MOTORING NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 291, 7 November 1929, Page 5

MOTORING NOTES.

;; HI NTS; TO CAMPERS. WHAT TO DO, AND WHAT NOT TO DO. $ LEAVE THE GROUNDS CLEAN. Motorists who intend to lead the simple life with tent or caravan or both should remember: i' ' To take a pot scourer. To leave the site tidy. To take a first-aid outfit. \ To have a box for the primus; That there is no need to hurry. To have a container for all food. To take a tin-opener and a corkscrew. To take the cleaners for the primus stove. To take sugar, salt and other condiments. • • ■' To take a bowl, either of canvas or of enamel. To take a mirror, soap, a needle and thread. ' That bare feet fire better than shoes if the grass be heavy with dew. ; That if the primus goes out, to release the air from the stove before relighting. To test all cans which have been stored during the winter—they may leak. That a large frying pan is usually better than one that folds. To keep petrol, oil and paraffin away from all food. That wasps are greatly attracted by jam and that there are millions of wasps in range of every camp. That even if a farmer take?_ a fee you are still under .an obligation to him, it costs nothing to be polite. That a little time spent in making a lamp which will plug into the dash board and will light the tent or caravan is well worth while; it costs only a few pence. To bury or burn rubbish. To air the blankets every day. To pack the tent on top of all else. That paper on the bed helps to keep one warm. To keep the beds . well away from the wall of the tent at night. That the camp bed forms a very good seat during the daytime. That a canvas bucket takes up very little room and is very useful. That excellent sleeping bags can be improvised from blankets and large safety pins. That in a camp bed you need as much if not more, clothing under the body than on top. To take a ground sheet, and that it should be put in position last, over the draught: flats. To take plenty of blankets; nothing will spoil a holiday more than being cold during the night. That although many people prefer enamelware, ordinary household cups and saucers give a more' “homely” feeling. ■ That if small pieces of three-ply wood are placed between the bed legs and the ground sheet, holes will not appear. . To slacken off, the guy ropes of .the tent before retiriiig for the night and to tighten them up in the morning. That a few inches larger tent than the one' which you had planned to buy takes Up; very little extra room, and will add greatly to the comfort of .the holiday... . • ' i To .take a camera and a good map. To take plenty of tool*, string, wire and tape. , , That a beret will keep the head warm at night,. j ’ To leave room for the trailer when overtaking cars. ' . i That a haversack will come in useful before the holiday is over. To make sure that the door of the caravan is locked before restarting. That when trailing a caravan to treat humped-back bridges with csre. To advise the insurance company when it is intended to trail a caravan. To take warm clothing in preference to fashionable clothing. To leave room for the trailer when passing overhanging signs. That if the food is packed in a flat box it is easier to get at. T j block the wheels of the. caravan with wood or stone before letting down the legs. That entering a caravan without first supporting it*by-.the legs throws a strain on the towing pole. That when everything is packed and the caravan hitched to the car to make sure that the legs are fastened up properly. ..... That, having packed up, it is advisable to return to the site, after moving

a few yards, to ascertain that nothing is being left behind. That miles do not matter and that a stop to admire the view or to visit a beauty spot will make the holiday far more memorable. CAUTION ON CROSSINGS. Motorists should reflect: That a train runs on a definite path It cannot get out of your way. . That up to date there is no record of a motor-car wrecking a train. That the man in the motor-car always comes out second best in a collision. ; That the safe way is always to expect a train at the crossing. That when there is more than one track it is good business to expect more than one train. The second train may be the deadly one. y That it pays to slow down arid have the car under perfect control when approaching grade crossings. That the engine driver can make no allowances whatever for the condition of your brakes. That the train invariably has the right of way. MOTORS REPLACE CAMELS. j When the Ruwallah tribe of Bedouins in Syria,, a tribe that numbers several hundred tents, breaks camp for the daVs march to new water holes, the camels of their chief, Nuri Shalaan, is prepared with the due pomp and ceremony for the journey, and leads the long procession, but Nuri Shalaan himself steps into a motor-car, and, driven by a member of his tribe in the same flowing robes and kaffeh as himself, he speeds across the desert halding a hunting rifle on the lookout for gazelles and other, game. The radiator cap of his car is hung with blue beads to ward off the influence of the evil eye, and in this respect he is not different from the great majority of Syrian car owners, who almost invariably place at least a few blue beads on their machines for the same purpose. Practically every car used in Damascus bears these charms, which are usually the only visible link, aside from the occasionally picturesque native costume of the chaffeur, between the stark modernity of the car itself, and the ancient streets through which it passes. i CHINESE METHODS. Owners of truck fleets in China find that the payment of, a monthly bonus to drivers who keep their trucks out of the shop has proved a successful way of reducing repairs., Eager, to earn extra money the truck driver handles his vehicle with greater care, and makes necessary minor repairs himself, instead of taking it to the shop. . • This system of keeping down truck repairs to a minimum was suggested to truck owners by an age-old Chinese custom practised in the medical profession. Since time immemorial, the Chinese business man has been accustomed to pay his family physipian a certain, sum for kqeping him well. Payments stop when he falls ill.

- MOTORLESS-BERMUDA-'WiIIi the motor Vehicle reaching into darkest Africa and farthest Asia and the islands of the South Seas, it seems almost incredible that one highly civilised corner of the south has never felt the pressure of rubber tyres. The British colony of Bermuda has consistently refused to permit the operation of motor vehicles. Horses and carriages serve the residents. At present Bermuda is working on a railway tp>! serve its abbreviated area, but .the road is not yet, complete. A bill was, introduced in the provincial House to permit the operation of a,few motor-buses to supply general.: transportation Until the railway is ready to do so. This bill was sternly voted down and Bermuda still remains motorless. ! \ '•< ... v -,. ■ If a tyre-valve “inside” become defective on the. road and no spare is available, the leak can be stopped by smearing rubber solution on the threads of the valve stem and dust cap, and then screwing on the cap. It should not be necessary to adopt this idea, of course, if the inner cap Is of the latest pattern, because these are fully airtight when properly screwed down, even although the valve “inside” is leaking.