The grumpy thread

[Bren]

Our focus needs tyres. Badly. Wet weather driving means the car handles like an asda trolley.

 

I can get four quality tyres for £200, wife complained about the cost, but wanted a new cooker on the strength of an inoperable hob.

 

Like the Harry Enfield sketch "Women - know your limits."

[Bren]

Another grump - 50 mile round trip to a toy fair that yielded nothing. Everything very expensive, lots of blokes who don't know what a bath is judging by the smell, loads of them limping/wheezing/stinking and being rude pushing people out of the way - I actually thought at one point a they were waiting for a coach to Lourdes.

 

Widnes got beat on Friday night, I have had a weekend of truly turd proportions.

[eddyramrod]

Another grump - 50 mile round trip to a toy fair that yielded nothing. Everything very expensive, lots of blokes who don't know what a bath is judging by the smell, loads of them limping/wheezing/stinking and being rude pushing people out of the way - I actually thought at one point a they were waiting for a coach to Lourdes.

 

Widnes got beat on Friday night, I have had a weekend of truly turd proportions.

That's been my experience of toy fairs too since returning from Cyprus (I'm sure it wasn't quite so bad before we left!).  Now you see why I've given up on them.

[plasticvandan]

Had a similar experience at a classic bike jumble this morning,hardly any stalls,and I bought nothing!a very rare occurrence,I'll usually at least find some old mags to take home

[ruffgeezer]

Ruff, can't you tax it online tomorrow?

 

 

Well I can but that wouldn't justify the salary of a frumpy middle-aged sub-post mistress now would it?

[robinmasters]

White-wall radials look ridiculous.

[MarvinsMom]

seen a gorgeous, and i mean gorgeous spotless minty fresh 2 berth caravan adversed locally to us for not many pounds.

 

we've had to google the van for its towing weight, and its 150kg heavier than the little car.

 

max tow weight on it is 750kg, this van (a compass rallye) is 900kg.

 

Shit. Shit. Shit.

 

bugger, would you believe it! 

 

all we want a caravan to do is be somewhere for a brew, a sit or a sleep and somewhere to prepare some bacon products.....

[Captain Furious]

What sort of car is it?

 

750KG is the max towing weight for an unbraked trailer (regardless of tow vehicle) but the max train weight (car plus braked trailer such as a caravan) is usually a lot higher than that. Now, it could be that your cars max towing weight is also 750KG, I just wondered with the 750 figure whether you've looked at the right number.

[Richard]

I think it's the Metro.

[Tamworthbay]

Whilst I appreciate the tech is set up to do this as advertising but does anyone else find it really tragic how many posts end 'sent from my (insert name of stupidly expensive piece of tat), there is an option to disable this.

[Captain Furious]

Ah ok, I'd still double check the numbers, but even if legal towing a 900kg caravan with a metro would be a test of bravery.

[MarvinsMom]

What sort of car is it?

 

750KG is the max towing weight for an unbraked trailer (regardless of tow vehicle) but the max train weight (car plus braked trailer such as a caravan) is usually a lot higher than that. Now, it could be that your cars max towing weight is also 750KG, I just wondered with the 750 figure whether you've looked at the right number.

Richard below is indeed quite correct.

 

looking in the handbook there is a list of max towing weights, 750kg for the 1000 City and Ctiy X, going upto 850kg for the 1275's.

 

the tow weightss for the caravan have come off of the t'interweb, another one we have been looking out for are the Thompson Mini Glen, which is a lightweight van designed originally with the Mini in mind. but we have yet to see on which is either nice looking, cheap enough or near to home. Caravans for sale in Devon are a bit too far away!

 

alternative we should put a tow bar onto the XJ6, that bloody thing should be able to tow any damn thing!

[MarvinsMom]

Ah ok, I'd still double check the numbers, but even if legal towing a 900kg caravan with a metro would be a test of bravery.

too tow a 900kg van legally we would need to have an 1100kg (min) car.

 

the Rover and XJ6 both weigh in at 1850kg, which makes you wonder how legal alot of these caravans you see on the road actually are!!

 

maybe i should just biter the bullet and get a tow bar put onto the Jag and just have done with it!

[Captain Furious]

Any particular reason you want to use the metro? Between that and an XJ6 then the jag does seem the more obvious towing vehicle of choice.

 

Would imagine any caravan on a metro is going to be a bit of a white knuckle ride, it's not so much a power thing, more that it doesn't have enough weight and you'll end up with the tail wagging the dog, so to speak

[MarvinsMom]

just we normally end up taking the metro if going off to a show, and me been a tight arse i didn't want to be taking two cars unless i needed too. 

 

the jaguar is a big heavy brute so like you say is much more suited to pulling a caravan. plus as i like small cars the thought of having a small caravan to go with a small car appealed.

 

dunno if the jaguars automatic gearbox would be up for towing even something light(-ish) though......

[wuvvum]

Would imagine any caravan on a metro is going to be a bit of a white knuckle ride, it's not so much a power thing, more that it doesn't have enough weight and you'll end up with the tail wagging the dog, so to speak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kl3ErZpjj8

[Captain Furious]

Well, it's funny you should say that, we used to go caravaning when I was a kid and the only time we ever broke down and had to come home on a breakdown wagon (twice) was in my dads Granada when the automatic gearbox shat itself

 

Now I have a caravan myself, I don't use it for holidays just car shows and festivals, but my last tow car got written off the back end of last year, so I thought I know, I'll get an automatic Granada like me dad used to have (in my defence, they're not available with a manual so it was a bit of a foregone conclusion)

 

I haven't towed with it yet, I've been fitting the tow bar today as it happens, but I am convinced that at some point I will be on the side of the road in a cloud of ATF smoke waiting for the AA. So much so that I've actually bought a spare gearbox for it to have standing by

 

It's all part of the experience though...

