MagHal Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Started out for Zarautz last June got everything loaded started up and the power steering belt started squeeling. Too late to do owt so drove all the way with my foot feathering the accelerator to keep the engine above idling revs. Located a Peugeot dealer in Zarautz and after lots of pointing at pictures and miming got him to order a Correa de Bombe de Dirrectiones Assistida. as a back up. Tightened up the old belt and drove all the way back hoping it wouldn't give out. Got home without mishap. It's now on the winter refit list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 My knob came off in my hand last night! (That is the gear knob!) The plastic collar inside has just disintigrated. At present on a trip up East Coast. Have bodged it with tape for the moment until I can get a small jubillee clip to put on the end so I have something to hold. What a stupid design - it's just a push fit, no nut! New pattern jobbie from ebay £12 ish (new OE from Fiat £60!) Anyone else lost their knob? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 laimeduck - 2015-10-04 4:10 PM Anyone else lost their knob? We did once back in the 80's in an old Bedford CF Autohome. One Sunday evening we were parked up on Dartmoor at a lovely isolated spot by a river that we had used for weekend camping for many years when this rather officious park warden came along and asked us to move as wild camping for back packers in tents was allowed any form of camping involving a vehicle, especially a self contained vehicle, was now prohibited. So after a long, but polite, discussion during which he refused to allow us to stay till morning we packed up and I started the van. As I knocked it into reverse gear to back out the gear stick 'came off in me 'and, so it did'. I seized the opportunity, jumped out holding the gearstick and pleaded with him to let us stay until morning when I could get a garage to fix it for us. Reluctantly he agreed and drove off, so I screwed the plastic gear stick retainer back in place (it having done the same thing before!) and we stayed the night in peace and quiet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Wallynnette - 2015-09-26 8:13 AM Keep 'em coming guys, you can't beat a bit of light entertainment (at cost of others) to make people smile. Looks like we're in a minority with mishaps though. (lol) I'm sure there must be a lot of sat-nav related ' mishaps ' - but people are too embarrassed to tell anyone about them. Met a lady in southern France a couple of weeks ago who complained that her husband always had faith in what his sat-nav told him to do - and it had just taken them 5 hours to do 80 miles due to mis directions by his computer friend. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilreeves Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 We used to have a static caravan in North Wales. Went to Rhyl for the day with the kids and had a very good day. About 5pm we went back to the car and drove back to the caravan. When we got back made a coffee and thought it was quiet. We had only forgot one of the kids and left her in Rhyl. No mobile phones then. So drove back as quick as we could only to finder having the time of her life. The owner of the arcade had been looking after her and gave her free rides on all the fair and free food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 My first trip in a camper was in 78 around Morocco, my job at the time was to look after a couple of campers that the Navy recently bought (Autohomes Highwayman and a Autosleeper pop top both based on Sherpa's) and were hired to forces family on Gibraltar............and as the border was shut, the obvious destination was Morocco ;-) ............. Well a family I knew wanted to hire a camper for a fortnight, their only problem was that neither could drive :D ......... So I offered to drive, but what folk need to bear in mind I'd only passed my test the year before on the Rock :-> ............ In at the deep end would be an apt description (lol) ...........but the stand out incident happened in Casablanca, when I was flagged down by a policeman for running a red light ............I still don't recall seeing a red light :-S ..........anyway we had a conversation in broken English but the gist was.....Policeman "Are you on drugs?"........Me "No" :-S .............Policeman "You want to buy some?" 8-) ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Called in at a Supermarket in Poland to stock up on drinking yoghurts and milk. Weather was roasting. Strolled back to the van, packed everything away, exited the car park.........and ended up on the wrong side of a dual carriageway! Here is the actual road; http://oi61.tinypic.com/2jc7cps.jpg Obviously it didn't take long to realise my mistake but oh brother...the embarrassment! :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 In Spain several years ago. Parked on solid ground - went to a buy some wine. It rained whilst we were in the bodega. Went back to ‘van - tried to pull away. Solid ground was now 6 inches of mud - tried all sorts to move the ‘van – but to no avail. Wonderful Spanish builder 200 yards away saw our predicament. Drove over in his ‘JCB’ attached a rope and pulled us free. Gratefully gave him €10 which he did not want to take but we insisted. Our ‘adventure’ somehow got back to friends at the campsite. Found a note in the awning - “John’s an old stick in the mud” Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artheytrate Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 In 2006 we were on an internet forum rally which was 2 weeks in Cornwall, we had an Auto Sleeper VW Gatcombe with a rear ladder. I zip tied a 8 metre flagpole to the ladder with a large spinning wind sock attached. On the campsite there were overhead pylons running through it. The next day we decided to go out for the day in the van, so we started driving across the site and I happened to look through the rear view mirror and I saw the organiser who was slightly over weight running after our van waving his arms frantically. I pulled up and breathlessly he said that we had driven off with the 8 metre flagpole with spinner still attached and with the overhead pylons we looked like the biggest dodgem car he had ever seen. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Being relatively new to motorhomes, where do I start? :-S 1st dink, reversing into a tight spot in a Spanish site, scratched the nearside front wing on a rock! :$ 2nd dink, visiting the war memorial sites in France last year, reversed into an open slot in a grass carpark and hit a low tree stump. Back to the sprayers! *-) 3rd dink, reversed into a tap that leapt out at me in a service area! :-( 4th and most recent dink, exchanged paintwork with an old Spanish Peugeot on a tight narrow mountain road on the east coast of Spain. Although he stopped for me, he started again too soon, and his rear end turned into mine. Scratches again, to be fixed next month! :'( Still, loving the lifestyle, and heading back from Spain next week for a short time. Hope to keep it in one piece this time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Coming down the A1 marvelling at the growl from our Talbot engine in our new to us motorhome as we headed home from Kielder. "What was that" asked my wife. I looked in my rear view mirror to see a bolt bouncing in the road. "And that", she said. Another bolt bouncing on the road. We pulled over, rang the AA and put the kettle on. AA man came and diagnosed we had one engine mounting in place. He put some some bolts in to secure the engine and then joined us in a cuppa. The dealer fixed the engine next day. Shame, the growling stopped! Breaking down up by the Cairngorm ski lift. Jammed gear lever. On with the kettle as we watched for the AA man coming along the A9. As darkness and snow fell, the reindeer began to get cosy with our motorhome with our kids getting somewhat nervous. The AA man fixed the gears over and joined us in a cuppa as the sun set and the reindeers shooed out of the way. Didn't stop snowing though and the AA man followed us down the road now covered in snow. Most embarrassing was at Clun when I tried to get to a car park and found the road blocked in front of me and down the road from me by parked cars. On the right, was a narrow road wide enough to take the van. No warning signs so off I went to a dead end with no turning space. Out came the locals to blame my non existent satnav for getting me stuck. Try as I might, with the locals helping, I just could not reverse down the lane which had shrunk in width but grown in length and number of bends. A local lorry driver reversed the van out for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 About six years ago, in France. Took a wrong turning onto a very narrow road and over a bridge. Carried on for a couple of miles. Found somewhere to turn around – then a couple of miles back to the original road over the bridge again. Once safe on that road said to wife. “Did you see that?” Wife “See what?” Me “That bridge we have just driven over, twice was supported by an ‘RSJ’. The road surface has fallen away from the ‘RSJ’ and there are holes that went right through!!” Fortunately we are here to relate the story. Cattwg :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallynnette Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 These would be good to see on film, what a chuckle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Brock - 2015-10-04 9:15 PM Coming down the A1 marvelling at the growl from our Talbot engine in our new to us motorhome as we headed home from Kielder. "What was that" asked my wife. I looked in my rear view mirror to see a bolt bouncing in the road. "And that", she said. Another bolt bouncing on the road. We pulled over, rang the AA and put the kettle on. AA man came and diagnosed we had one engine mounting in place. He put some some bolts in to secure the engine and then joined us in a cuppa. The dealer fixed the engine next day. Shame, the growling stopped! Your story reminded me of a chap i used to work with some years ago who was "Mr Mechanic Marvel".....forever boasting about his (imaginary) feats of mechanical prowess.....you name it he'd done it! Another chap on the same shift had just been quoted for an engine rebuild he couldn't afford. "Mechanic Marvel" stepped in......."no problem Geoff, i'll sort you that for a hundred quid". Amazingly Geoff agreed. A couple of weeks later "Mechanic Marvel" announces, "engine all sorted Geoff and back in your car...you can pick it up anytime".....then hands Geoff a bag with a load of nuts, bolts and various other bits in. "Whats this for?" asked Geoff. Mechanic Marvel; "oh those were what i had left over.......they aren't anything important'!! *-) *-) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Just settling down to sleep, you know that moment when you are just dropping off? The sat nav came to life and said! turn around when possible, we did and fell out of bed. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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