Good Morning Thread - Come say good morning, tell us what you've got on today. :)

We have this thread on TilersForums.com and it's just been restarted because the old thread had 20,000 replies and 500,000 views. And there were 700 pages. Started to lag a bit on slow connections.

I think we had a bash of this before, but I can't find the thread, so thought I'd start another one off.

If you have time in the mornings, come post in the thread before you head off to work, let us know what you've got on and what the weather is like in your area etc. Anything at all is fine.

Posts and likes get counted towards your total stats in this thread.

So GOOOD MORNING PEOPLE - WEATHER IS NICE TODAY IN STOKE. I'M THANKFUL IT'S FRIDAY, HAD A RUBBISH WEEK. THANK GOD IT'S OVER.

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[brianmoooore]

I tow a caravan and normally don't balance wheels but I'm rarely the one at the front of a queue.
There's a long downhill section when I'm nearly home, which has double white lines for miles. I keep it at 60 MPH, and, of course I do get quite a few cars build up behind, although I'm at the speed limit for them. This eventually opens up into a steep uphill section with an overtaking lane.
As I come into this, you see the whole lot behind you move into the RH lane as one, and it is at this point I drop down through the gears and floor the RH pedal.. If there's a reasonably powerful car at the front of the queue he may get past, but the usual scenario is for the lead car to get alongside me three quarters of the way up, then slowly begin to drop back as I'm still accelerating and he's reached terminal velocity uphill.
Totally immature and irresponsible, I know, but it's the way they all pull out to overtake en mass than provokes me, and I'm pi**ed off, because the holiday's nearly over.

 

[nicebutdim]

Mike may have opened a can of worms as there are caravan towers on both sides of this debate.

I'm not among their number

 

[Mike Johnson]

There is no debate, if you drive slowly enough you will not notice your wheels need balancing, but you may notice the deterioration in vehicle ride quality as your shock absorbers prematurely wear out.

 

[nicebutdim]

There is no debate, if you drive slowly enough you will not notice your wheels need balancing, but you may notice the deterioration in vehicle ride quality as your shock absorbers prematurely wear out.

Back when I fitted my own wheels, driving at low speeds wasn't something I did much of.

Vibration from an out of balance wheel can manifest itself at any speed, although tends to be most common in the 50-70mph range. If that vibration appears at 50mph, you won't notice it at 65mph, but it will return again at 100mph. Likewise vibration at 60mph will return again at 120mph. The physics involved is outside my area of expertise, but its effects are very clear.

 

[brianmoooore]

80MPH with caravan for hours on end, with no sign of vibration.

 

[nicebutdim]

80MPH with caravan for hours on end, with no sign of vibration.

Brings back memories of my childhood. Father driving flat out to catch the ferry and mother having a meltdown in the passenger seat, swearing it was the last holiday she'd go on.

 

[brianmoooore]

Father driving flat out to catch the ferry

Have a little story on that, as well.
On the way to Roscoff, years ago, my wife made a little navigational error, which cost us 45 minutes before I realised and got back on track.
I remember seeing a well loaded car on UK plates waiting to come out of a junction about 30 miles from Roscoff, as we passed through a small French town, and we reached the port just in time to tag on to the last of the traffic going through ticket/passport control into the inner holding area.
Well loaded car ends up in a lane almost beside us, driver gets out, walks over, and says "I've never seen a caravan driven as fast as that in my entire life". Those were the days.

 

[nicebutdim]

Looking back at some of his caravan antics, I have to credit my father with having balls of steel (that or being incredibly stupid).

 

[brianmoooore]

Another 'incident' of note was when action by French fishermen required that I moved from one port to another in a fairly short time.
Was alongside a large van up a hill, and when we came over the summit and started to go down, the turbulence from it set off the dreaded tail swing. The caravan really started to sway, and as I watched it in the mirrors, it was actually lifting each wheel way off of the ground in turn. The motorway was quite busy, but I suddenly found myself all alone - all the other traffic seemed to disappear, so I was able to use the full three carriageways to swerve across and eventually bring the speed down and get everything back under control. Once normal flight had resumed, traffic started passing again, and many were actually applauding as they passed.
Inside of the caravan was absolutely trashed, with cupboards, drawers and fridge all open with contents all over the floor.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Talking of tail swing, try a 30ft glider trailer on only two wheels, fun was had turning right at any junction, those that know what I am talking about will laugh.

 

[littlespark]

80mph towing a caravan.

Ever so slightly illegal, unless your driving in a different country to UK

 

[brianmoooore]

80mph towing a caravan.

Ever so slightly illegal, unless your driving in a different country to UK

France. Same limits for cars + caravans as for cars. 80MPH on a motorway.

 

[littlespark]

Never mind caravans.... its how "other" drivers treat any car with L plates on.

Im teaching my middle one to drive just now, so i take it out to a big empty car park, and we switch seats.
I sit at a steady 60 on a straight... but there's always some tw@t speeds right up behind me, pulls out and shoots past at 80/90

"So thats how to not drive properly"


Its a little petrol Kia Pecanto... and gets up to 60mph quite happily...

On a good day, with the wind behind... long straight downhill road.... i can even get it up to 61!

 

[littlespark]

Quick question.

Are iPhone 11’s waterproof?

Been wanting to film that for ages and be a bit crafty with the angles.

I think my blades need sharpened again.

 

[littlespark]

Bit of a messy one yesterday.

Started on a kitchen for a regular customer.
Older lady, always has the cup of coffee and a tray of biscuits for trades.

So it was a quick job, isolating the circuits so the joiner can get on, and I’ll return on Saturday.
Tidying up, drained the coffee cup, grabbed a shortbread, straight in my mouth and popped a tunnocks tea cake in my pocket to take out to the van as my hands were full.

Yes… I forgot about it.

2 hours later, after a drive to the wholesalers, stop for lunch (still forgot about it) and drove to the next job… put my hand in my pocket and…. Well. A mangled mess of chocolate, mallow and red/silvery tin foil…


It’s all over my fleece pocket… drained through onto my t shirt and trousers.

It looks like I’ve been attacked by a diarreah ridden seagull.

 

[nicebutdim]

About as easy to clean as expanding foam

 

[littlespark]

Just back from an after 5pm call-out.

Customer has been constantly blowing fuses over the weekend, and now says there’s a cable sparking in the bathroom.
Sounds like an emergency!

Mid terrace Ex council house with original council MEM fuseboard and council wiring… singles in conduit.

First fault. Loose wire in pull cord touching earthed fixing screw…

Second fault, Tiler had cut the cable that used to be in surface trunking supplying a panel heater. He had cut it off at ceiling height to tile the wall. Left bare ends hanging! Live bare ends!
This has been like this for weeks!

Third issue… the lighting fuse had been replaced with 30A… and the fuseboard cover was still open from changing the fuse.. “my dad did it”

Fourth issue. Shower pull cord… the only circuit covered by an rcd…. Switch and pattress broken, hanging off ceiling.

Fifth. Someone in the past has done work, adding circuits in new colours, but no rcd upgrade to the board. But they did add a “new colours” warning sticker. (Although shower does have rcd?)

Six. Missing smoke detectors.

Seven. Cupboard that board is in was chokka full of crap.

Eight. Up in attic pulling up the cut cable to make it safe, there’s the remnants of an old high bay fitting. Reflector, lampholder, control gear….
I’m sure there’s an innocent explanation, but last time I came across that set up…. It was being used for “horticultural” purposes.


They’re getting a quote for a new db, and any further repair work on hourly rate.
Not expecting them to take heed of my recommendations.

 

[littlespark]

Spending a day at that stately home I’m testing. Still in the basement… rooting through the “butlers pantry” which used to be part of the guided tour of the house, but not now… still looks like it did when it was on show…..

I don’t remember this door being open last time I was here????

Oh… Rot and mould got into the drinks cupboard. What a waste…

And there’s something I’ve not seen for about 30 years…

That brings back teenage memories I’d rather forget.

Drunk from the legs up. Speaking wasn’t a problem… walking was impossible.

Tasted like Bonjela if I remember.

 

[littlespark]

Giving the caravan a spring clean today after getting it back from being serviced.
Also got a new toy fitted

For those of you not in the know, that is the remote control for a motor mover. Not that I have any trouble reversing onto a pitch, but more for getting it into the storage shed.

Handy little thing, but I’m having a gripe about where they put the isolation switch.
As it is, you have to push the mains trailing socket on slightly at an angle and push it against the red cover.
I can take the red cover off, but I shouldn’t need to.
I’ll try and move the inlet plug to the side a bit.

The inlet plug is angled… so that isolator would have been better at the top

 

[brianmoooore]

I bought two non working movers about seven years ago, for £10 each, and made a fully working system from the two. (One was a duff remote, and the other, a broken brush spring in one of the motors).
Like you, I've no trouble reversing a trailer (I've been doing it since the age of around 7), but it revolutionises getting it into and out of it's winter shed.
Now I've used it a few times on site, it's one of the best things, caravan related, I've ever fitted, and certainly wouldn't be without one now. The two biggest advantages are to be able to put your van into a European pitch so that you are positioned in the same place that a caravan with a RH door would be, and no longer end up with just a metre between your open window and your net door neighbour's. The other major advantage is to be able to unhitch and especially hitch up gain in seconds - just place the car tow hitch anywhere in the near neighbourhood of the van hitch and bring the two precisely together effortlessly. Makes unhitching for one or two night stops much more convenient.
It's one of those things that you never knew you needed until you've tried one.
P.S. It also serves as an effective brake if you're parked on a slope with the back of the van downwards.