My first camper van trip

3ps

I've spending some time fiddling with the campervan this week and I got to remember our first proper trip in it, to France. I wrote up a summary but don't remember posting it here. So if you are bored you can read this....





I'm just back from my first big motorhome trip and it was a great experience and certainly and excellent shakedown!!

We left Dublin on June 30th.. Dublin to Holyhead. All OK. We then drove to a campsite called "Island Meadow" which is south of Birmingham. This seemed like a very nice and popular site, but we were just using it for an overnight stop. I arrived late as the GPS took me on some dreadfull roads to get there, but there was no issue and I pulled into my alloted slot.

Challenge number 1:
I noticed that my rear LHS tyre was only partially inflated. Dang!. It was 21:30 and getting dark. I needed to leave fairly early to get to Dover the next day so it couldn't be put off till morning. Jacking the van up took my quite a while... I think I need to grease the jack as it was very stiff. Luckily I got the wheel off without any problems. The spare wheel was stored underneath the van towards the rear. I wasn't keen on lying underneath with just the jack but I had no option. I got the spare out (same size luckily but steel, not alloy) and on without too much problems. It was a real pain to get the spare stowed back up though. Luckily I was on grass and could slide the wheel in most of the way into the metal frame. I then had to lever/push, lever/push until it was fully in position... then hoist up and engage the locks. Not a nice job overall for that time of night but I got it done.

So we left the next morning and only encountered the usual heavy traffic on the M25 and made the ferry bang on time. Once in Dunkerque (€98 return via NorfolkLine) we had a 2.5 hour drive to Camping Le Croix de Vieux Pont, north of Paris. We were staying here for a full extra day to break the driving for the kids. This was a fine campsite with lakes and swimming facilities, but there was a sewage drain smell in alot of areas, including the playground, which let it down. It was also tight getting into our alloted place. I resolved to get the tyres fixed once we settled down in a more permanent campsite.

Off we set then for Clermont Ferrand, via Paris. Snarled for about 1-1.5 hours in traffic in Paris, but the GPS was a blessing and we would have been completely lost in the spaghetti junctions! Arrived in Clermont Ferrand fine and camped in Camping La Filature. This was a picturesque campsite right on the river. It was a little bit "relaxed" in terms of motorhome facilities... all there but not modern etc. Weather was great with only late night thunderstorms from the heat.

Challenge 2:
I got stuck in mud! We were on a grass plot and I was up on the ramps. There was very heavy rain during the night. In the morning I rolled off the ramps and removed them, not realising that they had sunk a bit. I then reversed off the pitch, but into the troughs and got stuck. Tried everything to get out.. jacking up the front wheel and chucking stuff in but to no avail. Eventually had to be pulled out by the tractor! I think I should have realised that the ground had gone soft and have reversed back off the ramps at "speed" and get momentum.... or perhaps not. While in this region we did the usual volcano sights. All very nice.

I called into a large garage attached to a hypermarche to get a tyre and the assistant told me that Michelin were out of stock the XC Camping tyre of that size! There was none in the whole region. What could I do but go on. I resolved to try later in the holiday in a different region.

The next leg was to head over to the Alps, via Lyon. While driving along I would usually stick to 100kph and gradually catch up with trucks. On one occassion I was overtaking a truck when he started to veer towards me! He was still within his lane so I kept going but he didn't stop. It got to the point where I was as far left as I could go before hitting the barrier and he was about 1 foot away from my RHS!! My wife was screaming so I just hit the brakes and pulled back in. Took it easy for a couple of miles and eventually blasted past him as he was slowing on a hill. We also got stuck in traffic on this trip. Some of the tunnels (can't remember the names!) were closed for roadworks. We stopped for 1.5hours!!! on a motorway. People were out playing football on the hardshoulder!. I left my engine running as it was keeping the aircon on and the kids DVD player running and some french women got out of her car and started giving out to me! I chatted to another couple about what she was going on about (I can understand french but not under those conditions!) and they said they didnt like the engine noise but was probably jealous of my aircon. I turned it off after a few minutes in order to avoid a confrontation but it was a scorcher so turned it back on again later.

Eventually arrived in Camping "Les Lanchettes" at a height of 1500m. There were some interesting hairpin bends to get there but the van coped admirably. I loved this campsite. It was very friendly and picturesque and had a lovely mountain stream that the kids loved to play in. We explored the area by van and got to 2000m and some "interesting" roads!. We also used the Vanoise Express double decker cable car. Stayed there during the world cup final and shared France's defeat in the campsite lounge. Lots of lovely wooded walks in the area too.

Next trip was up north to the Jura and we stayed at Camping Fayolan which was a very busy campsite which was crowded with Dutch. I really liked it there though. Nice pool for the kids and having music/karaoke etc in the evenings was fun and different.

Challenge 3:
My wife started to feel unwell while here. We left it a day or so but it was not letting up so, on Bastille Day, we went to the reception to get the phone number for a doctor. It was late and the reception was closed. I knocked on the window and I'm sure I scared the young receptionist who probably thought I wanted to "ask her out". She refused to go to the back door to meet me. I eventually got their attention though and got the number. We found a quiet spot outside (nothing worse the shouting in pigeon french in public) and as I was ringing the number my wife collapsed! Luckily a nice Dutch family were passing and helped to look af the kids while we helped her. The husband went back to the reception and an ambulance was called. They opened up the reception again and got blankets etc and were really helpful. It took about 10 minutes for the paramedics to arrive and luckily my french is good enough that we could converse. They decided to take her to hospital though, which was scary. They warned me it was a busy night (July 14) and that I might not get to see her until the morning. But I resolved to go anyway. I packed up the van (it was about 11pm at this stage) and my nice Dutch neighbours offered to take the childrean for the night... but I refused. I knew my wife would prefer to see them at the hospital. The GPS was a godsend and routed me to the hospital but it was a tough trip. The roads were crammed with local villagers going to the fireworks show and I was started to panick that I would be able to get through. It all worked out OK though and 40 minutes later I was parked at the hospital. We eventually got to see my wife and they had examined her promptly and we re awaiting results and were going to keep her in overnight. So camped out in the hospital car park that night but it was 2am before the kids got to bed. She was released from hospital at 1pm the next day with a months worth of drugs to take! She is well thank God and while weak she managed to enjoy the rest of the holiday.

