flyboyprowler

Thank you Brian for the comprehensive reply as ever. I had a reply from Niesmann and they now fit the Conti Vanco all season tyre as standard, so that would seem to be the way to go. However, having also spoken to the very helpful man at Continental, it seems that a camping tyre with the strengthened side walls for long term parking is not available for a van of our size as the chassis is normally used on commercial vans. He has given me the details of the most suitable tyres to fit and the next problem is finding a fitter with the capability and size to change our tyres. That is todays job so any recommendations MOST gratefully received, as the likes of National, Kwik Fit can only cope up to 3.5 tonnes. Bit of a nightmare really! Ainsley

Well, I hadn't considered the fact that effectively we would have to carry two spares if there were two makes of tyre on the van and this changes the perspective somewhat. I will probably start looking for Micheline Agilis now, but just change to an all season tyre rather than the Alpin winter tyre that is currently fitted. As you say, going over to Conti's would probably mean changing 7 tyres and that is PRICEY!! The "ITV" in Spain is always a bit of a mare. We tow a trailer at times and get both van and trailer ITV'd at the same time. I need to check now if the authorities will allow a Michelin cross season tyre on the same axel as an Alpin. Watch this space! Hopefully having followed Dereks advice and ticked the boxes, I should now get replies direct to my email. Thanks for all the help guys! Ainsley

Thank you Keith and Derek. I am definitely going down the Conti route after reading the link to What Tyre, and hearing Keiths experience with the fitter. Our tyres are original fit from Niesmann and Bischoff and as we intend to keep our Flair for a few years yet, I will get the rest of the tyres checked locally which will probably end up with a HUGE bill. We are now registered in Spain and I think that as long as the tyres are the same make on individual axels, then you can have different makes fitted. On a different subject, your replies did not come into my inbox so can you please advise if I need to tick a box for that to happen? Thanks for the replies and thoughts Ainsley

For some reason as yet unknown one of our front tyres (5 years old and 38000 miles) has part of the tread seemingly starting to break up. I will replace them, but probably change from the current Michelin Agilis Alpine tyres to a cross season tyre as we rarely travel in snow type conditions. We carry snow chains for front and rear tyres when required so a cross season tyre should suffice. Can anyone recommend a cross season tyre to replace the Agilis? Big van max 7.5 tonnes and around 10000 miles a year. Just another thought. Is it legal to mix different makes of tyre as long as a single make is on one axel?

Yes, same for us too. BUT, only the lorry or the coach stickers are legal. The sticker with the motorhome is not legal to display, despite being sold in many places in France!

"But we have 250mbs so the wi-fi should be perfect" This was the situation in Spain last year, but they don't seem to realise that when many are sharing, then the signal goes down. That is why we have our own "Mi-Fi" and only use the local campsite one when it is quiet!

Maybe it depends on how secure you want your van to be. We have an "Outsmart the Thief" which comes with 5 years protection, we have been very pleased with it and are about to renew for another 5 years!

I assume that a standard Garmin is being used here rather than the "camper" version. I would imagine that if a CCP App was used on a smart phone, then the co-ordinates could be transferred from phone to nav, but surely using the App directly is the easiest way and Google or Waze for directions, subject to height and weight advice being available.

Our Niesmann is in storage but although the two leisure batteries are fully charged by solar, the engine battery is not being charged. Does anyone know how to access the menu to split the charge to include the engine battery?

We were advised not to overfill the AdBlue tank so always fill it to 80%, and generally refill at 30% (10 litres). Having had a spillage in the past, it is messy stuff so over filling is maybe not a good idea.

If it is any help to you, our first van was a Le Voyageur (Part of Pilote) and at 7.3m seemingly a bit of a beast! You soon get used to allowing extra space for over taking and I found that it calmed my driving behaviour which was a good thing! It had a double bed which moved electrically to give more space and with this van we fell in love with motor-homing. Le Voyageur were fantastic in their servicing and guarantee work (at the factory) in France. Tears flowed when we changed to an 8.3 van (Niesmann and Bischoff) which after five years has proved to be comfortable and reliable. Twin beds now, but that doesn't stop my wife from whacking me when I snore!! So, when you finally decide on your layout do consider the "high end" vans, obviously used, but generally better screwed together than cheaper models. Always check the payload available as with more space, more "can't live without" stuff finds its way onto the van. I should also mention that we live in Spain and the larger van is so much better suited for travelling abroad. We were here in the UK for a wedding in North Devon, and taking our beastie down those small narrow roads was not a lot of fun. Also it generally rules out touring in the UK due to size, so your intended type of use will also affect your decision. Finally, good luck with the search. Ainsley

We just drove up through France displaying the lorry type stickers, two of them at least, but changed them for the M/H ones bought at Narbonne camping shop en-route. On the Motorhome Madness forum, a lady claims to have been fined for having truck, and not M/H stickers on her van, so I guess that the jury is out as to which are the correct stickers to have!! We are Spanish plated now, but whether that would make any difference, I don't know?