Fail to plan....

I'm sure you'll have lots of questions and we will do our best to answer them all but you might be better to put specific questions in specific sections as they're more likely to be seen by those who can answer.

Best of luck with it all.

Welcome  to  the  MadHouse,  and  may you  thoroughly  enjoy  your days, weeks,  months  out  there  touring !!

Jill's  advice  is  spot  on,  browse  the  whole  of  the  Club's  website  &  you'll  pick  up  lots  of  info  which  can  help,  even  in  the  area  of  framing  &  posting  your  queries  !!

Have  FUN  !!

Brian 

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Hi Ferns Dad,  Buy a copy of Touring France from Club HQ, follow the advice it contains, book your nearest ferry from Plymouth and go and look round. But don't overplan. 

We always take a few euro’s and our Halifax Clarity credit card, no commission payable.

If you go to the Overseas Touring section on this forum you will find some threads at the top called "Sticky". Look into a couple of these as they explain things like Prepaid toll Passes, Emission zones, etc.etc.

Insurance wise you will find the club will offer extended periods. They used to be able to cover you for 6 months. Don't actually know whether they still do. Difficult one to answer for home insurance but there are threads that have covered this before. Start a thread and you will receive advice but try to start threads in the right section so that it will be seen by those who may have some knowledge of the topic.

Don't forget breakdown cover and personal insurance. You will be better served asking for answers bit by bit, that is starting various posts rather than one catch all.

Lastly, enjoy it because it's fun (mostly).

Thanks for the replies - there's a lot to take in, explore, learn and understand. Not simply a case of buying a van and taking off, more a steep learning curve for a simple tent dweller :)

I'll certainly look through all the threads and sections here and work on the stuff we need. Cheers, peeps.

Hi FD. I’d do my research thematically. 

The vehicle. What legal documents do I need to take? Are they backed up on tablet. Best breakdown ins. My Comfort includes breakdown at a sensible price. Do I have/need a spare wheel, can I change the wheel if needed, jack, breaker bar etc. I also carry a tow rope and grip mats and i’ve needed them. Then there is all the legal equipment you need to take, yellow jackets, first aid kit, bulbs, headlamp diverter things. You might want to think about the crit air stickers for emission zones in France & Germany, more restrictive emissions zones are being added over time. And whether we will need an international driving permit post brexit. Watch your overall weights. Well worth visiting a weighbridge when you are all kitted up so you know. 

Then navigation, maps, some books possibly, Sat nav and site apps, searchforsites is pretty good but requires a modest annual subscription. For WiFi we just use our phone data and tether our devices. We should still be able to do that post brexit.

Security, small under seat safe, steering lock etc. We also do the same with some cash and Halifax Clarity card. Good first aid kit.  Think about whether to take the spare vehicle keys and how to keep them secure. Security is also ensuring you have the right medical insurances, the European health card E111  may not work  after brexit, so medical insurance with repatriation is a must in my view.

I also did a lot of planning and frankly I think we overthought the whole adventure. Providing your sensible you’ll be fine, & won’t starve. Can’t help you with games, but watching people struggle with awnings while drinking wine, beer or a g&t is the best game  

 

Can’t help you with games, but watching people struggle with awnings while drinking wine, beer or a g&t is the best game

This made me laugh. One year we pulled into a site in mid France. It was over 30° and the sun was shining. We decided to put the awning up. Had a bit of a problem with it but after about 45 minutes it was up and we were drenched in sweat, literally. Directly opposite us a Dutch couple had actually pulled 2 chairs out and were watching us get a good lather up. A sort of Awning Porn.

Well we were right miffed when we finished and Anglo-Dutch relations could have taken a turn for the worst when they disappeared inside their van and came out with a cold bottle of Pineau de Charentes (a sort of brandy appertif) and 2 extra glasses for us. Came over with their chairs and we had a great blather. They were really nice.

Ferns Dad - If you don't already know the  Dutch are great tourers, really nice but quite direct no beating about the bush type of people. Just a typical day touring abroad.

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