Keith Gooden
Welcome back to the Motorhome Matt Podcast. I’m Keith Gooden and with me as usual, our resident expert, the man himself, it’s Motorhome Matt Sims.
Matt Sims
Hey Keith. How are you?
Keith Gooden
I’m fine, thanks very much. And again, you catch me at the top of my game. Excitement – the top of this baldy’s head is nearly a volcano because I’ve got my motorhome. And I want to fill it full of the essential stuff and I suppose I’m tempted by the non-essential stuff. And that’s what we’re talking about today, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
You go into any camping accessory shop, and there are thousands of things to tempt you, products for sale, stuff you need, stuff you don’t need, or you thought you needed and you probably never get it out of the box. So what we’re going to do today is we’re going to talk through and walk through all of those products that I think are essential for your campervan caravan or motorhome.
Keith Gooden
And there are quite a few of them, so let’s get started.
Keeping your leisure vehicle level
Matt Sims
So one of the first things you need – you arrive at the campsite and it’s not quite flat. Perhaps it is perfectly level. Now, a motorhome sits nose down by the nature of the chassis – the front is lower than the back. So we have a product called levelling ramps and these are little ramps you drive on to keep them level. So these are from a brand called Froli. There are lots of brands out there. Fiamma is another famous brand. They’re grey, these are black.
What’s great about these levelling ramps is that they’re tiered. So you can’t see them if you’re listening to this, but they’re here in front of me now. And they’ve got three levels, which makes them very easy to drive on if you’re on your own. If someone’s with you, then they can tell you when to stop because you don’t want to be driving off the front edge.
The great thing about this is that it will get the motorhome or campervan level, which will mean a few things. Firstly, you’ll sleep better because we love sleeping on flat. Your sinks and shower are going to drain properly, and most importantly, you won’t lose your gin and tonic across the table.
This pack comes with a bag, which is really good too. So the ramps are going to get muddy, they’re going to get wet. And then when you’re finished with them, put them in the bag. And then when you put them away, they won’t cover everything in your garage or storage area in the mud that’s on them.
Keith Gooden
And that’s something I suppose you don’t initially think about unless you’re an experienced motorhome holidayer – is it going to be level? I suppose the engine at the front weighs it down, does it? Is that what happens?
Matt Sims
It’s the nature of the chassis. So they just naturally sit down at the front. And you’ll see on most campsites, motorhomes and campervans have got ramps under the front wheels. But of course, someone said to me once, ‘Well, why have I only got two?’ because you buy them in pairs. No, because then you’ll finish where you started, and you’ll end up in the same position. So you generally just need two. Often you need one just under a corner, or on the side or the front or the back depending on how you’re parked.
Keith Gooden
And I suppose the obvious question is how do I know it’s not level? Take a spirit level as well.
Matt Sims
That’s another item. So we’ve got one here, something like this. You can buy these online or at B&Q. We sell them as well. Or these little triangular ones are specific to a motorhome or caravan. They can be screwed to the dashboard or a little worktop and they’ve got a spirit level going in two directions.
Matt Sims
That one there, you say it’s specific to a motorhome – I use that on my record player at home to level it.
Matt Sims
There we are. Well, maybe they’re not specific to a motorhome. They’re very useful in a motorhome or caravan and we’ve got one in ours. Dead, dead useful. The other ramps to think about – so this one is kind of a U shape. So this is specific to a caravan.
Keith Gooden
It looks like a mudguard, doesn’t it?
Matt Sims
It does look a bit like a mudguard. So you drive the caravan onto this and it will roll flat as the caravan drives onto it. Reversing or driving a caravan on these motorhome ramps would be impossible. These are designed to level up a caravan wheel and you would only buy one of these because obviously, you can level off the caravan with the corner steadies.
Electric hookup essentials
Keith Gooden
So my motorhome or caravan is level. You’ve shown me some good products. What should I be thinking about next, Matt?
