A year or so ago I bought myself a trailer which I had intended to use to transport the awning and other stuff on trips away with the van. That plan never really came to fruition, the trailer has come in handy for trips to the tip though and has helpfully adorned the garden.
The other idea I had was to hook it up to Molly for camping trips away. Of course this requires a tow bar (done that!) and some wiring... a bit more of a problem. Usually such things are simply a question of Scotch Locks and a length of trailer cable. However Molly has to be a bit awkward doesn't she. As you all know she's a change over model. After trafficators where phased out and before the modern orange indicators came in. She has a normal indicator stalk on the steering column, but instead of orange indicators, the appropriate brake light flashes (red) on the back as a turn signal. All this is achieved by a clever little relay on the inner wing. The upshot of this is that it would be a little tricky to get a non flashing brake light feed and a stand alone indicator feed at back. However I had a cunning plan. To take the hook up from the relay input. So I hooked up a length of trailer cable to the engine bay and away we go! Well it wasn't quite that simple. Firstly 3.5 metres of cable isn't long enough (4.5 metres is a much safer bet). I know because I have both lengths of cable in my garage and only one fits. Secondly, when fiddling with crumbly old wiring, just looking at something can cause functionality (such as say... brake lights) to stop working for hours. So the top tip there is to bite the bullet and, carefully dismantle clean and reconnect anything that looks like it might give trouble.
Anyway, I did all that, tested it with a lighting board so what was left to do? Oh yeah find out if Molly is happy towing a trailer or not. Time for a test drive I think!
The other idea I had was to hook it up to Molly for camping trips away. Of course this requires a tow bar (done that!) and some wiring... a bit more of a problem. Usually such things are simply a question of Scotch Locks and a length of trailer cable. However Molly has to be a bit awkward doesn't she. As you all know she's a change over model. After trafficators where phased out and before the modern orange indicators came in. She has a normal indicator stalk on the steering column, but instead of orange indicators, the appropriate brake light flashes (red) on the back as a turn signal. All this is achieved by a clever little relay on the inner wing. The upshot of this is that it would be a little tricky to get a non flashing brake light feed and a stand alone indicator feed at back. However I had a cunning plan. To take the hook up from the relay input. So I hooked up a length of trailer cable to the engine bay and away we go! Well it wasn't quite that simple. Firstly 3.5 metres of cable isn't long enough (4.5 metres is a much safer bet). I know because I have both lengths of cable in my garage and only one fits. Secondly, when fiddling with crumbly old wiring, just looking at something can cause functionality (such as say... brake lights) to stop working for hours. So the top tip there is to bite the bullet and, carefully dismantle clean and reconnect anything that looks like it might give trouble.
Anyway, I did all that, tested it with a lighting board so what was left to do? Oh yeah find out if Molly is happy towing a trailer or not. Time for a test drive I think!
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Yeah OK.. it was a chance for a photo shoot. As it turned out, she performed impeccably, a little bit of a wheeze up some hills, but generally not too bad, the trailer was empty though.
In lieu of celebration (and the fact it is our wedding anniversary) we decided to take the family off to Linlithgow, for a wander round, feed the ducks, and a poke around the canal system.
Where's Molly?We stopped at the chippy on the way home to grab the now traditional wedding anniversary fish supper and headed off to a local beauty spot to eat them. I say beauty spot, there did appear to be some more modern activities going on that simply enjoying the view. Anyway as we were parked up I noticed a little puddle under Molly - oh dear - split radiator top hose. Years ago such things would have panicked me, however today I simply had to get the hose I had in stock and fit it. That's what 20 years of Morris minoring does for you.
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