We had imagined ourselves in an idyllic pastoral setting, with birds tweeting merrily and the sunset glinting off the chrome. A nice level place, preferably near water where we could enjoy a glass of red and sigh with contentment. Well plans are made to be changed...
The gist of the plan was as follows. Drive to Formby, collect Buttercup, return to Liverpool, pack the van and set off.
This, however is what really happened.
Drive to Formby - check
Start Buttercup - Houston we have a problem!
Unfortunately one of us had left the radio on and because it hadn't worked, we'd forgotten to turn it off. Result, two VERY flat batteries and a van that refused to budge an inch. We hooked her up to jump leads but she was having none of it. It soon became very clear that we would have to leave both the batteries on charge overnight and hope against hope that the problem would be fixed.
Camping trip cancelled, we returned to Liverpool a bit on the grumpy side. The reason we'd decided to try her overnight was due to an appointment we had the following Monday. This would be the day we would introduce Buttercup to the Camper Shak www.thecampershak.co.uk who are doing her face lift. We really wanted to try the bed, the layout etc before discussing possible changes with Mike and Diane (more of them later). We decided the next best thing was to stay in her on Sunday night before heading straight to the Camper Shak the next morning.
Luckily, Buttercup started and we took her for a pootle around the local area just to make sure she was running ok. And so the first night of camping in her arrived. Not the quiet countryside we had imagined but the driveway of a respectable bungalow in Formby. But hey, at least the toilets were practically ensuite!
The next morning we arrived at the The Camper Shak with Buttercup where we met Mike and Diane Marsland. What a lovely couple! As a customer you really feel as if you matter. Cups of tea are the first thing on the agenda before settling down to discuss our requirements. Nothing is too much trouble. We are given lots of advice and Diane makes a list of all the things we have to source for the van and even emails the product codes over as well. We are shown around the workshop, see units of all kinds, meet their apprentice and are generally made to feel very welcome.
The attention to detail is fantastic. It is obvious that Mike and Diane are passionate about Camper Vans. But as well as passion they have knowledge, experience and above all empathy with their customers. They realise that to us these vehicles are not just a van, they are, in fact, part of the family. Two hours easily slip by and we leave there safe in the knowledge that Buttercup will be in safe hands.
From here, we head straight to www.mscprestigegarage.com . When we bought Buttercup we knew she had something weird going on with the electrics. The engine had to be started with a rocker switch in the engine bay and when you switched the ignition off it kept going until you turned off the switch again. Very odd! So on Mike's recommendation "we take all our vans there, you couldn't do better" we booked her in with Mark.
Again, the customer care was brilliant and the passion for vintage cars was apparent. Mark was keen to have a look at her straight away. So my partner (who did electrical engineering at Uni) and he had a chat. Dom had already told me that the wiring was really not right and needed to be sorted. As he was explaining this to Mark, he lifted up the bed to show him the leisure battery. This is the bed where we had slept very comfortably, last night. We certainly weren't expecting what happened next.
Mark stepped back and said "mmm there's a live wire in there. It's arcing against the metal there. Oh and it's right by your fuel tank. Do you know what, we'll get that out right now!"
I'll just point out again, that the fuel tank he's talking about full of highly flammable petrol and next to the live wire was right underneath us last night!
And we thought life in a vintage camper meant life in the slow lane...
Thankfully, Mark sorted the wire within seconds. As we drove off in our modern Polo having left Buttercup there to get the rest of her electrics done we reflected on our first night in the van.
Ok so it wasn't in a beautiful location, we didn't see the sunset, we didn't hear the birds cheeping. But hey, we didn't blow up either and that is more important. And on that almost literal bombshell I'll leave you to check any loose wires you may have hanging around!
Next time...Did we buy a goodun?
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