Europe By Camper - Travelling Europe By Motorhome: Essential Guide

2014 Autoroute Motorhome Aire, Campsite & LPG GPS POI's

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<br />
This POI data set contains almost <b>130,000</b> freely available points of interest from some of the best motorhome resources across the internet; all highly relevant to the European motorhome traveller.<br />
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We have been creating this information as our sole source of planning while on the road for several years. While compiling, translating and formatting this information for use on Autoroute takes Adam several hours, we are making the files available here in the interest of helping others who use Microsoft Autoroute and not for commercial or financial gain.<br />
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All POI's remain the property of their respective owners or collaborators and we encourage you to visit their websites or use their own applications for the most up to date information, since changes may have been made since this file was created.<br />
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This is of course likely to be some duplication between POI sets (I haven't de-duped between groups), but see this as further validation that a particular POI exists if it is listed on more than one directory.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Summary of Contents</span></b><br />
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<b>2011 Europe By Camper Trail - 212</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIBtDcu_Wuc65hMeDVtDeRX-5UYYKOZkdRvBJdWGja0-IXo2izGHLBBfEw3GQw2cyYtx4wQ1vW47HsrwL7HDSEzuybjHyDSOiHTiJyHk2WqPTFlae7CH_1wR0I8-bvgZLD7tEXL79a9M/s1600/pushpins.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIBtDcu_Wuc65hMeDVtDeRX-5UYYKOZkdRvBJdWGja0-IXo2izGHLBBfEw3GQw2cyYtx4wQ1vW47HsrwL7HDSEzuybjHyDSOiHTiJyHk2WqPTFlae7CH_1wR0I8-bvgZLD7tEXL79a9M/s320/pushpins.png" width="244" /></a></b></div>
Data of where we stayed during our 12 month tour of Europe in 2011. Includes type (eg Free, Wild, Site), a link back to the relevant blog post and if free WiFi was obtainable at the time.<br />
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<b>2014 Discount Camping Card - 2,739</b><br />
Discount campsites for €12, €14, €16 or €18 per night. You must be a member of the scheme and have a copy of the 2014 book (costs £12) in order to benefit from the discounted rates - but it soon pays for itself. See: <a href="http://www.campingcard.co.uk/">www.campingcard.co.uk</a><br />
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<b>2014 Camper Contact - 16,257</b><br />
Excellent resource run by the Netherlands Kampeerauto Club. All push pins link directly back to the free website for more detailed information and often photos. Consider supporting this resource by purchasing the excellent iOS or Android app for £3.99.<br />
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This data is broken down into:<br />
Service Locations (no overnight parking) - 850<br />
Overnight Locations - 15,407<br />
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<b>2014 Bordatlas Aires - 6,010</b><br />
A mainly German based aire guide with POI's freely available from their website. All pushpins link back to the website, for which a valid 2014 book needs to be purchased in order to access. The book also contains pictures for the majority of sites.<br />
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<b>2014 Archies European Campsites - 30,980</b><br />
A collaborate resource giving the best POI data for campsites in Europe. Consider supporting this resource by purchasing the iOS on Android app for £1.99.<br />
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<b>2014 myLPG.eu LPG Filling Stations - 26,678</b><br />
Not for profit resource, reproduced here with kind permission of the owner Matija Matvoz. Visit<br />
<a href="http://www.mylpg.eu/" target="_blank">www.mylpg.eu</a> for the most up to date information.<br />
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<b>2014 Camping Car Infos - 18,432</b><br />
Excellent French language resource Camping Car Infos website might be a bit dated, but the information it provides is excellent. All pushpins link directly back to the website for additional information and pictures. Consider using Google Chrome as your web browser for automatic translation from French to English. Consider supporting this resource by downloading the Android app. The set comprises of:<br />
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Aire De Service - 5,544<br />
Parking Areas Tolerating Motorhomes Overnight - 5,472<br />
Designated Motorhome Overnight Parking - 650<br />
Motorhome Parking - 495<br />
Aires Camping Farm - 263<br />
Campsite Aires Accepting Campers - 4,109<br />
Campsites With Services - 801<br />
Service Point Only - 629<br />
Motorway Service Points - 469<br />
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<b>2014 Womo Wild Camping Spots - 12,521</b><br />
From <a href="http://www.womo-sp.org/" target="_blank">www.womo-sp.org</a> - use these as a guide rather than going too far out of your way to find a Wild Camping location, but we've found some hidden gems in the past thanks to this data.<br />
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<b>2014 LIDL Europe Wide Locations - 9,858</b><br />
Lidl - the motorhomers friend! Locations all over Europe correct as of January 2014.<br />
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<b>2014 McDonalds Locations - 5,761</b><br />
