Buy a Hymer, they said...
Discussion
Surprised that you think the tag axle is unstable
Our 2002 Burstner 747 was very stable on an alko tag, and could just about crack 130kph
It Was Less susceptible to side winds and ruts than the fiat 2 axle wide chassis
Can't comment on the mercs, except that they wobble more when you get in and out of them at dealers
Our 2002 Burstner 747 was very stable on an alko tag, and could just about crack 130kph
It Was Less susceptible to side winds and ruts than the fiat 2 axle wide chassis
Can't comment on the mercs, except that they wobble more when you get in and out of them at dealers
SO! Update time, as we're back in the UK for a week or so.
Ended up doing a circuit of Spain, down the east & south coast to Tarifa and then north via Seville & Cordoba, through the snow in Picos De Europa, then a few days in Santander/Bilbao in awful weather as my parents had flown out to spend some time with us. Sod's law that's the only time we have bad weather and the only time we can't just run away from it.
Highlights from Spain are Tavertet, Montserrat and Seville. Spent 3 days in Seville and already is one of my favourite cities.
Started heading up through france a couple of weeks ago, did Biarritz and Bayonne in lovely weather then realised that our plans took us through an enormous pine forest just as all the processionary caterpillars were hatching. Not nice for humans if you touch one, and even worse for the dog so best avoided. A short detour to the north side of the Pyrenees for a few days, and then decided to head north to Bordeaux. Few days around there then hopped to a couple of other villages before coming to the realisation that we're not that bothered about northern France, and would far rather just head home early and get a couple of extra weeks on our Ireland/Scotland trip instead.
So that's why I'm sat in -4 and pissing snow back home now!
It's given us a chance to catch up with some maintenance though. Mentioned before that we had a binding brake, so did a bit of work on the right rear in France. I had assumed it was stuck slide pins on the calipers but they turned out to be fine. Problem actually was that the pads were rusted into the carriers, I assume through lack of use. The pads were pretty much brand new, so sanded the edges, and the carrier faces back down to size and a bit of copper grease on carrier and pads has made a big difference. Two down, four to go...
With the wheels off for that, I got a proper eyeful of just how bad our tyres were. They're pretty old, but looked in good enough condition, no crazing on the sidewalls etc. However there were some pretty big cracks between the tread blocks that I'd not seen while they were still fitted. I replaced the worst one with the spare there and then, and have just had 4 new tyres put on yesterday. The fronts were newer than the rear 4, so I've had those moved to the tag axle and the new four put on the front and middle.
Lots of advice is to go for the proper camper tyres, but nobody can really offer me a convincing argument as to why. Some say they ride better, some say they resist UV light more so last longer for low mileage. I've even read that they're built to take their maximum weight all the time, which rather makes a mockery of load ratings.
Went for a set of Nexens on advice of my regular tyre place when I asked for "something decent" and at half the price of the Continental VancoCamper, and they seem OK. Ride is quite harsh compared to the Toyos that were on there but I think that's just a case of finding their right pressures.
I'm also getting our disaster area of habitation power sorted out. We got to the point where our fully charged 3x 100AH batteries wouldn't even last the night, and the heating would cut out in the morning. We also have a slipping belt on the alternator at startup despite the belt being new. Oh and a dead starter battery that can't handle the regular "start, drive to service point, stop, 10minutes, restart" process.
The upshot of this is that we've just had three new Varta LFD90s fitted to replace our existing mishmash of leisure batteries, and having a new alternator fitted on Monday as the existing one is shot. Seized clutch and bearings hence squealing at startup and a fried engine battery.
I think the dead hab batteries should also explain why our solar controller was being a bit odd at times, so that has a stay of execution for the moment; but the Votronic catalogue is ready just in case.
In terms of travel, the plan from here is to head over to Ireland once the weather has calmed down. Then a roughly clockwise loop of Ireland/NI and then the ferry to Cairnryan in early April. We need to be back home in early May for reasons I shan't bore you with, so that makes a nice month in each.
We have somewhat blown our £1k per month budget so far. Almost 50% of our expense has been on fuel, as we did over five thousand miles in six weeks. Hopefully we should be able to reign that in now even only as we're in a physically much smaller place. At this rate we won't be able to make the full 12 months, as we're pretty tight on house deposit afterwards. We're fine with living cheaply, and so long as we get our fuel use in check then we'll be absolutely fine.
