1st Time in France - Please Help ?

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SIMON_374377661

Oct 23, 2008
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Hello,

I am travelling to Jard sur Mer in the Vendee at the beginning of August . It is my first time towing abroad and would be very grateful if any forum members have done this journey before could give me some advice:-

1. Could anyone supply me with suggested route details ?

2. Toll charges - can you advise me on the best route to take to avoid costly tolls (but I also want as quick a journey as possible ) - I have been told they can amount to £180?

3. What would I need to take with regard to electric hook ups ?

4. Is it possible to do the journey in one go without an overnight stop ?

Sorry for all the questions and very grateful for any guidance and advice.

Bon Voyage !!
 
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ValA.

Dec 14, 2006
3,205
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Simon

1. You can get a route planner to suit you using Viamichelin.co.uk. Select your ferry port, then destination, select toll-free, or use the autoroutes, or the Michelin recommended route. Be sure to select car and caravan in the more options. It will show you a route, and calculate the fuel costs and the tolls.

2. Tolls the the Vendee won't be
 
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JohnM20

Feb 18, 2008
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Hi Simon

Just to add two important bits of kit that you will / may need and that is a polarity checker and a polarity reverser for your electric cable. This is needed because many EHUs on the continent can be wired backwards, that is live is neutral and neutral is live. I understand that this is because their system is switched on both live and neutral, not just on the live side as in the UK so polarity is not usually an issue.

Caravan accessory shops should have the polarity checkers, they are just little plug-in units with a series of lights to show whether polarity, (and earthing) is correct. They are quite inexpensive.

The polarity reverser is easy to make up at home. All you need is a blue plug and a blue socket, exactly the same as on your mains cable, plus a length of cable about 12 - 18 inches long. Wire one end up correctly, ie live wire to the live termainal, neutral to neutral etc in the plug (or socket) but on the other end connect the LIVE wire to the NEUTRAL pin in the plug (or socket). The earth wire goes to the earth terminal at both ends.

When on site, with all appliances switched off, plug the tester into a socket in the caravan and connect the mains cable to the EHU. If all three lights come on then then polarity is correct. If only one comes on then the polarity is reversed. In this case, disconnect the mains cable from the EHU and then plug the reversing cable to it. I find this is best done at the caravan end but it can be at either end. Connect the mains cable to the EHU again and you should find that polarity is now correct.

There are lots of other tips that you will pick up when you are in France but most will be for conveneince whereas this one is for safety.

Have a good holiday.

JohnM
 
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wattie

Jan 28, 2009
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Hi Simon,

Just back from france myself.

1. look up www. mappy.com for toll charges

2. Use michelin guide as Val recomends

3. only drive 5-6 hours {you are on holiday)

calculate at 48-50 mph to allow for going through

tolls etc.

have a great holiday

P.S. check your tyres for age etc.
 
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Dave_5040173

Mar 14, 2005
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We've just returned from Jard sur Mer and exited through Roscoff. We didn't pay any toll whatsoever, used D747 and D737 to Nantes and N137 to Rennes and N12 to Morlaix. Very good roads and not crowded.

Les Brunelles camping is very nice at Jard sur Mer with an excellent pool complex. Euro EHU's so no polarity problems at this site. Enjoy the trip.
 
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ChristineandAlan

Aug 6, 2008
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HI SIMON,i have just come back from france myself been touring for a month,a few pointers,depending how many people in the car its law in france to keep yellow hi visibility vests inside car for each person,also warning triangles,spare bulbs for car/caravan,beam/benders i didnt put them on i didnt drive in the dark,people may say about 80/90 stickers i did not put them on.also carry docements on you log book/ins d/licence +caravan docements ,passports i photo copied everything because you have to have originals in car which is stupid ,my wife had to carry around with her when we left the car to sight see hope this has helped you have a lovely holiday ALL THE BEST ALAN P/T
 
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ChristineandAlan

Aug 6, 2008
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HI SIMON,i forgot to say if you have a sat nav take it with you ,their are brilliant,also if you like tv take satellite dish aswell ALL THE BEST ALAN P/T
 
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NickinFrance

Jul 31, 2009
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Alan,

While it is sensible, it is not compulsory to carry a hi-vis vest for each person in the car, only one is needed & that has to be accessible to the driver from within the car.

