Eriba Man

  Sadly, its the end of my touring for 2020. Probably a little bit earlier than I'd planned but the current restrictions and the controls put in place for coronavirus by sites just make this inevitable. i'd hoped to do a winter trip, but it's just not going to happen. However, i have a few big plans for the van over winter including re-upholstery, new curtains, and maybe a new pop top canvas. The preparations for storage were quite involved. Emptied the van, took out all the seating and the curtains. Also a good clean and hoovering! Finally, gave the van a good wash before putting it in a rather large garage. Just checking back on my records, it's not really an early 'hibernation'. Last year, I put the cover on my Troll on 17/11/19, and the year before I put my Familia under cover on 15/11/18.

  One quirk of the Puck is that there is limited storage for most things. The plate and food lockers are tiny, the clothes wardrobe is short, and the remaining cabinets although generally adequate, do need a bit of careful planning, especially if you want to a) minimise faffing, and b) enjoy some comforts! I initially wanted to find better storage for the bed poles and the TV aerial mounts. The bed poles normally rattle around under the seats, and the aerial poles just get stuffed under the rear bench. This is not good, as when I want to watch TV, its normally when I'm set up and probably have loads of stuff on the table. Getting to the two poles is like a solo game of 'Twister'! The small area between the wardrobe and the outer door is one of the few areas in this Puck with free space. An ideal location to stash the poles and fix them whilst in transit. No more faffing trying to dig them out either. I got a bag of PVC coated clips of an auction site. These were a perfect f...

I checked my diary, and the winter cover was removed last year on the 20th of Feb, the day I bought the van. I'd collected the van from a storage yard near Aberdeen where it had been undercover for the winter of 2017/2018. With a good spell of weather over the last few days, and predicted for the next few, I was keen to get the van out for an airing and put the cover away until next year. I even spotted some snowdrops in Inglismaldie Forest during the afternoon dog walk! The cover came of very easily, even by myself. It is a 'Specialised Covers' product, and is also very light for packing away. Once removed, the van looked excellent. As clean as it was when I put the cover on 3 months ago, on the 15th of November. Won't even need a wash. First time to see the new upholstery in daylight. Looks great, and will be even better when I get the cushions in, and fit a new carpet. As can be expected, the cabinet hinges were a little stiff, and the ...

After 108 nights of living in my caravan this year, I have decided to end this years touring and put the caravan into 'hibernation' for the winter. My last night away was at Culloden on the 30th Oct. Looking back at my diary, I finished touring last year on the same date at Melrose. In 2016, I was using my camper van and I finished on 29th Sep at Banchory. The options for winter touring are quite limited, especially with the need for power, and after looking at the sites available, the lack of daylight, and the weather forecast I decided to put the van in it's 'winter jacket'. The cover I have came with the van. In fact, the van was under the cover when I viewed it back in March, so I knew it was a good cover, tailor made for the Familia. It's a two man job, but I laid it all out in preparation for an extra pair of hands later in the afternoon. It was a fine afternoon as I took the last look at the van until (maybe) next February or March. M...