Matt Sims
So you’re going to connect it to the mains if you’re on a campsite where there’s electric hookup available. So this is where you’re going to give the power, electricity power, to the caravan or motorhome. There’s a specific cable you should use. Now, orange is typically the colour of these cables so they’re more visible, so you don’t trip over them. That’s why they’re this colour. And they’ve got these little blue plugs on the end which are waterproof.
So one end goes into the campsite. The other one goes into the leisure vehicle. We call it a hookup cable, and they’re usually in two lengths, either 10 metres or 25 metres. And I’d favour the longer one because sod’s law is you park and the point you need to plug into is 11 metres away, and then you’re stuffed. So 25 metres is long. You can buy reels to put them on. They’re very sensible to keep the cable tidy, but unwind them when you use them.
If you remember, going back to school, there’s a thing in physics called eddy currents. Do you remember those? So that means the cable in this position, coiled up, it’s going to get hot, and it will melt. And every year there is a fire on a campsite where a cable has been coiled like this and someone’s put the kettle on, they’ve got the heating on and the cable catches fire. So really important you unwind the cable and I always say just throw it under the vehicle and plug it in, and then it can’t get hot and catch fire.
There are some adapters that you might want to consider as well. This one is particularly useful if you’re going to plug the motorhome in at home, or the caravan at home on the drive. It means you can plug it into the house. So wind this cable through the window or into the garage, and you can plug it in at home.
Keith Gooden
Because it’s got a standard three-pin plug on it as well as the big blue plug that you showed us earlier, which looks like a continental plug but much bigger, much meatier and with much bigger prongs on it.
Matt Sims
Correct. That’s right. It’s a 16 amp plug and waterproof, that’s key. There’s a flap on the end covering the end. And then this one is a European adapter. If you’re going on holiday to France, some of the older campsites have these two pins – they’re called Schuko plugs. And it’s the old fashioned European socket. And they’re still sometimes used on campsites, believe it or not, rather than the blue plug. So this is a handy adapter. And you’ll see these two-pin plugs everywhere in hotels and houses all over the continent.
Keith Gooden
And the thing is, of course, if you’ve got these little bits and pieces, you’re not going to get caught out. The last thing you want is to turn up to your campsite and not be able to hook up properly or do some maintenance at home just for the sake of a few quid on a connector.
Matt Sims
Yes, that’s right. And plugging it in at home means you can keep the batteries charged up as well while it’s on the drive. The other thing to think about is some hookup cables come with a carry bag like this one. This is a grey one. This is an accessory you can buy as well.
A carrier bag is useful because obviously the cables have been led in the grass, it may have rained, so it’s wet, it could be muddy. So putting it in a bag means it keeps it clean and keeps the dirt off everything else in the caravan when you put it away.
Keith Gooden
Fabulous. Don’t be tempted, by the way, just to buy the plugs and stick some standard mains cable between the two of them because this stuff here is much thicker and can carry a much higher current.
Matt Sims
It is. It’s rated to 15 amps so yes, very good point.
Topping up your freshwater
Keith Gooden
So we’ve dealt with the electricity, now it’s time to move to another elemental – water. It’s a bit like one of your parties, ‘Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.’
Matt Sims
That’s definitely not true if you’ve been to one of my parties. Sadly true. So water, yes. Filling up the water in your motorhome or caravan is going to need a hose. So this is an example of a food-grade hose. So this is blue. You could use a garden hose, lots of people do. The problem with that is that it has a hessian lining and bacteria can form and grow on it. Not a good mix when you’re going to drink it.
So food grade hose is smooth on the inside, which means it prevents bacteria from forming inside the hose. You imagine it’s in the garden for months or years on end. You then throw water through it and you’re going to drink it. Not clever. So buy a food-grade hose. This is a short fill-up hose and you can buy lengths of it in metres normally, but go for the food-grade hose.
Another handy accessory is this water filler cap, which actually has a Hozelock adapter on it. So you could run your hose to the motorhome or caravan and pop the hose on it and walk away. Often the pressure of the water going into the tank pushes the hose out onto the floor. You come back 10 minutes later, the motorhome’s still empty and your driveway’s clean, because there’s water everywhere. This stops that from happening. Really good little accessory.
