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Planning a year touring Europe.


Kingy

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Hi all,

Hopefully tapping in to some good advice from you all.

 

My wife and i have just started to sit down and research a year touring Europe. We are both mid thirties and have a 2 year old in tow so all the information we can gather from you all would be extremely helpful, :-)

 

Since we are new to travelling via motor home we do not have a huge amount of knowledge on what the best makes and models are, what to look out for etc. Although we are reading a massive amount of literature on the subject!

So far we have a budget of up to 40K for the motor home, we want to keep the vehicle length below 7 meters, weight down to 3500KG (is this even feasible considering we are planning on a year?).

As far as layout is concerned we want 2 doubles, 1) for our daughter to call her own preferable transverse in the back, 2) either over cab or a pull down (we don't like the idea of having to take the lounge or dinette apart every night). To make things a little tougher neither of us are fans of A class motor homes (we think the driving position would be a step too far for us newbies), we would prefer a low line van or a standard coach built with a double over the cab what are the pros and cons of both shapes? What manufacturers and models would be worth a look, so far we have seen a large amount of Burstners and particularly liked their feel.

 

We have many, many questions.............but finally what Modifications or extras would you recommend we look for to aid us in the trip?

So far we will be getting an LPG tank installed with a gas back up, potentially a directional WIFI booster system. Any help or information would be greatly received.

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Kingy

Welcome to the forum

One question . Do you have a restriction on your licences, (due to when you passed your test?) for keeping at 3500.?

There will be lots of people giving their opinions (remember they are ON LY opinions)

 

You are are taking on a lot with a 2 year old in tow, most of us are retired, so your choices may/will be vastly different to most of ours.

I wish you luck , and envy you, being able to do this a such a young age

PJay

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Hi ya, PJay,

 

Yes I do have restrictions on my licence, but will happily take the C1 licence exam if I need to. At the moment one of my major considerations is gross weight, unladen weight and what payload we have, if I need more payload I will have to look at a c1 licence and possibly a bigger MH. I have no idea what a tank of diesel, lpg, water and 2 bodies plus one small child will weigh let alone all our stuff. I may well be over comlicating it all though :-)

 

As for opinions, in my experience most are valid except the ones that disagree with my own :-D . In all seriousness though the best way to learn is to ask, so I will happily listen to what ever advice is given.

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We've just been down most of this route. Needed a new motorhome for long term european travel, but we are much older and the kids will not be coming with us!!

 

On what to take I found reading blogs invaluable and I particularly liked http://ourtour.co.uk/home/ which has packing lists and discussions on the various bits of kit they took.

 

Unless you are flush with money you will want to reduce the number of sites you stop on and maximize aires and wildcamping and this means being able to be without mains electricity for a period. Thus I would have thought a good solar panel and an extra leisure battery as top priority.

 

I've not seen much discussion about carrying a second toilet cassette. We haven't started our trip yet, but I am considering a second cassette to allow for the fact that we might not always be able to find emptying points.

 

We have gone for a wifi booster and ourtour have a detailed discussion on the pros and cons of this.

 

I did some weight calculations based on weight figures I found on the internet for the additions to the van and also there are some estimated weights for clothes, food etc. on the web. We've gone for a van with a very high payload capability so this is not so much of an issue for us.

 

 

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Good luck sounds great.

I would consider left hand drive.

Solar panels and twin leisure batteries as you won't want to spend too much time on campsites.

Even an lpg generator for when it's too dark for the solar panels.

Check you have a spare wheel, many don't.

MOT before you go to give you a year before having to come back.

Two double beds don't leave much room for a lounge, which you will need in bad weather. Even Southern Europe gets cold in winter. You will want to be able to put your little one to bed and have some time to yourselves.

You've probably considered most of these. But if you need extra payload, consider a trailer.

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This is a very wide ranging question. My suggestion is to follow this link, and get the book: http://tinyurl.com/pvxmruf It should answer most of your questions and probably a few you have not yet thought of!

 

In part response to your question, it is usual to calculate payload by deducting Mass in Running Order (MIRO) from Maximum Allowable Mass (MAM), which is the maximum weight to which the van is permitted to be loaded, as shown on its VIN plate. Both will be explained in the above book, including how MIRO is calculated.

