# Bad Weekend



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

We were at the Nuenen show at the weekend, having a great time and some really nice weather, then around Monday lunchtime we had a huge storm which wrecked both our new gazebo and the awning on the trailer, both wrecked by hugely strong gusts of wind and rain.

The awning flew up over the top of the trailer and came down, smashing a hole in the roof panel, nothing much salvageable of the awning and the gazebo is toast on its first outing.

The show was, great, we left both engines and one trailer in Holland and drove down to France today, we are near to Nancy a little site called Camping Villey Le Sec, right by the river and a lovely location, but hell to find!

We go to Dijon tomorrow and the last leg to Carpentras on Thursday.

Peter


----------



## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

We are currently in Jura and the storms have started this evening. Severe warnings for the whole of western france for tomorrow as well.
Gerry


----------



## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

Ouch, sorry to hear that Peter. Hope the trailer is still habitable and can be made weathertight.


----------



## p-c (Oct 27, 2007)

Hi Peter
Sorry to hear your story. I think it is something we all dread. I really hope you are now able to relax and enjoy the rest of your time away.
You are heading to a great area. Be careful, security wise, near Lyon.
All the best.
p-c


----------



## mistycat (Jan 28, 2014)

i'm sure you will have a fix done for now just hope it missed the solar panels 8O 8O 
im sure your over it and having a good time
Misty


----------



## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

After seeing the reports in the BBC news website, I hope all our friends in motorhomes in northern Europe are OK.

Hailstones the size of tennis balls apparently!!!

Severe damage to property - and if those beggars landed on your van roof well, I doubt there would be much left to repair!!!

Take care out there folks, and maybe get parked up in a sheltered spot if there is a storm forecast (not a tree!!! - maybe under a bridge?)


----------



## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Supercell captured on Sunday night near Rethel. Captured by Ard'N'ature

http://i58.tinypic.com/5494bp.jpg


----------



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

You can see where the storms are in real time here:

http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

We have a temporary patch over the hole and the panels are OK, still a bit of thunder and lightning last night but that was all, a few spots of rain.

WiFi mast aerial a boon here, saves a long walk to the reception area!

Regards to all.

Peter


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Peter, sorry to hear of damage and I hope your repair is not too difficult or expensive.

I was getting a bit worried here in Poland because I had left the MH in the open for cleaning.

However I checked the storm radar sites this morning and the worst hail-bearing ones seem to be tracking up the East of Germany and into Scandinavia.

At least I have a tin-roofed MH-port to hide it under if same occurs in this area. The MH-port was not built for that reason; only to keep off some of the muck that some neighbours burn in their boilers - probably poor-grade lignite in this area. Anyway it would protect from this danger if needed.



Geoff


----------



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Sorry to hear this Peter. Same thing nearly happened to us in the Austrian Alps in 2012. Lovely sunny day. Black clouds and storm came over the top of the mountain and I was too slow to react. Never seen anything like it. From perfect day to storm force winds and sheets of water in no time at all. I ended up hanging on to the awning / canopy but only just. If we had left it unattended it and the van would have been wrecked. A warning to others, especially in the alps.

Never leave it out in those areas


----------



## prof20 (Jan 11, 2007)

Sorry to hear that Peter.

I am very wary of wind-out awnings - rarely use mine.

Four years ago my mate went to Peterborough for the National Show. Wound out his awning, blue sky. Suddenly a massive gust of wind came out of nowhere, it ripped his awning upwards and over the roof of his van, tearing away two of the awning mountings along with a considerable chunk of the sidewall above the bathroom window, and putting sizeable dents in the roof.

A terrible mess.

Roger


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Better weather today, we are in Dijon with 32-33 deg and blue skies.

Driving on non-toll roads has proved to be reasonably quick, we have been running at 55-60 mph with the trailer and only a couple of times got stuck behind relatively slow trucks.

Re-patched the hole this afternoon and just had a cold shower to cool off, really hot and not much breeze at present.

Chicken on the BBQ tonight, lots of cold drinks and doing nothing   

259 miles run tomorrow which will bring us into Carpentras for a week.

Regards to all,

Peter


----------



## Snunkie (Mar 21, 2011)

Oh no Peter :? That's not good news


----------



## Christine600 (Jan 20, 2011)

That is really bad luck, Peter!

But it sounds like you aren't letting it spoil your holiday. 


Someone should invent an awning who just folded itself up when hit by strong wind.