For the Free WiFi of course!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Total POI's 129,448</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhro1vs0FT-RD1fNUhxhb94qgX9b40K7MEDPggRIms-CugHpmH0D71DgB3PobJ-V1TVVbXftx_hJ8Yi9PPpDexQxYFxAcwYlZLqvcCFXr1NUch9gwRTQbOlgqBSeZoN8L9cach6cNowPf0/s1600/moreinfo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhro1vs0FT-RD1fNUhxhb94qgX9b40K7MEDPggRIms-CugHpmH0D71DgB3PobJ-V1TVVbXftx_hJ8Yi9PPpDexQxYFxAcwYlZLqvcCFXr1NUch9gwRTQbOlgqBSeZoN8L9cach6cNowPf0/s320/moreinfo.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All Camping Car Infos & CamperStop.nl Pushpins link directly<br />
back to the free website for detailed information and often pictures.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Download Links</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwSnvBSGRiW0tb7P6hS0st_TL77SbnccSoMw0P3qrTdUQ-PRLfP5xoZHV8lK9wKeUJpsPoe-I_9z68dYI-un9kdhFtUtNPkYgY9_yDpNnzKHyrYghrXDt396Vj9g0TG4iaSUwTXQLVt0/s1600/download.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwSnvBSGRiW0tb7P6hS0st_TL77SbnccSoMw0P3qrTdUQ-PRLfP5xoZHV8lK9wKeUJpsPoe-I_9z68dYI-un9kdhFtUtNPkYgY9_yDpNnzKHyrYghrXDt396Vj9g0TG4iaSUwTXQLVt0/s200/download.png" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a>Download the correct version to match your version of Autoroute to save you having to convert previous versions. I would highly recommend that you consider upgrading to 2013, as the huge differences between 2010 and 2011 were documented on this blog post <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/08/microsoft-autoroute-2011-europe-review.html" target="_blank">here (click)</a>.<br />
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Click below to download the file, if you are unsure on what to press see the image to the right for steps 1 and 2.<br />
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<b><a href="http://goo.gl/kBd57F" target="_blank">Autoroute 2013, click here and choose 'Download'</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://goo.gl/UmK7by" target="_blank">Autoroute 2011, click here and choose 'Download'</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://goo.gl/auX69d" target="_blank">Autoroute 2010, click here and choose 'Download'</a></b><br />
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Unfortunately conversion to Autoroute 2007 or older would be a lengthy process, since the version handles POI data slightly differently, so do consider upgrading or using one of the free trials below. I regret that I cannot supply these files in any other format (eg TomTom) or assist you in installing them on your device. Please visit the website owners to obtain the raw data files for use on your other devices.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZb8u8i5g9FewZLmtnmaeBH8TtiA8Fhoo406Dp9noUM8ruZsxUxckIxsWyMT9m48mRmHJ_O15YVHFob_5zTpKace0gwmjCFjCTTxuyiWtnFipfMa7MOwZYvGvb51leSnrixTffLtTSwWg/s1600/spain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZb8u8i5g9FewZLmtnmaeBH8TtiA8Fhoo406Dp9noUM8ruZsxUxckIxsWyMT9m48mRmHJ_O15YVHFob_5zTpKace0gwmjCFjCTTxuyiWtnFipfMa7MOwZYvGvb51leSnrixTffLtTSwWg/s320/spain.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plenty of pushpins for Spain and Portugal</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Notes & Tips on Usage</span></b><br />
All POI sets are 'turned off' by default. Right click on the set that interests you and select 'Show pushpin set' in order to view them. Unless you have a very fast computer, turning on all of these POI's while in the 'Full Europe' or a whole country view will most likely grind your computer to a halt. If you don't have a GPS dongle (you can buy one for £26, see below) to display your exact location, then zoom to within a couple of hundred miles of your area of interest and turn on the POI sets that are relevant to at your destination or along your route.<br />
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You can always delete sets not relevant to you by right clicking then and choosing delete, or make any other changes you wish by simply selecting FILE > SAVE AS before exiting. Because it is so easy to make changes to the data set accidentally, I would recommend having a backup copy saved on your computer.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Why Microsoft Autoroute?</span></b><br />
Autoroute is one of the best offline mapping tools, despite the many excellent smart phone and tablet apps available. It is able to handle and manipulate a large amount of data from multiple data sets, as well as plot your location with an inexpensive USB GPS dongle. This is what we have, <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360254511011" target="_blank">available on eBay for £26 (click)</a>.<br />
<br />
We use it with a dashboard mounted laptop on <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/03/dashboard-mounted-laptop-gps.html" target="_blank">this blog post (click).</a><br />
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Autoroute already contains millions of built in POI's including Fuel Stations, Cash Machines and Banks, Parking Lots, Supermarkets, Pharmacies and Post Offices.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Free Trial of Microsoft Autoroute / Purchasing</span></b><br />
You can download a 14 day Free Trial of <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/autoroute/free-trial.aspx" target="_blank">Microsoft Autoroute 2013 by clicking here.</a><br />
You can download a 60 day Free Trial of <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/streets/en-us/Products_AutoRoute.aspx" target="_blank">Microsoft Autoroute 2010 by clicking here.</a><br />
Or you can buy it for £33 here (DVD or Download) <a href="http://www.microsoftstore.com/autoroutegb" target="_blank">by clicking here.</a></div>

