Tuesday 27 October 2015

Boat delivery to Torrevieja, Spain

Yesterday we delivered the boat that was in for repair, back to Torrevieja Marina. For anyone that is interested, it was a Bayliner 2405 Bowrider.

Something should be done about the parking on the approach to the Marina, as one side is clearly no parking (the whole area is painted bright yellow) but nobody seems to take any notice. We just about managed to squeeze through, with literally an inch to spare either side, folding mirrors in as we went...

The boat was launched on the slip and delivered to it's mooring.


Boat delivery and transport on the Costa Blanca
Bayliner delivered to Torrevieja Marina

Launched, ready for delivery to it's mooring

Saturday 17 October 2015

38' Prairie Schooner 5th wheel delivered to France

After we delivered the caravan, we collected a large 38' 5th wheel from Empire RV and delivered it to Parc Verger campsite, near Limoges, in France. A fairly uneventful delivery, the only issue was the brakes were a tad out of adjustment and caused a wheel to lock up on occasions.

As always, the combination attracted a lot of attention, not only being photographed and videoed while parked up but also on the road with other vehicles taking pictures and videos as they passed.

UK France 5th wheel delivery and transport
Waiting for the Ferry at Portsmouth

Cloudy skies in France





Caravan delivery - Spain to UK

Last week we delivered another caravan from Spain to the UK. Not a lot to report, another unadventurous trip which is the way we like them.

Spain UK caravan delivery service
Northern spain


European caravan delivery service
Not too bad skies for the UK!





Thursday 1 October 2015

Buying and moving a used 5th wheel caravan

The job from hell......

Where to start with this one. While we were at La Bella Vista, we had another 5th wheel to move. The owner, who knew nothing about 5th wheels, had just bought it and wanted it moving to his house.

No problem.... I asked them to make sure the trailer was ready, so we could hitch it up and move it. After all that's what the job entails. It can be difficult enough getting these of sites where they have been for 4 or 5 years and trees have grown etc.

The first problem came with the tyres. The tread was separating from the sidewall. Yep, new tyres required....

Next problem was the keys. There were none and the buttons for the landing legs were in a locked compartment!

Then a problem with the slides. One came in, the other made it half way and refused to budge. An hour or so later, it was virtually in and good enough to move.

Next, the back jacks. These were absolutely rusted solid and wouldn't move. Another hour, removing the jacks...

The electrics for the brake controls was yet another bodge job and had to be rewired... the list goes on.

This trailer had been here for 4 years and the trees that surrounded it and prevented getting it out had been planted 3 years ago!

Eventually it came out, 5 hours later than it should have been.

It doesn't get any better at the delivery end. The approach to the house was a very steep gravel track. Once at the house, the trailer had to be reversed up a steep loose soil field! Thankfully the awesome power of the F350, 4wd and twin rear wheels made light work of pushing the 5 tonne trailer up a ridiculous loose earth hill.

The upshot is, and this gets repeated too many times, please make sure your trailer is ready. We are Monster Moovers and although we can always fix them and get them moving, this is not quoted for in a move. We always expect some kind of issue, either with access or the trailer itself but not to spend 5 hours on site getting a trailer ready.

Again, it comes to caring for your trailer and maintaining it, no matter how long it remains on a site. Everything has to move one day and it's far cheaper to carry out a bit of maintenance on a regular basis, rather than wait until the last minute when it MUST be done in order to move it.

At a bare minimum:

1. Lubricate your jacks.
2. Cover the tyres and keep the pressures maintained.
3. Make sure the electrical plugs are stowed out of the weather.
4. Check tyres and valves for cracking / sun damage.
5. Check and maintain batteries.
6. Check slides come in and out periodically.

If you are thinking of buying a 2nd hand trailer or 5th wheel, get someone who knows about them to check them over.

off roading with a 5 tonne 5th wheel....

Travel trailer site move in Spain

Another move... this time a travel trailer that had been sold and the new owner wanted it taking from Camping Cabopino in Marbella to camping La Bella vista in Manilva.
Not a bad job, only 4 flat tyres to contend with. The MM 'chinese' air compressor lasted a tyre and a bit before turning to smoke. Fortunately a chap on the site kindly donated a booster pack / compressor. Time to dig the small proper compressor out of the garage. More weight to carry.....
The back of the truck was loaded up with a tonne plus of edging stones for the 'patio' area and off we went. Fortunately the F350 has a payload of around 2 tonnes in addition to the large amount of tools we carry around.
A note about La Bella Vista, although it appears in the big pitch guide, it really isn't suitable for larger RVs. The manager kindly let us reverse through a hedge to get the trailer in place but subsequently realised that the site is unsuitable (we have moved a 5th wheel off here before with similar problems) and will no longer be accepting larger RVs.

Travel trailer and 5th wheel campsite moves in Spain
Travel trailer moved from Cabopino to La Bella Vista