Trying to plan a trip away

[sotal]

Now this may seem a little premature given that we haven't taken ownership of the bongo yet! (Hopefully in a week)

However I'm trying to plan a trip away in it, but am lacking in experience as we've obviously never spent so much as a night in one yet!

So here goes...

We had already arranged to spend a weekend visiting a family member - staying at their house. They live approx 250 miles away so we figured this would be an excellent time to use the bongo and take our time getting there. I've been scouring the C&CC website for sites and have found 3 to stay at on the way there, weekend at family members house, then there is a nice area we'd like to spend a good few days at not far from there, then 3 sites on the way back down.

So in total we're looking at staying at 7 different campsites plus a family members house over a 2 week period.

We're planning this for the beginning of August. (2 adults, 2 children and a dog!)

We don't mind roughing it a bit and not having a shower at every site, but would need some!

So my questions are (and please answer from your experience)...

Do we need EHU? If so do we need it on every stop? (EHU would give us electric kettle (we have gas too), possibility of microwave (if we take one), heater, charger. The main point being the heater - hopefully though at the beginning of August we shouldn't need a heater (should we?).

I reckon we will need a roof box to have enough storage space (do you agree?)

We will have a drive away awning.

This might sound a daft question but is there places you can stop in a Bongo and just park up and make the bed and have a sleep then set off again? Rather than having a pitch etc?

Any essentials you would recommend getting?

Booking wise - I'm going to be phoning some of these sites shortly - as they are 5 van sites mostly - do they become hard to book in August? Am I going to find they are fully booked already?

Is it worth going with the C&CC? They just seem easier to find reasonably priced sites.

[mikeonb4c]

Hi and welcome. Make sure new Bongo is checked over and fit for travelling before hitting the road. Not sure, but electric kettle could exceed amperage limit on ehu sites, some electric heaters also - someone will advise I'm sure. Wild camping not really allowed in UK although generally ok in Scotland. People may still do it but you'd need to know where to hide. I think there's a wild camping website so have a Google. I'd be prepared for sites to be booked up for August, especially the good ones, but travel in hope! People say c&cc are good. Good luck, keep us posted.

[sotal]

Thanks for the reply.

The kettle and heater we currently have are both low wattage versions that we have used in the caravan. The microwave is a small low wattage one but still exceeds some of the basic EHU supplies.

The Bongo is currently being extensively checked over, hence not having it yet. We will try and get away for a weekend or two before hand to get to grips with any minor issues and work out routines for getting into the roof bed etc!

[tanglefoot]

Hi matey. As mikeonb4c said there is a wild camping web site...you need to join for a few squids but can download a google map file full of wild camps, toilets and showers. Like you I have'nt got my Bongo yet (due insurance company making a complete mess of fund tranfer..gggrrrrrrrr), but that is exactly what I intend to do...good luck.

[Muzorewa]

It might depend how old (big) the kids are - and the dog. If you're only going to be at sites for one night I think you'll rapidly find putting up a drive-away awning a chore, especially if it's wet when you have to pack away, not even rain but just dew or condensation.

You haven't said (I don't think) whether you're getting a tintop or a lifting roof, a roofbox is possible on an AFT but with care. A back-box on a bike-rack would be a better plan.

We found a pull-out awning coupled with a large windbreak as necessary and a small pop-up tent was all we needed for three weeks in the Scottish highlands. The tent can be used for people or clutter depending on the site and the weather. Have a look at THIS thread to see how it can work with four peeps in a Bongo - the camping gets wilder as the holiday progresses

[marionw]

Hi Sotal,
Another good site to check out for campsites is UKCampsites.co.uk.

Happy hunting.

[sotal]

Thanks for the replies.

Bongo is an AFT with a mid conversion. It already has a roof rack on so just a case of finding a roof box. I'm after a long narrow one to go on the passenger side. I've seen the bike rack ones but don't fancy them to be honest.

The dog isn't huge but can be bouncy in the morning! Should be fun! The problem we will have is that if he is being a pain we would normally stick him in the car! However we do have a large dog cage which he will probably travel in, which we hope to put in the awning. This will allow us to put him in there.

We should get good at putting the awning up and down if we do it every day! I know what you mean though about it becoming a chore. Fingers crossed it isn't too hard. I do think we will need the extra space it allows to let us break out a little. We have a windbreak too so we may just use that at times if the weather is nice.

I do like the speed and convenience of the pull out awnings. May have to look into them as an option.

[sotal]

Oh one extra thing.

Are ferrys a hassle at all? Would need to go on the one to Arran. Looks straight forward enough - do you just book it as a motorhome? Do they mind roof boxes (can't find an option for it)? Do they mind dogs? (Again can't find an option)

[Muzorewa]

That ferry from Ardrossan is one of the few that gets really busy, normally you can alter your booked crossing at will but we weren't able to on that one as it was full. But just book as a people carrier and declare the correct length which is all they're really interested in.

[sotal]

Thanks for the reply - that is the exact ferry I was looking at using. If I put in motorhome I can choose the length and no matter what times or dates I put in it gives me a price of £49 return. If I put it in as a people carrier I can't choose the length of the vehicle - the price still ends up exactly the same.

So which is better?

I take it from your pictures that height for a roof box was no problem?!

[Muzorewa]

I don't think it matters if it's the same price. When you arrive at the port they'll direct you into lanes depending on the height - I think that ferry has a movable deck for normal cars which they'll fill first and then raise it to get another set underneath. Then trucks & coaches etc alongside.

Those ferry pics were from THIS album where we had less inclement weather on Arran, the Arran shots are early on in the series. You'll notice we'd jettisoned one of the kids too