New Campervan

F1.2 said:
No , It was a Iveco Daily 2.3 diesel.
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Well done! Good job it isn't an annual thing.

My BIL did our C25 van in a couple of hours and the parts cost less than €50. But I understand the Ducato can be awkward. Thankfully the Merc' has a chain driven cam.
 
Clive K said:
Well done! Good job it isn't an annual thing.

My BIL did our C25 van in a couple of hours and the parts cost less than €50. But I understand the Ducato can be awkward. Thankfully the Merc' has a chain driven cam.
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The chain will still have a service life along with the tensioner / guide rubbers , A lot of people think " Chain , it will last forever " until clank rattle pop :eek:
 
F1.2 said:
The chain will still have a service life along with the tensioner / guide rubbers , A lot of people think " Chain , it will last forever " until clank rattle pop :eek:
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I appreciate that. But we have only got 60k miles on the clock on a 2006 motor. It was checked over last year and everything was OK.
 
I/we would love something like the ones in this thread but we have nowhere to keep it so we settled on a tent :D and also we sometimes we just sit in the back of the car with the hatch open and our feet sticking out.
 
Our Swift Sundance has now reached 10 years old and apart from build quality issues when new has been trouble free until now.
Little things are starting to need replacing now, the electric step has broken and the central locking needs attention.

We used to go to France twice yearly but not anymore, since leaving the EU it's too expensive what with nearly £250 for the dogs animal health certificate and travel health insurance for us two oldies we're staying in the UK this year.

We find staying on farm sites better than commercial or club sites, they're much quieter and less light pollution for my astrophotography, also much cheaper

At the age of 76 I find that I can still handle the bus and the camping bit. It's probably the best leisure decision we've ever made.
 
woof woof said:
I/we would love something like the ones in this thread but we have nowhere to keep it so we settled on a tent :D and also we sometimes we just sit in the back of the car with the hatch open and our feet sticking out.
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We have had tents, caravans and latterly the motorhome. There are pros and cons with each, but in France where we live the motorhome suits us best. It isn't like in the UK. There are hundreds of free aires and they don't mind you overnighting in picnic spots, car parks or remote areas as long as the due consideration for others is given. The photo with the cat above was taken at the side of a lock on the River Charente where we used it as a base for walking to local villages. You couldn't do it in a caravan as the legislation prevents it.
 
Clive K said:
We have had tents, caravans and latterly the motorhome. There are pros and cons with each, but in France where we live the motorhome suits us best. It isn't like in the UK. There are hundreds of free aires and they don't mind you overnighting in picnic spots, car parks or remote areas as long as the due consideration for others is given. The photo with the cat above was taken at the side of a lock on the River Charente where we used it as a base for walking to local villages. You couldn't do it in a caravan as the legislation prevents it.
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I can't imagine this happening in the UK any time soon. Sadly.
 
Clive K said:
We have had tents, caravans and latterly the motorhome. There are pros and cons with each, but in France where we live the motorhome suits us best. It isn't like in the UK. There are hundreds of free aires and they don't mind you overnighting in picnic spots, car parks or remote areas as long as the due consideration for others is given. The photo with the cat above was taken at the side of a lock on the River Charente where we used it as a base for walking to local villages. You couldn't do it in a caravan as the legislation prevents it.
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Absolutely, the aires de campingcar are a fantastic boon. Over the years we've stayed in some amazing locations, some have even been free and others at nominal charge. They're getting more commercialised these days and as @woof woof says, it won't happen in the UK.
 
footman said:
Absolutely, the aires de campingcar are a fantastic boon. Over the years we've stayed in some amazing locations, some have even been free and others at nominal charge. They're getting more commercialised these days and as @woof woof says, it won't happen in the UK.
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There are some parasitical organisations that contact the Maires and convince them that they can make money out of their free aires. Typically they instal a barrier controled by a cash machine, remove or close down any facilities such as toilets, waste bins, etc and it cost €12 per night to stay inside the camping area. Cars and lorry drivers can park free outside this area. What usually happens is that people stop going there and the commune is burdened by the loan they took out with the parasites to upgrade the aire.