----------



## dovtrams (Aug 18, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your problems, hope it does spoil your trip too much. It reminds me of a party we held a few years ago and bought a large gazebo with side panels. Terrible weather during the evening and in the morning the thing had vanished. Thinking it had been stolen I phoned the police, not expecting anything to be done but just to let them know. An hour later, my next door neighbour phoned to say my 'tent' was in his garden. It had been lifted by the storm over a six foot fence and deposited in his garden. When I phoned the police back, fortunately they saw the funny side. 

Dave


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

We stayed in Dijon one night, then drove down the last leg to Carpentras yesterday, about 280 miles.

Heat in the 34-35 deg C range, drove in just a pair of shorts, no shoes or underthings. Liquid consumption fairly high! Philip had the coolbox in the back of his Discovery running off the 12V accessory socket, so we had drinks when we needed it.

LPG not as readily available on the N and D routes, but we got through OK with some running on petrol.

Villey Le Sec was a really nice site, well off the beaten track and very quiet, located on the banks of the Moselle river, with an occasional péniche boat burbling by, quite big ones too!




























Dijon was OK and the bays were easier to get into for a long rig, Carpentras was a little awkward for a turntable rig as most had to be reversed into and the access roads are narrow.










Driving down the N7 and other non-toll routes was slightly hard work with the trailer, but some of the places we went through were stunning.I'll get some frames off the dash camera later, hopefully the screen isn't too dirty to prevent a decent images.



















Temperature here is nearly 30 degrees, we have some shade where we are, but the cooling fan in one of the battery chargers in the trailer is cycling on and off already and it isn't really doing much.

Peter


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Peter

Looks great, but makes I jealous - could you not have balanced those pics up with some of the storm? :roll:  

Seriously I am glad you are finding some good spots.

Geoff


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Sorry, Geoff, we were running round trying to save stuff, but we are due a storm here in the next hour or so, it's about 34 C and my temperature limit.

Looking through the dash cam videos, we've overwritten the first two days, but might be bits and pieces we can save from this last set.

Peter


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Peter

I was only joking about the storm photos because you were making me jealous. I hope today's impending storm is not so vicious.

I am thinking of getting a device to run Co-Pilot and am uncertain about even a 5" mobile screen being big enough at the distance from the seats to the dash-mounting position, so am tending to tablet and am interested to know how yours is mounted, as it was not clear from the photo.

If you feel this question is hijacking your thread please feel free to reply by PM.

Thanks

Geoff


----------



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I dont think I have ever had a motorhome trip without some kind of disaster or near death experience but (assuming you survive) they are nearly always followed by photos like those. (well except the campsites :lol: )

Glad things are going well Peter and great to see some photos for a change on here!

Need more for us lot stuck at home!


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Geoff, the monitor is a 7" TFT screen and I ended up modifying the standard mount to make it work properly.

The biggest problem is contrast and brightness on strong sunny days, but I find it useful to see cars tucked in right behind me.

There are two cameras, one for Europe and one for the UK.

The details I put in another place, but can't find it quickly.

The monitor 'claw' grip is pretty useless, so I bought two more off ebay, both had the same basic suction mechanism and were probably made in the same factory.

I Araldited a modified pierce of one mount to the removeable bracket on the back of the monitor, then just assembled it up and it worked.

To get the viewing angle and sideways swing range, I took a bit of plastic out of the arm so I could get the screen vertical.

I don't usually mount the screen so low, I just hadn't tightened the joint enough!

Peter



















Line shows where we took material off the body.










Quick shot tonight of the back of the camera, the bit glued to the bracket is part of the standard quick-release mechanism with the small claws cut off to give a smooth face. We roughed up the surfaces before Aralditing.


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

These are the two holders we bought, the suction mechanism etc is identical on both, so I have a complete spare mount.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400335526923

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380629162598

Peter


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

barryd said:


> I dont think I have ever had a motorhome trip without some kind of disaster or near death experience but (assuming you survive) they are nearly always followed by photos like those. (well except the campsites :lol: )
> 
> Glad things are going well Peter and great to see some photos for a change on here!
> 
> Need more for us lot stuck at home!


The pictures of the river 'are' the campsite, that is where it is located, the small road in one picture is the perimeter road.

Eat your brekkie by the water  

Peter


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

listerdiesel said:


> These are the two holders we bought, the suction mechanism etc is identical on both, so I have a complete spare mount.
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400335526923
> 
> ...


Peter

Thanks.

