Deneb

I use a soft bristle vehicle wash brush on a telescopic van washing pole. Although the wash pole has a hose connector to allow it to be used with a hosed water supply, I just use it the traditional way, dipping the brush in a bucket of shampoo and rinsing it in a bucket of water between applications. I adjust the length of the pole as required whilst washing the van, only needing it fully extended to reach the front of the roof over the cab.

Me also. I had a "light service" at a Fiat Pro dealer at 2 years, as the van had a third year warranty, so I submitted it to get the book stamped. The FP dealer used Iveco oil. I have been using Fuchs ever since, changed annually.

Looking at my maintenance record, I used Matryx 75W85 GL4 when I changed the gearbox oil back in 2020. I found a noticeable improvement in gear changes as a result. I saved the following from a post on this forum several years ago, which I admit influenced my decision. I can't find the original post now, maybe Derek might be able to? "The recommended oil is Tutela Experya SAE 75W-85 GL-4. The GL4 rating is important, other grades can compromise the syncro rings. On the 6 speed gearbox the listed quantity is 2.7 l, however the last new boxes I have fitted are engraved fill 2.9 l. There is an alternative fully synthetic oil, Tutela Matryx SAE 75W-85 GL-4 that I have used in this box with good results."

That's correct, but it also relies on the input clerk transferring the information correctly. My van's Maximum Permissible Mass was shown on the original V5C as 3020kg, a figure apparently transferred from the MIRO entered on the converter's CoC submitted with the application.

Mine are CO 0.548, NOx 0.234 and 0.273 combined - Fiat/Iveco 2.3 multijet 150HP. The two emissions categories at each level were explained to me by Fremtind customer services as dependent on whether the vehicle is a passenger car / light goods vehicle, or a heavy vehicle. It may well be self explanatory in Norwegian, but viewing the page via Google Translate in Chrome it wasn't as simple, because the codes displayed bore no relation to the emissions classes set out in EU regs, nor did they come up anywhere else via a web search. It appears that the heavy vehicle codes all have a "T" on the end. The application also required a CO2 figure, which is presumably on Norwegian registration documents, but not on our V5C which only gives a carbon monoxide figure. The system required at least one digit to be entered in the CO2 field, so I entered "0" and it has gone though without issue. My van is just over 4 tonnes MGW, but because it is a category M1 motorhome it is treated as a light vehicle for Norwegian toll charges and ferry fares, although I believe the latter are also dependent on overall length.

Sorry, I'll try again. I inadvertently managed to post before I had finished typing and the forum won't let me submit my full reply after editing that post: I had intended to apply for the Skyttelpass, which costs 200 NOK for the tag, but with no ongoing charges other than toll fees. Howevere, when I tried to apply for it, their website uses a verification system involving a text code sent to the user's mobile phone, but on entering a UK number the system responds that they are unable to send texts to the UK at present. On contacting customer services, they told me that I could set up an account by submitting the necessary details by email, but I would not be able to login or view my account and charges. I had a rethink and have registered with Fremtind Service. Registration and application was straightforward, apart from the issue over selecting the correct emissions classification for the van as mentioned above. For foreign vehicles they also require a copy of the V5C registration document to be uploaded during the application, similar to the Crit' Air application process. There is no upfront cost for the tag, but they charge 5 NOK per month for holding it (about 8 GB pence). The account and agreement were set up quickly and I can see the details including my tag number on the account. Their customer services was very quick in responding to my emails too- almost in real time - whereas Skyttelpass took a day to reply. I haven't yet received the tag, although it has only been just over a week since my agreement was confirmed, and the suggested postal time from Norway is up to 14 days, which probably doesn't include the appalling Royal Mail delivery times that we now suffer from! I am also intending to link the tag to an Autopass Ferry agreement, but I am waiting until I have the tag in my hand before applying, as I have read elsewhere that someone with a Skyttelpass tag found the number on the tag differed from the one shown in their account, and they had to contact Skyttelpass to confirm which one they should use when linking the ferry agreement. I have also found that I am not going to be able to avoid the Skyttelpass login, because it is Skyttelpass who administer the Autopass Ferry agreement, and the login for that account uses the same text to mobile front end as the main Skyttelpass website, with the same issue that they cannot currently send texts to the UK. The ability to be able to login and view the account will not be as critical though, as the ferry system involves depositing 2000 NOK with AutopassFerje in advance. Ferry charges are then deducted from the account balance, and any funds remaining returned to the account holder if and when the account is closed. It is worth obtaining an Autopass ferry agreement and linking the tag, as it gives a 50% discount on ferry charges throughout Norway to private customers, which includes all motorhomes registered as vehicle category M1. For billing, Fremtind have arranged to invoice me by email, and I have set up an account with Wise which provides a relatively cheap method of converting sterling account balances to NOK and making IBAN payments to the bank associated with the Fremtind agreement.