Fortunately there are still hundreds of free or very cheap aires available and nobody minds if you stop for a few nights on a picnic site or out of the way place. Last year I parked the motorhome alongside the River Charente for four days. I was less than 5 yards from where I fished and never saw a soul other than when I cycled into town to do some shopping.
 
Very nice van mike , we did look at them but prefer the space in our caravan ..each to there own
 
woof woof said:
I/we would love something like the ones in this thread but we have nowhere to keep it so we settled on a tent :D and also we sometimes we just sit in the back of the car with the hatch open and our feet sticking out.
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We keep ours in a storage unit a couple of miles away.
We've had lots of great times tent camping. I worked shifts but was off every second weekend so away we went camping and bagging a few Munros.

We then started hiring Wigwams, basically a wooden shed with all mod cons.
This was a game changer as it didn't matter what the weather was like.

We'd always fancied a campervan.
The first one we bought was 5.2m but thought it was just a wee bit too cramped.
Ideal for me going away on my own.
Next up was 7.2m - bags of room but struggled to park in some visitor attractions.
The one we have now is a sort of compromise that suits us both.
 
Clive K said:
There are some parasitical organisations that contact the Maires and convince them that they can make money out of their free aires. Typically they instal a barrier controled by a cash machine, remove or close down any facilities such as toilets, waste bins, etc and it cost €12 per night to stay inside the camping area. Cars and lorry drivers can park free outside this area. What usually happens is that people stop going there and the commune is burdened by the loan they took out with the parasites to upgrade the aire.

Fortunately there are still hundreds of free or very cheap aires available and nobody minds if you stop for a few nights on a picnic site or out of the way place. Last year I parked the motorhome alongside the River Charente for four days. I was less than 5 yards from where I fished and never saw a soul other than when I cycled into town to do some shopping.
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Interesting take on them being parasitical, I'd never looked at it that way. We joined one a couple of years ago, it seems they also take over municipal campsites and we stayed on some last year for 10-12 Euros per night. I'd always believed they we were willing to take over existing aires de campingcar and municipal sites that the Maires didn't want to keep open because of upkeep costs and poor revenue but the way you describe their business model throws some doubt on that.

the black fox said:
Very nice van mike , we did look at them but prefer the space in our caravan ..each to there own
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We loved our caravans, the space and comfort were excellent but I hated the actual towing bit. I never felt completely in charge of the whole outfit, seemed like towing a large sail behind us!
One thing though, towing a caravan made me a better driver I'm sure particularly in the sense of being more aware of other traffic when anticipating making manoeuvres.
 
mstphoto said:
We keep ours in a storage unit a couple of miles away.
We've had lots of great times tent camping. I worked shifts but was off every second weekend so away we went camping and bagging a few Munros.

We then started hiring Wigwams, basically a wooden shed with all mod cons.
This was a game changer as it didn't matter what the weather was like.

We'd always fancied a campervan.
The first one we bought was 5.2m but thought it was just a wee bit too cramped.
Ideal for me going away on my own.
Next up was 7.2m - bags of room but struggled to park in some visitor attractions.
The one we have now is a sort of compromise that suits us both.
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We have a large tent for camping in the UK, but hired a 7.2m motorhome for our big family holiday in Australia last year (Brisbane to Cairns over 2 weeks).
For a family of 4 (2 older teenage girls) it was still quite cramped at times - when the middle bed was set up you couldn't get up/down from the over cab bed, and it blocked access to the door and cab from the rear.
We did see similar sized units where the sides extended 2-3' when parked up - I suspect those were much better.
Having said that, it was a fantastic way to see that bit of the Australian coast - the trip would not have been practical with a tent, we'd have spent so much time setting it up and taking it down.
 