Challenge 4
We headed north again for the Jura. However, it was a Sunday and with all the hassle of the days before I had not filled up with diesel and was running on fumes! GPS to the rescue again "Find all fuel along current route"... 1.2kms... closed..1.8 kms.... closed... 2.5 kms... VISA wouldn't work...3kms... VISA again. Dang! I'm going to run out of fuel looking for fuel!!!! So I hung around the station for a while until a small french camping van pulled in beside me. They whipped out their card and started pumping fuel. I then explaing to them that my VISA wouldn't work and if I gave them €50 could I use their card. Wife was nice but scared, but Husband was fine. So I put in €49.37 and Wife panicked about receipts etc and getting me change! Don't worry about it I said! We were on our way!

Arrived in the Vosges in Saulxures sur Moselotte near Remiremont at the "Camping Base de Loisirs". This was a strangely small scale industrial area for both granite and wood but the campsite was fantastic and picturesque. There was a lovely lake with a beach at one end and while busy at the weekend it was great during the week and the kids loved it. The campsite had a problem with broken water pipes and I had to drive around to find one that worked but that wasn't too much hassle. There was a heatwave while here.... it was 34Cin the shade at 9AM!! and hit 40C during the day.... much too hot for us pale skinned folk. So we had to manage the day around shopping and going to Mines and Caves. I really enjoyed this campsite, even though I preferred the Jura and Alps to the Vosges.

While here I called into a local garage and lo and behold he was able to source a tyre for me at €195+€20 for fitting. When changing it it became obvious to me that the problem was probably with the valve and not the tyre, and I might not have needed a tyre at all...but I was wrong again. My tyre had lots of tread left but was badly cracked along the sides... as was my other rear tyre. So I am now looking to change it to. No worries... I was now ready for the trip home with 5 working tyres!

The mad dash home was divided into stages... First was a long drive up to the municipal campsite in Chalons sur Champagne. We were driving through the plains for quite a while and I found it hard to believe there could be a campsite in the region (what was there to see!) but it was a spotless and excellent campsite and a great place for a stopover. It seemed the town had a history too and it was close to Reims also. Met a nice Belgian man who wanted to look around the van and we chatted a good bit. Always good to keep the French practise up....

Next morning we headed for Dunkerque and made it bang on time again... easy crossing and then drove towards Birmingham. I did put in too much driving on this day. It was 4 hours in france, an hour on the ferry and then 2.5 up towards Birmingham. This put a strain on me, especially with the kids, although the DVD player kept thjem remarkably quiet. Of course, the VERY second we docked in Dover it started to rain! We stayed at a campsite called "Heyford Leys" near Bicester and I can recommend this for a stopover. For £10 I got a hardstanding and hookup on a spot just outside the main campsite, but beside the motorhome service point and washrooms etc. Best of all it was only 5 mins off the motorway so great for a quick stopover. We arrived a bit late but no issues. Got the kids to stretch their legs and play in the town playground.

Next morning headed up to Holyhead an home again with no issues!


So that's the trip and we certainly learned A LOT! Some other things I noted as a first timer:

- I kept the driving speed at 90-100kph... some 110kph. Anything higher and I felt I got more tense with winds etc

- I only measured the MPG once and got 24.8

- We got a 10" widescreen DVD player and little clip-on headphones for the kids the the headphones wouldn't fall off. The real benefit of the DVD was it kept them AWAKE during the driving and that meant they went to bed at a reasonable time!

- We brought far too many clothes. Easier to wash and dry on site every now an again

- Our fridge would sometimes spill a little bit of water when driving. I can only assume that when switching from gas to elec to 12V it sometimes cooled down a bit water formed which could escape while driving

- We had a small light up high on the rear of the can which was knocked off by a branch (I guess). My rear RHS lights stopped working also and I presume this is related. Main brake lights worked OK though and no night driving so I didn't worry about it.

- My "garage" was full with standard stuff so if I ever get a canoe/boat I don't know what I'm going to do with it!!

- The GPS would sometimes takes us down strange roads, and would sometimes reset itself while driving (usually in the middle of a spaghetti junction!) but you get to recognise the quirks and I wouldn't be without it now!


Overall it was a great holiday and with all the challenges we had I think we have covered alot of the things that can happen!

stapeler

Great post:D Expect the unexpected.....
Reading this takes me back to holidays in Europe, Made me forget that it's winter outside..
I think I'll go check the ferry sites and book a trip for next summer.

*Kol*

Makes me want to book the ferry right now. Good post.

Malta1

Its the "challenges" that make these trips so much fun....great post

HBAMS

Great post 3ps.

Hope your wife recovered and back to full health.

KoNiT

Great read, good tips!

one Q. would the pertol stations not take cash?


Correct on the lights btw, I had same problem.

3ps

Most non-autoroute petrol stations are unmanned on Sundays and the ones that had self serve pumps wouldn't accept non-French cards. I believe this is changing but I now always make sure I am filled up in advance if doing any long trips at the weekend.