Europe By Camper - One Year On

CS at Fylingthorpe overlooking Robin Hoods Bay

Oops. Despite our best intentions, we have struggled to keep Europe By Camper updated as often as we intended. So we might have dropped a few places on Google, but we still seem to attract a huge volume of unique visitors and e-mails each month and we have just ticked over to 500 likes on Facebook! It seems now is the time of year people are researching their big trips and we have some new and exciting blogs to recommend over the coming months as other couples set off on their own adventures.  This has spurred us on to putting some effort into some of the areas of the site that we've promised to update – but never managed to get back around to. We’re now hoping to change that!

Whitby in Spring

So what’s new with us? Well we’re not settling down into bricks and mortar which happens to many people after they get back from travelling – planned or otherwise. We’re trying to get ourselves into a position where we can facilitate extended periods of travel and so in the short term that means

working long hours!


Working for yourself is both a blessing and a curse, but as an ex ad agency Account Manager answering e-mails within minutes at all hours of the day is what I’ve been pre-programmed to do. Sophie is now working alongside me full time, although in reality she’s pretty much running Motorhome WiFi now! This is allowing me to concentrate on some other projects to allow us some more freedom to travel. Our van has become a mobile office and we're grateful for the extra space.

The Delfin still doesn’t have a name, although we seem to refer to him (or her!) as ‘The Truck’. The Renault Master chassis with the 3.0 Litre engine is a great combination and we can’t fault the build quality in any way and we’re really loving the insulation!

Snowy Sunset on a CS in Bentley at Easter!

Despite the appalling weather we’ve had in the UK so far in 2013, we’ve managed to get away a couple of times in the van in the UK and see friends. We’ve been exploring the CL/CS network where we have stayed at a lovely little site in between Bath and Exeter and a CS a stones throw away from Robin Hoods Bay.

Beautiful little CL near Bath

 One minute its freezing cold, the next it is t-shirt weather!

If you’ve not been to a Motorhome Show so far this year, you've not missed much – they've all been pretty cold although we had an excellent show at Harrogate despite the snow! April sees us attending both Shepton Mallet Motorhome Show in Bath and Peterborough where we launched our business a year ago so if you’re going to be there, come along and say hello!

Spot our van: The very snowy Harrogate Motorhome Show in March

Motorhome & Campervan Magazine - Morocco Coverage

While the blog may have been quiet for a while, our magazine feature in Motorhome and Campervan magazine has continued, with both January and February's issues covering Morocco over 20 pages in total. Our feature with them has lasted a full 12 months, which means it is now nearly a year since we got back from our 12 month tour!

It's been so fantastic to see our photos and information in circulation and receive so many messages from people who had read the article and are now considering Morocco for the first time - go and do it!

In the most recent March issue there is coverage rounding off our tour with some facts and tips.

You can read all of the latest editions by visiting Motorhome and Campervan Magazine here.

Our new van revealed!

Debate on Twitter and Facebook as to our latest van has been fierce, with most people recommending their own van as being the ideal new van for us. It seems we all put our heart and soul into finding our “perfect” van that really nothing else compares. We’ve got to admit that, for a time, we wondered why everyone wasn't running around Europe in an Adria Twin!

We feel we’re incredibly fortunate to have bought a van which ticked ALL of our initial boxes – lowline, non-fiat, fixed bed, big fridge, big 3.0 engine, 6 speed, German build quality, air-con and very close to our budget. Oh and a tow-bar and bike rack fitted to boot!

We had originally decided that we would go for a Chausson Allegro 67 or a Welcome 95 but really didn't want the old X244 Fiat base and the bathroom was a bit “ plasticy” on these. 

So, what did we go for?

A 2006 (56) Burstner Delfin T680

We had previously discounted the Burstner Delfin because they were circa £30k or more and not a great deal less if bought direct from Germany even if we did have the time.

The story goes a little something like this. The van came up for sale when we were at the Lincoln show with just 24,000 miles, 12 months everything and full service history. There was a Delfin T695 on display there so we went and had a look. It had been a while since we had been in Catherine and Chris’s Burstner (and we didn’t rummage in their cupboards!) so it was good to try and pull the thing apart. We couldn’t and we were seriously impressed with the build. 

So we phoned the seller, the guy sounded genuine and we haggled hard, got a great price and after a quick HPi check we transferred a deposit over that evening. Totally unheard of for us, never the impulsive type but we were so sure that this van was the one that instinct took over!

