Ziggy played Laika....

 So, we have not actually been out over night in Ziggy as yet, but - we have booked two over night stays. For Christmas I was given a Bucket List Map of Great Britain and Jo and myself sat down and had a peruse. We both realised that neither of us had been to see the seals at Horsey… Horsey has the largest gathering of Grey Seals in the UK - the map said Blakeney but us locals know better - Blakeney is a money pit full of Londoners with Chelsea tractors…. Any way, we are off to Walnut Farm near Waxham to look at the Seals! Following on from that trip - we can only do alternate week ends as my sons come to stay - we are off to Sandringham. This is only 40 miles from us, but it’s where we first went when we bought our old Cheyenne - and we have a free night voucher courtesy of the Caravan and Motorhome Club. Not much for us to see and do on the way, but I suspect that we might go due North and turn left at Wells - and take the coast road to enjoy the view!

 So SWMBO Jo likes comfort - and I get that as well... at the wrong side of 50, having a good nights sleep is important. After the old Cheyenne, Jo wanted both a practical bed - not involving Ladders, and not needing to be assembled each night, so when we bought Ziggy she was really pleased at thew transverse bed - it is a decent size after all! The fitted mattress is ok - lets be honest, its 21 years old, so she wanted a mattress topper. Getting some advice from  https://www.motorhomefacts.com/forums/  we soon worked out that we were not going to get something off the shelf as the mattress has a cut out shape Not deterred we went to  https://www.mrfoamnorwich.co.uk/foam-cutting  to buy some foam - what we didn't know was that he does offer a bespoke cutting service if you provide a template but - anyway, we went and bought a long length of 3 inch foam and took it home - very kindly they had also applied a stockinette cover - with a small amount of spray adhesiv...

One of the things that Jo and I wanted to do with Ziggy was to not be reliant on a car - so I cooked up the plan, sold my old triathlon training bikes, and bought a couple of E-Bikes . But, as the more observant may have noticed, Ziggy doesn't have a bike rack fitted... and the garage would not take a couple of adult bikes either. So, I started researching and thanks to a lovely lady called Daniele from Laika Customer services, I found out that the original Kreos 3010 was fitted with a Fiamma Carry Bike L80. (I did get a quote from a - unspecified Laika dealer for one but at £750 I paled - but  https://everythingfiamma.co.uk/  had the correct unit for £280 including delivery). But what about the fitting - well, I did get several quotes for that - all agreeing on 4 hours labour - the quotes ranged from £80 an hour to £120 per hour plus VAT. So I sat down and read the instructions - and one thing leapt out at me: The actual space that the frame could be fitted in was very small ...

 When we bought Ziggy, I noticed that there was no oven, rather a quite bespoke looking microwave had been fitted. On close examination, and putting my Elf 'n' Safty hat on - once I realised that it had been installed in July 2002, and had no turntable - I elected to get it changed over. So first thing to do was to take the old one out and inspect the inside of the cupboard. I was pleased to see that the carcass was in good order with nothing of note. As it was Black Friday, and knowing the dimensions of the aperture, I spent some time researching what was needed on Amazon, and then selected something that I knew would fit in aesthetically. The old microwave had been secured with the two front "feet" anchored into a batten, and once I realised this I measured up "feet" and the hole and then extended it to secure the new microwave. (Not the prettiest job but - it was effective!) One thing that I had noticed on the old microwave (Can folk please make sure they...

 So on Wednesday 22nd November I asked one of my chaps at work to drive me the short trip too Downham Market so I could pick up Ziggy. I drove back to work like a dog with two tails, and after work I took him home and parked on the drive. Then, I started to look over the beastie and started to realise that I have a steep learning curve to get to understand the Nuances of the Laika systems. I have been using the laika Motorhomer's Group on Facebook - not only to ask for advice, but also to glean information.... first thing was with regards to the garage door locks....... I have also emptied out the vehicle - the garages at least - and have discovered a shed load of things that I don't think I need including a pole frame awning. I did discover somethings that will be useful but - we will see! The real work starts this week end - I have a list in my minds eye! The bed will get made up, and the kitchen bits and pieces will get moved in and put away. I want to empty and flush the wa...

 I wanted to fit a cycle rack so we would be able too both explore the local area / pubs / restaurants/ shops etc but, I wanted to take my time and ensure that all that I did was safe - I didn’t want the rack dropping off as we drove down the road! I use a great forum to gain information   https://www.motorhomefacts.com/forums  and I had sought advice there - here is a recent reply to my own post with some added pictures: Having taken the advice to heart as in where the strengthens parts of the rear frame were - I emailed Laika with the details of the motorhome and sought assistance. in time honoured dealer fashion (I remain very cynical after Ducati used to charge thirty odd quid for a bevel belt that actually turned out to be a fiver pound Renault twingo fan belt….) they would only tell me that the original design spec was for a Fiamma Carry Bike L80 and I would need to talk to a Laika dealer as they don’t share the specifics with mere mortals…. Pausing only to sup some...

 In September 2023 we decided to sell on the old AutoTrail Cheyenne 585 - we had only bought it in June, and had managed to use it a lot - Not only to Latitude but also on our travels for the summer holidays with the boys. Me being me, I advertised and sold within a week - and I do wish Howard and Becky well with the old girl - we loved owning her. We had decided that we wanted to change as we are - at damn near 60 for myself, too bloody old to be climbing a ladder to bed - and we wanted a made up permananent bed! we also wanted a decent size fridge and freezer and being the resident cook - I did want a decent size cook prep area We had a limited budget and started too look around - I was expecting to have to travel but amazingly enough, we came across an advert to the west of Downham Market, we went across and fell in love.... So, finances are sorted, and aiming to pick up by end of October! Next post will be more on the specs of the beastie - and as for the name - the number plat...