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Italian Thieves


RFC7

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Just returned from a 3 week trip to France/ Italy/ Switzerland in my Hymer 588i, here are some highlights, tips and. a Major low light !!

Orange engine advisory light appeared on the Thursday night before leaving for Plymouth/Roscoff ferry the next day !! A quick trip to a local garage in the morning for a diagnostic check showed a failed Turbo sensor !!!!! a 4 day wait for the part and a forecasted £400 bill.

Decisions, decisions... Cancel trip or drive to Italy, the home of Fiat, without a Turbo.?

As an ex-rally driver, I have finished rallies with a blown Turbo and know the only downside is an approx a 22% power loss.

We decided to go, and just suffer the long slow uphill drags, and poor fuel consumption, the Hymer/2.3-liter Fiat euro 5 engine was fine on the straights, etc. (1250 miles at 17 mpg, instead of the usual 28 mpg)

Monday morning,(11.00h) found Great Fiat Main Dealer on the outskirts of Turin, 1 mile from campsite, second diagnostic check confirmed failed Turbo sensor. returned at 1400h, the replacement sensor had arrived, 1 hour and 200 euros later we were sorted and on our way. We definitely made the right decision to drive to Italy without a Turbo....

Until the BREAK-IN at the public 'Parking Piave Pisa',(500mts from the leaning tower of Pisa).

AVOID this place like the plague, the thieves are on view sat around the toilets and pay machine area just waiting....but you only realise that with hindsight. Returned 2 hours later to find side window forced open, Macbook, iPad, binoculars, spare iPhone 7 etc, etc. missing. The local police station was not interested, issued the insurance report and just confirmed that the car park thefts kept them very busy !!!!!!

£5000 worth of personal effects insurance was taken out with Saga just for the trip, subsequently learned this will be reduced to £1000 due to loss from a vehicle, thankyou SAGA, I should have left everything outside the motorhome on display !!

Next day on the Cinque Terre train trip (an absolute must do) caught a thief with his hand in my side pocket with fingers on my wallet, he legged it with a bloody nose, and missed the train !!!

San Gigimano in Tuscany is sensational, as was the rest of the trip, especially Riva at top of Lake Garda in Switzerland. Great drive up the east side of the lake, DO NOT take a Motorhome up or down the west side!!

I Would do it all again tomorrow, minus all the rain, and would definitely give that PISA car park a miss!

One final piece of advice:

DO NOT go to France or Italy (without an adaptor) if you have refillable utility gas tanks, we were four days without gas, you have been warned......

I hope some of the above is of interest, I wish I had read it before I departed !!!!!

 

RFC7

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