New owner - 2021 Symbol

Hello, I'm in the process of buying a brand new Symbol for collection next week.

I have not been anywhere near a campsite since I was 12 years old. For several years, childhood holidays consisted of the family Sprite Alpine hooked up to my dad's Capri 2000GT XLR touring all over Europe. Many happy memories from those long sunny days in seemingly exotic locations. I can see things have changed a bit since the days of orange curtains, no mains hookup and gas lighting. I'm looking forward to getting organised for touring, both home and abroad.

I expect I will have some questions about fairly banal things, as I'm not only new to the brand, but I've never had a camper van or motorhome of any kind before either. So it will be a voyage of discovery on more than one level!

Hi and welcome to the forum. 

Hope all goes well, I don't know how they're doing handovers these days but there'll be lots of info to take in as these new vans have quite sophisticated systems.

Once you've had a play with things, sing out on here if you have any questions.

Something I always recommend to new owners is if you have the ability to park it up on your drive then aim to spend a couple of days and nights using it there before setting off further afield.  This will allow you to familiarise yourself with all the onboard systems and check that they work OK. Also it will highlight if you have omitted any crucial item of personal equipment, bedding, crockery, corkscrew etc with the ability to nip indoors and fetch things or in the worst case scenario move back indoors. 

Much better than starting the learning curve in the middle of the night in a remote field or campsite miles away from home. 

Given your ID I thought this might be an appropriate welcome 

steamdrivenandy wrote:Given your ID I thought this might be an appropriate welcome 

Thanks, I just used the same name as on Twitter, IG etc! Cars have been my hobby my whole adult life!

rogerblack wrote:Hi and welcome to the forum. 

Hope all goes well, I don't know how they're doing handovers these days but there'll be lots of info to take in as these new vans have quite sophisticated systems.

Once you've had a play with things, sing out on here if you have any questions.

Something I always recommend to new owners is if you have the ability to park it up on your drive then aim to spend a couple of days and nights using it there before setting off further afield.  This will allow you to familiarise yourself with all the onboard systems and check that they work OK. Also it will highlight if you have omitted any crucial item of personal equipment, bedding, crockery, corkscrew etc with the ability to nip indoors and fetch things or in the worst case scenario move back indoors. 

Much better than starting the learning curve in the middle of the night in a remote field or campsite miles away from home. 

Thanks, yes there is a lot to take in initially. I need to figure out all the things I will need to buy before going anywhere, too. Everything from cutlery to bedding. 13A mains adaptor for hookup at home. Stuff for the toilet. Portable chairs. All the usual clutter!

Welcome and enjoy your Symbol. We have a new to us and can’t wait to get to know her next week!

v8oholic wrote:

rogerblack wrote:Hi and welcome to the forum. 

Hope all goes well, I don't know how they're doing handovers these days but there'll be lots of info to take in as these new vans have quite sophisticated systems.

Once you've had a play with things, sing out on here if you have any questions.

Something I always recommend to new owners is if you have the ability to park it up on your drive then aim to spend a couple of days and nights using it there before setting off further afield.  This will allow you to familiarise yourself with all the onboard systems and check that they work OK. Also it will highlight if you have omitted any crucial item of personal equipment, bedding, crockery, corkscrew etc with the ability to nip indoors and fetch things or in the worst case scenario move back indoors. 

Much better than starting the learning curve in the middle of the night in a remote field or campsite miles away from home. 

Thanks, yes there is a lot to take in initially. I need to figure out all the things I will need to buy before going anywhere, too. Everything from cutlery to bedding. 13A mains adaptor for hookup at home. Stuff for the toilet. Portable chairs. All the usual clutter!

You're right, there will be loads you'll genuinely need but beware!  Our garage has a couple of shelves full of stuff that we've bought for the camper over the years that we found we didn't actually really need, as it's easy to get carried away. Attending motorhome shows was one of the worst things for buying gimmicky gadgets; that has ceased for the time being but getting carried away online is equally easy. 

Hi 
Welcome to the forum from Bridington 
Boaby