Spares to take with me when traveling.

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Mel68

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Carado t447
Hi, my wife and I have recently returned from the south of France where our fresh water pump stopped working. Which promts this this question, what spares do you guys carry when on your travels?

My van is a Carado t447

Thanks for any input😃
 
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If I was traveling abroad in a Fiat X250, the thing that no-one seems to have mentioned, is a complete fuel filter body.

Shurflo pump and, if your vehicle has no spare, a tyre (not rim).

All can be fitted quickly (by someone else if necessary) with the minimum of delay.
Good luck! 😄
 
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A debit card a couple of empty credit cards and decent recovery insurance. That will cover all eventualities.
 
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I carry my normal toolbox which has (more than) enough bits and pieces to cover most situations. Anything bigger I call the breakdown service. TBH I'm more often than not diving into the toolbox to help somebody else!

We do carry a spare fresh water pump, only because I bought one some years ago when I thought ours was failing, to discover it just needed some noise insulation. A pair of mirror glasses is hidden away somewhere, on the basis that it hasn't happened yet.......!. And finally a spare complete fuel pump, only because I got one from another Funster who changed his van and didn't need it. None of these take up much room or payload.

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I don't know of anything one can take to deal with delays other than a great deal of patience.
 
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trophychap said:
I don't know of anything one can take to deal with delays other than a great deal of patience.
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That's something I have little of, so I carry basic spares (as mentioned in earlier post) which I can fit myself and are available even on a Sunday or Bank Holiday! 😄
 
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I carry basically everything . totals around 150kgs.
trophychap said:
other than a great deal of patience.
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Of which I have even less than none. & why I do it myself.

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Storage tip: my van has space for two gas bottles, but I'm just using one 11kg refillable as it still lasts weeks. Which leaves me with spare space in a locker that's tall and narrow. I was carrying a toolbox on its side, strapped in place, but it was noisy and I was always worried about bursting it. So I bought a 30 litre 'UN specification' food barrel. It's thick plastic with similar dimensions to a gas bottle. I stack my tools in there.
 
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L' Hobo said:
If I was traveling abroad in a Fiat X250, the thing that no-one seems to have mentioned, is a complete fuel filter body.

Shurflo pump and, if your vehicle has no spare, a tyre (not rim).

All can be fitted quickly (by someone else if necessary) with the minimum of delay.
Good luck! 😄
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I often hear people say take a tyre but has anyone actually asked a garage to fit one. I know that the idea is that they often fit 2 as they say they aren't allowed to fit one new tyre but is it a law that says it's illegal to sell one tyre or a law that says it's illegal to fit one tyre in which case a spare tyre is no use unless you can fit it yourself.
 
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The Wino said:
I often hear people say take a tyre but has anyone actually asked a garage to fit one. I know that the idea is that they often fit 2 as they say they aren't allowed to fit one new tyre but is it a law that says it's illegal to sell one tyre or a law that says it's illegal to fit one tyre in which case a spare tyre is no use unless you can fit it yourself.
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The law in france requires both tyres on the same axle to be the same.It is also the same here. The french just take advantage by refusing to fit one tyre .It is not illegal to sell one tyre.
The law is the same here .anyone will fit one tyre. They might point out that they are different to the other one but will still fit it. The only people here who are interested in 2 tyres on the same axle is the ITV station(MOT) even Trafico don't moan as long as both tyres are the correct size & specification.
 
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I try not to carry spares that are readily available from motor factors, but look for the ones that people have to wait for 4 days stuck at side of road abroad . In fact with fiat JIT more likely meaning wait 3 months I am seriously looking at engine/ acileries/ consumables that are specific to the twin egr model and allready have a lpegr cooler (in shed not need to cary). Need part numbers for gaskets associated with it. Any other suggestions? I have no intention of ever trading in (apart from a pine box) . Having been a manufacturing engineer and minimum spares were a requirement when specifing new equipment, so it seems a valid course of action, accountants may have a different attitude but not one has complained when foresight gives a half day of downtime as apposed to 2 days of a visiting engineer at £2000 a day plus expences.
 
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gus-lopez said:
The law in france requires both tyres on the same axle to be the same.It is also the same here. The french just take advantage by refusing to fit one tyre .It is not illegal to sell one tyre.
The law is the same here .anyone will fit one tyre. They might point out that they are different to the other one but will still fit it. The only people here who are interested in 2 tyres on the same axle is the ITV station(MOT) even Trafico don't moan as long as both tyres are the correct size & specification.
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I know that was the reason but wondered if anyone needing one fitted actually had it done. I wonder if everyone carrying just a tyre is wasting their time and ought to carry two or none?