2014 Autoroute Motorhome Aire, Campsite & LPG GPS POI's

This POI data set contains almost 130,000 freely available points of interest from some of the best motorhome resources across the inte...

200w Solar Panel Install

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fitted Solar Panels</td></tr>
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After having installed 2x 100w solar panels on the roof of our van, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. It wasn't nearly as complicated as I envisaged and the install came in at just under £280. It could have been up to £50 cheaper had we chosen a cheaper solar regulator; but Adam wanted one with a remote display.<br />
<br />
The truth is our 2x 125AH batteries actually seem to outlast our requirements. We don't watch TV very often, all of our lights are LED and we have two laptops with an 8 hour battery life (Asus UL30A) both with 12v chargers. I can only recall one occasion where we've run out of power - and that was after three days of running the blown air heating while attending the Harrogate motorhome show in a foot of snow.<br />
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So why have we gone down the solar route at all? Partly for the challenge and partly because the flexibility that it could offer us in the future; should we return to longer term touring. Our dependency on the internet if anything has increased over the last couple of years and so having the ability to run our laptops and charge our devices for extended periods without electric hookup could be advantageous.<br />
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In addition we spent 10 days on site in Lake Bled in glorious sunshine and could have saved 40 euro on hookup had we not required it to charge our devices. With the amount of sun that was present, it would likely have been possible to run the fridge via the inverter with the excess power that could have been generated.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeko6rFQTIC_d4xkBu4WPztIFmqoEkpnsHn-Kb_7JY283U-lgxdFm-lyTgbQkMOghJw3jsKBEMpWuVqUfXzffa1664El16EIyKzqfc1AjQ3_21NtAYjsNHLpmNfQ9t0dDpooh2V9SYog0/s1600/IMG_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeko6rFQTIC_d4xkBu4WPztIFmqoEkpnsHn-Kb_7JY283U-lgxdFm-lyTgbQkMOghJw3jsKBEMpWuVqUfXzffa1664El16EIyKzqfc1AjQ3_21NtAYjsNHLpmNfQ9t0dDpooh2V9SYog0/s200/IMG_0037.JPG" width="200" /></a>Lets start with the panels. If you're going to be installing solar, it's no harder to install a 100w panel then it is a 20w panel and so it makes sense to install the most that you can either afford or have available roof space for. In our case I measured that we could fit 2x 100w panels down the right hand side of our van and still have enough roof space to get onto the roof without having to step over the panels.<br />
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Two possible downsides to this was it is possible to see the panels from ground, but no big issue as the aluminium brackets matched the panels themselves and look fairly neat and tidy. The other is that the small roof light over the bed could cast a small shadow on the panel at certain angles - but I think the effect of this will be minimal.<br />
<br />
<b>Parts Required - all bought from eBay</b><br />
2x 100w Solar Panels - £140<br />
Morning Star RM25 Regulator with Remote Display - £70<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqTnZvkGW1h_nRo6kzCdOsrOVfbjTojFUf7WAwme9WrU_E42tRQjArq6oa0Qi8EwTzKFvriAD-hIpyX6MS7LctSKabyHsmrrjbeiAqA58P9SAtTHuYBap0fEHv0-vCZq42neV91CaaiA/s1600/regulator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqTnZvkGW1h_nRo6kzCdOsrOVfbjTojFUf7WAwme9WrU_E42tRQjArq6oa0Qi8EwTzKFvriAD-hIpyX6MS7LctSKabyHsmrrjbeiAqA58P9SAtTHuYBap0fEHv0-vCZq42neV91CaaiA/s320/regulator.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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8x 50x50x3mm Aluminium Angle £15<br />
16x M5 Threaded Inserts £3.50 (pack of 20)<br />
16x M5 Stainless 15mm Bolts - £1.70 (pack of 20)<br />
1x Tube Sikaflex 512 - £10<br />
1x IP66 Weatherproof Junction Box - £5<br />
2x 20mm Glands - £2 (pack of 6)<br />
2x 5m Pre-Crimped MC4 PV Solar Cables - £20<br />
2x 2-1 MC4 Connectors - £5<br />
<br />
1x Inline Blade Fuse Holder ~ £1<br />
2x Spade Connectors ~ 50p<br />
2x Copper Nut Battery ~ £2<br />
2x 1m of 8AWG Cable ~ £4<br />
<br />
<b>Tools:</b><br />
Cable Cutter / Crimp Tool<br />
Threaded Insert Tool<br />
7mm Drill Bit<br />
5mm Drill Bit<br />
Hex driver<br />
30mm Hole Cutter<br />
<br />