Likewise, a bulb set is not compulsory.
 
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ChristineandAlan

Aug 6, 2008
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hi nick in france,i have just been on c/c website it clearly states that any passengers that get out of car should be wearing hi visibility vest and must be accesible from inside the car,thats why we took ours when we took it in turns in each car. i thought i was right,never mind enjoy your holiday in france. ALL THE BEST ALAN P/T
 
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JohnM20

Feb 18, 2008
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hi nick in france,i have just been on c/c website it clearly states that any passengers that get out of car should be wearing hi visibility vest and must be accesible from inside the car,thats why we took ours when we took it in turns in each car. i thought i was right,never mind enjoy your holiday in france. ALL THE BEST ALAN P/T
Click to expand...
Just as an observation, whilst in France for the last three weeks I was intrigued by the number of Brits that had their high vis vests draped over the back of the front seats. I never saw one 'local' do this. Why not keep them in the door pocket which is just as handy to get at ?

JohnM
 
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JohnM20

Feb 18, 2008
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Hi Simon

Another thing that has crossed my mind which may come as a bit of a surprise to any first timers abroad and that is the majority of French sites do not have dedicated drains for grey water. Sometimes it is a small soakaway under the fresh water tap and others it may be a drain with a relatively high concrete wall surrounding it making it very difficult to use a Wastemaster or similar. On one site in the Dordogne the drain was three feet off the floor and another in Switzerland was the chemical toilet emptying point about 2 feet off the floor! I think this is because our continental cousins use little water and catch what bit of grey waste they have in a bucket. They can then empty this with ease - at the end of their stay ! If all else fails, if there is a motor-home service point then it is usually possible to use the drain there.

As a precaution against having to try lifting a very heavy Wastemaster I also take with me a 25 ltr black jerry-can type waste container which isn't so heavy to lift. This is very light when empty and takes up minimal space in the front locker.

Conversely, we have stayed on three sites this year, one in Germany and two in France which had a drain on every pitch so direct drainage was, in theory, possible. The drawback on each of these sites was that they were situated at the top of a sloping pitch and water doesn't like to run up hill !

I don't know how many sites you will be staying on during your holiday but if it is more than one I'm sure you will find very varying 'facilities' on each one.

As a tip for everyone, one of the very popular water taps on French sites in particular is the push button type. These seem to be invariably slow and one either has to stand there with hand on the button for five minutes or more or, do what I have done. That is to get a length of Velcro, the sort that is loop on one side and hooks on the other. This can be put around the tap when the button is pushed in and it holds the button in. I have previously tried a rubber awning band around the tap and also used insulation tape but the Velcro works the best.

The flexible filler hoses don't seem to want to stay on this sort of tap either. Again, what I do is I have a length of white rigid plastic 1
 
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NickinFrance

Jul 31, 2009
482
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Just as an observation, whilst in France for the last three weeks I was intrigued by the number of Brits that had their high vis vests draped over the back of the front seats. I never saw one 'local' do this. Why not keep them in the door pocket which is just as handy to get at ?

JohnM
Click to expand...
Where I live (in Brittany) a lot of the locals drape a Hi-Vis vest over the seat, I think the logic is that Le Flick can see it, therefore won't bother stopping the driver to check.
 
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Andrew_374383565

Nov 12, 2008
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Hi.........make sure you have a full tank of gas, you may need it as a lot of french sites only have 5 amp supplies....don't expect english to be spoken......if you are travelling July/August all French sites will be busy so arriving on spec is not recommended...really not the best time in France...if you can go in June or early September so much the better...Men need to wear conventional swim wear not knee length shorts...some in Spain even insist on swimming caps .......have a great time
 
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