Ended up doing a circuit of Spain, down the east & south coast to Tarifa and then north via Seville & Cordoba, through the snow in Picos De Europa, then a few days in Santander/Bilbao in awful weather as my parents had flown out to spend some time with us. Sod's law that's the only time we have bad weather and the only time we can't just run away from it.
Highlights from Spain are Tavertet, Montserrat and Seville. Spent 3 days in Seville and already is one of my favourite cities.
Started heading up through france a couple of weeks ago, did Biarritz and Bayonne in lovely weather then realised that our plans took us through an enormous pine forest just as all the processionary caterpillars were hatching. Not nice for humans if you touch one, and even worse for the dog so best avoided. A short detour to the north side of the Pyrenees for a few days, and then decided to head north to Bordeaux. Few days around there then hopped to a couple of other villages before coming to the realisation that we're not that bothered about northern France, and would far rather just head home early and get a couple of extra weeks on our Ireland/Scotland trip instead.
So that's why I'm sat in -4 and pissing snow back home now!
It's given us a chance to catch up with some maintenance though. Mentioned before that we had a binding brake, so did a bit of work on the right rear in France. I had assumed it was stuck slide pins on the calipers but they turned out to be fine. Problem actually was that the pads were rusted into the carriers, I assume through lack of use. The pads were pretty much brand new, so sanded the edges, and the carrier faces back down to size and a bit of copper grease on carrier and pads has made a big difference. Two down, four to go...
With the wheels off for that, I got a proper eyeful of just how bad our tyres were. They're pretty old, but looked in good enough condition, no crazing on the sidewalls etc. However there were some pretty big cracks between the tread blocks that I'd not seen while they were still fitted. I replaced the worst one with the spare there and then, and have just had 4 new tyres put on yesterday. The fronts were newer than the rear 4, so I've had those moved to the tag axle and the new four put on the front and middle.
Lots of advice is to go for the proper camper tyres, but nobody can really offer me a convincing argument as to why. Some say they ride better, some say they resist UV light more so last longer for low mileage. I've even read that they're built to take their maximum weight all the time, which rather makes a mockery of load ratings.
Went for a set of Nexens on advice of my regular tyre place when I asked for "something decent" and at half the price of the Continental VancoCamper, and they seem OK. Ride is quite harsh compared to the Toyos that were on there but I think that's just a case of finding their right pressures.
I'm also getting our disaster area of habitation power sorted out. We got to the point where our fully charged 3x 100AH batteries wouldn't even last the night, and the heating would cut out in the morning. We also have a slipping belt on the alternator at startup despite the belt being new. Oh and a dead starter battery that can't handle the regular "start, drive to service point, stop, 10minutes, restart" process.
The upshot of this is that we've just had three new Varta LFD90s fitted to replace our existing mishmash of leisure batteries, and having a new alternator fitted on Monday as the existing one is shot. Seized clutch and bearings hence squealing at startup and a fried engine battery.
I think the dead hab batteries should also explain why our solar controller was being a bit odd at times, so that has a stay of execution for the moment; but the Votronic catalogue is ready just in case.
In terms of travel, the plan from here is to head over to Ireland once the weather has calmed down. Then a roughly clockwise loop of Ireland/NI and then the ferry to Cairnryan in early April. We need to be back home in early May for reasons I shan't bore you with, so that makes a nice month in each.
We have somewhat blown our £1k per month budget so far. Almost 50% of our expense has been on fuel, as we did over five thousand miles in six weeks. Hopefully we should be able to reign that in now even only as we're in a physically much smaller place. At this rate we won't be able to make the full 12 months, as we're pretty tight on house deposit afterwards. We're fine with living cheaply, and so long as we get our fuel use in check then we'll be absolutely fine.
great update, and really useful to me as you know, were getting ready to head off soon. i hope you don't mind me saying, but i'm sure there was an earlier post where things seemed a bit tough, how have you found living in the van? and any advice for newbies?
i think having a place for everything and everything in its place makes for happier living, but did you have any obstacles or teething trouble settling in?
what do you use to navigate? sat nav/maps etc? also, have you wild camped/stopped over/or stayed at sites mainly?
sorry for so many questions, thanks for the update.
craig
i think having a place for everything and everything in its place makes for happier living, but did you have any obstacles or teething trouble settling in?
what do you use to navigate? sat nav/maps etc? also, have you wild camped/stopped over/or stayed at sites mainly?
sorry for so many questions, thanks for the update.
craig
My biggest tip would be to start off in the UK for a few weeks or a month. That way you can get used to living on the road, without having to also get used to being in a different country. You can iron out all the bits of life while you know you can just walk into any shop or garage and get what you need.
