Equipping a new van - the non-obvious things (1 Viewer)

chenderson1965

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Hi All,

So, thanks in no small part to all the wonderful support and advice I’ve had from members of this Forum, we have today agreed the final purchase price and details for our first motorhome!

It’s a 2012 N+B Arto 79R and we’re buying from a dealer so it comes with nothing in the way of contents. We take delivery in a couple of weeks and we are off on our first trip to France a week or so after that.

We’re happy to use our initiative and work out what to take for all the obvious stuff - bedding, kitchenware, cleaning equipment etc etc. I dare say we’ll forget some bits and pieces and also work out things we need as we go along. For most basic living stuff, I’m sure we’ll end up buying things while we’re there to fill gaps we discover.

What I’m less confident about is motorhome specific things that we’ll need, and which might be a bit trickier to find when we’re away. I’m sure we can find almost anything in France but we’d rather not spend time looking for specialist shops. I guess we’re talking, therefore, about anything which we’ll need for motorhome holidaying which couldn’t be found in a large French supermarket and so we should definitely buy now.

To illustrate, some things that have already occurred to me are:-

- A hook up cable (how long? Will any one do?)
- We have a Gaslow refillable gas system and someone said it requires adapter nozzles for the continent. What do I need?
- Carbon monoxide alarm (pretty straightforward I think but important)
- Firefighting kit (there’s an extinguisher, do we need anything else?)
- Loo fluid (seem to be many kinds - is there much difference?)
- Means to fill the water tank (hose? Container? Both? What kinds?)
- I know I’ll need warning triangle/breathalyser etc etc for driving in France. Best to just buy a pre-prepared kit?
- We don’t have a spare wheel. I’m thinking we should buy one rather than rely on a repair kit?
- We have two dogs (for whom we’ve done pet passports etc). Do people take any basic dog medicines?
- We don’t have a lockable place for valuables. How do we secure electronics/money/passports etc?

I’m sure there are lots of things I’m missing. What else?

Thanks

Chris
 
Aug 26, 2008
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A box of long matches for when the pesky piezo igniter is inop.
Blutack
Head torch (or baseball cap with built in LEDs, my favourite)
Zap Bat (other makes are available) for mozzies

Fear not if you forgot to bring something, France has shops like Decathlon for camping gear and the bigger supermarkets also have a camping section.

France has 2 big chain stores (among others) for MH / camping-car accessories:
Narbonne Accessoires, and Destinea. Both have many outlets including some within dealerships.
 
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This is going to sound strange but one thing I used only today, and I've used numerous times in the last three months, to stick parking tickets onto windows etc., is a roll of humble sellotape (other brands are available). Not the end of the world if you don't have it, but useful, nevertheless!
I buy small multi coloured bulldog clips from the Chinese shop and use the weight of them when clipped to ticket to leave on the dash

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I keep an old cigar box with a mini office 'drawer-full' of pens/pencils, highlighters, mini-stapler, eraser, pencil sharpener, sellotape etc. It is surprising how often it gets opened and how much neater information and paperwork is. It takes up little space and keeps it all together.

Geoff
 
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Box of 1euro coins for the aires that charge, entrance, water, disposal leccy and parking meters.

Agreed, but also 2 Euro coins as some machines only take those.

Some machines, e.g. entrance to some Aires/campsites only take cards so make sure you have one that does not charge a fee of say £1.50 to pay a £3.00 charge.

Geoff
 
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Taking dog food is a good idea. One of ours needs gluten free which is an extra complication. Difficult if you are going for a longish trip, 3 months or more. We usually only go for a couple of months at a time but even then the dry dog food weighs about the same as the dogs (50kg) however once they've eaten it you can replace the weight lost with wine. 50kg is around 60bottles.
 
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Keep some of those aluminium containers that ready meals come in to use in the oven as you can throw them away if and when they get to dirty.
Plastic food and ice cream tubs with lids are useful to store stuff in

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chenderson1965

chenderson1965

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Thanks all. Lots of good, practical advice here. I did a large shop on eBay and picked up just about all of it - pleasingly inexpensively too!

