Fred Duck

Our Motorhome, house and daily driver insurances all fall in February/March. About 4 weeks before my Wife's car insurance was due she got an email from her insurers explaining that insurance premiums had increased across the board and giving reasons they said had led to this. A sort of 'softening up' exercise before they actually sent the renewal notice. When that arrived, her premium had actually reduced by £1.26 over last year. My renewal increased by £6 over last year, a rise of 1.75%. Motorhome with Caravan Guard went up 8% having not increased at all over the previous two years so no real complaint there. House and contents premium increased by 100%. Same house, lived here for 36 years, never had a claim in 50 years etc. etc. Looked around and could only find similar prices so no option but to pay up however, overall I don't think we've done to badly given the level of increases being reported. FD

I'm 72, Mrs. FD 69. We do have some medical things to report but all stable and nothing to really frighten the horses. We've booked a trip to the USA for 17 nights in September. Goodtogo wanted £1400 for our travel insurance. Staysure, £1100. In the end we've joined the NFOP and signed up for their travel insurance scheme. £499 for an annual policy for the both of us and as long as we keep paying each year, no upper age limit. If we only use it for the one year it's less than half what Staysure wanted for 17 nights. No medical checks and as long as we don't have significant breathing issues (we don't), are not awaiting test results and are fit to travel, all good. Appreciate you can't join initially unless you are under 74 but, if you fit their criteria, it seems a no brainer. FD

Just looked back a bit and found that ours came form GW Caravan Services via their ebay shop. https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/gwcaravanservicesltd That site shows what you're after as the first item although they point out that the design has changed and the earlier type like yours (and mine) is no longer available. Given that it's hidden inside a cupboard, can't see that that's a major issue. FD

Yes, these catches do break. Whilst the shiny bits at the front are pretty much van/brand specific, the plastic bits at the back seem all pretty much to be the same. Our 2010 Bessacarr has the same plastic bits. I think we've had two of them break over the years. They seem to be fairly widely available and I'm sure I saw them in Wanderhome Knottingley a couple of weeks ago. My advice is to buy two or three. That way you won't have to search for one when the next one fails. Of course, having a spare means that you'll never have one fail again. I think ours came form the ebay seller. FD

Finding a good deal is one thing but more important is what happens when you need your insurers. We relied on a Lloyds Bank packaged deal with our bank account for many years but in 2022, when my Wife was admitted to hospital on Crete with an asthma attack she only just survived, the insurer Lloyds use, Allianz, was found to be wanting in the extreme. It took 9 months, two formal complaints to Lloyds, two formal complaints to Allianz (the second of which they still have not even acknowledged) and, finally, a complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman (who were excellent in every way) before we got payment for the costs we'd incurred. The NFOP scheme sounds excellent but do they pay out in a proper manner when/if the time comes? FD

Another vote for Caravan Panels above. We needed a replacement wash hand basin for our 2010 Bessacarr and whilst they were available to order from Swift with a long delivery estimate, the cost was going to be around £1800 when VAT etc. was taken into account - and it would be in the same, thin, moulded plastic as the failed original. Caravan panels had what we wanted in much more robust fibre glass and charged us £130 inc. VAT and next day delivery. I fitted in an afternoon and not only is it much more robust than the poor quality original, it looks so much smarter as well. No connections other than a very satisfied customer. FD

Final (hopefully!!) update. Another motorsport event this weekend Friday - Sunday parked in a field with no mains. Made a big effort to get the van as level as I could on arrival and fridge worked throughout the weekend on gas just as it should. Beer, Cider and Wine nice and cold and everything as it should be - that was until around 7am this morning when the gas ran out but I can hardly blame the fridge for that!! Mallory Park next weekend for a further test and then it should be on mains after that until next Spring. Once again, thanks all for your interest and help. FD