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The Wino said:
I often hear people say take a tyre but has anyone actually asked a garage to fit one. I know that the idea is that they often fit 2 as they say they aren't allowed to fit one new tyre but is it a law that says it's illegal to sell one tyre or a law that says it's illegal to fit one tyre in which case a spare tyre is no use unless you can fit it yourself.
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As has been said, it is illegal to fit a different tyre on the same axle which is another reason to take a spare of what is already fitted. 🤔 but it's just a suggestion, personal choice is wonderful! 👍
 
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The Wino said:
I know that was the reason but wondered if anyone needing one fitted actually had it done. I wonder if everyone carrying just a tyre is wasting their time and ought to carry two or none?
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I cannot say for certain as the only time I have one fitted was when I fitted it myself in the workshop of a very friendly French garage owner on a Bank Holiday (he was generously rewarded).
 
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The Wino said:
When we have had problems abroad I have found motorhome dealers there to be much more willing to help than in the UK and on the same day. Given the number of foreign made motorhomes it would actually be more logical to carry less spares there than in the UK
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What The Wino said. Plus Gaffer tape, spare cables/charger for phones and a swiss army knife (the corkscrew is the most used part) - and a hidden spare hab key!
 
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I carry quite a few but the most used are fuses. Mine is on a transit so needs two sizes of blade fuses and a set of J case fuses in all ratings. Still all fits in a small box.
 
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Reallyretired said:
I carry quite a few but the most used are fuses. Mine is on a transit so needs two sizes of blade fuses and a set of J case fuses in all ratings. Still all fits in a small box.
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I think I've only blown a fuse once in 12 years and that was when I wiped the bumper off on a bollard and shorted the lights! Fuses blowing shouldn't be a frequent thing unless the wiring is dodgy. When I did need to swap one it had me flummoxed until I realised the front fuse board hinged down to reveal another

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I had a fuse blow for no apparent reason first day away this trip. Windscreen wipers during torrential rain. Turned out it wasn't the blade fuse on the wiper motor but the Jcase fuse on the controller in the 'hidden' fusebox. No problems since.
Fuses do seem to age and eventually blow without any overload known.
 
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daventess said:
Like the Ancient Mariner, I feel compelled to link to my France puncture woes detailing what a the pain in the rear end it was to not have a spare.

YMMV of course.
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Yup stuff happens, im sure I will be a 'victim' of circumstance and yes it can happen to anyone anytime....
 
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The Wino said:
I know that was the reason but wondered if anyone needing one fitted actually had it done. I wonder if everyone carrying just a tyre is wasting their time and ought to carry two or none?
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I can’t answer you question but I have had a flat tyre on a French autoroute and been taken to a garage and charged 225 euros for 2 new tyres budget and if I had a tyre in the boot that matched they would have charged 35 euros to fit
It was 4 yrs ago and I wasn’t carrying any spare
 
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The Wino said:
I know that was the reason but wondered if anyone needing one fitted actually had it done. I wonder if everyone carrying just a tyre is wasting their time and ought to carry two or none?
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The best way to ensure something doesn’t fail is to be carrying a spare IMO. the last time I had a puncture was just after I had removed the spare tyre I had strapped under the rear chassis for inspection and hadn't got around to refitting it.

Nobody is mentioning fan belts?
 
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Mel68 said:
Hi, my wife and I have recently returned from the south of France where our fresh water pump stopped working. Which promts this this question, what spares do you guys carry when on your travels?

My van is a Carado t447

Thanks for any input😃
Click to expand...
I think the best thing to carry is access to Motorhome fun because where ever you have a problem if you’re wise enough to ask you will get help so if you don’t have that spare you wished you’d packed makes it less painfull

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jongood said:
The best way to ensure something doesn’t fail is to be carrying a spare IMO. the last time I had a puncture was just after I had removed the spare tyre I had strapped under the rear chassis for inspection and hadn't got around to refitting it.

Nobody is mentioning fan belts?
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Fan belts, cam belts, water pump,injectors ECU, head gasket, water pipes, Tyres and thousands of other items could all fail but mostly don’t so why worry. Personally I am more zebra 🦓 chilling out on the plains and only worry about something if it happens. It ensures a good nights sleep.

Others worry about a puncture and have sleepless nights

Breakdown insurance and acceptance that something may go wrong and if it does deal with it then. Europe is hardly made up out of 3rd world countries.
 
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