Just one snag – the van was 300 miles away in Portsmouth! That meant a 600 mile round trip for Sophie in a Smart Car and a 300 mile drive back home in an unfamiliar van for me. I’d never driven a Renault Master before but so far we’re very impressed with the 3.0 DCI 140 engine. 30’s MPG, 6 speed, bags of power and cruises / handles very well for a van of its size. It definitely feels more like a “truck” then a “car” but that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

Any pre-2006 Burstner is subject to a habitation window delamination recall. There was two options – a nasty plastic nut screwed into all four corners of the windows (with many now suffering from crack fatigue or water ingress) or full replacement which Burstner would cover 60% of the cost. Fortunately the previous owner of ours had them replaced, so no worries there. Also the eBox is fully working – you can time the interior (or exterior) lights to go on and off!? Is this really a 2006 van?

The bathroom really is something to behold. A full size walk in shower (no more wiping the floor down) and literally tons of slide away storage which I think even we will have trouble filling!

It would have been nice to have had a performance T615 – same layout but with the AL-KO chassis, under slung storage (and a bin!) but quite frankly we’re lucky to have got a non-Fiat Burstner at all within our budget so we’re incredibly happy.

Of course, with any new van comes a mass of DIY tasks which we will attempt to write some information on as we undertake.

Those include: 2x 125AH leisure batteries,  2100W inverter, remote-controlled LED lighting upgrade (semi-done, write up to follow), refit one of the blown air heating ducts, get the auxiliary belts changed (engine has a camchain, but belts are new due) and fit our 'laptop dashboard dock'. Etc etc. Oh, and the chintzy net curtains are first to go! We are looking forward to having our first family holiday in her. 

The only task left is to think up a name!

On the road with: Gone With the Wynns

Jason and Nikki Wynn have arguably the coolest named blog in the motorhome / RV community, 'Gone With The Wynns'. We got chatting to them a couple of months ago and were instantly in awe of their amazing Monaco Vesta affectionately named Windy. They recently interviewed us on their 'Confessions of a Traveller' section and we fired them off some questions ....

 Nikki and Jason Wynn with their RV, Windy

1.)    We really love your blog! It looks like you guys take blogging really seriously and there seems to be a much bigger travel blog community in the US. What are your main incentives for doing so?

Our blog started as a simple question from friends: Are you planning to document your adventures?  ….and so our blog was born! In the first year we shot as many videos and created as much content as we could manage. Year 2 we were able to get companies to help fund our travels by shooting a video for them. On our website you won’t find many paid articles, corporate videos, or advertisements; it’s a delicate balance as we want our viewers to visit our website for adventure, inspiration, and advice.

The US based blogging community is huge but the European market is growing momentum. I know some people make money from their blogs, but the main incentive is reaching out and finding other cool people with similar interests.


2.)    America is such a vast country - how do you decide which of the 50 states to visit and in what order? Do you have any plans to take Windy out of the US?

Our original plan: Take 1 year and travel across the USA by RV. Well, a few months in we realized that wouldn’t work. Our next plan: Take 2 years to travel across the USA. Well….here we are about to start year 3! Oops. America is HUGE and to truly explore each state one would need a lifetime.

As far as taking Windy out of the US that won’t likely happen. Based on your information (check out Confessions of a Traveler: Europe by Camper) it would cost a small fortune to fuel the RV.


3.) We get a lot of comments about the cost of travelling in Europe, how does it compare to travelling in the USA? What's your average daily expenditure?

We keep a running tab on our expenses called The Cost of Living Full-Time on the Road  It seems our results are wildly different than yours as we spend $62 USD per person per day. That’s right nearly 3 times more than you guys! I think what it boils down to is the lifestyle you’re used to living and your expectations during your travels.

We film a lot of videos on the road so our wardrobe is pretty extensive, also we like to feature cool adventures which are typically more costly than a typical holiday. Of course each traveller will have their own unique experience with costs, and that is why readers are so interested in a cost of travelling post.


3.) We recently had a look in a Monaco Vesta like Windy in Europe, what a fantastic RV! Do you think you'll always have her or will you change up or settle down in the future?