Our solar panels were purchased from German eBay, where prices seem cheaper and sellers more reliable. 2x panels were £142 including DHL shipping to the UK. Most solar panels seem to be monocrystalline now and so that's what we opted for.<br />
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The second major part of a solar install is a regulator. These can be bought for as little as £20, but I really wanted one with a display so I could measure the benefit and detect any issues. Originally opting for one with a display on the regulator itself, I soon realised that for a tidy, wire free install I would need a remote display and choices are somewhat limited. Morning Star have a superb range of regulators, I opted for the Sunstar RM-25 bought from Beco on eBay for £70 delivered.<br />
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The regulator has the ability to charge two battery banks, meaning I can charge the cab battery in addition to the habitation one should it be required. This can be undertaken either 50:50 or 90:10 in favour of the leisure battery, which is what I've selected. The only downside is that it is 'only' 25A which means I can only put another 50w of solar on the roof before I need to change regulators for the higher amperage Tri-Star regulator - but I'll see how we get on.<br />
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For me by far the most stressful decision was the brackets. The location of the panels dictated that the brackets would be positioned with the feet tucked under the panels which meant for a custom bracket install. I also wanted the ability to remove the panels from the roof if required - which meant I couldn't permanently attach the brackets to the panels.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWoo0evRNYVBIPyw4cEogjohtfS5EMqL8AM1tJj5vSzgqnCAeYU9JnVXBlVvCgaRV2gX5AYkqYaGHCeSNptbouCGprR5l_p8agBxbIRh3YmZh8aiSUJ77hbztkryhDBDnREtkF6ncy5Y/s1600/photo+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWoo0evRNYVBIPyw4cEogjohtfS5EMqL8AM1tJj5vSzgqnCAeYU9JnVXBlVvCgaRV2gX5AYkqYaGHCeSNptbouCGprR5l_p8agBxbIRh3YmZh8aiSUJ77hbztkryhDBDnREtkF6ncy5Y/s320/photo+(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mastic still to tidy up!</td></tr>
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The solution was found in installing threaded inserts into the aluminium frame of the panel, using a threaded insert rivet gun and attaching to the bracket with a stainless steel M5 allen key bolt.<br />
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The brackets themselves are made 8x 150mm lengths of  50x50x3mm aluminium angle, purchased for £15 for 8 pieces from <a href="http://www.forwardmetals.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.forwardmetals.co.uk</a> - a company geared up towards small orders such as this. They arrived next day with no sharp edges; highly recommended. I would advise for the price, you should purchase a spare bracket just in case.<br />
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The bracket allows for a 2cm gap beneath the panel, which is perhaps slightly less than optimum. I drilled the aluminium brackets first and used it as a template to mark the holes for the threaded rivets. Drilling the aluminium brackets free hand was tricky, if you had a bench drill it would be much easier, but this method means that any misalignment can be compensated for in the positioning of the rivets.<br />
<br />
Once attached, the roof was marked where the brackets would be located and the panel removed again and area prepared. Given the amount of dirt on my roof I used a bit of fine grit sandpaper before applying Sikaflex 512. I actually used almost a whole tube for two panels as each panel had a nice bed of Sikaflex.<br />
<br />
Once in place, I located a gap between two panels inside the van in which to drill the 30mm access hole. Drilling from inside the van first, I marked the central point and drilled up out of the roof, then from the roof back down into the van. This was surprisingly simple, although care has to be given to miss any embedded cables. Once drilled, you can breath a sigh of relief.