phalange Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 we did ten months in ours back end of last year and most of this, France, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia. No issues in any country, the campsites in Croatia do get very busy in July and August but its a wonderful place to go. The only bit of advice i have is get a three mobile sim, not the essential plan tho, it covers the whole of europe with their feel at home deal, it does say in the small print you're only supposed to use it for short trips but we were never cut off or had any issues using it for the whole ten months. I also used a Halifax Clarity credit card as this is free to use on purchases and you get the bank exchange rate and not the tourist rate. If you draw cash on it you will get get charged daily interest, but i just paid it off straight away to avoid charges, its handy for fuel tho. Good luck and Bon Voyage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandncaravan Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Derek, I obviously didn't look at the Link until after I replied!! If the Motorhome is based on a Merc Truck platform then it will most likely have 24v electrics and very big starter batteries, as you say. :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Unless you are very experienced motorhomers, may I suggest that you consider a week or two shake down try out in the UK not too far from home just so that you can include all the things you may have overlooked in your otherwise thorogh planning. It may save you you more than it costs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 We still don't know how he proposes to get a 2003 vehicle MOT'd unless of course the vehicle is to be foreign registered and tested abroad. Such details are annoying but necessary when planning an elongated trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Mike88 - 2016-11-16 1:40 PM We still don't know how he proposes to get a 2003 vehicle MOT'd unless of course the vehicle is to be foreign registered and tested abroad. Such details are annoying but necessary when planning an elongated trip. Good point Mike, Maybe will come home for a spell and get it done then. Hopefully they have thought about the MOT/Ins/Tax Can do ins/tax on line, but need a current MOT to tax . Do hope they do a blog. love reading about others travels, wish we had done such things when we where young enough , BUt work and family got on the way. Sad that we have more disposable income when we retire!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Derek Uzzell - 2016-11-12 8:22 AM There will be ‘bureaucratic’ implications - insurance, vehicle-registraton, MOT etc. - when motorcaravanning continuously for an extended period outside the UK. Plus remembering to inform your GP of your intention as once out of UK for over three months you are no longer registered with them and eligibility to free NHS treatment ceases, so the op will need to ensure they are both fully insured (medical). I know people do exit for long periods and circumvent 'the rules' but i'm not getting into that as i've hammered this out before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-kelly Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 aandncaravan - 2016-11-16 9:11 AM If you are extended touring in warmer climes, think carefully about the batteries? This is because internal corrosion is accelerated the higher the temperature making some battery life very short and good batteries can be very expensive abroad. Using a Motorhome battery with just an 8 degree rise above 25 degrees C can shorten some batteries lives by 50%, particularly so with Gel and AGM. Remember, the temperature inside a battery compartment can be several degrees above the outside temperature, so easily reaching 40C in somewhere like Spain. Select a battery that isn't prone to internal corrosion. Also consider fitting exactly the same battery under the bonnet, so one battery can be swapped with the other in an emergency? The Varta LFD 90 makes a better Starter Battery than many dedicated Starter batteries and is the same physical size usually chosen by Merc and Fiat. Almost all the Starter batteries we have replaced with Varta's have been lower power than the Varta's 850 cranking amps. I don't know about Morroco, but Starter batteries in Australia typically have half the life of a UK battery, so clearly temperature can be an issue. See chart below. If the Motorhome is a 2003 it is less likely to be optimised for more than one big battery : lower power Alternator, smaller capacity mains charger, etc so do your research before being tempted to fit more than one habitation battery? Having an absolutely perfect Starter battery may take what can be a big load off the charging systems, giving the habitation battery the best of the charge. A Starter battery that is 5 years old could take a significant chunk of your charging ability away from the habitation battery. When a 5 year old Starter battery in suddenly used in elevated temperatures it is not unusual for failure to occur. Just as they can when exposed to lower than average temperatures. The Habitation battery generally gets a hard life, a Starter battery an easy one, if they are both Varta LFD90's swap them around after 12 months to spread the load across the two batteries. The battery is the Heart of your Motorhome, only when you lose all 12v do people tend to appreciate how essential it is. .wow ! now that's what I call constructive help, thanks very much, I will certainly look into it and make sure We're sorted for our trip.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-kelly Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 Bulletguy - 2016-11-16 2:45 PM Derek Uzzell - 2016-11-12 8:22 AM There will be ‘bureaucratic’ implications - insurance, vehicle-registraton, MOT etc. - when motorcaravanning continuously for an extended period outside the UK. Plus remembering to inform your GP of your intention as once out of UK for over three months you are no longer registered with them and eligibility to free NHS treatment ceases, so the op will need to ensure they are both fully insured (medical). I know people do exit for long periods and circumvent 'the rules' but i'm not getting into that as i've hammered this out before. Thanks very much for the help, got to be honest and didn't know that, we are getting well covered on a global scale which is quite expensive but I guess you can't afford to take the chance.. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-kelly Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 johnfromnorfolk - 2016-11-11 8:46 PM Good article in this months (December) mmm magazine about a tour of Morocco.y Great I'll check it out... thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-kelly Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 vindiboy - 2016-11-12 10:17 AM We have done all that but in usually 5-6 month trips, all very easy ,as stated MOTs are the only problem if your vehicle needs one as it has to be done in the UK and of course road tax must be maintained no Sorning if vehicle is on the road somewhere , getting money from ATMs is no problem , you are supposed to notify Authorities if out of GB for longer periods but few do, I am not sure how you would stand with your vans Insurance , best to have a chat with the company about that ,they may insist on full timing Insurance, not cheap but neither was your vehicle? we have never had travel insurance just relied on the E 111 or whatever it is now called had emergency treatment with it in some Countries and never a problem, We are dedicated Wild campers and very rarely use a Campsite , our van is fully equipped and we have never had a problem in the 20 years we have been travelling,enjoy your trip . Thanks very much for your response. We have been motorhoming for years and traveled quite a bit but like most have to get back for work so can't spend as much time as we would like but we have now decided to bite the bullet and go for it. All the help and feedback is great thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-kelly Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 John52 - 2016-11-16 9:10 AM Mark-kelly - 2016-11-16 8:28 AM I'm thinking of doing a blog on our two year trip That would be Great :-D I've enjoyed reading the Baxterbus ones https://baxterbus.wordpress.com/ Thanks !! I've had a quick look at the baxterbus and looks great, when I get chance I'll read the blog. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-kelly Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 Derek Uzzell - 2016-11-12 8:22 AM There will be ‘bureaucratic’ implications - insurance, vehicle-registraton, MOT etc. - when motorcaravanning continuously for an extended period outside the UK. For example https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk/for-12-months-or-more Two years abroad is best considered as motorhome ‘full timing’ and, consequently, this website may be interest http://www.motorhome365.com/ There’s also a lot of on-line stuff to browse through https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=motorhome+abroad+long+trip http://www.magbaztravels.com/content/view/80/136/ Mark has said in earlier postings that he has worked on motorhomes all his adult life, which would be worth keeping in mind when offering him advice. In August 2015 Mark was not a motorhome owner and was considering buying a Burstner or Hobby. Whatever vehicle he now has, it’s certain that it won’t have been UK-built. ;-) Fantastic feedback and help.. Thanks very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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