I think screen-mounted suction pads would put screen out of reach for operating in our 'A' Class MH and I am not sure a suction pad would work mounted horizontally on our dash as the surface is slightly dimpled, but might work if I glued a flat surface to the dash.

I need to give it more thought.

Geoff


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

We don't need to touch anything on a trip, it just sits there and works   

Peter


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

listerdiesel said:


> We don't need to touch anything on a trip, it just sits there and works
> 
> Peter


I would be running Co-Pilot satnav on my dash-mounted device so would need to reach it to alter settings, routes, POIs etc.

Geoff


----------



## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

We were at Bad Westernkotten last week end and were treated to a terrific electrical storm in the evening.
Luckily the gathering black clouds warned us and everyone was able to batten down before the pre-storm gusts hit us. 
We watched continuous lighting and thunder accompanied by torrential rain for over two hours .
By 0800 next morning the area had completely dried out, not even a puddle left.


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

34+ degrees today with a strong breeze, more like an oven door being opened!

'Bucket List' job for today was to take Philip's Discovery to the top of Mount Ventoux, the Holy Grail of cyclists the world over.

Having seen the profusion of cyclists in the area, I expected a few on the mountain but was totally unprepared for the numbers. A charity event was being held and there was almost no section of the route that didn't have cyclists on it.

We went up the 'difficult' side and came down the 'easy' side.

Afterwards we drove to Orange and did some retail therapy in the large Carrefour store there.

The fruits of that session are a nice box fan with timer and a reclining canvas chair, which we may buy more of before we go back. We also stocked up on beer (cheap) BBQ meat (expensive) and things like Orange juice, water and some yoghurts.

Selection of Mt Ventoux pictures, note in one of the shots that a cyclist is actually carrying a child on his back, plus a rucksack!

The wifi connection here is excellent first thing but slows to a crawl in the heat of the day, then picks up again in the cooler evening.



























































































The church is in Bedoin, the meteorological station is huge as you can see, there is a weather radar station off to one side on a golf ball type housing.

Peter


----------



## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

> I think screen-mounted suction pads would put screen out of reach for operating in our 'A' Class MH and I am not sure a suction pad would work mounted horizontally on our dash as the surface is slightly dimpled, but might work if I glued a flat surface to the dash.
> 
> I need to give it more thought.
> 
> Geoff


Geoff, I've used one of these to fix our Tomtom suction mount to. They come with 3m tape but I found that didn't stick for long, as the dash surface is not smooth. Once I was happy with the location I sikaflexed it on. Hasn't moved since


----------



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Great photos Peter! Shame about the weather being so warm. Must have been a tad cooler up the mountain though?


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

20 deg C when we were there, but the sun felt pretty fierce.

Light rain just started at 6am.

Peter


----------



## Mumoffive (Nov 22, 2013)

Sorry you had such a horrid storm experience but the photos look like there've been many good times too. 
Getting geared up for our first tour begining of July. Looking forward to Scotland


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Hope it all goes to plan, Tina, you have my mobile number should you get into problems while away.

Peter


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

After a poor forecast for the Carpentras area, we decided to cut and run back to Villey Le Sec for some better and more manageable weather.

Inexplicably, Philip's Discovery developed a misfire overnight, so on Monday morning we had that to contend with.

Changed plugs on the two affected cylinders (Discovery V8's use the 
'Lost Spark' system where the ignition coil is wired with a plug at each end and no ground, so the coil fires two plugs every time) with no improvement, so we elected to make our way back at reduced speed and with the LPG valve for that cylinder unplugged.

When the LPG ran out we had to run on petrol and decided that we wouldn't go too far on that fuel in case of hurting anything.

We got in This lunchtime, with a UPS Express parcel waiting for us with a spare coil pack and some ignition leads, courtesy of our other son at the factory and the girls upstairs in the offices of our factory landlord who got it organised very quickly.

Just having a rest and getting email, we called at the Carrefour store in Orange before we left so were OK for food etc. 400 mile trip up country, we did half or just over half yesterday and the remaining 178 miles this norning, having stopped en-route for a sleep and a shower this morning.

Weather nice here, Peniche just burbled by on the river, must get a picture of one of them!

Bought another coolbox in Carrefiour, 12V 25 litres, under Euro 30, ran it all day in the trailer yesterday and today, still running now but we are on EHU.

We're going to chill out for a couple of days and Philkip is going to get the coil pack and leads changed on the V8, not an easy job.

Regards to all,

Peter


----------