Well….our Windy is actually for sale! We wrote a nice note about her if you’re interested: Windy’s for Sale  We’re challenging ourselves to downsize, maybe go a little more European like you guys. Also we have dreams of sailing over to Europe one day, so a smaller RV will simply be one step closer to even smaller living.

Nikki & Jason's past RV's .....

4.)    Have you come across many young people (say under 40) on the road in the US? If not, do you get on well with your older RVing neighbors? 

The #1 goal while RVing is: have a good time. 99% of the people we meet on the road are young at heart, even if their 80 years old. As for meeting youthful people it’s definitely few and far between.  There is an emerging RV market in the states with a new type of RV called a “toy hauler”. This is proving to a style perfect for the young family, or adventurer traveler because you can store motorcycles, 4 wheelers, dune buggies, etc in the back part of the RV! Pretty cool, but don’t think it’ll make it well in Europe because these RVs are HUGE!


5.) In Europe, Especially France and Germany, it is common to find "Aires" or "Stellplatz" in many towns. These are special parking areas for RV's to stay a couple of days and usually have basic facilities available. Does a similar thing exist in the US or is it mainly campgrounds and "boondocking" (Free / Wild Camping).

Believe it or not the US isn’t really setup for this style of city RVing, I think it has to do with the size of a typical US RVs. In fact simply trying to find free parking in most larger cities can be difficult, and free overnight parking with facilities is nearly impossible.
The best option is to call the town visitor center before you arrive and to ask for safe RV parking.
If you stay outside of the cities you can camp our favorite style “Off the Cord”. In the United States there is BLM and National Forest areas that provide free camping up to 14 days, only downside is there are no facilities other than a space to park your RV. The good news is you’re surrounded by nature and more than likely you’ll be all alone. Many are located near larger cities or attractions.

6.) One day we'd love to come to the US and travel in an American RV. How easy do you think it would be for two British citizens to buy (and insure etc) an RV in the US? We've heard of some Europeans shipping their own RV's over instead!

Ohh, that’s a tough one. We’ve ran across many Europeans who are travelling the USA by rental RV, and only a few who paid to ship their personal RV across the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t think buying an insuring a new RV would be difficult, but acquiring a VISA with enough time to explore all the USA has to offer is another story all together! You might also try and contact British Columbia, Canada; since you’re basically all family they may have less strict rules for British travellers  One thing’s for sure if you make it across the drink you MUST give us a call!  See you soon.

Check them out at the blog or on their Facebook and Twitter pages. Oh and don't forget to turn green with envy at their videography skills over on YouTube!

Motorhome & Campervan - November Issue Out Now!

The new issue for November of the Motorhome & Campervan magazine is out now!

In this issue we head through France and Spain to try and make it to Puerto De Mazarron in time for Christmas to have a well deserved rest from the road and to spend some time with both our parents. Enjoy!

Click HERE to read it online

Our Journey to find Van Number 4

We thought we would share with you our experiences so far in searching for our next motorhome. Having had several in the past you would have thought that by now we'd know exactly what we wanted. Not the case! A van, to us, very much depends how we intend to travel over the next period.

For the trip we did in 2011-2012 the ’07 Adria Twin was, without question, the best van for the job. Sure we could pick fault with the tambour doors but for a trip which was mainly about exploring new places, being outside interjected with bouts of driving, cooking and of course sleeping it was the perfect combination. 6m in length, relatively inconspicuous, great MPG with comfortable driving and sleeping arrangements. It stood up to the test and cleaned up like new.

On the subject of fixed bed van conversions, they seem to be somewhat of a rarity in the UK and despite my attempts to get a UK converter to consider one, Europe steams ahead with new and exciting takes on the hugely popular layout. A quick walk around the Dusseldorf Motorhome Show at the huge number of fixed bed vans confirms this. Our current favorite is the Karmann Davis 590 (was previously the Globecar Globescout, or 599DB in the UK) which seems to have the best bathroom layout so far.

British made vans however are different. “Lounge” is key, even more so “U Shaped Lounge” or “End Lounge”. I can only assume that the poor weather is largely to blame. Having spent a fair bit of time in Adam’s parents’ Autotrail Tracker EKS of late we can safely say that making up a bed on a night is not for us. However, it’s worth mentioning if you want two singles and a good lounge the EKS makes use of this space very well.

Motorhoming is largely about compromise. You can have the layout you want, but it might take you over your desired length. You can get a premium van but it might be a bit older then you would like and so forth.

