November 5, 2014

Le Mans 2015 – Putting the band back together

It’s been a long while since I posted. A lot has happened since June. For starters, my wife and I have had a gorgeous, amazing little Boy, Henry Joseph Phillips. We are also moving house imminently, hopefully within the next two weeks, which is very exciting !

There has been occasional discussion regarding Le Mans in 2015, with the general consensus being that we would like to make this an annual trip. A pilgrimage if you like! After negotiation with family, I am happy to confirm that we are putting the band back together! Phase one is complete, and the EuroTunnel is booked!

Myself and two other friends are so far confirmed, with a similar template to this year. I.e. Wed-Mon in France, Eurotunnel and caravan + awning.

Follow LeMans_Jolly on twitter for updates !

June 18, 2014

Le Mans 2014 was Epic ! Roll on 2015…

Le Mans was epic. We had a BRILLIANT time. All the hard work and planning paid off big, and the trip went without a glitch.

The journey down was smooth, but long. The weather was hot, the beer was cold, and the base-camp / HQ was a home from home!

The satellite system gave us a few issues, mainly related to trees, but thankfully I had the tripod, the larger dish (60cm) and a load of coax to set-up in a clearing in the trees! We had ice cold beer thanks to loads of Carrefour ice and a cool box, cracking food (curry, full English each day, Paella, BBQ, etc) and hot running water, shower, toilet and proper beds courtesy of the caravan.

Would I take the caravan again? Certainly.

What a trip !

May 12, 2014

29 Days to Le Mans…

It’s getting closer ! After months of preparation and waiting, it is now less than 1 month until our road trip to Le Mans ! At the time of writing, it is 29 days and counting ! I really can’t wait !

I even bought a load of Cumberland sausage and good quality bacon from Cumbria at the weekend, whilst I was visiting my Mum. That’s the full English sorted for the days we are there !

April 28, 2014

I hacked an old Truma Maxi pump for use when filling the caravan “Top Tank”

It was a wet as miserable weekend, as usual, so I was browsing the net looking for cheap water pumps. Our caravan, like many, has a filler cap around half way up the nearside wall, which is used to fill the toilet rinse top tank. I think the tank holds around 10 litres, but filling it isn’t so easy without a watering can or hose. If you run the tank to empty whilst away on a site, and don’t have a tap at the pitch, you need to use the kettle or some other container to pour the water into the filler. It’s a bit of a pain.

I was looking for a cheap pump to drop into the aqua-roll and then pump water up into the fill point for the top tank, when I realised that I had an old Truma Maxi pump in the shed which had been left in our caravan by the previous owner. I was never going to use this as I have a Whale Water Master high flow pump.

I stripped the caravan specific hose and power connector from the pump, which revealed a convenient connector which allowed me to push on a few feet of standard garden hose. I then extended the 12v power cable by a few feet, and connected a car style cigarette lighter plug for power. I used some heat shrink tubing to protect the electrical connection. I gave the pump a quick test and it works a treat, seeing the flow rate from the end of the hose shows that the pump is surprisingly powerful !

The idea is that I will connect the 12v plug to the car cigarette lighter, or to a 12v socket inside the caravan, and then pump water up from the aquaroll into the top tank! Handy ! I can also connect a standard “hozelock” connector to the length of hose and use a spray nozzle to wash the caravan I guess.

April 22, 2014

We got a new caravan, and took it away over the bank holiday

Last weekend we bought a new caravan. We traded our 1993 Compass Reflection Merrit at a dealer in North Yorkshire for a 2002 Sterling Eccles Emerald. The Sterling is really fantastic, and a huge step up from the previous van. The Sterling is a 2002 4 berth, at 7 meters in length, and 1,200kg approximately. There is an end wash-room with cylindrical shower cubicle, corner wash basin, electric flushing Thetford toilet and a generous wardrobe, and vanity cupboard.

There is dual gas or 240v electric vented air heating, oven grill and hob, and fridge. There is an external 240v socket and x2 external gas points. Over the bank holiday weekend we have just had, we went away for a few nights and found it to be extremely comfortable. The end washroom and large L-shape lounge area are real plus points, as is the dinette area, and heating.

We are already planning our next trip. We will now be even more comfortable in La Sarthe as we will be taking this caravan to Le Mans !

April 10, 2014

The ACO have started posting Le Mans 2014 tickets!

I received an email earlier this week, from the ACO (which oddly landed in my GMail spam folder) which advised that tickets for the 2014 24 hours of Le Mans are being sent via their courier. Tickets are being sent in chronological order, starting with those ordered on the 8th November 2013. I ordered our tickets on the 14th November I think, so hopefully I will receive some good news next week! Some people have reported in forums that they have received theirs already.

I look forward to the email confirming dispatch !

April 7, 2014

I’m on the Three “One Plan” SIM only 12 month contract. £20 per month with UNLIMITED TETHERING

I’ve been with three for years, and probably would’t entertain the idea of switching network due to years of excellent 3G service. Now that 4G is being rolled out, that experience is only going to get better. Three has always been great value for money too, and this new plan is no exception. I already own my handset (Google Nexus 5) so a SIM only plan seemed logical.

I have opted for the One Plan SIM only on a 12 month contract. This gives me more allowance that I could ever use, but the really strong point of this plan is the unlimited tethering. When we are away with the caravan we are often heavy data users, as we have tablets and other devices which we can use for streaming TV etc (Chromecast), and therefore using the phone as a modem is a must. Previously I only had 1GB of data for use in this way, but now I can tether and get unlimited data, not only on the phone, but on the other devices which connect through it.

For £20 the One Plan gives the following:

All-you-can-eat data
2,000 minutes
5,000 Three-to-Three minutes.
5,000 texts

March 24, 2014

It looks like Le Mans is JUST within the new Astra 2E spot beam

As any readers of my blog will know, I have a little Sky HD multi-room box in my caravan “kit”, as well as a little folding arm satellite dish, which is for use on any site where Freeview / terrestrial reception is not possible (I have been to one such site in Appletreewick in the Yorkshire dales).

I also plan to use the dish and receiver when in France later in the year, for use at the 24 hours of Le Mans. The idea is to watch the race on Eurosport whilst we are at base, but also to watch some of the world cup, and specifically the England V Italy match on the Saturday evening!

The UK free to air satellite channels have recently moved to a new satellite with a tight UK spot beam, meaning reception of these channels (which will air the England world cup games) is much more difficult outside of the UK. Thankfully, the official reception “spot” for this satellite looks to extend to the Le Mans region of France, but only just! This means my little 50cm dish should pick up BBC and ITV channels no problem, although alignment may be a little more critical than it is at home.

I would imagine that for Eurosport, and other encrypted channels, reception will be no issue whatsoever as these services are on a satellite with a much wider pan-European spot.

March 17, 2014

I took the caravan for a spring “shake down” at the weekend

As the caravan has been sat in storage since October last year, I wanted to take it out for a “shake down” to check everything was healthy. I have purchased various bits over the winter, such as LED bulbs (specifically for trips when off EHU) satellite dish, sky receiver, etc… and I wanted to test them out!

I swapped the little spot light bulbs, the toilet / shower light bulbs, and the awning light bulbs for SMD LED models. The results are superb; the light output is far superior to the previous bulbs, and although I don’t have an ammeter to test, they should consume significantly less power (up to 90%).

I also tested my new Triax satellite dish with folding LNB arm. I tested this on the caravan jockey wheel with a bracket I have, and it was superb. It was very easy to set-up and locate the satellite. I also tried the little HD Sky multiroom box I bought, and that worked a treat for viewing Motors TV!

I used some Milton to disinfect the water pipes and hot water tank, and fitted a new water filter to the system. The site I was staying on for the night had a water supply and grey water drain directly on the pitch which was brilliant, as it made this task a breeze. It is so convenient having “mains water” and not having to fill a barrel, or empty the waste. I really must book more plots that have this “full service” option as it is so much better!

I tested some food gadgets too; I tested my mini chopper, which is a tiny food mixer, to make a beef Madras from scratch. I used the chopper to grind up the spices, and to blend the garlic, tomato and ginger. I used my new pan too! I also tried my milk frother to make myself and a friend a couple of decent cappuccinos!

The shake down was a success, and (pending a successful service today) I will be going away for two nights with the family this coming weekend! We cant wait!

March 4, 2014

RC Chinook Helicopter – What a great flying toy !

When away visiting friends last week, I was shown a little “SYMA S026G Chinook” R/C helicopter. My mate Adam has one, which was given to him as a gift. I’ve had an R/C helicopter previously, but it was one of the first generation polystyrene models which only really want up and down. This dual rotor Chinook is a world away!

The helicopter is 3Ch, and Infra red controlled. There is a reasonably study handheld remote included, as well as a USB charging cable (although it can also be charged via it’s own handset via a concealed cable)

The twin rotors of the Chinook makes this toy very stable in flight. It can hover very well, turn 360 degrees on the spot, move forward, backward, up and down. You can land and take-off without too much drama, and it is quite easy to get the hang of things.

I’m very pleased with this for £24. It is incredible to think that it is even possible to produce something like this for that price.

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