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euro 2009/absolute beginners


judlington

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E lights are legal through europe and believe me there is no law in any land that relies on a bit of tacky stuff to make the difference between legal and not. Stand at the dock and count how many lorries and contintal cars have a bit of plastic covering the effective area of the haedlight. You do commit an offence by obstructing the headlight glass. French police told me specfically when I lived there that this fallacy was a hangover from the bad old days when yellow stickers had to be applied for France but this finished in the 60's BUT some bright herbert got the best rip-off going ever ane the gullible British ran to buy this crap.Ihave some rare bottles of fresh air going cheap if you send me a tenner.Merci et bon vacance.
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Sorry but I have a couple of questions off thread: Mondo I am fascinated by your signature "Non vi sed arte". What does it mean please and why is your avatar not moving any more?

 

dikyenfo - 2009-02-28 2:26 PM

 

E lights are legal through europe and believe me there is no law in any land that relies on a bit of tacky stuff to make the difference between legal and not. Stand at the dock and count how many lorries and contintal cars have a bit of plastic covering the effective area of the haedlight. You do commit an offence by obstructing the headlight glass.

 

Secondly, what are E lights please?

With regards to the stickers my car in France has passed the Controle Technique since 2004 with stickers on the headlights with no comment at all.

 

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dikyenfo - 2009-02-28 2:26 PM E lights are legal through europe and believe me there is no law in any land that relies on a bit of tacky stuff to make the difference between legal and not. Stand at the dock and count how many lorries and contintal cars have a bit of plastic covering the effective area of the haedlight. You do commit an offence by obstructing the headlight glass. French police told me specfically when I lived there that this fallacy was a hangover from the bad old days when yellow stickers had to be applied for France but this finished in the 60's BUT some bright herbert got the best rip-off going ever ane the gullible British ran to buy this crap.Ihave some rare bottles of fresh air going cheap if you send me a tenner.Merci et bon vacance.

Sorry Alec, but this is wrong and may well get others into trouble. 

All lights fitted to vehicles made within the EC have an "E" symbol on them, to show that they have been formally type approved as to beam pattern.  There are two versions of the beam pattern, one for left hand traffic and one for right hand traffic.  In most (logically all) EC countries, including the UK, it is an offence to cause dazzle to oncoming traffic.  Beams intended for use in left hand traffic do just that when used in right hand traffic, and vice versa.

From time to time, the French police, quite rightly in my opinion, issue on the spot fines to drivers of UK registered vehicles whose lights have not been adapted for right hand traffic, and so are liable to cause dazzle.  Masks, or benders, are generally accepted ways to avoid this. 

On the other hand, the UK, for reasons I have never understood, completely ignores this requirement of our Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations in respect of visiting vehicles, and does nothing to enforce it.

The requirement for yellow headlamps in France was a quite different, and unconnected, matter and is not relevant.

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Hi

For the last two years we have noticed in the port of Cherbourg (Aug) that they were checking headlamps. We did ask. On our way down south we were stopped by Police and asked for all documents etc .They also asked about the headlights. We had beam benders on not cut out masks so we had to show them the packet the came in to show the were intended to deflect the light back to the right.

Becareful they do check, now I know we dont see too many coming over to the U.K and Irl with too many masks on their lights.

Thats no good if you get a fine on hols'

Regards,

Brendan

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Hi, I have now invested in a pair of beam benders from Halfords, £7.99, bit of a rip off I guess for 2 small stickers, but apart from making it safer for oncoming traffic, I hopefully will not get fined whilst on my hols.

Now I have another beginners enquiry. I have a waste water warning light within my motorhome, does this refer to the toilet (thetford) or does it mean grey water from the shower and sink? There is an outlet for the waste water from the holding tank(which is fixed underneath) by the step at the rear. Do I need to get one of these trolley/waste water carriers I have seen in magazines for this outlet or is this another unnecessary expense. Also this trolley seems to have a partner which is like a barrell for clean water, should I invest. Sorry for asking what must be ridiculous questions, but I would rather buy them before I go than be stuck without them.

THANKYOU :$

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Hi Judlington,

 

The warning light you mention will be for your grey water tank, the Thetford loo will have it's own warning light somewhere near the flush button.

