European Road Trip !

[martinc]

Hi everyone, (hope you all enjoyed the bash)
Firstly this has probably been asked a thousand times before (I’ve tried searching but couldn’t find what was looking for) and for that I do apologise.

I and the wife are trying to plan a trip to Europe in August / September 2015 in a Bongo (unconverted tintop) that we have bought recently. We are looking at traveling down from Shropshire (UK) to Dover across to Calais, then onwards through Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, France and then back to Calais in roughly three weeks!!! (A lot I know ). We are planning to eat and sleep in the camper as we have gas, cooler and a bed, and we might even treat ourselves sometimes and eat out! However after finally deciding on what countries to visit we are a bit lost on a few things:

1. European breakdown cover & and road laws for each country ect ??
2. Recommended Campsites for campervans (unconverted bongo) ?
3. Best roads to drive ( Alps , Stelvio pass ect ) ?
4. What tolls or extras we might come across ?
5. Where we can’t go in the camper ( cities ect) ?
6. What extras I am likely to need while on the road ?
7. How best to prepare the Bongo for the long trip ?
8. Is it worth joining a caravan club for discount?
9. Should I install a leisure battery to prevent the main battery dying? (Possibly might fit a TV)
10. And just some help and advice really?


As we don’t have long to plan any help is gratefully received.
Again I’m sorry for all the questions, but I know you lot know your stuff!
P.S – The bongo is 4WD, in overall good condition, with 92,000 on the clock .It’s had new radiator, alternator and plugs also I’ve just fitted a low level coolant sensor.


Please help and thanks in advance

[Muzorewa]

Welcome

Have a look at THIS thread. We took about a year to plan, there's an awful lot of stuff to research if you want to get the most out of your time but the best advice I can offer is that your should endeavour to do something towards it every single day, then in a month's time you'll have achieved a lot.

Use THIS site to see the legal situation in each country you're planning to go.

Get your kit together, fire extinguisher, warning triangles, breathalyser kit, spare bulbs, headlight deflectors, EHIC cards, copies of insurance, V5, MoT etc, European Accident Statement Forms.

Take spares, alternator belts, maybe a spare alternator, crucial hoses, printout of coolant bleeding procedure etc.

Ours is a 4WD diesel, in readiness (ours has a lot of miles on it) we renewed the radiator, thermostat, fan switch (the bit in the cylinder head that controls the fans) and water pump. When I say we, I mean Northern Bongolow did it for us

In particular I'd spend a lot of time researching the places you want to go, and what's nearby, then you'll get so much more out of your holiday and it's an enjoyable part of the preparations.

Your holiday starts NOW

Oh, and take Spam & Pot Noodles

[mikeonb4c]

Engine block temp gauge would make a good adjunct to low coolant sensor. Fit it now so you can get to know what is normal and/or investigate if temps appear abnormal. Buy correct profile fan and aircon belt set as these are easy to store and could be handy. Jump leads also. Have you got a good leisure battery and split charging system installed? What about compressor fridge and solar panels as these would give you coolness and freedom in a hot country.

[martinc]

Welcome

Have a look at THIS thread. We took about a year to plan, there's an awful lot of stuff to research if you want to get the most out of your time but the best advice I can offer is that your should endeavour to do something towards it every single day, then in a month's time you'll have achieved a lot.

Use THIS site to see the legal situation in each country you're planning to go.

Get your kit together, fire extinguisher, warning triangles, breathalyser kit, spare bulbs, headlight deflectors, EHIC cards, copies of insurance, V5, MoT etc, European Accident Statement Forms.

Take spares, alternator belts, maybe a spare alternator, crucial hoses, printout of coolant bleeding procedure etc.

Ours is a 4WD diesel, in readiness (ours has a lot of miles on it) we renewed the radiator, thermostat, fan switch (the bit in the cylinder head that controls the fans) and water pump. When I say we, I mean Northern Bongolow did it for us

In particular I'd spend a lot of time researching the places you want to go, and what's nearby, then you'll get so much more out of your holiday and it's an enjoyable part of the preparations.

Your holiday starts NOW

Oh, and take Spam & Pot Noodles

Thanks Muzorewa ,

Thats is some very helpful info there , i will certainly look at getting all those bits together ASAP!
Did you have any problems while you were traveling around , that we might experience?

And whats the deal with spam and pot noodles??