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFaAJ_XjWwywNty5nqc8Pe26-Im8ptE46kvFq9LksG2t6yV8MWTnXzUuDNaCVhNn_pM6m6Jm0KnRJnmo7VGiUqps9GZKlHRFlbvWxS_-adzXDzdBdOvZ2mSV7xI8S5g8ZEzfIgpPzZQdE/s1600/IMG_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFaAJ_XjWwywNty5nqc8Pe26-Im8ptE46kvFq9LksG2t6yV8MWTnXzUuDNaCVhNn_pM6m6Jm0KnRJnmo7VGiUqps9GZKlHRFlbvWxS_-adzXDzdBdOvZ2mSV7xI8S5g8ZEzfIgpPzZQdE/s200/IMG_0007.jpg" width="150" /></a>I got a deal on a 2x 5m length of pre-crimped MC4 PV cables. MC4 is the type of connector common to solar installs and PV cable is a semi rigid cable which doesn't deteriorate in extreme weather. Its not necessary to run this all the way to your regulator, some installers favor terminating this just inside the van or not using it at all, but given the connectors and crimp tool, junction box etc were a good deal more than this pre-crimped cable; that is what I went with. If using the PV cable, be sure to mark the positive cable internally before you cut the end off! You can actually get two installs from this - I will be using the shorter length for my fathers Autotrail most likely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Bl0t6Zk9BTZBJqWfUaiCybWvkO4iNlpy_BGDtmoFBJWLHPCiZ7KafISpWP7VCXBAksUhrn7lCsE6fB9kIoLNZ0memooJxqF56PNIapSJj_eMG-_sfS4fH4aFPkkriB38Aq_ur2O-TLg/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Bl0t6Zk9BTZBJqWfUaiCybWvkO4iNlpy_BGDtmoFBJWLHPCiZ7KafISpWP7VCXBAksUhrn7lCsE6fB9kIoLNZ0memooJxqF56PNIapSJj_eMG-_sfS4fH4aFPkkriB38Aq_ur2O-TLg/s320/IMG_0006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fitting of the panels & brackets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I also wanted a junction box on the roof that gave me flexibility to install other roof mounted hardware in the future, so opted for an IP66 unit with 4 screws on the top to access the internals. It has 10 20mm gland holes, so plenty of opportunity to install other equipment. I needed to remove a couple of lugs on the base so that it could be seated flush with the roof - and drilled a 30mm hole on the base to match the one through the roof.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtPPT4FPDNaVe3POX088969YGNWT4NGP4v-19nhhUPDQTRiHQq0TClUh3eEi3fbo7DtPxgZWBzFKobXM6QEypl4C5Xm0rkk5l_6WgC-OUNblRq9rtL7QepNzmfqWvVWQoQsN3gE-VPUE/s1600/IMG_0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtPPT4FPDNaVe3POX088969YGNWT4NGP4v-19nhhUPDQTRiHQq0TClUh3eEi3fbo7DtPxgZWBzFKobXM6QEypl4C5Xm0rkk5l_6WgC-OUNblRq9rtL7QepNzmfqWvVWQoQsN3gE-VPUE/s320/IMG_0036.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cupboard nearly tidy and iBoost in place</td></tr>
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I ran a fair amount of cables at the same time as the solar cables. I ran cab power and RF cables up to the roof for a roof mounted FM radio antenna to overcome the poor cab radio reception (see other post), as well as RF cable for a roof mounted 3G antenna. In addition I ran 12v habitation power up to the same locker, RJ11 cable for the remote solar display (supplied with it) and a separate fused 12v for a 2x cigarette, 2x USB charger unit installed in the same location to run my <a href="http://www.motorhomewifi.com/catalog/iboost-wifi-system/" target="_blank">Motorhome WiFi iBoost</a>, <a href="http://www.motorhomewifi.com/catalog/3g/" target="_blank">Huawei MiFi</a> device and charge our phones.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_KH1hFR4R-VRDxJN3TZbNWeLcMAlLKk0uLpoLQSU8KIxJFWxwkea8eyCm0B2GHA6ONeblwDChPbbYnxY8ffGZJD1UORwdTsze0jHjQEXozSM4XFgilJIXm97gZVYjvqLPvdkB2aU2vOw/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_KH1hFR4R-VRDxJN3TZbNWeLcMAlLKk0uLpoLQSU8KIxJFWxwkea8eyCm0B2GHA6ONeblwDChPbbYnxY8ffGZJD1UORwdTsze0jHjQEXozSM4XFgilJIXm97gZVYjvqLPvdkB2aU2vOw/s320/IMG_0009.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FM Radio Antenna and some cable trunking</td></tr>
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The regulator was installed next to the battery and the positive 12v connection was fused with a 30A spade fuse. This is the last thing to be connected once you have checked all of your wiring.<br />
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It’s too early to tell what the gains are, but I know that in three weeks of pretty gloomy December I've generated 60Ah, so here’s hoping that summer allows me to generate much more.<br />
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At the same time I installed an FM radio antenna - some more information <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2013/12/roof-mounted-fm-radio-antenna.html">on this blog post (here).</a><br />
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<b>Tips for Next Time</b><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>A bench drill (or a template) will make drilling the aluminium angle much easier.</li>
<li>Purchase a 'spare' piece of aluminium angle just in case (it's cheap enough).</li>
<li>I purchased a cheap threaded rivet tool for £10, which was about knackered by the time I had finished with just 8 inserts. It was replaced but might be worth looking for a mid range one.</li>
<li>Don't try and fit them under a pine tree shedding needles!</li>
<li>Take more photos during the install, or have someone take them for you!</li>
</ul>
</div>