As for emptying your grey tank you will be best to use a proper Motorhome Service Point where there will be a grid or flap in the ground through which you drain the contents. The only time you are likely to need a waste carrier is if you do not intend to move the M/H for many days or if the weather is below freezing in which case you leave the drain valve open. From your description of your intended use I do not think you will encounter either situation in the near future.

 

Again with a fresh water carrier you will only need one if you plan to stay put for longer than your onboard tank will last. You will find this out by experience. I carry a 2 gallon plastic container and a funnel in case we ever run out but have never had to use it in our first year.

 

You will seriously need to look at what you carry both in terms of physical size and more importantly payload so be careful and think 'Do I really need that?'.

 

Hope this helps, if not ask again,

Keith.

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Hello Judlington,

 

As Keithl says, you shouldn't need to buy and lug around fresh and 'grey' water carriers. Being an ex-caravanner, that to me is one of the pleasures of using a motorhome.

 

If I'm parked and start running out of fresh water, I use a watering can and a short filler hose of the kind most caravan shops sell. I insert the hose into the inlet point on my van and leave it there, like an oversized catheter. I then fill the can from the nearest suitable tap, put the spout into the wide end of the hose and pour the water in. Four cans-full is as many as I ever need. Out comes the hose until the next time.

 

The virtue of this is that you don't have to put everything away inside the van, remove the silvered front screen (if in use), unplug the hook-up (ditto) and drive the can off the ramps (ditto), just to go to the service point and fill up with water. Such a short run is not good for the engine, either.

 

For grey water, if you're not near a service point, then a bit of waste ground or a quiet lay-by will do the job. Just don't get bogged down or let the police or a council snoop see you. 8-)

 

Roger

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Can anyone recommend deadlocks for the cab doors. By this I mean how can I lock them securely from inside, do I even need deadlocks? Will a rope tied between the cab door handles be sufficient?Or can I install some sort of bolt lock similar to what you would use in a bathroom perhaps? or maybe the motorhome locks are sufficient bearing in mind we are taking our english springer who will wake and bark at anyone trying to enter at night.

And if I can put extra locks on the inside of the cab doors, surely an intruder could easily break in through the windows or roof.

Am I worrying about nothing here, should I just chill out a bit, I seem to be worring about this too much, or am I?? (?)

Please help!!!

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What type of M/H do you have as most of the newer one's incorporate a deadlock system on the locking fob ..when you lock it with the fob a quick "double tap" deadlocks it depending on the age of yours give it a try

Happy Trails

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Keithl - 2009-03-02 9:27 PM

 

. I carry a 2 gallon plastic container and a funnel in case we ever run out but have never had to use it in our first year.

 

You will seriously need to look at what you carry both in terms of physical size and more importantly payload so be careful and think 'Do I really need that?'.

 

Hope this helps, if not ask again,

Keith.

 

To get over this restriction (payload) I carry a 15L collapsable water container. This takes up vitually no space and weighs virtually nothing. I find i use it two or three times a year and they last about 5 or 6 years. They are available from most caravan or camping suppliers for a few pounds.

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judlington - 2009-03-15 9:51 AM

 

Can anyone recommend deadlocks for the cab doors. By this I mean how can I lock them securely from inside, do I even need deadlocks? Will a rope tied between the cab door handles be sufficient?Or can I install some sort of bolt lock similar to what you would use in a bathroom perhaps? or maybe the motorhome locks are sufficient bearing in mind we are taking our english springer who will wake and bark at anyone trying to enter at night.

And if I can put extra locks on the inside of the cab doors, surely an intruder could easily break in through the windows or roof.

Am I worrying about nothing here, should I just chill out a bit, I seem to be worring about this too much, or am I?? (?)

Please help!!!

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  • 4 months later...
B-) Hello, we are back, just returned from our brilliant trip round europe, stayed at over 30 different sites, 28 were acsi, your advice re: polarity, our dog passport etc and motorhome were absolutely invaluable. Thankyou to everyone who helped us, the trip passed without incident (bad ones) Its funny but we are gutted to be home!!!! Our motorhome was brilliant considering we have not spent one night in one until we were in France. Our boys aged 2 and 4 loved every second as did we and our springer Stanley. THANKYOU EVERYONE.
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