[martinc]

Engine block temp gauge would make a good adjunct to low coolant sensor. Fit it now so you can get to know what is normal and/or investigate if temps appear abnormal. Buy correct profile fan and aircon belt set as these are easy to store and could be handy. Jump leads also. Have you got a good leisure battery and split charging system installed? What about compressor fridge and solar panels as these would give you coolness and freedom in a hot country.

Hi mike,

thanks for the advice , where do i get this engine temp block gauge , fan and aircon belt from? and are they easy to fit ?

At the moment we dont have a leisure battery fitted at all, i have been looking into the wellinton split system but these are hard to find and a little complicated to fit ? do you know of any good alternatives?

we have a 12v cooler box to keep things cool , however i have looked at a solar panel , but are they worth installing ??

Thanks again appreciate all help!

[mikeonb4c]

Engine block temp gauge would make a good adjunct to low coolant sensor. Fit it now so you can get to know what is normal and/or investigate if temps appear abnormal. Buy correct profile fan and aircon belt set as these are easy to store and could be handy. Jump leads also. Have you got a good leisure battery and split charging system installed? What about compressor fridge and solar panels as these would give you coolness and freedom in a hot country.

Hi mike,

thanks for the advice , where do i get this engine temp block gauge , fan and aircon belt from? and are they easy to fit ?

At the moment we dont have a leisure battery fitted at all, i have been looking into the wellinton split system but these are hard to find and a little complicated to fit ? do you know of any good alternatives?

we have a 12v cooler box to keep things cool , however i have looked at a solar panel , but are they worth installing ??

Thanks again appreciate all help!

Assuming you have a Haydn low coolant alarm (or even if you don't), I'd recommend one of their engine block temp devices as Haydn is an ex Bongo owner and his daughter Jo now runs the business. He started the business as a retirement hobby and their commitment to Bongos and after sales service (and their product quality) is second to none. Not the cheapest, but the best I think.

Belts from the Bongo Shop, or on ebay, or local Mazda dealer I'd have thought. Just make sure you get the right profile belts for the Bongo.

An alternative to the Wilinton kit can be found here: http://www.rayneautomotive.co.uk/mazda- ... y-kit.html (no idea what it's like and it doesn't include I think the fuse jumpers to move power over to the LB so you'd have to do that yourself, but an LB is a must have really if you're serious about campervanning)

12v cooler box may only be suitable for when engine running or on sites with hookup. But with an energy efficient compressor fridge and solar panels, you can have cool stuff (ice even) indefinitely without any other power source. Very attractive if you want to camp in the wilderness and get away from the madding crowd. But combined cost of those two items is significant (£800 at a guess) so only worth it if you want to boldly go where many Bongos can't go. Best person to speak with/PM is BF member Dodgey who knows all about this stuff.

[Muzorewa]

We didn't use any campsites, we were wild-camping or using the hospitality of local farmers who might be able to sell us some of their wine. For wild-camping we used THIS site which is great although written by sad VW owners

Then for the free stopovers we used the sites published by France Passion, España Discovery and Portugal Tradicional

Be vigilant. There are a lot of tales of tourists being targeted by thieves, some may be exaggerated but I know some are true. Don't keep all your cash in one place, be careful where you park, don't leave only one person with the van etc, the usual precautions

[mikeonb4c]

Be vigilant. There are a lot of tales of tourists being targeted by thieves, some may be exaggerated but I know some are true. Don't keep all your cash in one place, be careful where you park, don't leave only one person with the van etc, the usual precautions

Have to admit that's one thing that makes me wary of wild camping esp. in unfamiliar countries. I wonder if anyone on ebay offers a proximity alarm / early warning system

Maybe add pepper spray to the list of 'must haves'

[Muzorewa]

I'd heard bad things about Ireland too which made me nervous but we still went, spent two weeks wild-camping and everything was fine. You hear tales of debilitating sprays being sent through airvents, roadside scams, break-ins of unoccupied vans etc but if you worried too much you'd never go anywhere. In the end, thousands of people go and the majority are fine - a bit like overheating Bongos, the few that we hear about drown out the hundreds that are good

[helen&tony]

Hi
Mike....
You want pepper spray, mace, CS powder?...all legal here, and other EU countries.... Frankly, it should be legal in the UK ...I only felt safe at night if I walked out with my dogs...one of them would attack on command....Tony trained her as a guard...he used to train dogs for the Dutch police...If I hadn't had that dog at the time, I wouldn't walk out at night!
Cheers
Helen

[mikeonb4c]