Actually living in the van itself is fine, we do miss our house but only because it had a dishwasher and a flushing loo etc; we don't really miss having a house. It helps that our van is huge, with loads of storage. I'd say we could easily take another 30% as much stuff than we have. We haven't taken a lot of things though, people can get carried away with having all the things on sale in the camping shop.
My pet subject of water, you will need:
A hosepipe (ideally food grade). A huge bag of all sorts of tap adapters, and more than one of each sort as you'll leave them behind on taps (Alcaidesa aire can thank me for that one). Also a watering can, for when you can't be bothered to move to the service point just to get enough to wash up. A bucket that will fit under your waste tap, for the same reason.
For navigation, we use CoPilot on an android tablet. I have the truck one, and I'm going to switch over to the motorhome one soon. Only because the truck one is £10 a month and the caravan is £40 outright. Works well enough, has only made a couple of duff choices. Tried Sygic and Navigon and found it better than both.
We've used aires the whole time in france and spain. Free ones where possible. We've spent £210 in 7 weeks, including 5 nights in the UK on campsites. Aires can be a bit restrictive, no tables and chairs, no awnings; just a carpark you can sleep in basically.
I've used searchforsites to find things as I like how their map works. I'll use campercontact to double check, if there aren't any reviews for a site on searchforsites. Once you've left a few reviews and photos, you can download searchforsites POIs for satnav too, which is useful.
Couple more tips, but have to go out now. Will add a bit more later.
Actually living in the van itself is fine, we do miss our house but only because it had a dishwasher and a flushing loo etc; we don't really miss having a house. It helps that our van is huge, with loads of storage. I'd say we could easily take another 30% as much stuff than we have. We haven't taken a lot of things though, people can get carried away with having all the things on sale in the camping shop.
My pet subject of water, you will need:
A hosepipe (ideally food grade). A huge bag of all sorts of tap adapters, and more than one of each sort as you'll leave them behind on taps (Alcaidesa aire can thank me for that one). Also a watering can, for when you can't be bothered to move to the service point just to get enough to wash up. A bucket that will fit under your waste tap, for the same reason.
For navigation, we use CoPilot on an android tablet. I have the truck one, and I'm going to switch over to the motorhome one soon. Only because the truck one is £10 a month and the caravan is £40 outright. Works well enough, has only made a couple of duff choices. Tried Sygic and Navigon and found it better than both.
We've used aires the whole time in france and spain. Free ones where possible. We've spent £210 in 7 weeks, including 5 nights in the UK on campsites. Aires can be a bit restrictive, no tables and chairs, no awnings; just a carpark you can sleep in basically.
I've used searchforsites to find things as I like how their map works. I'll use campercontact to double check, if there aren't any reviews for a site on searchforsites. Once you've left a few reviews and photos, you can download searchforsites POIs for satnav too, which is useful.
Couple more tips, but have to go out now. Will add a bit more later.
Needless to say, dinner has wiped my memory of all but one of the things I was going to write.
Money! We mainly used a Revolut card abroad. It's a prepaid visa, but the app is brilliant. You add your UK card to it, and top up with however much you want in £, then either convert to euros right away, or when the rate is better, or just spend it and convert at the time of transaction. All at really good exchange rates. The only thing it isn't good for is automatic petrol pumps, as they need to pre-authorise and it can't do that. We also use a Starling Bank card for fuel and tolls, and times when it 100% needs to Just Work.
One last thing, get some euro coins from the bank as well as notes. We got 100eur in 1eur coins and it's been a lifesaver. Parking meters and campsite laundry have eaten 30eur of it already.
Money! We mainly used a Revolut card abroad. It's a prepaid visa, but the app is brilliant. You add your UK card to it, and top up with however much you want in £, then either convert to euros right away, or when the rate is better, or just spend it and convert at the time of transaction. All at really good exchange rates. The only thing it isn't good for is automatic petrol pumps, as they need to pre-authorise and it can't do that. We also use a Starling Bank card for fuel and tolls, and times when it 100% needs to Just Work.
