a big smile on your face, make a list of snags, get indoors, put the kettle on and start planning for your summer.
Check out the events page and come and see us at a meeting soon!
Steve Tatner has another gadget called a Ridge Monkey, to go with his Frontier stove from last issue. He writes:
Michelle discovered these a few years back and have taken them with us ever since. They were originally designed for anglers, cooking while fishing by the riverbank.
They have removable magnetic handles which hold the top and bottom of the two pans together.
They are great for when cooking in the van, for instance when frying burgers, you have no need to try and flip the burger, just turn the pan over, its enclosed which stops oil and fat spitting everywhere inside your bus. The medium sized pan also has compartments which is very useful. They are dead easy to clean.
The Ridge Monkey range includes a toaster, thermos mug and water bottles with cooking pans complete with utensils starting at £20.
Club member Julie Barber shared a recipe that some of the members might like to try.
If you have not got a slow cooker, then just cook it in the oven at 180-200C for a few hours or until the potatoes are tender. If you don’t like any of the ingredients, then just swap them out with something that you do like! There is no set way of cooking this recipe, just pop in the main ingredients & get creative if you want to add other bits.
Prep time is about 10-15 minutes and it should serve 5-6 people (depending on how a big a portion you like).
INGREDIENTS
750g minced beef 6 medium red potatoes (or any potato of your choice) 1 medium onion 3 garlic gloves (I use the jars of lazy garlic and put in a tablespoon & a half) 1 can red kidney beans (I use Tesco Mixed Taco Beans in red sauce instead) 1 can of haricot beans (or a tin of baked beans or black-eyed beans if you prefer) 1 can diced tomatoes (with green chilli if you like spicy food) Some water 1 & half tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons pepper Grated cheese (any flavour you like here)
DIRECTIONS
1. Brown the mince & drain off the excess fat 2. Cube the potatoes & add to your slow cooker, then season with the salt & pepper 3. Chop the onion & add that with the garlic to the slow cooker 4. Add minced beef, beans & tomatoes & pour over the water 5. Give it a good stir 6. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours 7. Sprinkle grated cheese on the top for the last 15 minutes & continue to cook covered 8. Now you can do the taste bowl test if you are hungry, or…. let the whole thing cool down and pop into containers 9. Take it with you on your next overnight campervan campout & just warm up in a saucepan for 10-15 minutes