200w Solar Panel Install

Fitted Solar Panels After having installed 2x 100w solar panels on the roof of our van, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner....

Roof Mounted FM Radio Antenna

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One of the things we have always struggled with is cab radio reception. It was something I thought was fairly unique to our Fiat Ducato based motorhomes, but is something our Renault Master suffered from also - with its wing mounted FM antenna. I've tried various windscreen antennas in the past with varying degrees of success but ultimately, nothing beats a proper roof mounted antenna - which is what the base vehicle would have most likely had been a commercial van.<br />
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While running cables for our solar install I decided that I was going to have a go at installing an inexpensive active FM antenna on the roof. This bypassed the need to drill the bodywork and got the antenna to the highest point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVL2lbICSBjLAUozSkfqLOVOhsrOjHAqayAcBubdzgMeMWuBO0ckW3Yz9Z4FafnTiFnLy3keARyqgzDY81lpNRRu_kMp6DbZUiyCebRRColeGeM2DNBPa8n3TubhL7itE6vp7fJ6dn-hQ/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVL2lbICSBjLAUozSkfqLOVOhsrOjHAqayAcBubdzgMeMWuBO0ckW3Yz9Z4FafnTiFnLy3keARyqgzDY81lpNRRu_kMp6DbZUiyCebRRColeGeM2DNBPa8n3TubhL7itE6vp7fJ6dn-hQ/s320/IMG_0009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Parts Required - all purchased on eBay</b><br />
1x IP65 box - £4<br />
1x Car Audio Active (powered) FM Antenna - £10<br />
1x 5m RF Extension Cable - £3<br />
1x 5m length of 16AWG cable - £2<br />
1x 50cm length of twin core cable ~ 50p<br />
1x In-Line fuse connector and 5A fuse ~ £1<br />
2x Spade Connectors ~ 20p<br />
2x 20mm Twin Cable Glands ~ £1<br />
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~ Sikafix 512 left over from Solar Install<br />
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Total Cost £21.70<br />
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The antenna is an active antenna, which means it requires power. It would usually only require a positive feed as it is grounded by the chassis on a car - but in this situation you will need to run an earth feed also. The cables were run to the back of the radio and the positive feed taken from the ignition feed (red) from the back of the radio. This means you wouldn't benefit from the enhanced signal when the ignition wasn't on, but usually for us reception is fine when stationary.<br />
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The IP65 box isn't the most aerodynamic - but I needed one with a flat top for the antenna and wanted one with a screw down top that was removable. In reality I can't see that it matters a great deal as the Sikaflex is incredibly strong.<br />
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Once installed the results were better than expected. I was a bit skeptical about the benefit of the powered element, but removing and replacing the 5A fuse made a noticeable difference in the sound quality.<br />
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Looking forward to testing it out on the road and seeing how it performs longer term.</div>

Roof Mounted FM Radio Antenna

One of the things we have always struggled with is cab radio reception. It was something I thought was fairly unique to our Fiat Ducato bas...

