Driving to France!
- Thread starter Fishinbrine
- Start date
GB is no good, you need UK. You can buy stickers to go over the GB on eBay/amazon for a couple of quid
I have been stopped twice in France by the police. Each time all they looked at was my passport, D/L insurance and V5. Looked in the back of the van too (but I was at the first toll area from Spain into France) so maybe looking for people??
In Spain I have been stopped a few times too. Not been interested in anything to with the van or my paperwork, but have been random drink drive checks. Never once has anyone looked for my hi vis, spare bulbs, headlight benders, stickers etc. Good job really as I have no spare bulbs and as there are no markers on the headlight glass, I have no idea where to put the stickers, so the packet just sits in my glove box!
I got stop and ticketed 2 years ago in Spain too. All he wanted was my D/L and credit card. What idiot would contravene a no left turn sign when being followed by the Guardia Traffico?
In Spain I have been stopped a few times too. Not been interested in anything to with the van or my paperwork, but have been random drink drive checks. Never once has anyone looked for my hi vis, spare bulbs, headlight benders, stickers etc. Good job really as I have no spare bulbs and as there are no markers on the headlight glass, I have no idea where to put the stickers, so the packet just sits in my glove box!
I got stop and ticketed 2 years ago in Spain too. All he wanted was my D/L and credit card. What idiot would contravene a no left turn sign when being followed by the Guardia Traffico?
So the journey begins today! Fully prepared thanks to all.
Final question, fully loaded T32 LWB with 4 passengers, tyre pressures on 265/40R20'S I've gone with 45psi rears and 42psi fronts - sounds about to me? Usually run empty van on 36-40psi, what's opinions on this?
Final question, fully loaded T32 LWB with 4 passengers, tyre pressures on 265/40R20'S I've gone with 45psi rears and 42psi fronts - sounds about to me? Usually run empty van on 36-40psi, what's opinions on this?
Since I moved to the UK I have over 20yrs of driving to and from NL, Belgium and France and countless holidays, I still have the same set of headlight stickers in my glovebox that I bought 'just in case' back in 2004 and have never needed to show it. When I still had cars with halogen lights I've just moved them down a bit and with hids and leds you don't need them at all.
See how the van handles, if it feels light and skittish drop some air out, if it feels a bit smeary on corners and your sidewalls are a bit blue looking then blow them up a bit.
Going back to the Euro plug to blue 16A SKT adaptor lead don't leave it on a shelf in the garage at home... yep, I did.
The crusty EHU at Camping Forêts at Lourdes made it easy for us to stay off grid there and we managed to do the whole 4 weeks at all the sites in the end, thank you solar.
Day one...
Day 26...
I'm feeling a bit lost now, I can see why a few on the forum are always on tour, it's addictive and a pretty good antidote to getting old.
Going back to the Euro plug to blue 16A SKT adaptor lead don't leave it on a shelf in the garage at home... yep, I did.
The crusty EHU at Camping Forêts at Lourdes made it easy for us to stay off grid there and we managed to do the whole 4 weeks at all the sites in the end, thank you solar.
Day one...
Day 26...
I'm feeling a bit lost now, I can see why a few on the forum are always on tour, it's addictive and a pretty good antidote to getting old.
I haven't got any converters or adapters, I'm hoping all is ok I have my socket tester and that's all.......
If you go in the larger supermarkets eg Intermarche, Leclerc you'll see the Euro plug to blue trailing plug leads in the automotive section along with oil, polish, shampoo etc.
....and also bulbs and fuses !
Don’t get hung up on the polarity thing. Even with reversed polarity, everything will work. There’s a very remote theoretical possibility that in certain circumstances you might get a shock in the event of a fault, but you need a lot of stars to align for that to happen. Going by the state of some continental wiring, reverse polarity is the least of your worries.
I took a headlight deflector kit on a European trip and didn't fit them at first as I thought I wouldn't need to be driving in the dark in mid summer, but I had to fit them in Norway when I realised I was going through loads of tunnels, and got flashed by oncoming cars once or twice. So check if you're route involves tunnels.
Cheapest three weeks ago was Total gas at €1.59 by the airport just outside Nantes and dearest nearly everywhere were robbing bar stewards Shell at €1.84.
Total were generally the cheapest on autoroutes and these are for the cheap and cheerful stuff not the Rolex version, average was mid to high €1.75.
Total were generally the cheapest on autoroutes and these are for the cheap and cheerful stuff not the Rolex version, average was mid to high €1.75.
Fill up in the UK & you should be able to make Spain. We found a self service garage in Spain with diesel at €1.19 near Zaragoza. We also found a LeClerc in France at €1.43.
If you use google maps and search for “Fuel near me” it shows you the fuel stations & prices.
I couldn't remember which way round it was France or Spain being cheaper but now I remember we have one round the corner to the apartment that was rally cheap. The price on the toll roads in France is mental.
The autoroute prices varied from €1.60-€2.10, another reason to avoid the Autoroutes.
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