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Full timing in Europe, any advice welcome


Daf Murray

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Hi, new to the forums, looking for a little advice if possible.

 

My wife and I have had a few motorhomes and spent a few weeks each year touring France staying at various aire’s, we sold our last motorhome 5 years ago as we needed the cash for a deposit on a property, we always vowed to buy another as soon as we could and pick up where we left off, last week I purchased a new Roller Team 746, sadly my wife passed away just over at year ago so she won’t be joining me on this adventure.

 

I’m 34 and have sold pretty much everything, my plan is to full time in the van with my 2 dogs, i intend to use the tunnel to get to France as to not freak my dogs out, and would like to avoid campsites as much as possible, after that I have no plans, no itinerary and no timescales, the world is my oyster as they say.

 

I should be ready to go mid-end of April. Any advice on solo travel, traveling with dogs, full timing in a van, must see places, travel routes or anything else you would like to share it would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

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Hi, firstly I suggest you look at this site www.wildcampingformotorhomes.com, you will get more information on there, we spend a lot of time in Spain ,Portugal, Morocco, Germany, etc etc in our van and mostly wild camp or use  aires [specific motorhome parking places] in most countries, cheaper than campsites which we detest, and lots with all the services you will require,ie water, toilet dump some have electricity available and rubbish dumping bins.Supermarkets are everywhere, fuel stations are everywhere , launderettes are everywhere if you need one,cash machines too, get refillable gas bottles fitted to your van for ease of gas supply, get solar panels fitted and at least 2 leisure batteries if you intend to be  off grid for longer periods,make sure you have all your vehicle documents with you at all times and be sure they are up to date, travelling between Countries is very easy at present, just cross borders  with no officials to bother you, may change after Brexit but I doubt it?plenty of publications available for finding  Aires etc [Vicarious books ] are great Google them , also lots of info on line just search around, lots of downloads  too, we have been traveling for 20 years now and have had no problems at all , we still have a UK base which I would not give up but each to their own, you will need a UK address for your Insurance, driving licence, road tax etc , unfortunately it is not possible to beat the system, have fun and happy travels.
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Vindiboy, Thanks for the reply and info, I have just purchased all the books from vicarious, a friend has kindly let me use his address, I have been looking at gas systems, I’ve narrowed it down to 2 gasit or gaslow, the bits I’ve found online seem to be pretty evenly split on which to choose. My van is fitted with a 120w solar panel and is booked in to have 2 addition leisure batteries next week. I’ll have a look at the website you sudgested tonight, thanks again
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snail - 2018-02-11 10:12 PM

 

Hi sorrow to hear of your loss, you may like to try looking at motorhome 365, it's a forum aimed at full timers and long termers a bit slow sometimes but some good information available

 

Best of luck

Snail

 

Thank you snail, I’ll have a look now

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Daf Murray - 2018-02-11 11:29 PM

 

...My van is fitted with a 120w solar panel and is booked in to have 2 addition leisure batteries next week...

 

If that means you will be ending up with 3 leisure batteries, you should be sure that your Roller Team 746’s present charging system will be able to cope satisfactorily.

 

Some motorhomes - usually large and expensive ones - come as standard (or can be specified) with more than 2 leisure batteries, but their battery charging system will be matched to the multiple-battery installation.

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Well the best of luck on your new lifestyle.

 

My advice would be to buy a good sat nav with up to date software that shows low bridges such as a Snooper. This also comes loaded with site and wild camping location software.

I would strongly recommend getting the full version of Campercontact - downloadable from: https://www.campercontact.com/en/

 

Works well on a smartphone and is regularly updated via 3G/4G telephone or internet connection so should easily find a suitable update connection. Cheap to buy the full version and well maintained site by NKC.

 

Finally, many Spanish and French beaches prohibit dogs for hygiene reasons but this site and others like it could be helpful: https://www.segurosveterinarios.com/blog/en/dog-friendly-beaches-in-spain-2017/

 

:-D

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Daf

 

First off, I’m not familiar with your motorhome’s electrical system, nor do I know what type, make, model and capacity of leisure-battery it currently has.

 

It’s probable safe enough to say that the more solar-panel area you have (and the greater the panels’ efficiency) the better, but that’s not automatically the case with the leisure-batteries.