Just need to solve the privacy room question now. Even Fiamma (whose 5 metre awning is fitted) seem to be struggling to find me one that big to fit - and none of the stand alone ones I’ve seen too date are high enough to clear the door...
 
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Apr 27, 2008
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Try without the privacy room first. They are bulky and heavy, can only be used on a site, and take time to put up and down. They are very limiting, so much so that a caravan with an awning would achieve the same, and give you a usable vehicle as well.

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denisejoe

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Thanks all. Lots of good, practical advice here. I did a large shop on eBay and picked up just about all of it - pleasingly inexpensively too!

Just need to solve the privacy room question now. Even Fiamma (whose 5 metre awning is fitted) seem to be struggling to find me one that big to fit - and none of the stand alone ones I’ve seen too date are high enough to clear the door...

Don't bother with the privacy room to start with. Most people seem to end up putting them in their garage at home or selling them on!
 
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You could consider getting yourself a pair of shoes that go on and off easily at the door with speed. No one likes to stand there in the rain taking take shoes if you have just popped out and want a quick return otherwise the result is you take the wet, mud and recent cut grass into your van. I know the dogs will bring in a bit but their 4 paws prob have less overall mass than yours ? crocs or other brand serve many purposes
 
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suavecarve

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Don't use chemicals in your loo. It ruins septic systems and there are a lot where you are going. Use ordinary Bio washing liquid, a cheap one as long as its biological. one capful every time you re fresh the cassette. You can bung a cap of it in your sink and rinse to keep your grey tank sweet too.

If you park on grass, be mindful of traction if its been raining a lot. look for tyremarks and ruts from previous campers.

get an adaptor kit from gaslow/gasit, you will need the disc shaped one for france. dnt keep it in your locker some attendants go apeshit and wont turn on the pump when they see you opening a gaslocker and filling with autogas

You should be using a 16amp hookup cable with the blue "commando" plugs and sockets. 20m is about right. (Most don't they use 13 amp)

Buy a flat hose and different tap connectors think about cutting it into differing lengths and being able to connect them all for one long length.

Take an electric desk fan with you it can get uncomfortable in central France sometimes
Thats quite a comprehensive list and worth noting.
A couple of amendments (but this is all personal opinion) An enlarging hose with numerous connections all stored within a collapsible bucket (like a nosebag for horses)
When purchasing the LPG converters Germany has a different one as well and in time you will go there.
Make the electric fan 12 volt and try to buy anything with 12 volts. Sufficient leads to recharge phones etc and cigarette lighter adapters to charge your phones. A second battery (if you dont have one) to double your bank of electricity to save paying for electric.

Dangly things to go over your door to try to prevent flies getting in. Some form of mosquito killer. (I have just bought one off of ebay which will be tested in September which looks brilliant on the advert ! a sort of ultra violet light and internal vortex to suck the little buggers in for a tenner)
When you get out there, buy a blue parking badge, there are some areas that have blue painted lines for the parking spaces. Sort of looks like disabled bays but they are timed areas. You can buy it from a Tourist Office or some garages and cost about 3 euros and essential in some areas (like switzerland)
Sufficient 5 litre water containers which you can use for holding water. Then you can empty them and fill them up with wine for your return journey from a cave

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If you are still thinking of a privacy room I would go for a Kampa rally pro air awning they are easy to put up and will give you a nice extra space. And you don’t need to use the full length of your wind out, I fitted an awning rail to the underside of our wind out to slide the Kampa onto its much easier and lighter than a safari/privacy room.?
 
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Riverbankannie

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Tea bags and marmite !

Clothes pegs and some line to rig up a drying line.. the pegs are useful in all sorts of situations and I even use one on a piece of card to attach tickets and the like to the card then there is no chance of it falling down the gap between dashboard and windscreen.
This sort with an integrated hook are very useful as you can hook them over your shower curtain rail or awning rail. Handy to hang up damp towels and washcloths.

Amazon product ASIN B07C82X5WP
An overdoor hook to keep in your washbag in case the site shower doesn’t have one.
 
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