And then there’s some chemical to think about that goes with the freshwater. It’s really important at the start of the season and regularly through it as well that you treat the water system. There are lots of chemicals available on the market. This is a product from Elsan. It’s fresh tank water cleaner or fresh tank cleaner. It’s really important to treat the tank, keeping the water safe to drink.
Not everybody drinks the water out of their leisure vehicle, but you can and there’s no reason why you can’t if you’ve treated it. There’s a company called Puriclean that makes little tablets you drop in the water tank. This is a liquid format. And it might be you have a flush on your toilet, and there’s a pink chemical that goes in the header tank. That means you’re putting a cleaning chemical around the toilet. There are some more chemicals we’ll come to.
Toilets and sanitation
Keith Gooden
Well, we’ve broached that subject again, Matt – toilets.
Matt Sims
Always do.
Keith Gooden
We always do. It always comes back to our bottoms. What should we talk about? What can I buy for the motorhome or caravan or the campervan which makes my life a little bit easier?
Matt Sims
Well, toilet roll. Believe it or not, there’s a specialist toilet roll for a motorhome caravan toilet. And people say, ‘Why do I need that?’ This is made by a company called Thetford which makes the chemical. This toilet roll dissolves really fast.
Keith Gooden
Faster than the stuff at home?
Matt Sims
Faster than the stuff at home. So you can use two-ply toilet paper – no reason why not really, but not everybody wants to. This stuff has the softness of a three-ply toilet roll and dissolves very quickly. And the idea is in the toilet cassette, you put some chemical. So this is blue. There’s a green version of this. It is really important you use the green version if you’re going to France. So really important for going on a campsite that uses a cesspit, there’s no mains sewerage, that you use the green version of this chemical rather than the blue.
So the blue, you pour a little splash in the toilet cassette and that will dissolve poo, wee and toilet paper into water. And this stuff dissolves really fast. Sticking with toilets, we’ve got a bathroom cleaner here. Really important you don’t use bleach in your bathroom. Bleach is going to stain the plastic. The plastic in the bathrooms of motorhomes and caravans is very susceptible to being stained by bleach. This is bleach-free, and it’s a Thetford designed product.
Thetford makes the toilets in the leisure vehicles. They also do a spray, a seal lubricant for the toilet cassette. And talking about toilet cassettes, in front of me now is a great big box with a toilet cassette in it. It’s a brand new toilet cassette and it has a brand new toilet lid and some chemical.
So this is actually a cheaper way of buying a new cassette. If you buy a cassette on its own, it’s nearly half as much again as buying the whole kit. I don’t understand why. It seems daft to me. You need to know which toilet cassette model you’ve got in your motorhome or campervan and if you’ve bought a secondhand one, someone else has been to the loo in it haven’t they? This is a great way of making the toilet fresh, hence the name of ‘Fresh Up Kit’. So you get a new toilet seat, a new cassette and some chemical to go with it.
Keith Gooden
As it says on the box, a new toilet in two steps.
Matt Sims
We are.
Keith Gooden
Actually, thinking about it, I don’t think I’d want to go somewhere where somebody else has been, particularly if I didn’t know them. Okay then, what’s that you’ve got in front of you?
Matt Sims
So this is a little sticker. So one of the rules of motorhomes, caravans and campervans, because they carry gas, assuming yours does, you have to have an LPG sticker on the gas cupboard or the rear of the vehicle if it’s a campervan, which is normally where the gas is.
So somewhere close to the gas bottle you need to display one of these. So if you’ve bought a secondhand vehicle, this might be really faded or it may have been taken off. You need to buy one of these if it hasn’t got it. It’s really important.
Keith Gooden
It’s the law.
Matt Sims
It’s the law.