One last thing, get some euro coins from the bank as well as notes. We got 100eur in 1eur coins and it's been a lifesaver. Parking meters and campsite laundry have eaten 30eur of it already.
custardkid said:
're camper tyres
You'll find you have a 2 ton front axel, which is supposed to have a 80 psi
Only camper tyres are rated at that pressure
Other tyres don't have the right structure
On the rear of a tag it'll be 55psi so a wider choice.
A 2 axle motorhome will have 80 psi on the back
Hymer spec is 4.5bar front, 3.5 rear for non camper tyres and a lower load rating (113/111). You'll find you have a 2 ton front axel, which is supposed to have a 80 psi
Only camper tyres are rated at that pressure
Other tyres don't have the right structure
On the rear of a tag it'll be 55psi so a wider choice.
A 2 axle motorhome will have 80 psi on the back
5.5bar front for camper rated tyres, which must make the ride unbearable.
Guess it depends if you have a Ht45 4.5ton chassis where none CP tyres are allowed
Or a ht 50. 5t chassis that stipulates CP tyres
Im sure the margines are enough to put any tyre on, but my tyre fitter had a fit and refused to fit some hankook mud and snow van tyres id ordered, he sent them back for some CP tyres FOC
amc chassis - AL-KOPDFwww.al-ko.co.uk › file...
Or a ht 50. 5t chassis that stipulates CP tyres
Im sure the margines are enough to put any tyre on, but my tyre fitter had a fit and refused to fit some hankook mud and snow van tyres id ordered, he sent them back for some CP tyres FOC
amc chassis - AL-KOPDFwww.al-ko.co.uk › file...
Yes, ours is the 4.5t, so that pdf matches our tyre spec of 215/75/16C. The rear pressure is different, hymer is 3.5 and the alko says 3.8, but it is naturally quite light on the rear. We're within a good pre-race s
t of being overweight on the front (1850 max and weighed at 1830 full), but have loads free on the rear.
t of being overweight on the front (1850 max and weighed at 1830 full), but have loads free on the rear.We've got enough clothes that the main wash only needs doing every two weeks or so. We're both lucky enough not to be very naturally stinky so our recycle rate on shirts etc is quite high.
Whenever we need a wash done we'll detour to a site that has facilities. There are sometimes laundry points in hypermarket carpark that take an enormous wash for 8eur, but I could never find a list of them online so we never actually used one.
We hand wash underwear etc, and dry it hanging in the shower. On ours if we open the heater vent in the bathroom fully it gets really quite warm, and is a nice drying room with the skylight open.
We've got a little twin tub washer with us but haven't used it yet.
Whenever we need a wash done we'll detour to a site that has facilities. There are sometimes laundry points in hypermarket carpark that take an enormous wash for 8eur, but I could never find a list of them online so we never actually used one.
We hand wash underwear etc, and dry it hanging in the shower. On ours if we open the heater vent in the bathroom fully it gets really quite warm, and is a nice drying room with the skylight open.
We've got a little twin tub washer with us but haven't used it yet.
we're now well into Ireland had have had quite the time of it.
From the travel side, I can thoroughly recommend the Wild Atlantic Way. Stunning in almost the same way the west Highlands are in Scotland, but much more compact and acessible. Lots of wild camping, which I didn't expect. We've spent a grand total of 25eur in a fortnight on sites, everything else has been wild camp. There's a great app, Motorhome Parking Ireland, that's run by the MotorhomeCraic forum. Well worth the 5eur paid version, tons of things that aren't on searchforsites or campercontact.
One thing I can't recommend about Ireland is doing it in a motorhome. The roads are simply apalling. The motorhome has taken a real kicking, and while it's not broken anything (yet) it's squeaking and bumping in a whole new range of places. There have been lots of B road equivalents where we've barely got above 25mph due to the road surface. In a disposable hire car I can see this being much more fun.
The Hymer is doing OK, the new tyres are working well now I've experimented with the pressures and ended up slightly above the Hymer spec pressure for the fronts.
New leisure batteries are great, and showing just how shot our old ones were even from before we left. I think we could easily do 4 days now with no driving and dull 4-5 amp solar before they run out.
Our major drama has been a gas leak. We stopped to have a map vs satnav moment, and could smell gas. The bottles are behind the right front wheel, so that wasn't really surprising. Got out to have a look and could both smell it and hear it. We have a pair of AluGas bottles, and the left one was leaking from the filler valve. I'll spare you the prevarications and heartache that went on, but suffice to say we are now running a slightly modified single bottle AluGas setup.