 

This link advises on battery-charging faults and includes a “Battery Bank Sizing” section that’s relevant if extra leisure-batteries are to be installed

 

http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/battery-charging-faults.php

 

If you want a simplistic 'gut-feeling' answer, if your motorhome’s present leisure-battery has a 100Ah capacity, adding two more identical batteries would be risky, but adding one more should be OK.

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Derek Uzzell - 2018-02-12 12:03 PM

 

Daf

 

First off, I’m not familiar with your motorhome’s electrical system, nor do I know what type, make, model and capacity of leisure-battery it currently has.

 

It’s probable safe enough to say that the more solar-panel area you have (and the greater the panels’ efficiency) the better, but that’s not automatically the case with the leisure-batteries.

 

This link advises on battery-charging faults and includes a “Battery Bank Sizing” section that’s relevant if extra leisure-batteries are to be installed

 

http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/battery-charging-faults.php

 

If you want a simplistic 'gut-feeling' answer, if your motorhome’s present leisure-battery has a 100Ah capacity, adding two more identical batteries would be risky, but adding one more should be OK.

 

Thanks Derek, much appreciated

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Hi Daf thank you for your reply, if you join the web site I mentioned , you can get discounts on GASIT system, I fitted these to my van myself easily , gasit is a great company to deal with, my system was delivered to my home the day after I ordered it, you can get full time  insurance, it costs more but do not lie to an Insurance company about your UK residence as it can be a disaster if things go wrong, as an example I bashed my van in Spain ,reversed into a rock needed a new rear bumper and light cluster cost about £2000, in total , my Insurance company sent an accessor to my home to look at the van and agree the repair, he also wanted 2 utility bills in my name at my address , to check that I actually lived where I said I did and was not full timing in  my van.random check he said, all was well as I still have my home, but as I said you cannot  beat the system, I am with Comfort Insurance who also offer breakdown Insurance which I have used twice they also do full time Insurance, good company to be with if you are looking for cover at any time.I needed a new clutch when in Portugal one trip, I got to a Fiat garage ok and the breakdown Insurance paid for an Hotel for 5 nights, taxis etc, whilst the van was  in hospital, I had to pay for the clutch replacement of course , but a good result none the less, so be aware that things can go a bit pear shaped ,so you need to be prepared for these eventualities if they happen no  problem really as one comes out the other end OK as a rule, just frustrating at times.
             I have 2 x120amp hour batteries [leisure ] in my van and two solar panels about 150 watts in total and this all works well, we went to Norway  for almost 6 months off grid with no problems, driving about also boosts batteries of course, good luck and travels.
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Hi Vindiboy, I’ve just become a full member of wild camping as recommended, just realised that Gasit are based 25 min away from my home, so will take a drive over to have a chat with them. I do need to start looking at insurance so thanks for the steer. Can’t wait to hit the road!
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Daf Murray - 2018-02-12 12:24 PMHi Vindiboy, I’ve just become a full member of wild camping as recommended, just realised that Gasit are based 25 min away from my home, so will take a drive over to have a chat with them. I do need to start looking at insurance so thanks for the steer. Can’t wait to hit the road!
  As a member you can download all our Wildcamping places , water taps and toilet dumps to your computer, lap top phone or[ maps me ] Maps Me is a great mapping service which can be used OF LINE which I find very useful.
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Daf Murray - 2018-02-12 12:07 PM

 

Thanks Ian, I’ve just downloaded the app, I’ve been looking at the Garmin 770 camper sat nav, I’ll have a look at snooper now, the beach info is great, hadn’t thought about exclusion zones 8-)

 

Daf

 

Unless things have changed, you cannot add custom POIs to the Snooper. The Garmin is by far the best choice of the two for circumstance.

 

Also, I have 2 110 Ah batteries and a 100 watt solar panel and manage fine without hookup unless there is a long spell of bad weather. For those times I carry a spare freestanding 90 watt solar panel as backup. The other option is to move on and the alternator will put charge into the batteries.

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747 - 2018-02-12 1:23 PM

 

Unless things have changed, you cannot add custom POIs to the Snooper. The Garmin is by far the best choice of the two for circumstance.

 

Plus one for the ease of adding POI's to a Garmin, very easy when you know how! And also easy to create custom lists using Excel.