Hi
Mike....
You want pepper spray, mace, CS powder?...all legal here, and other EU countries.... Frankly, it should be legal in the UK ...I only felt safe at night if I walked out with my dogs...one of them would attack on command....Tony trained her as a guard...he used to train dogs for the Dutch police...If I hadn't had that dog at the time, I wouldn't walk out at night!
Cheers
Helen

You're quite right Helen. Dog is best alarm system of all

[martinc]

Be vigilant. There are a lot of tales of tourists being targeted by thieves, some may be exaggerated but I know some are true. Don't keep all your cash in one place, be careful where you park, don't leave only one person with the van etc, the usual precautions

Have to admit that's one thing that makes me wary of wild camping esp. in unfamiliar countries. I wonder if anyone on ebay offers a proximity alarm / early warning system

Maybe add pepper spray to the list of 'must haves'

haha i like the sound of that ! i can just hear it now " PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE BONGO OR I WILL PEPPER SPRAY YOU " ha ha

[martinc]

We didn't use any campsites, we were wild-camping or using the hospitality of local farmers who might be able to sell us some of their wine. For wild-camping we used THIS site which is great although written by sad VW owners

Then for the free stopovers we used the sites published by France Passion, España Discovery and Portugal Tradicional

Be vigilant. There are a lot of tales of tourists being targeted by thieves, some may be exaggerated but I know some are true. Don't keep all your cash in one place, be careful where you park, don't leave only one person with the van etc, the usual precautions

yeah i have also heard horror stories about wild camping , however they wouldn't want to mess with the wife anyway !
as for that wild camping site it looks pretty good TBF, We will try and stick to established campsites for the use of showers ect as our bongo is not converted at all!

Did you manage to sort out any toll payments before you left ? and did you need a driving permit?

cheers

[martinc]

Engine block temp gauge would make a good adjunct to low coolant sensor. Fit it now so you can get to know what is normal and/or investigate if temps appear abnormal. Buy correct profile fan and aircon belt set as these are easy to store and could be handy. Jump leads also. Have you got a good leisure battery and split charging system installed? What about compressor fridge and solar panels as these would give you coolness and freedom in a hot country.

Hi mike,

thanks for the advice , where do i get this engine temp block gauge , fan and aircon belt from? and are they easy to fit ?

At the moment we dont have a leisure battery fitted at all, i have been looking into the wellinton split system but these are hard to find and a little complicated to fit ? do you know of any good alternatives?

we have a 12v cooler box to keep things cool , however i have looked at a solar panel , but are they worth installing ??

Thanks again appreciate all help!

Assuming you have a Haydn low coolant alarm (or even if you don't), I'd recommend one of their engine block temp devices as Haydn is an ex Bongo owner and his daughter Jo now runs the business. He started the business as a retirement hobby and their commitment to Bongos and after sales service (and their product quality) is second to none. Not the cheapest, but the best I think.

Belts from the Bongo Shop, or on ebay, or local Mazda dealer I'd have thought. Just make sure you get the right profile belts for the Bongo.

An alternative to the Wilinton kit can be found here: http://www.rayneautomotive.co.uk/mazda- ... y-kit.html (no idea what it's like and it doesn't include I think the fuse jumpers to move power over to the LB so you'd have to do that yourself, but an LB is a must have really if you're serious about campervanning)

12v cooler box may only be suitable for when engine running or on sites with hookup. But with an energy efficient compressor fridge and solar panels, you can have cool stuff (ice even) indefinitely without any other power source. Very attractive if you want to camp in the wilderness and get away from the madding crowd. But combined cost of those two items is significant (£800 at a guess) so only worth it if you want to boldly go where many Bongos can't go. Best person to speak with/PM is BF member Dodgey who knows all about this stuff.

ok great i will give him a message to see what he recommends as i would like to use a few things while we are stationary . regarding the spares i will give ava leisure a ring to find out what deals they offer , thanks again.

[Muzorewa]

For France we got one of the Sanef tolling tags which enables you to avoid queues and scrabbling for change, you get billed later. For Portugal you have to pay in advance as a foreign-registered vehicle which is awkward on tour as you're not necessarily certain where you're going to go. For Spain we just paid up at the toll booths.

No permits required for where we went, not sure about the rest of Europe. Get an insurance green card too because even though your UK insurance covers you abroad, it only insures you for the minimum level required in that country, so normally 3rd party only. A green card issued by your UK insurer will raise the cover to the same as you get in the UK.