So what are we looking for:

• Lowline Coachbuilt
• French Bed - with as small a cut off as possible
• Under 7m
• Ideally not X244 Fiat or early X250 2.3 Fiat (narrows down the search a LOT!)
• Good build quality - a German Brand
• Large Fridge/Freezer
• 8 years old max
• Engine suitable for towing a box trailer for shows
• LHD / RHD not an issue
• AirCon a bonus but not essential. 
• Budget: Circa £20k

We're looking French bed under 7m and we're looking European but not necessarily left hand drive. We're indifferent about the location of the steering wheel since we always use the van together and the elevation means you have a great view of the road regardless.

To that end the CI 694 ticks a lot of boxes and indeed we've actually considered one of these, but we want something with a bit more of a quality feel and in the two years since the CI has sold they haven't depreciated at all so it would have been a great buy for someone!

There is also then the issue of Chassis. If we go premium and this a bit older we likely slip into generation X244 Fiat. Our first van was a X244 Peugeot 2.0HDi (essentially a car engine) and for the miles we do a 6^th gear is a really nice thing to have. We both really love driving the latest X250 Fiat, the driving position is excellent, but unfortunately the 2007-2010 models just had too many issues. Reversing judder, clutch, our head gasket went, spare wheel dropped off - all sorted under warranty, but painful nonetheless. We can't afford a 2010 model, so we're thinking outside the box - Renault or Mercedes!

Wish us luck, suggestions appreciated!  

Press Update - September & October Magazine

I know, I know. We've been neglecting the blog again. Best intentions, but we've been so busy but have some exciting news (well, for us!) coming up which we will be blogging about shortly.


Meanwhile, we've been re-living our trips through Greece in the September edition of Motorhome Monthly Magazine. I know we've said this before, but its great to see our pictures in print as we've not even gotten around to printing our favorites off since we got back from travelling in April. It was also highly amusing that this magazine served to be the Stratford Upon Avon Show Guide and as we were exhibiting there with our business people kept reminding us that Sophie was in a bikini printed in the magazine (a small shot, so you'll have to look hard for it!).

So long did we spend in Greece (10 weeks in total) that our blog and subsequently the Magazine ran the feature over two months. October saw 'Motorhome Monthly Magazine' change its name to 'Motorhome and Campervan' which shows the emphasis the magazine has always seem to place on Panel Van conversions. We were opposite the quirky DFSK conversions which were TINY - they made our Adria Twin seem like an RV in comparison!

Check out the Magazine Online here: http://www.motorhomeandcampervan.com/

Smart Times 2012 - Antwerp

Sophie's Smart Car On The Ferry

3 countries, 900 miles, 3 days. This time the method of transport was not a campervan, but a Smart Car!

To many motorhomers, a Smart Car is simply a conveniently small vehicle to tow behind your motorhome, but if you look a bit closer there is a lot more to them then that.

Sophie, who works for Smart of York, won a competition (as she sold a Smart eBike) to attend the Smart Times festival held this year in Antwerp so we duly attended. Being bank holiday weekend the Hull to Zeebrugge ferry was astronomical and thus the only option available to us was to drive down to Dover and back again a total distance of nearly 900 miles. Even then the ferry was still nearly £200 return, although thankfully this was reimbursed as part of the prize. We set off late on Thursday ready to take on the challenge and stayed at a hotel near Dover before catching the early crossing.

It was so good to be back driving in Europe where they understand lane discipline and have a good road network, it seems everything just "works" on the continent and we really do miss it. One thing we don't miss at all is staying in hotel rooms. You never know what you're going to find behind that key carded door and living out of a suitcase just doesn't appeal to us in the slightest!

Smart Crossblades

Smart Times 2012

Smart Times itself was a real eye opener into the weird and wonderful world of Smart cars and their enthusiastic owners. With hundreds of Smart Cars in attendance from all over Europe, including a good number of the impressive limited edition Smart Crossblades as well as impressive customised and individual cars. The brand has really captivated people's imagination and individuality and the Smart Times is Smarts way of saying thank you by putting on a free event, with free entertainment and food available to all participants.

We were even able to test drive the latest Smart Electric Drive on the streets of Antwerp, the acceleration on this latest generation of the car is simply startling and is sure to be a winner when it is released next year.