I think what has happened is that the float valve that shuts off the filler at 80% has got stuck down and the bottle has over filled. I say this as we've carried on using it (found the leak on a Saturday evening, so not much choice) and it stopped leaking after a day or so as the pressure dropped. We've now made 7 days usage out of that bottle, and it took a good few days for the gauge to drop at all. Normally we'll be through a gas bottle in 4 days.
So now it's empty, I've connected the filler hose directly to the other bottle and will carry on using just that one until we can get them checked out. Given that hardly anyone uses LPG in motorhomes in Ireland, and even fewer use AluGas, I suspect we'll be making a detour to autogas2000 when we're off the ferry in Cairnryan next month. I spoke to them to ask about the leak and they were very helpful. I'm hoping they can check or replace the filler valve in both bottles.
Only other Hymer related news is our first proper "oh sht we're going to die" emergency stop, for a maniac woman overtaking straight at us. I spotted it quite late, as I thought there's no way she's going for the whole queue in one. But she did, and fair play to it the Hymer really does stop when you ask it to. Other than the dog being showered in tennis balls as his toy box fell off the bed, the only casualty was my big coffee mug fell over in the cupboard. Testament to mrs006's packing skills.
From the travel side, I can thoroughly recommend the Wild Atlantic Way. Stunning in almost the same way the west Highlands are in Scotland, but much more compact and acessible. Lots of wild camping, which I didn't expect. We've spent a grand total of 25eur in a fortnight on sites, everything else has been wild camp. There's a great app, Motorhome Parking Ireland, that's run by the MotorhomeCraic forum. Well worth the 5eur paid version, tons of things that aren't on searchforsites or campercontact.
One thing I can't recommend about Ireland is doing it in a motorhome. The roads are simply apalling. The motorhome has taken a real kicking, and while it's not broken anything (yet) it's squeaking and bumping in a whole new range of places. There have been lots of B road equivalents where we've barely got above 25mph due to the road surface. In a disposable hire car I can see this being much more fun.
The Hymer is doing OK, the new tyres are working well now I've experimented with the pressures and ended up slightly above the Hymer spec pressure for the fronts.
New leisure batteries are great, and showing just how shot our old ones were even from before we left. I think we could easily do 4 days now with no driving and dull 4-5 amp solar before they run out.
Our major drama has been a gas leak. We stopped to have a map vs satnav moment, and could smell gas. The bottles are behind the right front wheel, so that wasn't really surprising. Got out to have a look and could both smell it and hear it. We have a pair of AluGas bottles, and the left one was leaking from the filler valve. I'll spare you the prevarications and heartache that went on, but suffice to say we are now running a slightly modified single bottle AluGas setup.
I think what has happened is that the float valve that shuts off the filler at 80% has got stuck down and the bottle has over filled. I say this as we've carried on using it (found the leak on a Saturday evening, so not much choice) and it stopped leaking after a day or so as the pressure dropped. We've now made 7 days usage out of that bottle, and it took a good few days for the gauge to drop at all. Normally we'll be through a gas bottle in 4 days.
So now it's empty, I've connected the filler hose directly to the other bottle and will carry on using just that one until we can get them checked out. Given that hardly anyone uses LPG in motorhomes in Ireland, and even fewer use AluGas, I suspect we'll be making a detour to autogas2000 when we're off the ferry in Cairnryan next month. I spoke to them to ask about the leak and they were very helpful. I'm hoping they can check or replace the filler valve in both bottles.
Only other Hymer related news is our first proper "oh sh
t we're going to die" emergency stop, for a maniac woman overtaking straight at us. I spotted it quite late, as I thought there's no way she's going for the whole queue in one. But she did, and fair play to it the Hymer really does stop when you ask it to. Other than the dog being showered in tennis balls as his toy box fell off the bed, the only casualty was my big coffee mug fell over in the cupboard. Testament to mrs006's packing skills.
Thanks for posting your comments, already bookmarked as it's always good to pick up tips. I have only just realised there is a motorhome section on PH...
I'm in the 3rd year of ownership of a 2005 B514. Same engine, cab, graphics and bodywork style as yours but 6.4m and not tag axle of course. I've covered 17,000 miles so far and she has been problem-free.
