JOHN’S TOP EURO TOURING TIPS
■ You’ll find the best travel, campsite and destination prices by booking in advance. Great offers can often be found at the Caravan & Motorhome Shows, because many regions and sites have stands at the NEC.
■ Always let your insurance provider know that you are taking your car and caravan abroad.
■ If you plan to tour for a month or more (as only leisure vehicle owners can!), check that your home insurance cover will remain valid for periods longer than 30 days.
■ Photograph your important travel documents and store them on your phone as back-up. Keep breakdown documentation in the vehicle. If you take V5 registration documents with you, store them securely, too.
■ When you are towing in Europe, be aware that some cities, such as Paris, Lyon and Grenoble, require you to display a Crit’air (vehicle emissions) windscreen sticker. You can purchase a sticker at certificat-air.gouv.fr. They cost €3.72 per vehicle including p&p.
■ You’ll also need a windscreen sticker known as a vignette if you are going to be driving on motorways in Austria and Switzerland. You can buy them at the border or online before you travel.
■ International breakdown cover for your car and caravan is essential, as it covers the costs of repatriating car, caravan and passengers to the UK (and potentially the costs of continuing your holiday), in the unfortunate event of breakdown or accident. Both major Clubs offer good breakdown cover.
■ On certain days, especially Sundays and bank holidays, petrol stations might be left unattended, and the automated fuel pumps might not accept some British bank/credit cards. To avoid getting caught out, always carry spare cash with you, and try to refuel your tow car when you still have a quarter of a tank or more left.
■ Make a note of the dimensions of your caravan and tow car (imperial and metric) and stick this on the driver’s sun visor. It’s reassuring to have these important measurements to hand when you’re boarding ferries or entering car parks.
■ Péage (toll) motorways are the fastest way to traverse France, but they are expensive. Budget up to £100 if you plan to drive the entire length of France on these roads.
■ Alternatively, avoid those péage fees altogether by taking France’s more scenic Routes Nationales (equivalent to our A-roads). You’ll be able to soak up some of the country’s finest scenery and experience French culture, as you can easily stop in pretty villages and towns en route.
■ Make a careful note of the power consumption (in amps) of all of your caravanning electrical devices. Most UK campsites offer 16A of current, but in Europe the amperage can be much lower, possibly 10A, or even as low as 4A. The lower the current, the fewer devices you can use without tripping the site hook-up. To calculate the amp draw of any device, divide its wattage figure by the local voltage (220V in Europe). For example, a 2.2kw heater will draw 10A.
■ Use Google Earth maps and Street View to plan your routes and scope out destinations and attractions.
■ Consider purchasing low-wattage devices for caravanning. A domestic kettle usually devours 3kw, but you can buy 750W touring versions.
‘Fitting a roofbox frees up space inside your tow car, especially if you need room for a pet within the vehicle’
■ Be sensible about the distances that you can comfortably tow each day, especially when you’ve had an early start to your trip.
■ Do not overnight on roadside aires, laybys or service station car parks, which may be targeted by thieves.
■ Never leave your rig unattended or out of sight at service stations when visiting the toilets or the shop.
■ On the Continent, tyre pressures are measured in bar rather than psi. There are 14.5 psi to one bar.
■ Fitting a roofbox frees up space inside your tow car. This is ideal for long journeys, especially if you need room for a pet in the vehicle. Once at your holiday destination, roofboxes are great for transporting wet and sandy gear and clothing back from the beach. Suppliers include: halfords.com thule.com
■ Make sure you take plenty of gas for the duration of your holiday. Continental gas connectors are not compatible with UK leisure vehicles. For longer breaks, take a Continental pigtail adaptor. That way, you’ll be able to pick up a Euro cylinder at a service station or DIY outlet.
■ Consider taking a copy of any NHS prescriptions with you, because this will prove that your medication is prescribed. It means that you should be able to obtain further supplies if you haven’t taken enough with you, or you are delayed for any reason.
■ In France, some of the municipal campsites do not accept twin-axle caravans. If you have a twin-axle, let the site know when you book.
■ Take a basic toolkit with you, including screwdrivers (flat and Phillips), a range of spanners, pliers and a socket set. And don’t forget the duct tape and WD-40.
■ Some Euro campsites may have hook-up with reverse polarity. This means that wiring can stay live even when a plug is switched off. Consider buying a tester and an adaptor lead with its wiring already reversed. These should be available from most camping accessory shops.
■ Take a jack for your car and caravan. Always (safely) jack the caravan on its axle, not the chassis.
■ There’s a chance you’ll need an adaptor to connect your UK mains lead to a French hook-up. The round, blue, three-pin Euro connection, as used on most UK campsites, is now the standard across much of Europe. Things could be more complicated in Scandinavia, but your caravan systems should still function.
■ When you are heading south in the summer, take a fan or air-con unit to keep the caravan at a comfortable temperature at night. Small portable fans are cheap, while air-conditioning units are going to be more expensive (and heavier, too). Suppliers include: coolmycamper.com totalcool.co.uk
■ Take a range of caravan fuses with you, because they might not be easily available abroad.
■ If you are heading north in the winter, make sure you are suitably prepared for extreme cold and fill up the windscreen washer with a concentrated solution.
■ Keep an eye on the weather near the end of your trip. Prepare to leave early if the weather looks likely to deteriorate, especially if high winds are being forecast.