Gas supplies
Matt Sims
The other thing is gas. Now we haven’t got a gas bottle here. But you need to put gas on the vehicle so your cooker, oven, grill and fridge can all run when you’re off-grid. And some of these appliances will only run on gas. Now there is currently in the UK a real shortage of Calor gas. There are lots of types of makes of bottles of gas. So sourcing a bottle of gas might be a challenge, but it’s something there’s a whole load of information about on our website.
We’ll put a link in the bio to this podcast on where you can find that, on the type of gas you want in your campervan, motorhome or caravan and where you can get it. There is a shortfall at the moment in the UK, but you need to have an empty bottle to swap for a full.
Keith Gooden
So if you’ve got the empty bottle, you’re okay, are you?
Matt Sims
You’re okay. If you haven’t got an empty bottle, then you need to go and buy one. So historically Calor, if you’re buying a Calor bottle, would issue you with an empty bottle in exchange for 40 quid. And you’d start a new bottle contract. Calor has currently stopped issuing empty bottles. So you need to go and find an empty bottle and you can buy them on eBay, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.
As a business we’ve been buying them up wherever we can find them, so we can sell them to customers so they can have a full bottle of gas in exchange. Another alternative is you buy a refillable gas system. There are lots of alternatives out there and lots of options and you take it to a fuel station that sells gas and you can refill it yourself.
Keith Gooden
Okay, what’s next?
Matt Sims
We’ve got this little gas lighter. These are really important if your hob doesn’t light with its little sparker. Some of them don’t have them. You need a little gas lighter. My advice is don’t use a match. That sulphur smell will linger in the soft furnishings and fabrics of the inside for a long time. So I advise don’t use a match, use one of these.
Fire and safety
Keith Gooden
Okay, we’re wandering through our elemental list of things for our motorhome and caravan or campervan. Let’s go back to fire, shall we? So Matt, what have we got now?
Matt Sims
Yeah, so safety stuff. Really important. So the obvious is a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector. Those are going to keep you safe. Really important you fit those. Most new motorhomes and caravans come with them. It’s a requirement that they’re sold in the UK with them. Not all of them do and of course, a secondhand one might be without. But that could save your life if something went wrong.
A fire blanket is a really good idea. You may not want to screw it into the wall inside, but having it accessible away from the grill so that you can reach it rather than above the grill – the number of fire blankets I see in a cupboard above the grill, which is a ridiculous place to put it. The grill’s caught fire or the hob’s caught fire and you’ve got to lean above to get the fire blanket. Not clever. First aid kit, that’s a given, of course. A really sensible addition.
And a fire extinguisher. Mounting this somewhere where it’s easily reached in a hurry, but at the same time out of the way of kids, you don’t want them grabbing it and playing with it, that could end badly for them. So have it somewhere accessible and you know where it is and everyone that’s away with you knows where it’s kept.
On the subject of safety, hi-vis vests are a really good idea. If you’re going to Europe, which is a whole different podcast which we’ll do another time, there’s a whole list of what you need to pack and take with you to travel to the continent, particularly now that we’re out of Europe. So the rules have changed, but we’ll come back to that. But I think hi-vis vests are a really good idea in any car or any vehicle travelling. Keep them in the boot.
On the continent, the rules are everybody that can walk needs to wear a hi-vis vest if they break down on the side of the road. So you need to have one per walking person.
Keith Gooden
And they’re also very handy on the campsite, aren’t they, when people are arriving and reversing.
Matt Sims
They are.
Keith Gooden
You can be seen easily.
Matt Sims
The other place they’re a really good idea is if you park in a truck car park in the motorway services. You’ve taken that wrong turn and missed the caravan motorhome car park and you’ve ended up in the lorry park. Donning these as you walk around will really help the lorry drivers see you when they are up high, particularly at night.
Keith Gooden
Yes, absolutely. Because their visibility sometimes can be quite seriously compromised.
Matt Sims
Indeed, yes. And then whilst we’re on the subject of night, a torch is a really good idea. Really essential on the campsite. Wherever you stop, a torch is a really good addition to have. These LED ones are amazing. They’re really good, really bright.
