Basics to take on a trip to France

[Gandalf]

Right booked me tunnel crossing and off to France for a couple of weeks (might even try to get to Barcelona). What essentials do I need? I've seen the "legal" stuff - hi vis vest, bulbs etc but was wondering if there is anything else - belts hoses etc? The van is an 89 westy california 1.6TD. The lights are still the LHD ones which I'm going to put the light benders on - does this mean I need to remove them for France??

Any tips/advice will be greatly appreciated.

[purplecrocs]

I second that request... just started planning my first trip to France too...!

[andisnewsyncro]

The lights are still the LHD ones which I'm going to put the light benders on - does this mean I need to remove them for France??

Yep, just take the benders off for European use. As for a list of useful spares, there's a thread on the Syncro pages, started for the German show, which will give you some pointers.

[jason k]

yup spares!!

get continental cover from the aa

dont stop at any dodgy motorway aires (like i did and almost got robbed!!! )

sat nav helps loads.

watch out for toll road costs

enjoy!!

[famous phil]

Hi, something you might overlook and not think to important , will you have internet access and be able to get on to the forum or a contact number for someone that can , If you were to get into difficulty you might be able to get help from people knowing folk over there ,,,,

a friend set to last year to do a trip over France then to Spain late westy TD ,, we all told him keep an eye on water and oil ,, did he listen "no" blew the bottom end just short of the ferry ,, got recovered back had an aaz fitted by the breakers yard where the engine came from ( I offered to fit ) two weeks later I get a call I'm in France on a recovery truck heading home all the gearbox oils dropped ,, told him they've not fitted the input bearing in the crank ( I told them it needs this ) , just to rub it in told him I've got 8 on the shelf and one in my wallet ,,,,

[libraryboy]

always worth chucking the electric hook up adapters in so you can recharge the old batteries(cam or phone) and grab a camping gaz bottle adapter incase you cant find the perfect bottle. most hypers will sell that stuff out there thou.
if its your first time take your time at junctions and just stay chilled. lovely country to tour if you stay of the tolls

[Gandalf]

always worth chucking the electric hook up adapters in so you can recharge the old batteries(cam or phone) and grab a camping gaz bottle adapter incase you cant find the perfect bottle. most hypers will sell that stuff out there thou.
if its your first time take your time at junctions and just stay chilled. lovely country to tour if you stay of the tolls

Good shout on the adaptors - standard euro 2 pin into the standard bit that fits into the van socket I assume? I'm thinking of taking my laptop (Mac) just in case of emergencies - I'm assuming it will be ok through the standard 3 pin socket in the van while on hook up? Not sure I need the gaz adaptor - got a westy with underslung LPG.

Thanks all - any more suggestions greatly appreciated and will have a look on the syncro forum.

[andisnewsyncro]

Good shout on the adaptors - standard euro 2 pin into the standard bit that fits into the van socket I assume? I'm thinking of taking my laptop (Mac) just in case of emergencies - I'm assuming it will be ok through the standard 3 pin socket in the van while on hook up? .

More & more European sites now use the same 3 pin blue sockets as we do but it's worth taking a 2 pin converter, something like this from Towsure is what you need.. http://www.towsure.com/product/349-Cont ... erter_Lead

I'd also recommend you to grab a polarity checker too for peace of mind when you 1st plug in.
http://www.towsure.com/product/545-Main ... ester_Plug

Again a Towsure example but other shops do exist and "No I'm not on comission from them"

You might want to make up a reversed lead for use if your polarity checker shows things not being right. Just buy 2 converters and swap the live & neutral round in one of them - Wrap some tape round the reversed lead so you know which one it is. I've only had to use mine once but it was on a very wet & rainy site in France so I was glad I'd bothered to make one up

As for running the Mac from the van sockets, it should be ok, mine always has been. Lots of sites do offer wifi now but it can be pricey. If you get stuck there's always McDonalds, starbucks etc; also most libraries and I believe town halls offer either wifi connection or a wired terminal you can use.

Have fun out there

[T'Onion]

Not sure I need the gaz adaptor - got a westy with underslung LPG.

you will however need a French GLP adaptor , Gasure or ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LPG-Autogas-Fille ... 439d6f1e9d" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[T'Onion]

I'd give the van a good once over , tyre's including(if you have alloys and the spare is a steel make sure you have the correct nuts and bolts) the spare tyre, brakes ,service ,wipers etc etc

Sat nav is cool , you can enjoy the trip without worrying about maps ,we take both btw , the book of aires is a must , as are the aires downloads from the club stuff , also a good campsite book ,also poi campsites from other GPS sites,and GLP stations
what we did was look for a camp site and as we got 10ish miles from it ask the sat nav if there was an aire nearby , check that out and if we didnt feel comfortable with it carry on to the campsite

when you going ? we are going in August

[jason k]

as are we!!

[gimpey]

hi all, im going to spain via france end of august, 1.6td ive been told to keep of the tolls can be very expensive,

[andisnewsyncro]

hi all, im going to spain via france end of august, 1.6td ive been told to keep of the tolls can be very expensive,

The tolls can mount up but it depends on how much time you have to get where you want to go... The toll roads are good and not overly busy (both in France & Spain) and you can make good time over long distances.

[T'Onion]

hi all, im going to spain via france end of august, 1.6td ive been told to keep of the tolls can be very expensive,

We used the tolls the first year we toured some of France , Calais to Toulouse ,it cost us about 60 yoyos , yes it was quick but we missed the scenery , coming back we didn't use a toll and enjoyed the drive ten fold

[Gandalf]

I'd give the van a good once over , tyre's including(if you have alloys and the spare is a steel make sure you have the correct nuts and bolts) the spare tyre, brakes ,service ,wipers etc etc

Sat nav is cool , you can enjoy the trip without worrying about maps ,we take both btw , the book of aires is a must , as are the aires downloads from the club stuff , also a good campsite book ,also poi campsites from other GPS sites,and GLP stations
what we did was look for a camp site and as we got 10ish miles from it ask the sat nav if there was an aire nearby , check that out and if we didnt feel comfortable with it carry on to the campsite

when you going ? we are going in August

First two weeks in Aug as it happens.

Thought I'd start asking about stuff early as I need to start getting bits and pieces now.

As to tolls (and not wanting to start the whole high top - pop top debate again ) it appears that with a pop top it isn't so expensive.

Should I get things like - fan/alernator belts etc?

Thanks for all the replies - makes life so much easier.