Faldrax said:
We have a large tent for camping in the UK, but hired a 7.2m motorhome for our big family holiday in Australia last year (Brisbane to Cairns over 2 weeks).
For a family of 4 (2 older teenage girls) it was still quite cramped at times - when the middle bed was set up you couldn't get up/down from the over cab bed, and it blocked access to the door and cab from the rear.
We did see similar sized units where the sides extended 2-3' when parked up - I suspect those were much better.
Having said that, it was a fantastic way to see that bit of the Australian coast - the trip would not have been practical with a tent, we'd have spent so much time setting it up and taking it down.
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I can understand that, Jonathan.
Our last van was 7.2m but only a 2 berth.
We had to dismantle the sitting area to convert into a bed.
It was a novelty to start with but soon became a chore.
The new one has sleeping in the back and a wee lounge area at the front which suits us better.
 
footman said:
Interesting take on them being parasitical, I'd never looked at it that way. We joined one a couple of years ago, it seems they also take over municipal campsites and we stayed on some last year for 10-12 Euros per night. I'd always believed they we were willing to take over existing aires de campingcar and municipal sites that the Maires didn't want to keep open because of upkeep costs and poor revenue but the way you describe their business model throws some doubt on that.


We loved our caravans, the space and comfort were excellent but I hated the actual towing bit. I never felt completely in charge of the whole outfit, seemed like towing a large sail behind us!
One thing though, towing a caravan made me a better driver I'm sure particularly in the sense of being more aware of other traffic when anticipating making manoeuvres.
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They took over a municiple site at Capdennec. It used to be €5 per night with free pump and dump. First thing they did is close the toilets except for 6 weeks in high season. The litter bins were removed and you now have to pay to use the pump and dump if you are not staying overnight. The cost per night is now €12. The one at Moulismes was totally free and every night there would be upwards of thirty vans parked up. Restaurants and shops benefitted from the trade. The department tourism office stumped up €40k to improve the site and the commune borrowed several thousand € from Camping Car Parks. The area was tarmaced and fenced off from the large car park and a pay barrier installed along with signs dictating that motorhomes have to park in the designated area at €12 p.n. I sometimes have a look at CCP website and check availability on that site. Usually there are 90% of the pitches vacant. It used to be full every night summer and winter.

Lorry drivers and car drivers can park free as long as they want and use the free public wc. Coaches stop off and passengers use the toilets and picnic tables free. In the mean time the local businesses have laid off staff or closed down. And the thing is, under French law they are not allowed to discriminate between ordinary cars and camping-cars under 3,5t. But they do!

We have stayed on other municiple sites for less than €12 that include free electricity, water and hot showers with acreas of grassed space. With CCP and Flotte Bleu often all you get is the tarmac space to park in, side by side like in a supermarket car park. Water and electricity have to be paid for.
 
we have had tents , caravans , trailer tents etc for over 50 years we had a superb caravan about 5 years ago the muggins here had heart failure , so the mrs sold it in panic . then came covid when that cleared 2022 we bought a very large air tent took 15 minutes to put up and 10 hours to turn into a home from home . went away in it twice last year at bempton in June it was that cold I couldn't hold my camera after 3 nights we looked at each other and went caravan !!!!! had a look round dealers in Yorkshire and saw the one we liked and bought it on the spot ,delivery to north Wales included .got all we need full sized fridge , full sized oven and a better shower than we have at home .and the 2.2 CRV doesn't even know its on the back
 

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the black fox said:
we have had tents , caravans , trailer tents etc for over 50 years we had a superb caravan about 5 years ago the muggins here had heart failure , so the mrs sold it in panic . then came covid when that cleared 2022 we bought a very large air tent took 15 minutes to put up and 10 hours to turn into a home from home . went away in it twice last year at bempton in June it was that cold I couldn't hold my camera after 3 nights we looked at each other and went caravan !!!!! had a look round dealers in Yorkshire and saw the one we liked and bought it on the spot ,delivery to north Wales included .got all we need full sized fridge , full sized oven and a better shower than we have at home .and the 2.2 CRV doesn't even know its on the back
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Looks like a Swift, is it?
 
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