Keith Gooden
They’re fantastic. And the kids love them as well, don’t they?
Matt Sims
They’re great fun for the kids, yes. And talking of lights – headlight beam converters. If you are heading to the continent, you’re going to need to fit a set of these. There are instructions in the packet on how to fit them. I guarantee the first time you do it, you’ll do it wrong. But on a motorhome or on your car if you’re towing a caravan, you’re going to need to fit these to be legal on the continent.
Keith Gooden
And the reason for that is next time you’re out in the dark in your car, just look and see the spread of the beam from your headlights. Actually, it does spread more onto the pavement quite purposely so you can see pedestrians. What these do is they take account of the fact you’re driving on the wrong side of the road.
Matt Sims
The other side.
Keith Gooden
The other side! I went to Japan once and they actually drive on the right side of the road. It was lovely crossing over and not being run over.
Matt Sims
So safety-wise, again, on the continent, if you’ve got a bike rack on the back of the vehicle, whether it’s a motorhome or caravan, you need to display one of these. This is a red and white striped box square. There are two types. This one is flexible and is valid all over Europe. And it is a requirement. There’s a different type made of aluminium for certain countries, Switzerland particularly.
Do your research on what you need to take and listen to our podcasts on going to Europe in a leisure vehicle to make sure you’ve got that right. A warning triangle is a really sensible addition, whatever you’re in. On the continent, it’s a requirement. Over here, it’s an advisory item. I would make sure you’ve got one in the boot of your car or in the back of the motorhome just in case.
Keith Gooden
And you must keep in mind as well that the design of these products ticks the box for the laws in the different countries. You can’t just make a warning triangle out of three bits of your old fence. It’s got to be a certain size, got to be a certain thickness, reflectivity. These are laws on the continent and they will pull you up on them.
Matt Sims
And they’re inexpensive. It’s not worth cutting corners and bodging it just to save a few pennies.
Spare wheels and repairs
Keith Gooden
I’ll tell you what, Matt, this is a long list of stuff we’re getting through today. I’m running out of puff. I am running out of puff.
Matt Sims
We’re nearly there.
Keith Gooden
I’m running out of puff. What the hell is that?
Matt Sims
This is something you’ll find in a Fiat Ducato. It’s a pretty standard item. It’s a tire inflator kit. So this is the Fiat version. Ford has a slightly different version. They’re a really good idea. Now, you’ll find that most motorhomes don’t carry a spare wheel to save weight. And often caravans don’t have a spare wheel underneath as well. Even if you do, this is a great addition. It doesn’t weigh very much and they’re inexpensive to buy if your motorhome hasn’t come with them.
They’re often stowed and hidden. In a Fiat Ducato, they’re under the driver’s seat. They could be hidden under the passenger seat, or maybe it’s been removed from the vehicle completely. I’d recommend it. It basically has a gel in it. I’ll take it out of the bag so if you’re watching on YouTube, you can see it. There are two tubes. One carries gel that goes into the tire and would seal the hole, assuming you’ve got a small puncture. And then the other is air and this is a compressor and it will re-inflate the tire.
It’s a great way to get you out of jail, as it were, and get you off the motorway to a tire place. I would recommend getting a new tire or getting the tire repaired if it can be, if you’ve suffered a puncture, but it’s a great way of having a quick fix without taking the wheel off and having to replace the tire.
Keith Gooden
And most of us have experienced punctures in cars and not just in motorhomes. It’s the slow puncture that gets you. It’s the one you come back to the next morning and the tire’s gone down so then you have to do the repair. Or you need to get 25 or 30 miles just to get somewhere to get the wheel changed and that will do it for you.
Matt Sims
This could save the day for you, yes.
Keith Gooden
Two tubes for YouTube.
Matt Sims
Keith’s dad humour again.
Caravanning and towing essentials
Keith Gooden
Okay, Matt, I’m an old fashioned kind of guy. Forget these motorhomes – caravanning is where it’s at, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
Yes, absolutely, for many it is. And there is a different set of accessories that are very specific to caravanning and these are a few of them here in front of me now. So we’ve got a hitch cover. This is a bag basically that goes over the caravan hitch which you put on the tow bar of the car. And this will stop water ingress from getting into the hitch and frost damage as well. And it means you can cover it up – really good idea. We’ve then got the caravan corner steady winder and then most caravans will have one of these with them.
Keith Gooden
I wonder what you’re going to do with that.
Matt Sims
If you’re a good boy, nothing. So this – you wind the caravan corner steadies down. Now, some motorhomes have corner steadies, particularly the back. We wind them down and it stops the van rocking, which might be useful for you, but caravans have them in each corner to stop it tipping up, obviously.
Keith Gooden
If this van is rocking, don’t come knocking.
Matt Sims
You had to deliver that.
Keith Gooden
I did.
Matt Sims
Deluxe towing mirrors – these are essential. They’re a legal requirement. So if you’re towing a caravan, you have to have towing mirrors fixed to the car
Keith Gooden
So they extend your mirrors on your car that you’ve got already, don’t they?
Matt Sims
Exactly, yes. They give you an extra pair of mirrors that stick out so you can see past the caravan. The police and VOSA (DVSA) will stop you if they’re on the lookout for cars towing caravans that haven’t got towing mirrors, and it is a chargeable offence.
So it’s really important you get the right set of towing mirrors fitted. There are loads and loads of different types based on the size of the mirror from a small family car to a van that’s towing a caravan. So make sure you get the right type of towing mirror. Lots to choose from lots out there.
Keith Gooden
And it’s about safety, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
It is about safety, yes. And then when you’re lowering those corner steadies, they usually have a little foot on which you can buy as well, which we haven’t got here today. But these are foot stackers.
So sometimes the ground runs away, and often on a campsite where they’re pitching caravans, the sites aren’t flat because you can level a caravan up much more easily than you can a motorhome. But sometimes the corner steadies don’t reach the ground. And these things stack one on top of the other, which enables you to help them reach the ground. And they’re called foot stackers – really useful.
And this is an Aquaroll. For a caravan, this is an essential. This is where the water goes and you roll it to and from the tap full of your freshwater, which is what you’re going to drink.
Keith Gooden
I spied this when you were bringing this stuff in and stacking it in the corner. And this is the one that I like the best because it’s a barrel, isn’t it, with a handle attached at both ends. And when you fill it, the barrel itself becomes a wheel and you can push and pull it. What a fantastic idea. What a great idea.
Matt Sims
They’re decades old as an idea goes. And there are many things in the human existence that are genius and this is one of them. It’s a really easy way of getting fresh water to your caravan. And then you tip it on its side, which stops it from rolling away, and you drop your pump into it and it pumps the water into the caravan.
There is another accessory that goes with this called a Wastemaster. And that’s a long flat thing with wheels on the end. And that’s where your wastewater goes and then you can drag that away and tip that down a drain, a freshwater drain.
Keith Gooden
It makes it easier to transport. And they said Matt Sims couldn’t reinvent the wheel.
Matt Sims
I can help you accessorise your caravan or motorhome though. That’s easy.
Specialised travel kitchenware
Keith Gooden
We’re having a merry jaunt through the elemental accessories you can get for your motorhome your caravan or your campervan. We’re back with fire in the kitchen. Matt Sims is Gordon Ramsay and I’m Antony Worrall Thompson.
Matt Sims
Okay, so I’ve got a kettle and a toaster. ‘Why?’ you’re thinking, ‘I’ve got those at home.’ This is a gas kettle and this is the old fashioned type that whistles. So if you’ve got a gas hob, which most motorhomes and caravans have got, then you need a gas kettle. And these are a great idea.
They whistle – this one’s a lovely copper colour. So there’s a whole range of colours of kettle you can buy and the same with toasters. So why would you buy a toaster specific to your-
Keith Gooden
I can get a toaster anywhere.
Matt Sims
Exactly.
Keith Gooden
£15.
Matt Sims
You could and these are probably going to cost you a little bit more than that. This one is a fetching powder blue. However, these are low powered. On a campsite, it’s very easy to trip the electrics on your leisure vehicle. So by having a low powered toaster – and the same with the kettle actually, you’ll find that camp shops sell electric kettles and they are low powered so they do take longer to boil – they are far less likely to trip the electrics than the one you’ll buy in Asda, for example.
Keith Gooden
Because they’re the home accessories that draw the most current, aren’t they, from your house when you put them on. And I suppose when you’re running batteries if you’re not plugged in, you can use these can’t you.
Matt Sims
You can. Yes, that’s right. And if you’re running the heating on electric and then you go and flick the kettle on, it is very likely you’ll trip the electrics off. That’s not going to happen at home. In a caravan or motorhome that’s highly likely to happen, which is why these appliances are low powered. There are also some great innovations with pop up colanders and pop up washing up bowls. And this is a great little colander – I love this. It pops up into a very, very usable colander for the kitchen.
Keith Gooden
So you can store it flat or it pops out into a colander.
Matt Sims
There are several types. This one’s a square one. Look at that. These are brilliant.
Keith Gooden
Yes. Great design into this.
Matt Sims
It’s really innovative, yes. If you’re listening, you can’t see what we’re doing.
Keith Gooden
But this square colander has now just folded flat.
Matt Sims
Completely flat.
Keith Gooden
If you’re in a caravan or motorhome, space is the one thing that is at a premium.
Matt Sims
It is, yes, and you want to be able to store them away. This one’s a washing up bowl. How tall is that? An inch and a half high?
Keith Gooden
That’s never a washing up bowl.
Matt Sims
It is.
Keith Gooden
It’s circular, and as you say, an inch and a half high. That is amazing. And it turns into a bucket.
Matt Sims
This one’s actually a bucket with a handle. Here we go – look at that.
Keith Gooden
That’s fantastic.
Matt Sims
They’re made of silicone and they just fold flat. Push the bottom up. It’s brand new so it’s a bit stiff. There we go.
Keith Gooden
It is a fabulous piece of design. I’ll tell you what, it looks like something off the set of Doctor Who circa 1974. What a great invention that is Matt. And you’ve managed to actually erect it and also take it down in just a few seconds. It’s fantastic.
Matt Sims
Folds flat, nearly flat. It takes a bit of coercing. This one’s a washing up bowl. So there’s a rectangular washing up bowl, really handy if you’re heading off to go and get the washing up done. You don’t want to do it in the caravan or motorhome and up the freshwater that’s onboard. So you head off to the sink and you’ve got a pop-up bowl.
Keith Gooden
And again it folds flat. Brilliant. We’re still in the kitchen but actually, we’re taking the meal out to the table. And I’d pop into the supermarket if I had my motorhome or my caravan – I’d just buy some plastic plates. But you say that is not the thing to do. We should go for something more specialist. Melamine ware – what’s the difference?
Matt Sims
So the big thing is the weight and the durability. So this is a Brunner box of melamine which is a premier brand of melamine plates and bowls. They’re anti-slip, so they have a rubber ring on the bottom, which means they don’t slide around on the table. And they’re very strong so they’re very hard to break whereas your bone china is going to break very easily.
The other big annoyance when you’re travelling, particularly in a motorhome, is the noise that you hear when you’re travelling along the road. Everything’s rattling and cluttering in the back and melamine just generally doesn’t make any noise.
A top tip – if you’re in Asda and you’re in the fruit and veg section and you see somebody helping themselves to the little squares of bubble wrap that have been pre-cut wrapping around the apples and the melons, go and ask them what motorhome they’ve got. I guarantee they’re slotting the bubble wrap in between their china plates when they’re travelling.
Keith Gooden
Good tip, that one. I noticed from the pictures on the box, that this is good for your freezer but don’t put it in the microwave.
Matt Sims
Yes.
Keith Gooden
And it’s good for the dishwasher as well, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
It is, yes. You need to check on the bottom of a plate or bowl whether it can go in the microwave. Not all melamine can be microwaved.