I think Brian wins the coconut. Fridge doesn't work on mains or gas when tilted to the rear or to the front. Works fine on mains and gas when all but level. Because we've never had the problem on mains, only on gas, I'd assumed that is was a problem with the gas system. However, on mains we always level as best we can on pitches that are pretty level to start of with. On gas, we're normally in camping fields and paddocks at motor sport events where levels can be all over the place. More care with parking or a new fridge (that might be no better) seem to be the two available options. Thanks again, FD

Thanks, again and an excellent point, Brian. As a result, van now reversed onto the top step of its ramps, plugged into mains and fridge turned on with water in the ice cube tray. Will report what happens! FD

Once again, thanks for your replies and for taking an interest in our issue. I could ask the mobile chap who did the last hab service in May 2022 if he thoroughly cleaned the fridge flue and the burner but I'm sure he'd say he did. I've no reason to doubt that but, in reality, who actually knows. Last weekend, we arrived at a motor sport event and parked in the camping field that is certainly anything but level. At that time, the fridge had been on over the previous night on mains and then on 12v for our journey and it was cold as it should be with the ice cubes frozen. Parked the van as level as was possible but still with a tilt front to back. Fridge on to gas and next morning it had obviously not worked as it should and the ice cubes had turned back to water. Once home, fridge emptied and left turned off until Tuesday morning. The van sits pretty level on its hard standing at home and, as a test I fired it up on gas, filled the ice cube tray with water and waited. After maybe an hour or so ice was just starting to form in the tray and continued until all the tray was fully frozen. It's stayed that way until this morning when I've turned the fridge off and disposed of the ice cubes. On the basis of that test, it appears that the fridge is working fine on gas as it does on the other power sources and the only variable is the front to back tilt of the van and, therefore, the fridge. I think it's time to consult the people at a local, newly opened, caravan/motorhome service centre who have recently carried out a small repair (*) that a local dealer and the chap who did the last hab service said they couldn't do the latter even doubting that it could be done without major dismantling. FD (*) Some might remember my struggle to replace a high level LED marker lamp to the front of the van where the connecting wire wouldn't let the lamp unit pull out so a replacement could be fitted. I'd taken it to dealers and talked to the mobile service man but all said they couldn't help. Visiting Code 11 Ltd in Ossett to look around shortly after they opened their new workshop I discussed the problem with one of their service people who said he'd done this job before and had a way of getting the unit/cable to pull out sufficiently for it to be replaced. Booked the van in, unit replaced and just charged for one hours labour (I had the replacement light unit already). No other connection with Code 11 Ltd other than a satisfied customer.

Not so any more I'm afraid. Data Protection don't you know!! FD

Many thanks all for your replies. I have spoken to Thetford this afternoon and, after some discussion, they did admit that this problem had resulted in some of these and similar model fridges being replaced under warranty. However, that was within a couple of years or so of them being new and as the model was discontinued in 2012, any warranty claim would not be accepted now. Understandable I suppose. They could not confirm whether or not any warranty claim had been made against our fridge without the name of the previous owner. The dealer who we bought from removed all references to his/her name from the paperwork we were supplied with when we purchased in 2019 - Data Protection, Sir. However, Thetford did comment that the latest N4097E 'should' be a straight swap for our unit but, given the passage of time wouldn't, absolutely guarantee that. For the time being, I think we'll look to get the van as level as we can when the fridge is on gas - next weekend and the one after. After that it'll be on hook up when we're away until well into 2024 so I've ample time to .investigate further. FD

Our van is fitted with the above fridge. It does exactly what it should when on mains and 12 volt. However, on gas it doesn't work as well as we think it should. It is very susceptible to not being being level - only the smallest amount causes it not to cool or stay cold. Looking on the internet this seems to be a well reported issue with this model of fridge (it seems Thetford replaced many when under guarantee) and whilst we mainly use sites with mains hook up, we do a few times a year stay on temporary site where gas is the only option. Having a working fridge at these times is very important to us. This model of fridge was discontinued by Thetford in 2012 and the current Thetford equivalent is their N4097E that has the same dimensions and looks like it would be a straight swap. However, before taking the plunge, we wonder if anyone has any views, or experience with the replacement model particularly its susceptibility to working on gas when the van is not entirely level? FD