I'm sure you've researched the classic Fiat problems but just in case - They have a weakness in 5th gear and it's advisable to use 4th for any kind of descent especially if the revs are low. This lowers the torque 5th gear sees and may save some ball ache later on. A few months ago, I had the gearbox oil changed and 'overfilled', apparently they lift the van on the slant to get more oil in. She was on 50,000 miles anyway so probably a good time to change it, the mechanic said the old oil was clean so that was a relief. Also, when reversing up any kind of incline, you may notice a vibration. Just using the clutch and little to no throttle is supposed to help there. The only other thing I can think of off hand is that that front crossmember under the bumper can corrode badly. They are available on ebay for arund £70 and apparently quite easy to replace.
You mentioned a chip on your motor so you may experience some clutch slip soon, if not already. Mine is the unchipped 130bhp engine and every report i've seen of chipping results in the clutch starting to complain. She is not too good up hills, but I only roam around at 50mph max so no big deal and I am only 3.5T fully loaded. Maybe with a heavier unit, you need the extra pull but if not, i'd rip it out.
Will be interesting to read your further exploits, ask away if you have any Q's I may be able to help with.
I'm in the 3rd year of ownership of a 2005 B514. Same engine, cab, graphics and bodywork style as yours but 6.4m and not tag axle of course. I've covered 17,000 miles so far and she has been problem-free.
I'm sure you've researched the classic Fiat problems but just in case - They have a weakness in 5th gear and it's advisable to use 4th for any kind of descent especially if the revs are low. This lowers the torque 5th gear sees and may save some ball ache later on. A few months ago, I had the gearbox oil changed and 'overfilled', apparently they lift the van on the slant to get more oil in. She was on 50,000 miles anyway so probably a good time to change it, the mechanic said the old oil was clean so that was a relief. Also, when reversing up any kind of incline, you may notice a vibration. Just using the clutch and little to no throttle is supposed to help there. The only other thing I can think of off hand is that that front crossmember under the bumper can corrode badly. They are available on ebay for arund £70 and apparently quite easy to replace.
You mentioned a chip on your motor so you may experience some clutch slip soon, if not already. Mine is the unchipped 130bhp engine and every report i've seen of chipping results in the clutch starting to complain. She is not too good up hills, but I only roam around at 50mph max so no big deal and I am only 3.5T fully loaded. Maybe with a heavier unit, you need the extra pull but if not, i'd rip it out.
Will be interesting to read your further exploits, ask away if you have any Q's I may be able to help with.
Jellyfish said:
I'm sure you've researched the classic Fiat problems but just in case - They have a weakness in 5th gear and it's advisable to use 4th for any kind of descent especially if the revs are low. This lowers the torque 5th gear sees and may save some ball ache later on. A few months ago, I had the gearbox oil changed and 'overfilled', apparently they lift the van on the slant to get more oil in. She was on 50,000 miles anyway so probably a good time to change it, the mechanic said the old oil was clean so that was a relief. Also, when reversing up any kind of incline, you may notice a vibration. Just using the clutch and little to no throttle is supposed to help there. The only other thing I can think of off hand is that that front crossmember under the bumper can corrode badly. They are available on ebay for arund £70 and apparently quite easy to replace.
You mentioned a chip on your motor so you may experience some clutch slip soon, if not already. Mine is the unchipped 130bhp engine and every report i've seen of chipping results in the clutch starting to complain. She is not too good up hills, but I only roam around at 50mph max so no big deal and I am only 3.5T fully loaded. Maybe with a heavier unit, you need the extra pull but if not, i'd rip it out.
Sorry, only just got back to this.You mentioned a chip on your motor so you may experience some clutch slip soon, if not already. Mine is the unchipped 130bhp engine and every report i've seen of chipping results in the clutch starting to complain. She is not too good up hills, but I only roam around at 50mph max so no big deal and I am only 3.5T fully loaded. Maybe with a heavier unit, you need the extra pull but if not, i'd rip it out.
I'd read about the 5th gear problem. I think our gearbox is slightly different. I've read people say that their 5th gear is very long, but ours is only 3-400 rpm longer than 4th. Also reading the manual the fiat "truck" chassis has a different spec for 5th compared to the van chassis. All the other ratios are listed as the same (including the enormous rev chasm between 3rd and 4th) so I presume ours is one with the shorter 5th gear. Still, I shan't be flogging it up or down anything in 5th. The advantage of the shorter 5th is also that 4th is much more accessible for an early changedown as it's so close rev wise.
My only complaint with the chip so far is the fuelling at idle is really clumsy. It runs really rich and it stinks! So much so that we have to put the dash fan on recirculating whenever we're stopped in traffic.
