laimeduck

You misunderstand .... you simply unstrap the cylinder dangle it outside the locker then weigh it. I can do this in my Benimar very easily. With the quick release connectors now it's really not a problem to do this.

Or you can buy a simple digital luggage scale ..strap it on and weigh, deduct the tare weight on the calor and you have the remaining gas in the cylinder eg like this...... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Electronic-Killogram-Backlight-Lightweight/dp/B09K7VCB83/ref=asc_df_B09K7VCB83/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=534951831298&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6978016820999989947&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9073540&hvtargid=pla-1485444493834&psc=1

Do we really want, or need, big brother putting us under more covert surveillance? They can already know more or less where you are by tracking your mobile, and who you are, using face recognition, and where your vehicle is from the average numberplate reading average speed cameras and where you use your credit/bank card. Now they want to analyse your vehicles f***s!!! Tooooooo much! Jeremy

No .... it was by Onec AI?

Depends where you are travelling to? If you are going to Europe via France then legally (for France) you can't really have much in your fridge other than water! We always freeze a few cold blocks before we travel (and fire up the fridge 24 hrs before we go) and then put them in the freezer/fridge compartment while we travel. We also have some freezer blocks in cool bags with stuff we take with us but shouldn't?) Jeremy

I use a similar thing to secure my EHU cable after I've coiled it? Attattch hook to bungee after passing round the cable loops. Jeremy

Well then ....if you can spot one, turn engine and mobile off and drift through in neutral with both hands on the wheel while looking straight ahead ... just like we did when the silencer box fell off the exhaust in Calais at the start of our 2 week holiday to Spain .... a long time ago. It was strapped on the roof rack as evidence? Jeremy

I would agree with this Brian. I checked earlier this year when we did exactly that route through Millau in January. I think the Millau campsites would go out of business if over 3500Kg were excluded! Jeremy PS I had a quick look on "Street view" at the entry points to Millau and can't see any obvious signs.

Come on chaps ...pistols at dawn is it? Enough is enough I think!

Derek I agree ... that was my point - as it is still uncertain if "Heavies" are OK, people should check. Personally I'm not bothered as:- a) I have my alternative route, b) We are not going via Rouen this year and probably not in 2024. Jeremy

In Derek's November post he added the following (in blue) at the end of the translation:- My enquiry about 'heavy' motorhomes wasn't addressed, but the inference seems to be that all foreign-registered motorhomes (irrespective of their gross weight) are authorized to be driven within the Rouen ZFE until 2024. So there is no guarantee that over 3500 Kg are exempt .. it was simply Derek's inference. As we are 3850Kg and Crit Air 4, when we went in January, we used a cross country route leaving the A28 at J12, going via Les Andelys which was perfectly good, and on our return we refined it using Pont-de-L'arche and Fleury-sur-Andelle back up to J12 A28. I estimate it was somewhere around 15-20 mins longer. Depends on your attitude to risk I guess? Jeremy

John - Fortunately the weather was dry if not a bit windy, and I really don't have the facilities to remove the wings and the doors .... (and then put them back on successfully!) We've also just given the ghastly grey plastic "bumper" it's annual wipe over with Olive oil which transforms the look!

I have just patched up the paintwork on my 2005 Benimar Ducato in the cab area. The paint was flaking off under the door windows and on both front wings. I had already had the bonnet resprayed in about 2012 as that was flaking badly along the leading edges. The base vehicle was made in 2003, so the paintwork is 20 years old. I guess as a commercial vehicle the paint was not expected to last very long I sanded down the areas, applied Jenolite to some rust spots, sanded again, then gave 3 coats of grey primer, wet and dry sanded again, then used aerosol fiat bianchi spray paint - 4 or 5 coats. In a couple of weeks when the paint is completed cured I will use a cutting compound to normalise the areas then polish with a good wax. The whole process took about a day, with a few days in between processes. Considering I last did this sort of work on a TR4 wing back in 1970, I am very happy with the result. BUT, how long before other areas begin to flake? ... Who knows! Jeremy

If you do decide to travel into Switzerland you can get an App called Via which allows you to do everything from your smartphone. It is really straightforward. I have used it twice to buy the HGV (over 3500Kg) equivalent of the Vignette and it currently costs 25 CHF for 7 days. (Basic price is quoted as 3.25 CHF a day and you can choose your duration) If under 3500 Kg you will have to buy an ordinary Vignette which is valid for a year and costs 40 CHF Jeremy https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.ezv.dazit.via&hl=en_GB&gl=US

