Static caravan woes

[Leesfarm07]

I decided to buy a static to site on my building plot to save on the rent I'm currently paying whilst I build.
How hard can it be to site a static!!!
The van was delivered during a thunderstorm so was just rolled off the transporter and left overnight sitting on various scaffold boards not on the concrete pad but just off on the soil.
Next morning we came to tow it into place with a 4x4 pick up.....not moving an inch as it's broken the wood and has sunk to its axle.
Had to dig underneath it and jack on the tiny jacking points and get it onto several railway sleepers so I could drag it back onto the hardstanding it was supposed to be on. Again the 4x4 would hardly touch it so I asked the builders on a nearby site if I could use their 10T dumper....no probs.
Hooked it up onto a strap and pulled.....and pulled and finally pulled and bent the front chassis member away from the van taking the front skin of the van with it.....and of course no movement in the van
Today we've managed to repair the chassis rail and finally pulled it somewhere near....just in the process of trying to manoeuvre it sideways into position.....keep you posted

 

[mr wilks]

Ah lets see some pics nothing like a good calamity

 

[pvr]

Hurry up with the pics indeed as I am just having lunch 8)

 

[ZermattV]

Nothing like a drama - best of luck

 

[RickRob]

If it moved it wouldn't be static! :lol:

Hope you get it sorted.

 

[pvr]

This has the making of a Top Gear episode ….

 

[Chris_D]

oof! and i thought my stripped bolts drama was bad.
Good luck fella.

 

[john-e89]

If it moved it wouldn't be static! :lol:

:lol:

 

[Marlon]

Nightmare
Will be worth it once its in place - saving on the rent during the build is a smart move :wink:

 

[Taz]

If it moved it wouldn't be static! :lol:

Hope you get it sorted.

 

[Leesfarm07]

A few pics of how the van was when it was stuck!!

 

[Leesfarm07]

This is after we got it out of the soil....can't believe it was so low down....the holes are where I dug under the van to access the jacking points

 

[Leesfarm07]

....and this was yesterday's efforts using scaffold poles and planks to slide it sideways
It's such a heavy thing...when it falls off the jack and moves it's frightening!!...Note the bent chassis rails where the wood blocks have distorted them

 

[Chris_D]

Blimey, what a palava!

Maybe missing something here but i take it the van site is the same site ur building on?
Ur gonna be able to extract the van once the building is finished? Looks like a tight space.

 

[Leesfarm07]

It is a tight site being 30m x 7.5m. The frontage is 11m which is where the van is now. We've still got 2.4m between van and housr so should be okay. In hindsight maybe a 10 footer would have been better than this 12' wide one but we've still got 9' to get building materials in. This is the site ...with the van now being in the corner near the site entrance where it says 'grass'

 

[Number5]

In hindsight maybe a 10 footer would have been better than this 12' wide one but we've still got 9' to get building materials in.

Or even putting it tight to the fence, so maximise access space on one side.
Still... you can always move it tomorrow ! :evil:

 

[Chris_D]

I'm reminded of Alan Partridge and his own house build for some reason. Hehe
Good luck witht the build!

 

[paulgs1000]

My brother in law dragged their static around at the farm with his old Toyota pick up but it's a farm yard with a firm surface.

Just what you don't need when you've got the stress of a build on the go - hope all goes smoother in future - all the best with your build

 

[Leesfarm07]

Thanks everyone for all the funny posts . it's been so funny and amusing what with all the calamities...A bit Mr Bean tbh. At one stage it dropped off the jack, rolled back, dug in one side and spun around crashing into next doors fence. It's level and supported now and all I've got to do is ratchet strap it down to a few anchors.
The house will hopefully be a little less troublesome....but ill let you know