 

One thing to watch, however, is that not all manufacturers use the same allowances. For example, many of the German manufacturers quote weights with only 20 litres of water on board in lieu of the 90% full requirement of the standard, and also quote for only one 90% full 11kg aluminium gas cylinder, whereas most UK buyers will have 13kg steel cylinders. Remember that these nominal weights refer to the gas alone: the steel cylinders weigh about 15kg each and aluminium about half that. The weight difference between one aly 11kg German cylinder, and two 13kg steel UK cylinders can make quite a hole in your anticipated payload! The same is broadly true for refillables, where some use steel cylinders and others aluminium. Just something to watch if chasing the kg.

 

My other comment is that vans with a bed over the cab, which is what I think you are implying, are not low profile, as the bed is invariably housed in a "Luton" overcab extension. If you want a low profile van, the second bed will have to go elsewhere, with implications for overall length. The available solutions are roughly a front lounge that converts to a bed (which you do not favour), a mid-mounted drop down bed (which tends to be restrictive on use of whatever is under the bed -usually lounge or kitchen elements), or an A class van with a forward drop-down bed (which you also do not favour). My take on these options generally is that a compact A class with a rear double and a front drop down double would probably offer the best and most practical solution - with you to occupy the drop down and the little one at the rear. However, most rear mounted double beds in sub 7 metre vans will be set relatively high over a "garage", meaning the almost inevitable ladder access may cause you some concerns for a two year old . Some do have the rear bed set lower (and some adjust), though the resulting under bed storage space will be reduced.

 

I think your reaction to the driving position of A class vans may be misplaced. The distance between the driving seat and the front of the van is virtually the same for all vans: it is only the windscreen that moves forward in the A classes: the front bumper remains pretty much unmoved (though it will look different). So, the impression is of a huge front extension, but that impression is highly misleading, and once that is taken on board driving is in many respects easier. The windscreen "A" pillars show you the actual width of the van, as there is no bodywork projection behind the cab, so judging gaps is easier, and the windscreen is almost at the front of the van, so that invisible "front bonnet" projection is more or less eliminated. I'd say go for a test drive in one before you write off the idea, as I think you will be pleasantly surprised. A classes will knock a larger hole in your budget, but there are a lot around, LHD versions will offer better value than RHD, and I think they may well offer the best compromise for your purposes. They also tend to come from the better reputed manufacturers in terms of construction quality, so maintain their value somewhat better - useful when you come to sell. You should find a quite wide selection of LHD Hymer, Burstner, Laika, or Pilote, models already in UK.

 

You don't say where you live, but if anywhere within reach of Mansfield, Notts, sniff out Edge Hill Motorhomes http://tinyurl.com/nsw5poj who import used LHD models, mainly Hymer, from Germany (but can also get new if wanted). They usually have a good selection of used vans at a wide range of prices, and they know their Hymers very well.

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We are 9 months into a 12 month tour of Europe, first thing is without a doubt the most fabulous trip we have ever done. Not sure how much help any of this will be but here goes:

 

We are just 2 adults but we are in a 5.9 metre motorhome, fixed bed, and we manage fine under 3500 kgs.

 

We have met several other British couples doing 12 month tours whilst we have been out. The thing everyone seems to agree on is you bring way too much stuff with you. We are not alone in the under 6 metre category, many stick with smaller vans as ferry costs are much cheaper - in Norway sometimes double the cost for over 6m compared to under.

 

Whatever clothes you are thinking of taking, cut it down by 50% - if you are visiting Eastern Europe you can pick up extras or new stuff for a song anyway. People brings tons of food with them, but it's usually cheaper in most of Europe - Lidl are everywhere as are many other cheap stores other than food for your little one wouldn't bring too much with you as just adds to the weight.

 

Campsite vs wildcamping - we do both, but mainly sites. We generally avoid ACSI sites, even with discounts not always the cheapest for a night or two stop. Where aires and Stellplatz exist we use those, if not we tend to use small family run sites, often Dutch owned - internet searches bring them up everywhere. Our average costs for sites is running at £9.15 per night - it doesn't have to be that expensive using sites. Plus we have only paid for internet less than a handful of times, smaller sites have all given free access - we have an Iboost to improve signal when needed.

 

In several countries wild camping is banned - of course people still do it but its good to be aware its not always allowed.

 

We already had our van but agree with other posters - a LHD would have been preferable. Also we don't have a solar panel - would consider getting one if we do this again so less reliant on paying electric costs even on sites / aires.

 

There is so much reading material out there, we took snippets of advice from many and made it fit our plans,

 

The best advise really is, if you can do it.

 

Have planning and even happier travelling

 

:-D

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we have just completed our first year of full timing, mainly in Europe, now going back in late August for another trip. My OH has been keeping a log/blog if it interests you

www.colinandgill.wordpress.com

Have fun and don't plan too much cos you never know where you will go

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