In October 2013, I returned home with the van from a service at Jandi and a few days in the Lakes. The following week I had an accident at work, broke my leg badly and have been pretty much immobile ever since.

So, I didn’t go back to the van which is in a storage compound for 15 months, until last weekend when I had my first go at driving a car again.

Normally I don’t really do any winter preparation as we go away roughly every three weeks and use the van all year. The only thing I had done was disconnect the battery and open the taps, and open all the overhead locker doors.

It was with some trepidation that I opened the door (bit stiff on the hinges) to the van last Sunday, but was gobsmacked to smell the same as new as I bought it smell that I always get. I checked around the van as much as I could with current limited mobility, and everything seemed absolutely dry and fresh. The newspaper and kitchen roll, still on the table were fine, the tea towel and clothes in the sink were dry as a bone.

All the seat bases and backs were in the normal positions, and bone dry underneath and behind. I was dreading going back after so long, as I expected to find condensation or damp problems, but it was as though I hadn’t been for a couple of weeks rather than 15 months.

I need to re-charge the battery, and see how that goes, and check for flat spots on the tyres, but is there anything else I should be looking to check? I’m afraid I’ve been out of Eribering for so long, that all the mental checklists I had, have long been forgotten!

I don’t recommend the above as a procedure for winter preparation, but in the event of an emergency, the Eriba is robust enough to get through 1 ½ winters without seemingly suffering any problems.

I’m now very much looking forward to getting back into trips away.

Cheers Mark

Join the club mate

Ouch! Painful and frustrating, I'm glad you are getting better.

Glad you are getting mobile again, been there to a lesser degree, broke my leg and discolated the ankle but was only out of action for six months. Lovely to open the van door, look and inhale and start planning holidays again. Shaun Niki and Fonzie.