Adam has never driven a Smart car any real distance but was impressed with their power and handling especially on the motorway. We even managed 55mpg over 270 miles at a cruising speed of 80mph with a boot full of wine - we had more wine in the boot then the fuel tank held (it's 33 litre tank before you ask!).

Smart Towing a Pod!

The Smart Parade and lining up all the cars to say SMART was pretty spectacular too!

Update & August Motorhome Monthly - Bulgaria & Greece

As we sit here and write this, we're all too aware that we've let the blog slip a little. Ok maybe a lot! We're embarrassed about it, since it was one of the things we promised ourselves (and our readers!) we wouldn't do. EuropeByCamper continues to draw in well over 11,000 unique visitors a month and we've nearly clocked up half a million page views but with the ratio between new and returning visitors falling I feel especially bad for those people who've come back to check for updates and not found one. The digital marketer in me says I should really put some adsense adverts on here but once you press the button you have no control over what is displayed so we're going to hold back and stay true to our morals, although I might put a little link to our business Motorhome WiFi in the sidebar over the next few days. That's fair, right? :-)

Since visiting the Motorhome Shows as an exhibitor with Motorhome WiFi we have literally met hundreds of people who have read our blog. In writing that it feels very self righteous and egotistical but hopefully if you've met us you'll realise that isn't us at all, we're genuinely humbled that anyone has found our ramblings interesting at all. We don't profess to be the authority on anything - we love motorhoming and the community we've found ourselves involved in and knowing that our whistle stop tour of Europe has inspired just one person to do the same or at least consider countries that they might not have done otherwise is a real buzz. We're sorry if we can't always remember you by name (especially if you've e-mailed us!) and we love receiving your tips and information on your trips too.

A lady came to see us at Cheshire who said she had followed some of our Wild Camping POI's for Norway and gave us a tip that on-board the ferries you can buy a 3000NOK card which entitles you to 5900NOK of ferry crossings - a fantastic saving especially if you're over 6m in length! Catherine & Chris from The World Is Our Lobster is checking it out and if you're interested in Norway I suggest you check them out too!

Another blog we participially enjoyed recently was Andy's Beetling around the Balkans - something we full intend to do in the near future. Caravan Guard are the only UK motorhome insurer (as far as we're aware) that gives Fully Comp cover for Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. He visited our favourite campsite at  Camping Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria which was also republished in this months magazine feature.

So what else has been happening? Sophie is busy working for Smart as a brand manager and works most weekends. She can actually supply a car anywhere in the country, so if you're in the market for a new or used Smart car get in touch for a motorhomers discount (or maybe some free mats ;-)! She'll might also exhibiting with Smart at the Motorhome Show in Harrogate in March (a new fixture from Warners at the Harrogate Show Ground). The weekends she's not working I've been dragging her to the Motorhome Shows with Motorhome WiFi (oops).

We've also been enjoying some excellent free English Stopovers courtesy of Steve at Britstop's English Stopover Scheme which is worth a look if you like good food and free overnight parking!

If you would like to read the latest copy of Motorhome Monthly please click here to be taken to the magazines digital edition, it's great to see our pictures in print as we've still not gotten around to printing any off ourselves yet! We're still motorhome shopping too.. hope to find something by Christmas.

Have you got any questions? Anything you would like to see covered in our blog? Please get in touch! We promise it won't be so long between blog posts next time, our country guides are calling... (famous last words!).

Adam & Sophie

July Motorhome Monthly

Our feature with Motorhome Monthly continues this month with 10 pages (Page 56-65) dedicated to our travels through Poland, Slovakia and Romania. To read the magazine free and online click here to be taken to the digital edition.

Next month will cover our trip into Bulgaria and on to Greece!

They also interviewed us for MotorhomeWiFi (click here to see the interview) where we'll be exhibiting at the Stratford Upon Avon show next weekend. Fingers crossed the weather holds out for us and perhaps see some of you there (we'll be on stand Q4). Don't forget to pick up a free copy of the magazine!

We finally got our motor insurance sorted with Direct Line after getting our proof of no-claims from Safeguard. While it was the best quote it turns out insuring a motorhome is cheaper than an Audi Estate, even in your 20's! If that's not trying to tell us something, I don't know what is.

We're still weighing up lots of options for a replacement van. We will probably wait until the end of the season when the bargains start to appear and the new registrations come out to see if anything takes our fancy.

Check out the magazine and let us know what you think! :-) Adam & Sophie.