Other than that, the only mechanical complaint is that the aux belt chirps on cold start. But having now heard plenty of 2.8jtd engines start from cold, it seems fairly common so I'm not too fussed.
Anyhow, more general travel update on the way shortly.
Edit: Just reading back through the first page of the thread about tag axles and axle scrub etc. I've found that the fiat base's lack of steering lock is far more of a problem than the tag axle for manoeuvring. We've not done any damage to grass, gravel etc with the rear axles, probably due to the steering, it just won't turn tight enough to really make the rear axle dig in. I think it probably also helps that it rides nose down, so the mid axle takes a bit more weight than the tag.
The main issue we have is unimaginative site wardens blankly assuming that it's enormous just beacuse it's a tag axle. It's 7.8 metres so barely any bigger than a decent caravan, but it just seems such a difficult concept. Here's your choice of two pitches despite how you could easily fit on anything we have.
Edited by agent006 on Sunday 13th May 11:21
So, a long overdue update. Rather picture heavy, hopefully not too huge.
We 'did' Ireland, and had a great time. I think in hindsight we did it the wrong way round, we went clockwise from Rosslare to Larne, and the scenery and experience got gradually worse as we went round. I think going north to south would be better as the highlights are in the southwest. Also Northern Ireland is much more crowded and, well, British, than Ireland.
Big surprise to us was that we were able to almost exclusively wild camp throughout Ireland. I realise we were out of season, in March, but we stopped in all sorts of lovely places with no trouble at all. Mostly beach carparks, and Wild Atlantic Way 'info point' carparks.
If you are travelling in Ireland then the Motorhome Craic forum has a great wild camp app. It's a fiver a year but has hundreds of spots that aren't on the other apps you'd already be using.
The first biit of 'proper' scenery, just west of Cork:
Winner of best campsite name, Goosey Island in Sneem.
Most westerly wild camp in europe, Blaskett:
Galway, or thereabouts:
We went to the Giants Causeway, which was nowhere near as impressive as we expected. It's also something like £12 each to get in, unless you walk down the coast path from the next town. For almost £25 i'd be jumping for a refund.
Got the ferry from Larne to Cairnryan, dead flat fortunately. Much newer boat but nowhere near as nice as the old one on Fishguard-Roslare was in terms of space and layout.
Had a slight problem here as it was easter Thursday. Managed to book into somewhere in Galloway forest for one night. We were on the way to yorkshire to get the gas seen to, so dotted from Carlisle to Rothbury to Ripon to Thirsk. The weather was ste, we were in paces we didn't want to be. We found this week or two really hard. I know it sounds a bit ungrateful but it is difficult at times, as any lifestyle. Mostly it's fine, and being where we want to be is great but when there's a feeling of wasting time it just gets us both down.
Still, onwards to the gas fitter.
Turns out the filler float valve was stuck open after all, as all the symptoms matched up. Sadly they don't have one in stock, so we left the duffer with them to have a new valve fitted while we did scotland.
Headed up north, for a wild camp just east of Edinburgh. Lovely sunshine and a view down the Forth. Complete mood change! Even spotted a couple of dolphins (porpoises?) just off the beach.
Park and Tram into Edinburgh for the day, then up north through Glenshee to Ballater for the weekend. Campsite is all shiny new as it got washed away in the floods in 2015.
Then via Aberdeen, Tomintoul (only just made the Lecht in 2nd gear!), to a few days wilding in a Forestry Commission carpark at Glen More. Looked at staying in the Cairn Gorm ski centre itself but was a bit too open and exposed for the wind that was forecast.
Had a cracking time in Glen More forest, seems most people don't stray more than quarter of a mile from the visitor centre so a good hike was well worth it. Also got the bike off the rack for the first time since Spain and had a rattle round some of the trails.
From there, a rubbish CL near Inverness, then to a lovely CMC site in Altnaharra. Stunning location, and a great site for not much money. I've come to really like these little club sites with no toilet block. We stayed at Nunnykirk near Rothbury that was the same setup. Bins and service points but no showers or loos. Really peaceful as it stops the incessant trail of people traipsing back and forward to the loo block all day and night.
I'll leave this here, as that's quite enough for one post! Bit of NC500 next and some new discoveries in the south west.
We 'did' Ireland, and had a great time. I think in hindsight we did it the wrong way round, we went clockwise from Rosslare to Larne, and the scenery and experience got gradually worse as we went round. I think going north to south would be better as the highlights are in the southwest. Also Northern Ireland is much more crowded and, well, British, than Ireland.
