Arriving at the campsite and setting up

The order, before you touch anything

Most first timers climb out, wind the steadies down, plug in the power, and only then notice the caravan is not level. Now everything comes up again. Do it in this order and it goes once. Give yourself an hour the first time; it gets quick after that.

Choosing the stand

Ask at the office which stands are open, then walk them before you commit. Morning sun, afternoon shade. Work out where the wind comes from, because you want the caravan's body between the wind and the tent. Skip the lowest patch of ground, that is where the rain ends up, and look up for dead branches. The stand on the ridge with the view is also the windiest one in the park.

Then the practical bits. Close enough to the ablutions to walk there in the dark, far enough that you do not hear the door bang all night, and a way out you can drive forward on the morning you pack up in the rain.

Handbrake, chocks and unhitching

Once the caravan is where you want it, pull the handbrake lever all the way up. The AL-KO chassis handbook is blunt about it: the handbrake only re-applies the brakes on a backwards roll when the lever is fully upright. Half way up is not on. Chock both wheels before you unhitch, not after, and leave the chocks in for as long as the caravan stands disconnected. On a slope, doubly so.

Unhitching is the hitching sequence from the collecting guide run backwards. Chocks in, lights plug and breakaway cable off, jockey wheel down and wound until the coupling is carrying no weight, then release the coupling.

Levelling, in three moves

Side to side comes first, while you are still hitched, because the bakkie can drive the low wheel onto a ramp or a block for you. Spirit level across the floor, low wheel up the ramp, check again, chock. Now unhitch. Front to back is the jockey wheel: wind it until a level on the A-frame reads flat.

Only now do the corner steadies come down, and only until they bite. Corner steadies are not jacks. The AL-KO handbook says so in capitals, and the forum threads about cracked floors and doors that stopped closing explain why: lifting on them twists the chassis and splits sealant. They stop the rocking. That is all.

Why bother? Mostly the 3-way fridge: an absorption fridge needs to sit within about 2.5 degrees of level or it stops cooling properly. Level also means the door closes and the sink drains. And nobody slides out of bed.

Hooking up to 220 V

South African caravan parks fit a blue 16 A round socket on the power point. If the caravan's lead ends in an ordinary three pin plug you need a 16 A to three pin adaptor. Find that out at handover, not at the park at dusk.

Unroll the lead completely before you draw any load. A lead still coiled on its reel with a kettle running through it heats up inside the coil. Switch the power point off, plug in at the caravan first, then at the point, then switch on. Disconnect the other way round, point first, so you are never holding a live plug end.

Inside the caravan, find the earth leakage switch and press its test button. It must trip. Reset it. The button only proves the mechanism moves, not how sensitive it is, but a switch that will not trip on its own button is not one you trust.

Most park boxes feed several stands through one earth leakage unit, and it does not reset itself, so when it trips the whole row goes dark. Why that happens, and what the battery and 12 V side will run without park power, is on the living in the caravan page.

Gas

The cylinder lives outside the living space. SANS 10087-2, the caravan gas standard, says LPG containers may not be installed inside a mobile unit. They stand upright in a compartment sealed off from the inside and vented to the outside. The locker vents sit low because LPG is heavier than air. Never block them.

Before you open the cylinder, check that the bracket is tight and the regulator's washer or O ring is there and not perished. Open the valve slowly, then brush soapy water onto every joint you touched: cylinder to regulator, regulator to hose, hose to caravan. Bubbles mean a leak. Close the valve, remake the joint, test again.

Gas appliances inside need air. The standard requires permanent ventilation openings wherever a non-room-sealed appliance is installed, so leave the wall vents open, even on a cold night when every instinct says tape them shut.

Water and the fridge

Fill the fresh tank or connect the hose, then run the pump at the tap until it stops spitting. Ask reception where the dump point is while you are there, because grey water and the toilet cassette go to it and not onto the grass. Get the fridge going now, on mains or gas: on 12 V it only holds temperature, and pulling a warm fridge down to cold takes hours. Drinking water, grey water, the cassette and the battery are all on the living in the caravan page.

The tent or awning

Get the owner to put it up in front of you at handover. A rally tent they can pitch without thinking will take you a lot longer the first time. Pitch it on the side away from the wind, caravan as the windbreak, heavy duty pegs, storm straps at a wide angle. The commonest awning failure is not enough pegs. Not the wind. The pegs.

Know when not to put it up. If it is already blowing hard, leave it in the bag until the wind drops. Never try to take an awning down in a gust; drop it before the weather arrives. And a tent gives you no protection in a thunderstorm. If lightning is close, get in the bakkie.

Campsite manners

Every park has its rules on a board at reception, and they differ. ATKV resorts, for example, enforce quiet from 22:00 to 07:00, allow no music systems and no pets except guide dogs, and limit you to one vehicle per stand. SANParks camps check you in from 14:00, out by 10:00, and do not allow you to collect firewood. Read the board. The unwritten rules are simpler: do not walk through other people's stands, and say hello. Caravan parks run on neighbours.

Common mistakes

• Winding the steadies down to level the caravan
• Plugging in with the power point live, or unplugging at the caravan end first
• Running the lead off a half coiled reel
• Unhitching before the chocks are in
• Leaving the fridge on 12 V and wondering why the milk is warm
• Putting the tent up in the wind because the kids are impatient