Ian and Judit meet Bessy

Ian Shires
November 2011 - January 2012

Introduction

Returning to the UK after years of living and working in Budapest, Ian and Judit planned to replace their Land Rover Defender and tent with a motorhome. But which one? Many months of research followed: reading, browsing, discussing and visiting dealers, they eventually found the vehicle in which to extend their already extensive travels in Europe and beyond.

See photographs of Ian and Judit collecting Bessy below the article and a Gallery/Slide Show on this website.

See also Ian's articles on this website:

Finding a Motorhome

Eastern Turkey by Land Rover 

By Land Rover to Greece

Travel Tips

World Travels

Here is Ian's account of their first tentative steps into this new world of travel and adventure:

“After more than 2 years of thinking about it and then planning it, we were on our way to Highbridge Caravan Centre near Burnham on Sea to collect our first motorhome. A Bessacarr E760.

Judit and I had really wanted a long(ish) low profile MH with fixed single beds. We wanted the length because we were sure that we would each like a bit of privacy at some time. Of course It had to be German, we thought, because according to all the press reports they make the best motorhomes. However, Germans didn't seem to make what we wanted. We have sat in, lounged in and chatted in quite a few A-class Hymers, and Burstners but they really seemed to be over priced and did not supply what we wanted.

Above all Germans don't seem to like cooking. None of them had more than a 3-burner hob and some of them were able to sleep six people. What do they eat?

Then the internet came to our rescue. The Bessacarr almost jumped off the screen. Granted it did not have single beds but it did have a fixed double, a full kitchen (well almost) and two longitudinal settees and an unfixed table. A trip down the M4 to Highbridge Caravan Centre and we were hooked. The goodies included a low mileage 2.8 Fiat cab with Pilot seats, 2 leisure batteries, the kitchen with a real gas cooker and one of the hobs was electric. Four mains sockets. Gas and electric water heating, toilet, washbasin and shower. The awning was fitted and it even had a giant canvas bag under the bed full of "walls" for the awning Safari Room. At the back was a sturdy bumper with tow bar and a bike rack. All of this in just under 7.5 meters.

After a guided tour and a test drive we paid the deposit.

Two weeks later we were fully committed and on the M4 again. No more bragging to family and friends about the future trips we would make; now we could not get out of it. It really is a big step to take. But there she stood, nice and shiny and waiting just for us. The Highbridge staff were excellent and were happy to take us through the handover as slowly as we wanted. And not just one person, several engineers and mechanics came and gave us their guidance. Thanks to them we knew EVERYTHING there was to know about Bessy. I must add that I had always promised I would never give a motorhome a name, but what else can you call a Bessacarr?

We had arranged to stay at a very local campsite, just 2 left turns and one right turn away. That was when the fun started. Now I was driving this giant beast alone for the first time while Judit followed behind in our ancient Fiesta. It was raining and a gale was blowing, it was dark and it was rush hour. What could make it worse?

A major traffic accident had blocked the second left turn to our campsite and the Police had closed the road. Now I was really in trouble. I guessed that the next left further along the road would take me around the back of the campsite. Surely there would be another way in. Sadly my choice of road was through a tiny picturesque village with roads that got narrower and narrower. On top of that, this road had now become a rat run for the going home brigade. I would love to have just stopped and let them get on with it but the road was too narrow. I chickened out and turned back thanks to a loop through the village. I hoped that a pleasant chat with the nice Policeman at the end of the road might produce positive results. No joy, the road really was blocked, but I could go into the centre of Burnham-on-Sea and approach the camp via a back road.

The roads in B-on-S might have been wider but they were 500% busier. After several miles and a couple of wrong turns I did find the back road and the nice lady Bobby let me pass. Oh what joy to sit down on one of those settees and down a large whisky.

We very efficiently sorted out the hook-up and soon the fan heater was providing us with a cosy evening in. The heating, hot water, fridge, etc could wait until morning.

Our first night was miserable. Both Judit and I were recovering from a cold and that meant we were wheezing like road-killed bagpipes. But we were warm and it was comforting to feel Bessy rocking around in the gale and lashing rain.

In the morning we started with the paperwork and could not find the MOT. The clever people at the Department of Transport now print it on white paper, which blends in very well with everything else. So back to Highbridge to discuss that and also sort out a jack and the driver's Pilot seat. A wonderful seat but I could not lower the back of it to my desired shape. Once again everyone at Highbridge was on form and we were sorted in no time.

We now needed a hose so that we could fill up with water and try out the wet side of motorhoming. To our surprise it seems that hosepipe sales are seasonal. We visited 2 garden centres and two DIY stores before we found what we wanted at B&Q in Weston Super Mare.

It was at this moment we realised we had forgotten EVERYTHING we had been told about control panels, transformers, leisure batteries, charging them, switching this on and that off, and so on. Putting water into a motorhome was not as easy as we had expected. First of all the taps nearby had very short stubby outlets that would not accept any fitting. That meant driving around the site to find a suitable tap. Furthermore, the water filler cap is not like a petrol filler cap. After much twisting and turning and not a little murmuring under my breath, we discovered that you must not only turn it but also give it a very hard push.

We put a hell of a lot of water into the tank before noticing that a similar amount was pouring out around my ankles. It was that clever valve that allows you to empty the heater in winter. It had been open all the time. The good thing about campsites in December is the solitude. I would have felt a real idiot if it had been a summer campsite in Italy with 20 irate families in the queue behind me.

Convinced we had enough water in the tank we returned to our pitch and attempted to start the water heater. First I had to approach the control panel to tell it I wanted to play with the pump, then open two hot taps, but not the shower, and wait for the water to come out before switching on the heater. Well, the water didn't come out, the taps just gurgled happily to themselves. Probably not enough water, so it's back to the tap again in the morning.

On a good note, the gas heating seems to be efficient if rather noisy. So we stopped panicking and made some dinner on our full size stove. We'll panic in the morning.

Morning. At last we had a good night's sleep. The bagpipes had escaped.

Now is a good time to comment on the literature supplied. The first one was the Bessacarr handbook. Note the single word Bessacarr. Not Bessacarr E760. So all the way through the booklet you are continually finding that you have just read two pages all about an item that is not fitted in your motorhome. Then there are the references to various bits of equipment. In other words, ignore the nice Bessacarr brochure and find the manufacturer's literature and read that. Trouble is that I do not know if I have a Truma 678/9-5 or a Truma 678/9-6. Come on Bessacarr, I'm sure you can do better than that. I could.

So we started reading the literature about the cooker, the fridge (one of 4 models mentioned in the booklet), the water heater and the warm air heater, and the toilet. Wow, what a weekend trying to tie all the bits of data together.

Don't these people realise that the user is not a mechanic interested in various Codes of Practice and that only a wire capable of carrying 6 amps be fitted in line with a wiggly thing.

What I want is the following:

First night at a campsite: do the following in this order …
First night at a campsite with electric hookup: do the following in this order …
How do I switch on the heating without having to read 4 different books? Do the following in this order …
I'm hungry. How do I cook a meal? Do the following in this order…
How do I fill up with water? Do the following in this order ...
I want to go home. What do I do? Do the following in this order …
and so on.

Back to the water filling. Sadly, as before, water was running out of a small pipe as quickly as I could fill the tank. Several nice motorhomers gathered round and gave good advice and even looked at the tank in question. None of them had any idea how to solve the problem. So much for all the technical garbage in the handbooks.

So we did the obvious thing and went for a drive in the Fiesta. Burnham-on-Sea is an amazing place. There are so many caravan parks and mobile home parks it must be visible from space. After admiring the outside of Pontins and several amusement arcades we headed for Weston-Super-Mare and watched the wind surfers struggling in the gale force winds. Having had a few cobwebs blown out of our heads, the next stop was Cheddar Gorge. Nice place but a bit over priced, although the pasty and chips in Derek's Cafe were excellent. I'm sure the cheddar cheese was OK but not at tourist prices.

Back at Holme Farm campsite I learnt another motorhome trick. I set up my kit and started to charge the laptop from the cigarette lighter. Some time later Judit and I were still not getting too warm even with the fan heater on full blast. It was only when we switched off the fan heater I heard the cab fan working. I had been filling poor old Bessy with cold air. Lesson learnt; turn off the fan.

Day four was a good day. Not weatherwise, as it was still very windy with frequent squally showers. The good part was a trip back to Highbridge for the team to have a look at our problems. Simon was our man; a real hero. He quickly found the water problem fault and admitted he had caused it. There was an air lock in the pipes. Within minutes we had water from all the taps and hot water as well as warm air. He also sorted out our understanding about the control unit. It is not quite as frightening as we thought. Simon also sorted out the gas cooker and made all 3 of the gas hobs light automatically. Next came the alarm system.

Simon found that one of the detectors on one of the locker doors was misbehaving. Next, he made the electric step automatically retract when the ignition was switched on. After installing our new Avtex TV, he even found time to clean the marks off one of the wing mirrors where I had side-swiped something on the dark country lane. Simon even showed us the control box for the solar panel. "Which solar panel?" we said. It appears that the sales team forgot to mention the solar panel. I call it a bonus.

All told, Highbridge did us proud and after our experiences I would recommend them to anyone.

The other good part of the day was leaving Simon to perform his magic while we roamed around Somerset. We nearly drove into Hinckley Point nuclear power station until we saw a very official sign that basically said "Sod off." So we turned round and went to Weston Super Mare for a walk along the newly refurbished pier and a meal of fish and chips.

So here we are back at the campsite, nice and cosy with our feet up, the TV on and a contented look on both our faces.

Tomorrow we have the long drive home, where we can expect a parking problem if we do not get there before the commuters return with their cars. Then we will have a few days at home sorting out our Bessy and planning where to go next. The North of England is favourite at the moment.”

Ian continues:

"We had a plan this last weekend. Go to Yorkshire and see some family and friends. Collect a silver screen (the best silver screens are made by Taylormade of Honley near Huddersfield) and refillable gas bottles. Then we would set off to Mid Wales to see other friends. On the way from Yorkshire we would stop at a real campsite or pub car park.

The plan began to unravel on Saturday morning because the manufacturers of Gasit did not include a certain brass adapter for the bottles. Being too late to collect them from the manufacturer before Christmas, the owner of Automotive Electrical in Mirfield said he would try and get said adapter for Monday, but maybe Tuesday.

On Monday while collecting our silver screens, we had a call that the adapter would be ready at 14-30. And David was there at 14-30 with 2 adapters in hand. He had driven all the way to Thirsk and back to collect some from a competitor; a round trip of 110 miles.

On top of this excellent service David took us to the filling station to take us through the filling process and then check for leaks.

All told, I would recommend Automotive Electrical at Mirfield for anything. It is an excellent hardworking family firm where service comes first.

Mirfield was also handy for visiting some family members and we had two exciting trips over Grange Moor and Emley Moor in a blizzard. I only bumped the kerb twice. Very demanding roads for a new boy.

The various delays meant that the Welsh part of the trip had to be cancelled. We'll have a go after the New Year."

At the end of January 2012, Ian and Judit set off for Greece.

Follow their journey by clicking: Bessy Heads East

Judit meets Bessy
Judit checks the drivers controls
In the Lounge
Looking back to the ensuite Bedroom
The Kitchen