I had intended to apply for the Skyttelpass, as there

My motorhome, registered in August 2016 and on a "16" plate, is shown as not compliant for both the congestion charge and ULEZ. It is a Euro 5+ vehicle, so that is as expected. My 2017 petrol car is compliant, and so is my wife's 2009 petrol car. I have just registered an agreement for a Norway toll tag, and was presented with two Euro 5 emissions categories to choose from during the application. I had to seek advice from the tag issuer as to which was the correct category for my van, as the terms used did not match the criteria according to EEC regulations. Having given the tag issuer my vehicle details however, they were adamant that as the vehicle was first registered in 2016, it should be registered for the Autopass scheme as Euro 6, which they have now done!

Yes, I always enter the base vehicle make and model e.g. Fiat Ducato along with the correct dimensions for my particular vehicle.

There shouldn't be any claims related increases to individual premiums with the NFOP scheme, as the premium is a set rate applied consistently to all scheme members.

I have the Exide EA1000 fitted to my Ducato. Very happy with it.

ITVx is available on Amazon firestick, Roku and NowTV stick and similar streaming devices, along with many other channels. I haven't bothered with a separate TV aerial for several years. EE can be quite expensive for mobile data. Popit (EE network) is cheaper and can be paused when not used. Ditto Smarty (Three network) although signal coverage is not as extensive.

I fitted a Ctek flylead to the battery in my Ducato, running it from the battery box beneath the floor covering to emerge beneath the passenger seat by the front leg. It's then a simple matter to connect a Ctek charger at any time without removing the battery cover or opening the bonnet. The van has a mains charger that can also be switched to the vehicle battery, but I don't like to leave it connected for any length of time as the float voltage is a little high for the current best thinking at 13.6 volts. I can confirm that the "lighter" type sockets on the dashboard are only live with ignition on.

As I indicated in my previous reply, tethering to your mobile phone (which if connecting by wi-fi is the same as a hot spot) is the cheapest option as long as you have a good signal. If you always go to places where a good mobile signal can be relied upon, and/or a mobile connection is nice to have but not necessarily critical, that will probably do you. If however, you go to remote places where a phone signal is not always available on your mobile, you wont't be able to tether anything. A Mi-Fi router connected to a 2x MiMo external antenna via dual antenna leads will in my experience be able to find a network signal almost anywhere, SIM operator dependant. In Scotland a few years ago, we arrived at a croft off the beaten track, where we found on arrival that we needed to contact the owner by phone to turn up and allow us access. The notice explained that a mobile signal could be obtained by following the road back to the top of a hill, about a mile away. Neither of us had a signal on our phones, but after turning on the MiFi, we got a good connection on EE and used wifi calling to contact the owner from outside the site gate. We were also able to stream TV whilst we were there.