Big surprise to us was that we were able to almost exclusively wild camp throughout Ireland. I realise we were out of season, in March, but we stopped in all sorts of lovely places with no trouble at all. Mostly beach carparks, and Wild Atlantic Way 'info point' carparks.
If you are travelling in Ireland then the Motorhome Craic forum has a great wild camp app. It's a fiver a year but has hundreds of spots that aren't on the other apps you'd already be using.
The first biit of 'proper' scenery, just west of Cork:
Winner of best campsite name, Goosey Island in Sneem.
Most westerly wild camp in europe, Blaskett:
Galway, or thereabouts:
We went to the Giants Causeway, which was nowhere near as impressive as we expected. It's also something like £12 each to get in, unless you walk down the coast path from the next town. For almost £25 i'd be jumping for a refund.
Got the ferry from Larne to Cairnryan, dead flat fortunately. Much newer boat but nowhere near as nice as the old one on Fishguard-Roslare was in terms of space and layout.
Had a slight problem here as it was easter Thursday. Managed to book into somewhere in Galloway forest for one night. We were on the way to yorkshire to get the gas seen to, so dotted from Carlisle to Rothbury to Ripon to Thirsk. The weather was s
te, we were in paces we didn't want to be. We found this week or two really hard. I know it sounds a bit ungrateful but it is difficult at times, as any lifestyle. Mostly it's fine, and being where we want to be is great but when there's a feeling of wasting time it just gets us both down. Still, onwards to the gas fitter.
Turns out the filler float valve was stuck open after all, as all the symptoms matched up. Sadly they don't have one in stock, so we left the duffer with them to have a new valve fitted while we did scotland.
Headed up north, for a wild camp just east of Edinburgh. Lovely sunshine and a view down the Forth. Complete mood change! Even spotted a couple of dolphins (porpoises?) just off the beach.
Park and Tram into Edinburgh for the day, then up north through Glenshee to Ballater for the weekend. Campsite is all shiny new as it got washed away in the floods in 2015.
Then via Aberdeen, Tomintoul (only just made the Lecht in 2nd gear!), to a few days wilding in a Forestry Commission carpark at Glen More. Looked at staying in the Cairn Gorm ski centre itself but was a bit too open and exposed for the wind that was forecast.
Had a cracking time in Glen More forest, seems most people don't stray more than quarter of a mile from the visitor centre so a good hike was well worth it. Also got the bike off the rack for the first time since Spain and had a rattle round some of the trails.
From there, a rubbish CL near Inverness, then to a lovely CMC site in Altnaharra. Stunning location, and a great site for not much money. I've come to really like these little club sites with no toilet block. We stayed at Nunnykirk near Rothbury that was the same setup. Bins and service points but no showers or loos. Really peaceful as it stops the incessant trail of people traipsing back and forward to the loo block all day and night.
I'll leave this here, as that's quite enough for one post! Bit of NC500 next and some new discoveries in the south west.
Great post! That must have taken some remembering, we’ve only been at it ten days, and i can barely remember where we’ve been!
Already, i can understand your frustration at being where you don’t want to be. Were parked up in a ‘cheap site’ just outside Utrecht. It’s a sthole, and what’s more is costing us 16 euro for the night. Worth noting if your coming this way is that wild camping is illegal in Holland. (We did it before we were made aware) and free camping is usually a car park somewhere industrial. That’s all fine, but i object to paying campsite fees for something that is effectively wasteland with hookups. In that sense ill be pleased to be out of Holland and onto somewhere that we can just be a bit more relaxed. You’ll be overtaking us as we head north, so if our paths cross then maybe we’ll meet.
Already, i can understand your frustration at being where you don’t want to be. Were parked up in a ‘cheap site’ just outside Utrecht. It’s a s
thole, and what’s more is costing us 16 euro for the night. Worth noting if your coming this way is that wild camping is illegal in Holland. (We did it before we were made aware) and free camping is usually a car park somewhere industrial. That’s all fine, but i object to paying campsite fees for something that is effectively wasteland with hookups. In that sense ill be pleased to be out of Holland and onto somewhere that we can just be a bit more relaxed. You’ll be overtaking us as we head north, so if our paths cross then maybe we’ll meet. Gassing Station | Tents, Caravans & Motorhomes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff