Camper with a caravan or a motorhome have always their own home nearby,
and their own things.
This includes bed, restroom, shower... It depends on what is build in
and how one uses it.
Best possible Freedom. No rules of dressing.
On a camping site you can go to nearly all areas with your swim clothes.
No bonds to day and time. Eat whenever and wherever you want, at the
camping site or at another place or you cook by yourself.
Relativly cheap. But of course there are also luxurious and more
expensive camping sites.
And you have your own car at each time.
Disadvantages are:
Sanitary facilities are used in common with all others.
You have to accept times of rest.
The wash-up must done by everybody himself.
It may be that there is no washing-machine.
Who wants to be served, is here at the wrong place.
If one campare the advantages with the disadvantages then the advantages
preponderate.
The above is true for a holiday journey and also at home at your camping site.
Ok - so much about the camping.
Who wants to try it first, has the possibility to rent a tent or a caravan
on some camping sites.
I learned to use a tent with the pathfinders.
Later on I spended my holidays in the nature, with a tent or with a backpack
or on foot or later on with a motorbike.
At a young age my wife spended her holidays with acquaintance and her friend
in a caravan.
Riding the bike has ended since our daughter was born.
At this point we remembered the camping.
We drove with a big tent to spain. All packaged in good condition in our
VW-Polo!.
Next year we bought a small trailer.
As you see, we are ready for the journey home.
During the holidays one or two years later we bought on the camping site a
small caravan from a Dutchman.
The small caravan was followed by a bigger one. Now the small caravan was the
home for our daughter at our home camping site.
Unfortunately we had a crash. Both car and the new caravan are totally damaged.
The new car and the new caravan were definitively better :-)
But now our daughter is grown up and she goes her own ways.
Therefore we sold the big caravan.
The last time it stands only on the camping site.
The small one needs a renewal.
I will report ongoing from the damages and the repair in the section
Caravan-Repair .
PERMANENT CAMPING
I will give you a little insight in the live and the sorrows of
permanent camper.
Again and again there are problems which have to be solved, f.i.
Problem:
The caravan tent is cold for the feet because we only have a carpet for
journeys.
For us this is uncomfortable, but for the dog it is right bad because it
will sleep always in the tent.
Arco will get problems with the joints by nightly temperatures under 15 degrees.
At the next day he can barely walk.
Solution:
We need a fix, temperature isolating floor for the caravan tent.
The construction have to meet following requirements:
A temperature isolation with at least 6 cm.
Down side ventilation.
Save against watering.
Up side a warm and easy to clean surface.
I will build a frame filled with Styropor.
Frame and Styropor should be onto a layer of slabs.
This enables down side ventilation and is save against watering.
The Styropor should exactly fit into the frame.
I dimension the floor so that the rods will be placed near the floor
because we build the floor subsequent.
Later on the rods will be placed on slabs.
The edges of the tent walls will be placed under the slabs.
To build the floor horizontal it needs to embedd one side into the slightly
inclined slope and at the other side the slabs have to be raised.
The following pictures show the making and the ready floor.
The caravan tent before building the floor.
Here you can see the slabs and the styropor filled frame.
The frame ist screwed with angel irons.
Frame and styropor have 6 cm.
The upper side is made of heavy chipboards.
This kind is more robust than normal chipboards.
They will be screwed with the frame.
And here you can see the surface made of an elastic, soft PVC-covering.
I adhered the edges of the covering with carpet adhere stripes onto the
chipboards.
The PVC-covering was the most expensive of the whole floor.
The inner of the caravan tent shortly after it was ready.
We brought only the most important things into it.
Later on follow others.
To avoid condensed water and to drain incoming water I didn't use foils.
As I removed the floor because I sold the caravan I found it very, very dry.
Arco did felt very comfortably.
His favorite place was under the table on his covers.
Since this time he didn't had no problems with his joints.
We felt the comfort too.
Now one could sit comfortably in the tent.
Here is a small oversight of our camping site.
The barbequue is lighted and all are awaiting the dinner.
The dog has only eyes for the breakfast :-)
Bye - Permanent Camping
Now we have given up our camping site.
We use a Garden instead.
Now the little caravan is parking on an extra place.
But even if we have given up permanent camping, it is clear that we will
furtherhin do camping.
