Caravanning offers more than freedom. As the ideas in this column show, part of the fun is in creative problem solving. Why not send us your suggestions?

Snap solution
While on holiday in Cornwall, I was approached by a young couple who had mislaid their digital camera with snaps of their twins' first beach holiday. It made me think about how lost cameras can be reunited with their owners: write your mobile phone number and holiday address (not your home address) on a sheet of paper and take a picture. You can then be contacted by a person who's looked through the pictures for clues.
Colin Rimmer
Runcorn, Cheshire

WANTED: TOURING TIPS
Do you have a great idea for getting the most out of your van? Send it to Stacie Pardoe, Practical Caravan, Broom Road, Teddington, Middx TW11 9BE or to stacie.pardoe@haymarket.com.

Put your milk in the freezer overnight before you set off. It will melt at just the right rate and stay fresh three times as long.
Toyna

An annual service will cover all aspects of chassis lubrication, but he doesn't hurt to re-grease that towing gear during the season as well, particularly if you do quite a few miles. The grease nipples on the top of the A frame are obvious, but there is another one on the underside of the towing gear, towards the back end of the A frame. A bit of fresh grease to all these points will help keep your Caravan clonk-free until your next workshop visit.
PCV Team

A personal attack alarm costs as little as £2.99, but is an effective security device that burglars won't spot. Its piercing siren is activated by a pull cord, so attach the alarm to the underside of your van and the pull cord to the steady jack. If the jack is raised by a thief, it will pull the cord and set off the alarm. I've seen similar devices on sale for more than £30, which makes my version a real bargain. Try Maplin Electronics (tel 0870 429 6000).
Jon Roberts
Kempston, Bedford

I used to get frustrated when I'd arrive on site and wait for ages before the van's fridge got cold enough to use. I have now found that the best way to get the fridge cool quickly is to run it on gas for the first 12 hours or so and then switch to mains electricity. I'm not sure why it works (my husband reckons the flame makes the heat exchanger work faster), but it works.
Kate Pendleton,
Castle Bromwich

Invest a couple of pounds in a can of Sprayduster from any computer store. It contains compressed air for blowing dust and debris from inaccessible areas of electronic equipment. I have been using it for years for clearing grit from awning rails, gas regulators, round window frames and skylights, cooker rings and oven, door locks, lights … The list goes on and on.
Jim Glasgow

In our five-berth caravan, we have annoying gaps between seats and walls or cabinetry. At less than an inch wide, they are too narrow for a vacuum cleaner nozzle. I got an old, stiff paintbrush and stuck the cardboard insert from a roll of wrapping paper onto the handle, flattening it a bit. I used it to brush out these gaps. By the end of the season, I had found £3.72, a long-lost earring, my husband's fancy pen and the previous owner's necklace.
Kirsteen Stewart,
Derwentwater

When I lay up my Fleetwood Garland 128-2 for the winter, I put two or three pots of salt in the van. I change these about twice through the winter. The salt draws the damp from the air that gets inside, keeping the Garland dry and ready for next season. By the end of the winter, salt is full of water.
W Boneham,
Hillmorton, Rugby

Take a large empty plastic mineral water container and cut off the base and, presto, you have a funnel to make filling your Aquaroll easy, at no extra cost.
Brian Hewlett,
Worcester

To keep an Aquaroll cool in the summer, wrap a car windscreen shade (with foil on one side and foam on the other) around it. Hold it in place with sticky tape. In winter, wrap it in a raincoat, to make it water- and frostproof.
G Betton

Keep a spare O-seal - the black rubber ring on some water heaters - with your other spares. Without the seal, your system will not pressurise properly, and your hot water will seep away. When you drain the system for the winter (or between trips for four-season caravanners), it's surprisingly easy to lose or damage this seal. It costs very little, and takes no space.A Terry and Kathy