[Skizzer]

I whacked (miror to mirror) a parked one the other day (evoque) , and i thought it would be alright because mine was ok..     

On the way home i saw it was smashed to bits   , so obviously ,i stopped , knocked on the  house door and offered to pay for it .. 

 

 Like hell i did !!

That would make you an ignorant twat who thinks it's clever to boast about destroying someone's property and leaving the scene of an accident, then.

 

Hope it happens to you.

 

Blocked.

[MarvinsMom]

the caravans in question are this one

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beautiful-1983-2-Berth-Compass-Rallye-360-2-Very-Good-Condition-Retro-Cute/131796799079?_trksid=p2046732.c100040.m2060&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107095009%26meid%3D29131e4ba8b446c1b08bc49a79a767f0%26pid%3D100040%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D252373158079

 

and this one

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thomson-Mini-Glen-Vintage-Caravan-2-berth-/141975581229?hash=item210e67722d:g:I8UAAOSwI2dXFWAX

 

but yes that favourite clip off of "you've Been Framed" of the Renner blowing either the engine or the clutch pulling a full sized van up a hill would concern me too.

[Jazoli]

Whilst I appreciate the tech is set up to do this as advertising but does anyone else find it really tragic how many posts end 'sent from my (insert name of stupidly expensive piece of tat), there is an option to disable this.

It's piss easy to disable the signature, but most people are a bit dim

 

SENT FROM MY SUPER DOOPER SAMSUNG IPHONE 9

[Louise2cv]

It's piss easy to disable the signature, but most people are a bit dim

 

SENT FROM MY SUPER DOOPER SAMSUNG IPHONE 9

On another forum I go on someone was saying the latest Tapatalk update has switched this back on or something? Maybe people switched it off previously and haven't noticed it's back?

 

Might not be that of course, but just noticed the same complaint there this week and it made me wonder.

[Lord Sterling]

Ma phoned up today, there was a flat tyre on the Micra, odd I thought, only new tyres last yesr, either it picked up a puncture or someone has been messing about with the valve letting the tyre down.

 

RAC man arrived and confirmed somone had been fucking about with the valve, dust cap missing and valve damaged.

 

I think I'll need to make investigations and take a baseball bat with me.

[Dave_Q]

It's piss easy to disable the signature, but most people are a bit dim

 

SENT FROM MY SUPER DOOPER SAMSUNG IPHONE 9

 

On most of them, you can't even tell what device it is without googling the model number.

 

SENT FROM MY HUAWEI ASGH-22901-GTI-WTF

[sheffcortinacentre]

guy near me tows with his mid 80's mini will see what van is (think its a trophy).

 

have you looked at estirel or similar folders there light enough, only couple of mins to erect.

[Captain Furious]

Back in the olden days, it was recommended not to use the highest gear when towing heavy shit with an automatic.

 

So if you had a four-speed slushbox, putting on 3 instead of Drive supposedly significantly reduced the chances of overheating the box.

Yeah I remember my dad being told the same by the place that rebuilt his gearbox, use 3 instead of drive to stop it shifting in and out of 4th at every slight gradient. They also fitted an aux ATF cooler, but I don't really have anywhere to put one on mine because it has an engine oil cooler and an aux fan on the front of the rad.

 

I'll just take it easy, I don't do vast distances, the worst is down to RIAT in Fairford because there is quite a few punishing hills. AA membership all paid up..

[cros]

Looking at that pic of Cros's motor, I have come to the conclusion that he is the bloke in Constables "The Haywain" and I claim my five pounds....

Here we are, my other lorry loading with HAY, WAYNE on top stacking it.

 

[cros]

I had one of these for a short time a couple of years ago. Apart from the stupid name it was easy to tow and cheaper than the 'classic' Eribas, but I didn't like it much. The bloke I sold it to towed it away to Glasgow behind a old Mini. My present caravan was cheaper, bigger and hardly any heavier because the chassis is aluminium. It has gas lights which is more important than a flushing bog or central heating. I think there was a caravan from the 80's called a Silverline which is small car friendly and also escapes the stupidity tax.

 

[Urko]

If the ewok was barging it's way through on your side of the road when you clipped the mirror that would be OK, or maybe at a push it would be OK if the owner parked it like a twat on the road meaning there was no way of avoiding the mirror, but with the info given I'm looking for the dislike button it makes me sad

Coincidentally, I did have a clash (more of a tap) of mirrors with a VW EOS yesterday. I dunno if I am just imagining it, but I have the distinct feeling that people are more likely to be driving straight at me on my side of the road (and similar) when I am in the Puma than on the (now occasional) days I am using the Discovery.

[Cavcraft]

Plenty of people will drive closer or at you if you're driving a small car, either in the mistaken belief they can bully you out of the way or that you'll be more scared as you're in a little car.

Quite a few of them shit out if you just keep on going, it's like a mental game of chicken with them. 

[Pillock]

Unfortunately on narrow roads there's lots of bullies these days, it's the sense of entitlement that goes with owning a car for a lot of the population. 

Quite often I've found that not pulling over to the very left until the last minute works - if you straight away make as much room as possible, they'll invariably not want to do the same and take as much as possible. Give yourself a foot of wiggle room, they see you headed straight at them and either slow down or move over at which point you can use the foot of room you were saving. 

 

It used to be more common on country roads when there's an approaching 4x4 driver that didn't want to get their tyres dirty but since moving in here, a lot of local roads are typically narrow residential streets but have a line of cars down one side.

 

I also find breathing in helps as yo go through the gap.