Top 10 Places to Visit in Europe with a Camper

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We have been asked by lots of people over the past year what our favorite places have been on this trip. One thing that we have struggled to do is rank these in order, maybe we should but we find it so difficult as we really love all of these places! So, here is a round up of our Top 10 ...<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Stockholm - Sweden</span></b><br />
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Stockholm is one of the top contenders for our favourite capital city which we have visited so far. Sweden on a whole is very clean, but even more so in the capital Stockholm. It is a mixed bag as during the day the lifestyle is very laid back and has a café culture about the place, by night it is a lively, vibrant city. At one end of the city lies the colourful architecture, old and new, with the most dominant building being the Royal Palace. We were surprised to find that just around the corner is a large park which leads up to the TV Tower, a lovely afternoon stroll can be found here. <br />
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<a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/05/copenhagen-5-nights-for-24.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see our related blog post</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lofotens - Norway</b></span><br />
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Ok, so we are slightly cheating with this one as it is an Archipelago, but the scenery is just fascinating. The E10 takes you from the mainland and steadily winds its way through some spectacular fishing villages for some 200km’s before you reach the small but picturesque village of Å, the last stop at the end of the Lofotens. You won’t be able to drive for long, as at every turn you will want to stop to admire and take in the mountain views.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Vilnius - Lithuania</span></b><br />
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Vilnius was our 3rd Capital of the Baltic States and we were admittedly looking forward to visiting. Only in 1990 did Vilnius announce its secession from the Soviet Union to restore its independence. Vilnius is clean and colourful and has been rapidly transformed into a modern European city. The historical centre has been restored but some old buildings still exist. There are countless astounding viewpoints above the city such as the Hill of Crosses and the Gediminas Tower. There is a strong sense of café culture in Vilnius with a friendly attitude to go with it.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">High & Low Tatras - Slovakia</span></b><br />
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The Tatras in Slovakia are a paradise for walkers and ski lovers. We visited for the first time in July 2011 and were mesmerised by their charm. New facilities at the bottom of the High Tatras made all of the amazing walks on offer very accessible. The trails are well marked and the maps are in abundance with different scale options to match your requirements. We stayed in the Tatras for two weeks and whilst we were there we met all different types of nationalities who were there to explore the alluring landscape.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meteora - Greece</b></span><br />
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Meteora, the Unesco World Heritage Site seems to be suspended in the air on very small rock pillars which on first impressions astounded us, and still does. The first people to inhabit Meteora were Hermit Monks back in the 9th Century and only 6 of the monasteries remain today. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Greece so can get very busy especially at peak times. As we stayed at nearby <a href="http://www.arsenis-meteora.gr/indexen.php" target="_blank">Pension Arsenis</a> we got up early to visit. When we look back at our photos of Meteora we still cannot believe how extraordinary and totally breath-taking the monasteries are.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Erg Chebbi - Morocco</b></span><br />
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Erg Chebbi was by far our favourite place in Morocco. The dunes seemed to have some kind of hold over us and although really, there isn’t anything in the Sahara as such, Erg Chebbi did it for us. As of yet we haven’t been anywhere like this and we definitely plan on going back on our next trip to Morocco. The colours are just magnificent; the seemingly endless dunes change from bright orange at sunrise to a rose gold at sunset. The people who we were with really made our trip and we enjoyed every second of Erg Chebbi and its charming ways.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>St Petersburg - Russia</b></span><br />
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St Petersburg is a crazy place and was a whirlwind adventure for us. We visited on the <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/helsinki-to-st-petersburg-visa-free.html" target="_blank">Visa Free overnight ferry crossing from Helsinki</a> and stayed overnight right in the centre of St Petersburg. Russia is like no other place that we have visited, the mixture of new and old is visible and a sense of mayhem during the day leads to a calmer more sociable city in the evening. However, the wacky city never seems to sleep with its traditional and extremely tasty 24 hour cake and coffee shops. One of the main attractions in St Petersburg is the Hermitage Museum of art and culture which is the largest museum in the world and definitely surpassed any of our expectations. Add St Petersburg to your list!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Veliko Tarnovo - Bulgaria</b></span><br />
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Veliko Tarnovo is situated on 3 hills and is based around a medieval stronghold called the Tsarevets, it is surrounded by thick walls and the main attraction is the patriarchate at the top of the hill which recently had its frescoes repainted in 1985. The magnificent drawbridge still exists today but unfortunately has a ticket office just before the gate! If you are stopping in Veliko Tarnovo be sure to visit <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/09/camping-veliko-tarnovo-best-campsite-in.html" target="_blank">Camping Veliko Tarnovo</a> which is owned by a lovely English couple, Nick & Nicky.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Papigo / Vikos - Greece</b></span><br />
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Papigo, also known as Papigko and Mikro Papigko is just stunning. It is located up in the mountains of the Vikos National Park and has an attractive and delightful feel about it. We visited in October 2011 when it was still relatively warm so set out to go walking in the gorge. Back up in the small villages there were little terraces and cafes, overlooked by the huge sculptured mountains which towered above. The Vikos Gorge just up the road has a lot to offer for walkers and along the route has a collection of small brick built arched bridges that vary in size.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cesis - Latvia</b></span><br />
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Cesis is a small but quaint village in Latvia which is centred on the medieval castle. We were won over by its romantic characteristics and overall allure. For an inexpensive sum of £1.20 you can enter the castle which also includes the grounds and are accompanied by a candle lit lantern for the ancient staircases. The attractive Cesis Castle Park is a delight to wander around with its well-marked footpaths and exotic plants, together with its additional residents; some black swans and signets when we visited in 2011.<br />
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Top 10 Places to Visit in Europe with a Camper

We have been asked by lots of people over the past year what our favorite places have been on this trip. One thing that we have struggled t...