Keith Gooden
But the great thing about it is it’s got these nice little silicone feet on the bottom so it doesn’t slip around.
Matt Sims
It’s got a rubber ring on the bottom which stops it from moving which is, as I say, anti-slip.
Keith Gooden
Is that a glass of wine you’ve got for me?
Matt Sims
Sadly it’s empty, so it’s not very good.
Keith Gooden
And there’s only one of them.
Matt Sims
There is. So there’s a whole range of acrylic glassware which is not glass that you can buy and it is not cheap. This particular red wine glass is £7.99 in our shop, but it says on the packet they’re unbreakable. We’ve actually dropped one of these from 13 feet in the air onto tarmac and it didn’t even mark it.
They are incredibly strong and very durable and they don’t rattle and clank like glass would in a cupboard. And if the glass broke in a cupboard, that’s going to be dangerous when you put your hand in to grab a plate.
Mirror guards
Keith Gooden
I was on the school run just the other day, Matt, and somebody pranged my wing mirror. It cost me £30 for the new piece of plastic to clip on the outside and another £12 for the mirror. This is just for a normal car, not a motorhome. It must cost a lot more for a motorhome.
Matt Sims
Yes.
Keith Gooden
And they stick out a lot further. It’s a lot wider, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
They are, yes. Nearly 2.4 metres wide with a mirror sticking out. So a Fiat wing mirror can be hundreds of pounds to replace. These are brilliant. These are called mirror guards. You can buy them in different colours – this is a white one, obviously. So it’s a cover that you slip over the mirror. This particular one – there are different types – has some padding inside of it. And it creates a gap between the cover and the mirror which gives it some impact protection so the cover can move on the wing mirror.
There are some that clip on tightly and snugly to the mirror. They are much cheaper. They’re more aesthetic and turn the mirrors white or black and have a gloss finish. They don’t really offer any real protection. These are worth spending on. They’re two or three times the cost, but they are much better at protecting the mirror if you hit a tree or scrub the hedgerows if you’re on a narrow road.
Keith Gooden
Or just some oncoming traffic.
Matt Sims
Or some oncoming traffic. They’re not going to necessarily protect the mirror entirely from damage, but they’ll certainly go a long way to protect it.
Keith Gooden
And it’s a lot cheaper, isn’t it, than replacing the wing mirror, replacing one of these?
Vehicle identification essentials
Matt Sims
It certainly is, definitely. Yes. Even a cracked wing mirror is just annoying as well, isn’t it? And then lastly, we were talking about going to Europe – you said you’re off to France later this year.
Keith Gooden
Yes.
Matt Sims
The rules have changed. So remember, on the back of your vehicle, whatever it is, you’re going to need to have a UK sticker. The GB sticker on the back of the vehicle or on the number plate is no longer going to cut it on the continent. You need to replace them with a UK sticker.
Keith Gooden
Because you’re from the United Kingdom.
Matt Sims
We are. The UK of course includes Northern Ireland.
Keith Gooden
It is Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And Northern Ireland – we’ve got the Brexit deal, haven’t we, between Ireland and Northern Ireland. It’s part of the single market, so we need the UK sticker because we’re from the United Kingdom.
Matt Sims
If you want a GB sticker, I’ve got a big box of them – perfect for the Queen’s Jubilee. We can’t really sell them anymore. So I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this.
Keith Gooden
I’ve got a couple in the back of the car which I need to replace. And Matt there’s always one final ingredient you have got to add. You can have all these bits and pieces and doobries and doolally and all the rest of it. But what about the sense of adventure?
Matt Sims
Absolutely, every time. You need to make sure you pack that. Let’s see where the open road takes you. Just get out there, enjoy the countryside whether it’s this country or in another country. Get out, get organised, get well packed, get on your way and make some fantastic memories.
Keith Gooden
Have a great time and tune in again for another Motorhome Matt Podcast with our expert Matt Sims and me, Keith Gooden.
