Insurance

One of the things about when i converted my Bongo is that the insurance went down as it became a camper, with this in mind i knew that insurance would probably be reasonable for the new motorhome.
Having got some quotes i found that the camping and caravanning club was the cheapest when you factor in the club membership.
One of the benefits of the membership is also the discounts on stays at their sites, with this in mind it made sense to join and insure through them. Worked out at a reasonable £250 pounds full comp.
There are bonuses to becoming an old fart after all!!!

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/insurance/motorhome-insurance/

New motorhome!

I had planned to sell the bongo and extend my drive before buying a new campervan, but as with all best laid plans that went completely to pot! we had been looking for a while at motorhomes' to get an idea of layouts and ideas and went to look at a couple local to us.
We then got smitten with them and put some offers in and had one accepted on a 2003 Swift Suntor which ended up on our drive in double quick time leaving us with the Bongo still to sell and no space to park.
I've had this now for a month or so and love it, plenty of space, proper shower and above all something we can just jump in at a weekend and go away.
There are a couple of minor jobs to do, a couple of the lock barrels need replacing and the switch for the electric step needs rewiring as its intermittent but its a great van that we got at a great price.
All i need to do is work out how everything works, do the jobs and start using it when the weather gets better.
Next plan is to install a solar panel like i had on the Bongo. This will be at least a 100W one that can run phone chargers etc. when at festivals and allow the kids to use their tablets etc. the install on the Bongo was easy but i am a bit scared of drilling holes in the roof for the cables but as long as i use plenty of silicon i am sure it will be fine.
I'll post more in the next few weeks as i get some of the jobs underway.

We are looking forward to going away with our friends for weekends as they've all got caravans or motorhomes. There are some great sites around here that we've used before, see some links below.

Clent Hills Camping site
http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/westmidlands/halesowen/clenthills

Wolverley Camping site
http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/worcestershire/kidderminster/wolverley

Red Lion - Wainlode Hill, nr. Tewkesbury
http://www.redlioninn-caravancampingpark.co.uk/

The bongo is gone!!

so i sold my Mazda Bongo the other week to a lovely couple from Chester. I'd had it for 4 years or so and had converted it from a normal MPV into my camper.
we had quite a few adventures in the van , from camping weekends to festivals and had a great time in it. I hadn't really spared any expense and didn't expect to get my money back but actually got a really good price for it, i guess the market is expanding for this type of vehicle when you compare it to the likes of the VW T4's, T5's etc.
I really missed the van but needs must. It was great for weekends away but was a bit cramped. And if you wanted to go away with the kids you needed to take the awning and everything in the little camping trailer, which was no great chore in itself but was a pain when you came back because everything needed to be dried, cleaned and re-packed ready for the next time.
So i'll miss you Bongo, but you have been replaced by something that will hopefully enable us to go away more and more without the hassles of all the drying and cleaning that have to be done afterwards.
I hope the new owners enjoy it as much as i did.

The trailer is up for sale , as is the awning, as the new owners didn't want them. email me if you are interested.

Hello there!

first post of a new blog. Sunshine Campers. Why the name? well i hate rain and having just got a new motorhome i intend to follow the sun!!