I've no knowledge of the Falcon kit, but I have a Huawei E5577C router and Panorama "Great White" LTE 4G/5G MiMo roof antenna, which I installed myself, although it is similar to the equipment that was being sold as a complete kit by Motorhome WiFi at the time I bought it. I am very happy with it, having been able to obtain internet connectivity almost anywhere including some very remote locations in the Scottish highlands. It cost me about half the price of buying the complete kit from Motorhome WiFi and was a fairly straightforward install in my PVC. If you have a coachbuilt van however, and want an external roof aerial (essential IMO if you want a connection in more remote areas) you may be better off speaking to MH WiFi because they supply a longer extension for the aerial mount to allow fitting to the thicker coachbuilt roof panel. The extension is difficult to obtain by itself, but not required for a PVC with a sheet metal roof. If you are simply going to rely on a router inside the van, without a connection to a roof aerial, you may as well save some money and simply tether through your phone, as the reception through the router is unlikely to be much if any better. Connectivity is also dependent on the phone network availability which varies in different locations. To that end I carry both a Three and a Popit data SIM. Both are quite reasonably priced. The data plane for each can be changed on renewal of each rolling monthly contract if desired, and they can also be paused when not needed. Three allow the subscription to be paused for up to 6 months without losing the SIM number, and a new monthly subscription can be started on any day of a month within that period. Popit are slightly less flexible, in that the monthly renewal date is fixed, but the SIM can be paused for a holding fee of £1 per month, but a bit of forward planning is needed when restarting it, as it needs to be taken off of pause on the fixed monthly day preceding the envisaged usage. Three's network coverage can be poor in more remote areas, although it has improved a lot in the last few years. Popit piggyback on the EE network which I find generally has better coverage where Three fails. It's a fairly simple matter to swap the SIM in the router as and when required. I tend to subscribe to Popits 100GB plan when required, and carry the Three SIM as a backup so that I can start a new monthly subscription "over the air" if I find myself somewhere that I have no coverage with Popit. Popit charge £25 per month for 100GB data, with the full allowance available when roaming. Three charge £20 per month for unlimited data, but if I recall correctly they restrict roaming to a maximum of 12GB per month. Both companies offer cheaper plans with lower allowances. Popits phone app is pretty poor though, but I have received prompt replies from their customer support on the couple of times that I have contacted them.

For my car insurance, I always run a quote through the main comparison sites each year. It is interesting on each site to see the insurers that decline to quote, as well as those who do quote but give a premium of £6,000 plus. But I invariably seem to end up see-sawing between Saga and John Lewis for alternate years, or have done for several years now. They aren't the cheapest quotes by a long way, but I subscribe to the view that cheapest isn't necessarily best. Even though the discounted quotes for new business were supposed to have ceased, I am still finding that I can get a lower quote by switching after 12 months with each insurer, and fully comp with a few add-ons was still below £300 at last renewal a couple of months ago. I've never tried a quote for third party cover, but thought it was generally the case now that premiums are usually higher than fully comp because of the perceived risk of the customer base. For the van, I've been with Comfort for several years now. I haven't found any other quotes that come close, the renewal has never gone up dramatically and a couple of years ago actually reduced!

I assume you are referring to optional NCD protection, rather than declaring that you have no NCD to transfer from a previous policy? The latter can result in a premium difference of several hundred pounds. For NCD protection, I think it is a case of reading the small print for each and every policy, as the operation of an NCD "discount" seems to vary between insurers. There can be a clause which states that a single claim during the life of the policy will not result in any reduction of NCD, but further claims will result in a reduction applied on a sliding scale. Others may simply operate the sliding scale whereby they will step back your NCD as a percentage of the full premium discount for each claim. Without NCD protection, you would generally lose any and all NCD following a claim. Of course, although the discount reductions are usually stated, none of this is particularly transparent as it doesn't prevent your future premiums being loaded simply because you have been involved in an incident and are deemed to be at higher risk etc., so the effective discount reduction according to the insurers published table may in practice be a 10% decrease in your original NCD discount, but applied to a higher base policy cost than was previously the case, since the overall risk cost that the insurer applies to the base premium is calculated first. Add on the now common practice of removing several features that used to be standard cover in most policies and making them options at additional cost, trying to compare quotations for different insurers at renewal is becoming a minefield because quite often they are not on a like for like basis at all.

It's a generic OBD2/EOBD reader, so it will read engine and drivetrain fault codes standardised between manufacturers, usually emissions related issues. For other modules on the Ducato, such as ABS, SRS, ETM etc. a Fiat all systems specific tool such as MultiEcuScan or AlfaOBD is necessary.

