Europe

[toxichilli]

We are thinking of doing Europe for a month
due to lack of space just a few questions
what did you take
what did you wish you didn't
and what did you do about showers and washing cloths etc
and any tips please
cheers

[el diablo]

think about the time you are going
than think of what you need when you are at home ,clothing etc
are you going to cook your own food or eat out ??

just go to cheap campings ,shower and washing is possible everywhere most of the time cheap for a camper and 2 persons around 21 to ....35,- euro's a night in high season at the cheap campings

park and sleap at a petrol station was ok 5 years ago ,now its not unless you don't have any other way
you can shower there too
all the truck/lorry drivers do that too

if you are heading to belgium / france go to the les routinier restaurants /truckstops
great food at cheap affordable prices

i always say whatyou didn't bring you can buy

traveling doesn't have to be expensive !!!!

[Surfunitone]

I travelled around France and portugal a few years back and took way too much cr@p!! Just keep it simple!! I always take a few spares for the van tho, wheel bearing and rad pipe (I had a wheel bearing go on one trip so I carry a spare pair, never had it to since but I'm a little paranoid lol) have a test run for a weekend away and anything that you find yourself moving around in your van but never use leave behind!

[JulianP]

If you have wc shower on board these are good some free some charge or just charge for using services .Theres a book you can get with them all in usually in french but translation of symbols. Occasionally you get one on a supermarket carpark with a launderette probably best way is to go on proper site every few days catch up with washing .You can also stop free on motorway services but most are toll roads not all tho and as said usually showers for truck drivers and some times you have to ask for the key .



https://www.vicarious-shop.com/Le-Guide ... -2012.html



Look for this symbol tells you where you can empty potty and most of time stay over

[n8rbos]

come join us at www.motorhoming-wild.co.uk for free, plenty of help and advice on anything you need to know by folk there or just been/going.tony

[Louey]

As Julian has pointed out - use the 'Aire Du Camping Cars' some are free and others no more than 5 euro per night, you'll probably get to meet other motorhomers too (french, german, dutch, Brits etc)

- if you want a shower, either use a sloar shower or use a Municipal campsite every now and then
Some info on Municipal campsites

[sjs205]

I've spent quite a bit of time driving around Europe in my old smileys. The one thing that was a must for me was a travel keattle... I actually mastered making a pot of fresh coffee whilst driving - if you stop whilst driving through the mountins of romania you'd just have to risk your life even further trying to overtake the slow trucks again.

Spares wise, the only problem I really had was the vac pump that sits on the back of the alternator... Two of these failed on me. The first time it happened I got a local bulgarian garage to weld me up a bypass pipe so I could cut the pump out altogether if need be, breaking was a little heavy but at least I wasn't leaving oil every where I went

I can take a pic of it if interested...

[sjs205]

I travelled around France and portugal a few years back and took way too much cr@p!! Just keep it simple!! I always take a few spares for the van tho, wheel bearing and rad pipe (I had a wheel bearing go on one trip so I carry a spare pair, never had it to since but I'm a little paranoid lol) have a test run for a weekend away and anything that you find yourself moving around in your van but never use leave behind!

A wheel bearing went on me in Belgium once... but it took out the stub axle with it. 5 days later and £600 lighter I was able to continue on my journey...

[Surfunitone]

I travelled around France and portugal a few years back and took way too much cr@p!! Just keep it simple!! I always take a few spares for the van tho, wheel bearing and rad pipe (I had a wheel bearing go on one trip so I carry a spare pair, never had it to since but I'm a little paranoid lol) have a test run for a weekend away and anything that you find yourself moving around in your van but never use leave behind!

A wheel bearing went on me in Belgium once... but it took out the stub axle with it. 5 days later and £600 lighter I was able to continue on my journey...

Oh mate... That's not great!!

RAC Europe cover!!! Just in case!!

[sjs205]

I travelled around France and portugal a few years back and took way too much cr@p!! Just keep it simple!! I always take a few spares for the van tho, wheel bearing and rad pipe (I had a wheel bearing go on one trip so I carry a spare pair, never had it to since but I'm a little paranoid lol) have a test run for a weekend away and anything that you find yourself moving around in your van but never use leave behind!

A wheel bearing went on me in Belgium once... but it took out the stub axle with it. 5 days later and £600 lighter I was able to continue on my journey...

Oh mate... That's not great!!

RAC Europe cover!!! Just in case!!

I had RAC europe cover, and I really rate these guys, but in Europe all they will ever do is tow you to a garage... Which can be a life saver in itself...

[Aardvark]

The exact same thing happened to me in France a while ago. It cost me €150 to get towed to the nearest garage. I knew I couldn't afford to have the garage fix it so called a friend who lived an hour and a half away to come get me. Then found a spare bearing set in my shed, went back and after filing the stub axle to get the bearing to fit, changed it in the car park and got it back home. I went to a local motor factors later to replace the bearing (I like to keep a few spares handy) and they wanted €185 for ONE set! Instead I ordered on eBay for £30 incl. p&p to France. I got a new stub axle from a forum member for a tenner and fitted it straight away as the old one was a bit bent (from the heat). The frightening thing about the event was I only knew something was wrong when the van started filling up with smoke. The damned thing is so noisy on the motorway I didn't hear the bearing breaking up and the smoke was coming from the tyre rubbing on the strut when it went all "negative camber" on me. Just lucky there was a rest area coming up so I got stopped before the whole lot came off. It was only the brake caliper holding the hub on the axle and the pads were pretty much toast when they came out. The moral of the story is: Take as many spares as you can afford, even if you have to get a garage to fit them it will save you a bomb.

[darkbluevanman]

Motorcycle puncture outfit for quick repairs on any coolant hose splits....... let cool down, fix as would a puncture, insulating tape over top to add pressure

[kev sealby]

There are only so many spares you can take.
In our current situation, I would have had to take a small engine with me........
But I have a good tool kit of those bosch 10.8 volt tools, drill driver, recip saw, torch.
Another handy thing is rubber tape, used by plumbers, that will also repair leaky tubes.

As for showers etc, we stop in a campsite every 8 days or so to charge up, in the meantime we swim in the sea, go to a spa hotel where you can often pay a few quid for the full works without being a hotel guest, a couple of imes we have paid to use the facilities in campsites without staying overnight, ie, fill with water, empty waste, have a shower. Garages are also good.

Anything you think is frivolous, don't take it.
One handy thing I have is a Kindle, I have about 500 books on it, and with my model you can get online everywhere for free! No roaming charges.....found it handy when searching for lpg garages etc.

[bigjohnthomas]

Couple of chicken curry pies and a gallon of bellies stimulation drink is all you need to take on a Europe trip

[fioroe]

Bodge tape!
Managed to smash one rear lens within 10 mins of arrival in calais & fix it with tape & a sandwichbag to hold it together.Then on way back at Bayeux a dick head drove into my stationary Mk2 C.I & smashed the other side. offered to settle up at supermarket alongside but as soon as i turned left at lights he turned right the b*stard!More bodge tape & Sarnie bags meant i still had indicators & one brake light.but no more night driving.Had to creep past Gendarme on roundabout by ferry at 5.30am in dark & he didnt spot me thank god.
With hindsight id take spare lights next time ha ha

A copy of "All the Aires France" has them all listed some are free & most about 5Euro. You'll need a loo to do this & i treated us to our first portapotti...What a godsend im converted.


Fiona