tips please (1 Viewer)

[tony1962]

i have just bought a 2008 peugeot boxer elldis and me and the mississ are planning a trip to france in october as anyone got any good tips for me on driving in france and nice seaside resorts to stay the night (cheap ha ha ) we were probably going to drive to monpellier if thats how you spell it so all advice would be greatly excepted thanks tony/elaine

 

[chatter]

headlight beam deflecters, spare bulbs for lights,2 triangles,Breathalyzer kit x 2, first aid kit, reflective jackets for all (must be put on before getting out of vehicle if you have a breakdown) spare glasses if you wear them, photocopy of all documents (passport,insurance,log book, driving licence, pet passport if needed etc) plus you need to take the originals All must by french law be complied with and carried
All the aires guide, ACSI sites guide.
In France N roads/major D roads are better/cheaper than toll roads, you see more, you find aires/campsites off the N/D roads, fuel is cheaper, towns on the whole nice, some very quaint

Welcome to Fun and enjoy your travels in your new home on wheels

 

[Wildman]

pre cool the fridge at home on 240V before you leave fill up and don't forget to remove the EH lead before driving off in the morning. Have a good trip.

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[chatter]

You also have limited payload so when you have loaded what you think you will need in your van take it and anyone that will be travelling in it to a weigh bridge and check that you are not overweight, if you are ever pulled by our (not so) friendly VOSA and you are over weight you will have to dump excess weight before you can move on and you will face a nasty fine.
Empty all tanks before travelling and carry a 5 ltr water container for use during the journey should you want to stop and make a brew somewhere on route

 

[tony1962]

Thanks for the tips anymore please your wealth of knowledge is truly apreciated ??? Whats a eh lead ha ha

 

[pappajohn]

a printed card saying " drive on the right" placed on the steering wheel.

so easy to forget and keep left when you leave site after a nights rest, especially if the roads are very quite.

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[WynandJean]

Thanks for the tips anymore please your wealth of knowledge is truly apreciated ??? Whats a eh lead ha ha

EH or EHU = Electric Hook-Up. That's the big coil of (usually) orange cable that you connect the van to the mains with. Wildman was saying that you'd need to get the fridge cold before you start out as the gas/12v settings on the fridge are not as efficient as mains for getting it down to temp.

Also you may need to think about gas. You can't get Calor gas that we have here. If you need to get gas in France you will need one of the French manufacturers' bottles, which in turn will need a French adaptor. It's not a great problem as they are readily available from the supermarkets (which are the best places to go for gas - and deisel, come to that)

I'll get back to vacuuming the house and see what else I can come up with later.

If you can think of specific questions let us know.

Wyn

 

[tony1962]

tips

thanks for all your tips much appreciated i have bought a peugeout elldiss autoquest 100 2008 just wondered if there is any known issues with these and will it be ok to use in the cold weather etc . its only done 17k any advice ie would you get a habitation certificate or will it be ok, is there any issues with rust or any other known niggles ive checked for damp and that seems fine its just that with me been new to this i dont want to do anything un knowingley that would probably end up costing me pounds through been naive ..... and also the vehicle does not have a tv ariel , any tips on what would be ideal for travelling in europe the wifes still got to have corrie and emmerdale on i think sad innit .

but as i said earlier i dont want to be a pain in the a** but truly knowledge is king thanks once again

 

[pappajohn]

Corrie and emmerdale...you obviously need a satellite dish and receiver.

I use a sky mini dish on a camera tripod.....whole thing cost less than £30 and the receiver cost around £75.

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[mike mcglynn]

France Trip

Hi,Tony make sure you have a good insurance policy and read all the small print in case of breakdown I speak from personal experience , as all things are not quite what you may think :Angry: I had a great time in France and would go back tomorrow if I could what a fine country and nice people, at least that was mine and my wifes experience back in june this year :thumb:

 

[WynandJean]

As Pappajohn says a TV aerial will be no use in France other than picking up French TV. Although we were surprised to find that we picked up all UK channels when we got up to Calais.

You will find France a revelation. Driving over there is quite pleasurable with good road systems (we set satnav to avoid tolls) considerate drivers (mainly) and motorhomes are actually welcomed rather than shunned as in UK. If you are not familiar with them there are Motorhome Aires (Aires De Campingcar) which can be found in or near most towns/villages. They can only be used by motorhomes and offer overnight stays (usually limited to one or two nights) with water and waste facilities. They are either free or charge a few euros per night. Some even have electricity to hook up to (EHU as above). French authorities offer these services to attract tourists so it is reasonable to repay the locals by shopping there or using the local services where appropriate. They are not campsites so it is not the done thing to 'set up camp' with tables and chairs or hanging out washing etc.

All of this means that you can tour in a way that isn't really practical in UK. It is not possible to book up on an aire (think of it as being like finding a car park) It is practical to drive to an area that interests you then find a nearby aire where you can stay overnight and move on the next day or the day after. And if you arrive at an aire with no space or you dislike for any reason, then just go to the next one. That way you can see what is of interest nearby then move on, so it's not like spending a week or a fortnight on a campsite. Of course, campsites are available if that is what suits you but I recommend trying Aires. Depends on how long you are there but it may be worth combining the occasional campsites between aires to give access to laundry facilities, shower blocks, swimming pools etc.

You can find Aires by using the 'All The Aires' guide mentioned by Chatter. You can also download Aires locations to your satnav. Also see French Aires on the funsters site under the Resources menu on left hand side of opening page.

Wyn

 

[WynandJean]

...and if you're still not sure check out this:

Broken Link Removed

Wyn

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[Viennese]

Thanks for the tips anymore please your wealth of knowledge is truly apreciated ??? Whats a eh lead ha ha

You also need an EHU 2 pin adaptor for the French electric points on the campsites - available from all good camping shops.