 

Try 'Archies Camping' for POI's of campsites in virtually every European (and a few other) countries.

I'll add a link later.

 

Edit to add Link to Archies... http://www.archiescampings.eu/eng1/

 

Keith.

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We all have our favourite Sat Nav, mine is Tom Tom , I have 3, 2 bog standard and one a bit more up to date with life time map updates easy to connect to computer and update, 
I do not have or need low bridges or any of that stuff I just read the road signs as I go , they tell me if a low bridge is near, common sense is needed whichever sat nav.  one chooses to use , I can add any thing I like to my Tom Tom in the way of personal POIs , laybys, shops, gas stops, night stops I have used etc etc, Tom Tom works for me.
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Good luck and best wishes with your adventure. Only thing I'd suggest that others may have missed/ignored is a generator. Honda by choice or any other QUIET one should see you able to do anything you want and be virtually totally independent (apart for the need to carry a couple of gallons of unleaded). Oh and if you do buy one get a good padlock and heavy duty motorbike type chain.
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Daf Murray - 2018-02-12 12:09 PM

 

Derek Uzzell - 2018-02-12 12:03 PM

 

This link advises on battery-charging faults and includes a “Battery Bank Sizing” section that’s relevant if extra leisure-batteries are to be installed

 

http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/battery-charging-faults.php

 

If you want a simplistic 'gut-feeling' answer, if your motorhome’s present leisure-battery has a 100Ah capacity, adding two more identical batteries would be risky, but adding one more should be OK.

 

Thanks Derek, much appreciated

Daf

 

That link Derek posted is well worth considering as the guy who runs the business has posted on this forum a few times..mainly about batteries/mh electrics, and he certainly seems to know his stuff.

 

My gps is a Garmin 760 LMT-D Camper which is pretty good. Very clear with good visual display and the audio is brilliant. I keep an old TomTom unit for back up in case the Garmin fails. Always a good idea to have a back up just in case!

 

Good luck in your new venture and maybe see you on the road sometime/somewhere. Most of my touring has been in East European countries though and am off again in June.

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vindiboy - 2018-02-12 3:25 PM

 

Generator? NO! NO ! NO !

 

We're all entitled to our opinions Vindis, and even though yours is wrong, like those who voted to Remain, being wrong is no crime. :$

 

What is a crime is not learning from our mistakes and when the OP is stuck in the back end of nowhere just outside deadloss with flat batteries, I'm sure you'll pop by and give him a jump. 8-)

 

Having had boats for many years, a quiet generator is invaluable and almost an essential item.

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Can’t thank you enough for the help! It’s much appreciated.

 

I’ve just ordered the garmin, the van has a built in tomtom but most of the reviews I’ve read say the built in ones are a pain to update on the road, tomtom can be my backup!

 

Ideally I’d like to be able to stay away from a generator even if it means I need to upgrade my electrics to add another solar panel and battery, the vans booked in next week for extra sockets to work off an inverter, alarm, tracker, internet and satellite dish installation, I’ll have them look at the solar setup and add whatever it can take.

 

Does everyone use a 12v tv? I prefer the look of a normal tv but not sure if it uses too much juice.

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Daf Murray - 2018-02-12 5:05 PM

 

Can’t thank you enough for the help! It’s much appreciated.

 

I’ve just ordered the garmin, the van has a built in tomtom but most of the reviews I’ve read say the built in ones are a pain to update on the road, tomtom can be my backup!

Some TomTom gps units won't read co-ordinates in certain countries where Garmin will. For updating you just need to be somewhere with a reliable internet connection.

 

Does everyone use a 12v tv? I prefer the look of a normal tv but not sure if it uses too much juice.

This company makes tv sets specifically for motorhome/caravan use which draw very low consumption. Not cheap but sets often come up on ebay. I have a 12" Avtex tv/dvd in my van. Superb picture quality.

 

http://www.avtex.co.uk/

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Thanks Bulletguy, i have stumbled across the Avtex tv, i was hoping to go a little bigger than the 24" they offer (wanted 32"), but if size limits the usability in terms of power ill hapilly settle for 24"

 

Had no problems getting rid of everything but im struggling with the concept of a small tv!!! Think i need to let go :-D

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