I have in my time had a part in investigating several fatal collisions and numerous other incidents where tyres with a lesser ability to grip fitted to the rear axle, and not necessarily severely worn, were an apparent contributory factor in a sudden loss of control. Even an intelligent and competent driver can find themselves in a situation where they might be driving on a loose or slippery surface and/or have to make a coarse or sudden steering or braking input due perhaps to the actions of another road user or another unforeseen circumstance. As one of my motor vehicle technology textbooks stated, oversteer induced by such configurations can result in a very sudden and unexpected loss of control which might be vicious and difficult if not impossible to control, as also can significant underinflation of rear tyres. Understeer is generally much easier to control, often requiring only slight additional steering input which may not even be noticeable to the driver in many circumstances. A tendency towards understeer has been a conscious design preference for road vehicle handling for many years.

I have an Isotherm compressor fridge, with 2 x 90Ah leisure batteries and 200W of solar. We use the van off-grid a lot, sometimes for weeks at a time, and have never had an issue. The caveat being that you have to understand and monitor your energy consumption. I would not be without our Victron battery monitor, which when reasonably calibrated, tells me the state of our batteries, time to go until the discharge floor is reached (set at 50%), current and averaged consumption, etc. at any point in time. By being aware of that information you can make informed decisions, such as when you might need to seek a battery recharge and when it might be advisable to moderate energy consumption by minimising the use of other devices, when we you excess power available that you can use to run or charge other devices etc. Together with the additional solar panel (the van originally had a single 100Ah panel) I changed the Votronic PWM solar charger for their equivalent MPP version, fitted the Victron battery monitor, and also a B2B charger in place of the less efficient split charge relay that was also the default option on the van. I find the B2B charger, a 30 amp Votronic device, nearly four times as efficient as the split charge relay for recharging the leisure batteries. In my experience, although the fridge is rated at 6 amps maximum consumption, it averages around 2Ah or slightly less, as the compressor only runs for about 10 minutes in each half-hour period. Weather conditions are swings and roundabouts. If it's hot and sunny, the fridge may use more power, but as long as you park where you can maximise sunlight on the solar panels, 200W will easily cover the fridge consumption and provide spare capacity in daylight hours. Of course in poor sun and/or typical British autumn and winters, there may be insufficient sunlight available, but if you are touring and driving for a couple of hours or so every other day, the B2B will keep the batteries topped up, otherwise with the information provided by the battery monitor, it is easy to see that you will need to factor in a drive in one or two days time if the solar provision doesn't improve. We sometimes also avoid watching TV, read our Kindles in darkness, carry powerbanks that we can recharge when we have spare capacity and use to recharge phones etc. when we don't, turn off the fridge at night and move freezer packs from the freezer compartment to be distributed around the fridge, returning them to the freezer compartment the following day for further nightly use if necessary. I have never discharged our batteries more than 47% and usually much less. We have toured Scotland for over 6 weeks in the autumn with only a couple of nights on EHU (and then more because it was there than out of necessity). I took a generator with us on that holiday, but never used it. All it did was stink the van out with petrol fumes. I've never packed it since. The key to this is having the equipment to be able to charge the batteries, both by solar which is only as reliable as the weather, and other means also (the B2B charger) AND a good calibrated battery monitor that will give a fairly accurate assessment of your power situation at any given time. But I would say that it is eminently do-able, and the compressor fridge beats the gas fridges we have previously had hands down. However, if like someone I know, you need to constantly use and recharge multiple gadgets, keep electric bikes recharged, always have access to a coffee making machine, can't not watch TV all evening, need the fridge to constantly be ice cold for your beer and to keep ice-creams frozen, and generally want you motorhome life to replicate your home life without being prepared to make adjustments to fit in with the restrictions of being off-grid, you will almost certainly struggle to survive!

Have you got "Avoid U-Turns" selected in navigation settings? I had that on a Garmin, not the Camper version, and it did similar, directing me down narrow side roads to rejoin the same route, and sometimes trying to send me all around the houses, despite fastest route being selected. Turning off the U-turn avoidance solved it. I realised through trial and error that with that setting enabled, it treated any junction or road deviation of more than 90 degrees as a U-turn and would suggest an alternative route if one was available, or reroute to avoid the junction or road section completely.