MMM – September 2019

September 2019outandaboutlive.co.uk 19

The motorhomewave
I can’t see the point of waving
to random strangers who
happen tobe driving oneof
thousandsof vehicl es similar
to mine buthey ho, if it makes
others happy then why not?
However, is the need t o
wave s o ingrained that it must
be exec uted even when both
the waver and the waved at are
negotiating a tight bend in the
pouringrain on a narrow road
at dusk? Yes is the answer if the
experience of my recent trip
to Scotland is anything to go
by. I’d rather be concentrating
on my driving than worryin g
about social n iceties.
MayI also take this
opport unity to apologise toall
those wavers I ha ve ign ore d
over the years. You’ll know who
I am:the miserable-looking
so and so with both hands
clenched ti ghtly onthe wheel.
Phil Smith

Why spend £80,
to shower in someone
else’s dirt?
It was interesting toread Penny
Granger’s article onshower
blocks onsites ( June, p93)
and it dovetailed nicely with
J Mitchley’s letter onpage
10 where he questionedhis
decision tosplash out on an
expensive ‘toy’.
We have been motorhoming
for 19 years –tempted by
a campervan holiday in
New Zealand 20 years ago.
In this timewe have had
two campervans and one
coachbuiltmotorhome.
We loved ou r first
campervan, aMercedes
Sprinterconverted by Youngs
in Milton Keynes, butwe
thought we would try oneof
those ‘white boxes onwheels’,
if n ot only to enjoythe space.
Yes, the space was nice and,
yes, it was good to w ave at
fellow motorhomers coming
the ot her wa y.
However, afterthree
years and 50,000miles, the
awkwardness, the inability to
go down narrow country lanes,

the frustration of low barriers

and the sticking out like a

sore thumb when we parked

up at ni ght (we ha ve never,

in 19 years, been o n a site),

encouraged us to goback to a

campervan –again, a Mercedes

Sprinter, butthis ti me a lo ng-

wheelbase.

When fitting outthe two

campervans, we had a calorifier

and Eberspächerdiesel heater

fitted and, when we bought

the coachbui lt, the first

thing we did was to have the

old-fashioned and inefficient

Trumaheate r taken out and

a calorifier and Eberspächer

heater fitted.

What is a calorifier? Yes,

thatis what every motorhome

salesman has said to uswhen

we were looking to buythat big

white box on wheels.

A calorifier is a hot water

tank – the same asmost

homes hadbefore combination

boil ers for their centralheatin g

systemsbecame the norm.

Ours runs off the enginehot

water system; we drive along

and the water in the system is

being heated ready tosupply

instant hot water as soon aswe

stop. The calorifier canalso be

heated by an immersionheater

if staying on a site for days on

end is your thing and the bonus

is that the water stays hot

enough for ashower even after

a couple of days of no driving.

So why do n’t motorhome

manufacturers fit them?

Money. Trumasystems are

quick, cheap and easy toinstall.

That’s where the two

aforementioned articles

doveta il. Why dopresumably

sensible, rationalpeople spend

tens of thous ands of pounds on

a motorhome and then use site

shower blocks where go odness

knows who hasused them

before? Yes, they are cleaned

every day, but not between

every person who usesthem.

Yes, we love our campervan,

travelling an average of 15,

miles a year, but will we ever

shower in someone else’s dirt?

No thanks.

Richard C

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