| Motorhome for the disabled - Our Tips | ||
Over the years we have developed easier methods and cost effective ways of doing things. If you have to do things single handed, you may find these first two tips useful. Manouvering a tow car with attached A-Frame. | ||
 |  |  |
| Take a 3 to 4 foot length of rope and tie a hook to each end.Use this to hold the A Frame clear of the ground above tow ball height by looping it around the frame and hooking the ends under the car's bonnet. | You can now drive the car around to either, reverse the whole outfit with two drivers, park it or hook up. To hook up drive up to your motorhome so that the hitch is just above the ball. Apply the handbrake and remove the rope. If the hitch does not drop cleanly onto the ball, move the car slightly until it does. | |
| A Hands Free Water Filler | ||
 |
It can be quite difficult to top up with water if you do not want to move off your pitch. Some use small 12volt submersible pumps to top up from a container, others a watering can of limited capacity which requires several trips to a tap. I carry two collapsible water containers which take up very little cupboard space and each holds 4 gallons. I tip these into the tank using a bendy funnel held in place by a piece of elastic and two suction cups. All items were purchased from a motorist shop. | |
| A good TV Aerial for under £25 I have always considered leisure aerials to be overpriced for the performance they give and the Status 315 "Flying Saucer" aerial, which is a standard fitting to many outfits, was not very good at analogue reception. My solution, to improve reception, requires the purchase of a caravan jockey wheel 3 section mast for £15, an Antiference 8 element wideband yagi TV aerial for £6.95, a length of coax, a couple of "U Bolts" and a scrap piece of 22mm copper pipe which fits snugly into the mast top and is clamped to the TV aerial. The bottom section of the mast is bolted to the roof ladder with the two "U Bolts" When required, a butterfly nut through the piece of 22mm pipe and top section of the mast holds the aerial firmly in place and it all then push fits together. It will receive both digital and analogue signals from most areas of the UK and if reception using the 315 is poor, out comes this kit from the roof box. | ||
 |  |  |
| Aerial and mast kit laid out | Close up of "quick fit" aerial mounting | Aerial in use on fixed pole mast |
| A pole carrier for under £20 If you have long poles to carry, in my case those for a windbreak, which won't fit conveniently anywhere in the motorhome and you have a roof rack, then a convenient way of storing and carrying them is easy to make. From a plumbing retailer you will need a suitable length of 4 inch diameter PVC waste pipe with a screw cap end, a blanking plate for the other end, two brackets, 4 cir clips and some suitable glue to fix the blanking plate to one end, although this can also be held on with screws or both. | ||
 |  |  |
| Single bracket and cir Clip | A fitted bracket | Completed job |