DavyS

From the OP - OK all sorted. After much trawling around I found that Saga Motorhome Breakdown insurance had by far the best options. For instance: National Recovery to destination, home or garage within 10 miles of home. Will pay if can be repaired the same day for initial garage diagnosis, labour charges up to £150, sourcing and delivery of parts. All at a cost of £69.99 pa fixed for 3 years - yippee no phoning around for 3 years! Is with RAC, not sure if that is good or bad!

Thanks Keith, I wonder it that means that if you breakdown and cannot be repaired at the roadside then you will not be looked after by the RAC, but be given over to the nearest garage with a large loader?

Green Flag increased my price by 13% last year and now 26% this year, so obviously I am looking around. It seems that most insurers offer recovery to the nearest garage. But this seems to be far from ideal. Nowadays, when I try to book a service I am often told by the garage that they are booked up for weeks ahead. So what if I broke down hundreds of miles from home, got taken to the nearest garage who are likely to say 'park it round that back and that they will fit me in xx weeks'. I would then have to arrange travel home with essential items from the motorhome, then try to get it fixed over the phone. It seems that it would be much better if I could be taken to where I live where there is a local garage who who know me and are always willing to help. Could then walk home, get the car and pick up essentials from the motorhome. But it seems that few insurance companies offer to recover you to home. Adrian Flux will, but at an extra annual cost of £65 on their £99 premium. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately we have been watching YouTube videos about the IoW. Does not look good. Decrepit towns (see YouTubes's TurdeTowns - IoW video), full of overblown tourist traps, and an expensive ferry. Cheaper ferry packages available if you book with one of the four sites offered - but all sites are huge and mostly regimented and set up for kids - not our taste at all. Swimming pools close early or mid Sept. Pretty scenery but not any better than say Purbeck which has none of the hassle. So having second thoughts. Am I wrong?

We intend a week in the Isle of Wight, second week in Sept. Please, can anyone offer any tips, especially concerning: campsites close to bus hubs or routes motorhomes on the ferry, and can you get discounts how easy would it be to drive a 6m motorhome around some quiet circular cycling routes Many thanks in advance

Brian, you may well be right but we will probably never know. And I wonder how you use an electric screwdriver to manually operate an awning?

And a translation of: !If your Fiamma awning is not closing all the way, there are several things you can check. First, see if the arms are level. Sometimes one arm may be higher than the other, which will prevent the awning from closing evenly. Second, make sure the support legs are all the way down. Sometimes the legs can get stuck in the up position, which will also cause the awning to close unevenly. Lastly, check the fabric to see if it is pulled too tight. If the fabric is too tight, it will prevent the awning from closing all the way." How do you adjust the arm height? "Make sure the legs are all the way down before closing the awning" ???? !!!! And finally how do you adjust the fabric tension??

Fiamma recommend: Fiamma awning not closing? – fiammaonline.com "If you are using a screw gun to take down an awning, be sure to flip the direction of the screw before retracting it. This will ensure that the awning is properly secured." Can anyone translate this for me? I dont know what a screw gun is, and I dont know what is meant by "flip the direction of the screw". Maybe its a machine translation of the original Italian?

Not getting on very well. I cant find any reference in any of the recommendations to one end of the awning not unlatching. Several to how to fix an awning which doesn't fully retract.

When I try to wind out my 2015 Fiamma F45s it sticks; it does not disengage from my cassette aft end. Some jiggling about usually frees it and it comes out with a bang. I got up on a ladder to examine but the mechanism seems to be very simple and not have any adjustments Anybody any ideas?

OK folks, having read all your replies, I felt confident enough to tackle servicing the fridge burner assembly (without disconnecting the gas). But despite your suggestions, I still could not remove the bloody shield so could not clean the thermocouple. But, whilst in the pit of despair, I remembered the advice to work the fuel selection knob backwards and forwards to clean the contacts (the thermocouple output goes to the fuel selection switch). And low and behold, the fridge lights and the galvanometer now swings firmly into the green. We are off to the Cotswolds next week and my wife had resigned herself to not having a working fridge when off EHU. So I now I am quite a hero and have been promised a special treat tonight - lasagne with salad and a nice red. Although I failed with the shield, I have learned how an absorption fridge works and what the thermocouple, ignitor and galvanometer look like and and how they work. So if we ever have problems when away from home I will have the confidence to tackle them - or at least understand the likely cause. Thanks everyone (PS does anyone have some dynamite?)

Onecal, sensible advice but I am finding it almost impossible to get a professional caravan/motorhome-experience person with a gas safe licence to look at a fridge which is playing up. They are all fully booked with lucrative habitation checks months ahead. The World has changed.

Once I get the shield off, I will be cleaning the thermocouple. Presumably its not fragile and I can use a Brillo pad or similar?

Onecal, sounds easy. I will let you know how I get on ....

Derek, the top photo shows the shield rotated 90deg from its normal position. When it's in place the bottom horizontal bit with the slot is actually vertical, and what looks like a spring tab is at the back at base level - as shown in the bottom photo. So the clip cannot be lifted upwards and over. But maybe its designed that you just pull the whole lot forward and the 'clip' pulls off whatever it is clipped to? Maybe I am over thinking this, and I need to use your suggested 'brute force method. I have been reluctant to force it cos of the huge cost of Dometic spares, for instance a new door for the fridge is £350! But maybe I will wait till someone, who has actually removed theirs, answers.