Beth's Blog: January 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Mum's Article

Mum's letter got into the camping and caravanning magazine it read:

Reading the letters this month in the magazine it is clear that our unit fulfils the criteria in both these letters.
It amused me to see the 'van in the letter described as old as it is 17 years old. Our unit is a Castleton van from 1979 called Greta. She works brilliantly, tows well and despite some wood rot which has been very ably fixed by my husband is showing relatively few signs of aging. We have had her 10 years and have taken her to many places without electric hook up. As designed there is very little power consumption in everyday use so our batteries last pretty well. We have added a solar panel which sits on the awning to just top up the battery and this helps with the increased demand of modern life of charging phone, ds, camera and laptop batteries. We have hot water, cold fridge and great little stove and oven so have all the mod cons we feel are necessary. Don't write off older vans automatically but look for those which have been well loved and cared for.
We are dreading the day when Greta finally has to be consigned to the scrap, although each season we wonder if this will be her last she just keeps going. She was well made and has been used with much love. Until the day she goes we will keep her, love her and take her places regularly without the waste and cost of replacement with a more modern, much more expensive and decidedly less battery efficient van.