I think the A13 is outside, but the A28 coming down from Abbeville is not so the A13 is not accessible from the NE. Jeremy

I am averse to a machine telling me where to go (and many humans ... Tee Hee!) , so on trips I always check my intended route against a paper map or a decent map (eg Bing maps set to Ordnance Survey, or Via Michelin). I then decide the route and enter various co-ordinates to force the SatNag to do what I want, not what it wants. This often entails using small "white" roads ... so I then look on Google street view to check the road size & amend the route accordingly. What this means of course is that I know where I am going and the places along the rote, not just a destination entered into the SatNag. What I have noticed is that the standard Google maps suggested route always uses the Motorways or main Trunk roads, so everyone using google maps are using the same roads .. hence they are busy. (Yes, I know you can specify no motorways etc but I find the SatNag alternatives unnecessarily complicated) More often than not my bespoke route is traffic free, and a pleasant drive, rather than sitting in a queue or on a very busy road. It's not foolproof of course, and sometimes it doesn't work, but I am in control. Jeremy

Really?

It is illegal to use it as weedkiller! It is an indiscriminate poison and pollutant The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the UK and the US respectively have made it illegal due to the environmental and health risks associated with diesel, and this is pretty clear in their approved agricultural codes and websites. In the UK, “The use of diesel for weed control is illegal under the Weeds Act 1959”. Jeremy

My first Turbo diesel was a Citroen XM and it was advised to leave the engine on tick over for a minute or so before turning off. I have also done it on all future turbo diesels I have owned. I also remember some advise given to me donkeys years ago by a Frenchman. " If you drive at eg 120kph for a few hours, every 30 minutes or so, clutch in, foot off throttle, and let oil return to sump for a few seconds" I assume the benefit is that there is no "memory effect" in where the oil is in the engine and it allows the oil to redistribute? Always done that as well? Jeremy

No idea Colin .... it has a simple traffic light LED display, Green, Amber, Red.

Robin thanks .... the battery is easily removed. I was rather thinking of having the ability of continuing to use the existing battery and "switching" from one to another. I wanted to increase the Ah so the range would be increased .. not sure if that would be possible if we simply re-celled? Jeremy

A technical question for you electrikery people out there please, ref electric bikes. I have two 8 year old lightweight fold up bikes which have 200 watt motors, 36 Volt Lion batteries of 6.6 Ah. We take them in the garage of our Benimar and have used them regularly. We like the size of the bikes. We tend to pedal most of the time and conserve the batteries for hills or the trip back to the van as the range is not huge but I have noticed that we have to charge them more often recently. I don't think we can obtain exact replacement batteries as the packs sit inside the frame and are a specific fitting, to my knowledge no longer made. At this stage I do not want to buy replacement bikes. So, I am wondering if I could buy eg a replacement Lion battery of eg 36 Volt but say 12-15 Ah which I could bolt on the rear rack and which I could simply "wire" into the existing system? It would seem I can buy these for well under £200 a) Am I right in thinking the motor and controller would simply "take what it needed from this battery set up? b) Or would this interfere with the exiting pedal assist box of tricks? c) Would the range double with the larger Ah batteries? d) Would I need a large diameter wire to make the new connection? e) Anything else I should consider? (I am no electrician, and have a limited knowledge of all things electrikery ... eg I can make a solder joint and wire a plug, but if you start talking resistors, diodes, capacitors, buses etc, my eyes will glaze over fairly quickly!) Thanks Jeremy

Talking navigation information seems to have been around since biblical times?

I have mentioned a similar problem in various posts over the years and can concur with "Sidders" that in my case it was the turbo waste gate. I am lucky as I have a small local garage where the chaps knowledge of vehicles is superb - an old boy in his 70's who is a total vehicle whisperer. He sussed the problem, enlarged the hole that this rod goes through cleaned the whole thing and we have had no further problems since. He also advised that you need to give the engine some "welly" every so often to clear the crap out. On my 2.8JTD he advises up to 3000 rpm for a few minutes .... easy to do by dropping down a gear while cruising. (Think what "white van man" does all the time!) Jeremy

I always drive with the sound off ...so this would not bother me. I prefer to use the MK 1 eyeball and scan the instrument regularly so by and large I know what is coming up seconds before it happens. That way I name the decision, not tge machine. It's not infallible but in my opinion better. I did have fun changing the language to Chinese and Magyar, but the novelty soon wore off so now it's mute!