Camper Van Essentials for a Girl

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Over the past year we have had hundreds of enquiries but for me, one of the most popular enquiries has been what I think is necessary to take on a long trip.<br />
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As a young woman, the thought of traveling Europe for 12 months was so exciting but the thought of being away from my home comforts was somehow slightly daunting. After returning from our trip I have come to one conclusion, I ended up taking way too much! I massively over estimated how little you can actually live with (or without).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGb76ioSR_faOBhdIGEVLMBvqvmzE85s2IUIrbyzhY8dHQOOuVW1ry_OrS_AgNnNS7RpBpcEODrQ6Z22IzxqErMXkZPkH9nl7yhrSMOSlmw66PgY09RZjJQH4MRCAiufZ3tHtDxMGXq4M/s1600/IMG_5626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGb76ioSR_faOBhdIGEVLMBvqvmzE85s2IUIrbyzhY8dHQOOuVW1ry_OrS_AgNnNS7RpBpcEODrQ6Z22IzxqErMXkZPkH9nl7yhrSMOSlmw66PgY09RZjJQH4MRCAiufZ3tHtDxMGXq4M/s200/IMG_5626.JPG" width="133" /></a></div>
The Scandinavian Peninsula was the first region we had planned to visit and this threw a spanner in the works as to what clothing I would be taking. I didn’t want to get caught out by bad weather so packed as much winter gear as I could tightly squeeze into a plastic stacking box. Ultimately after spending 8 weeks traveling through Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland the only proper winter clothing I wore was:<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3 in 1 North Face Coat<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Craghoppers Walking Trousers<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2 x Micro Fleeces<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Berghaus Walking Boots<br />
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Everything else was just made up of simple t-shirts and polo neck jumpers/hoodies. So in reality, I would say if you are visiting/traveling through the colder countries, limit yourself to the above as you really won’t need as much as you think!<br />
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As for the warmer climates, I wore even less! Forget about the bulky items as you just won’t wear them. There are plenty of places to do your washing and in countries such as Greece/Bulgaria and Morocco you are able to wash your clothes out by hand on most beaches. I would maybe consider taking the following, this is only based on my experience and I suppose some of this comes down to the weather and own preference:<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>6 - 8 Loose Tops/ T-Shirts<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3 x Shorts<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2 x Jeans<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1 x Other Trousers (maybe linen?)<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3 - 4 Jumpers / Sweatshirts / Cardigans<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1-2 Bikini / Swimming Costume<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFZIVJZMWBLZfMoxJzwoM9vGQsUoXEKZLVa8D1vw-sSnidkBPjWa-MZoMc8cjSXekL7xaagQwPpNxegrsg9l7Vsge9jXEuLJi8Rlqxq25f5TRs93h0uAW6NK7A6Z8Z2T1BiLVTfwgo3k/s1600/IMG_1047_8_9_fused.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFZIVJZMWBLZfMoxJzwoM9vGQsUoXEKZLVa8D1vw-sSnidkBPjWa-MZoMc8cjSXekL7xaagQwPpNxegrsg9l7Vsge9jXEuLJi8Rlqxq25f5TRs93h0uAW6NK7A6Z8Z2T1BiLVTfwgo3k/s200/IMG_1047_8_9_fused.jpg" width="132" /></a>We both really enjoy walking/and in places such as Norway and Slovakia the walks on offer in the beautiful mountains and countryside are in abundance, which meant I took far too many different types of footwear. I would recommend for the whole trip:<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1 x Comfy Walking Boots<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1 x Walking Sandal<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2 x Casual Sandals<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1 x Flipflops<br />
•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1 x Heel/wedge<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2FLpbdnhuraj9ayZjPYPZPOaMdJ2K9SQpuWZ4SJizHvOw4MWDrfa5To-KmdOOaEzlrKx-WrHv0Nyy4WM1EvVrmlp5a3b6dyPmFhc1hyphenhyphenUGgaJut3sy9LfyaifBb450ZGXtUljWZZ17rA/s1600/UGG-Sundance+18+rld400018_LRG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2FLpbdnhuraj9ayZjPYPZPOaMdJ2K9SQpuWZ4SJizHvOw4MWDrfa5To-KmdOOaEzlrKx-WrHv0Nyy4WM1EvVrmlp5a3b6dyPmFhc1hyphenhyphenUGgaJut3sy9LfyaifBb450ZGXtUljWZZ17rA/s200/UGG-Sundance+18+rld400018_LRG.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I also took my UGG boots on our Europe Trip which I wore quite a lot through the colder countries like Norway; however they did get banished to the storage box as soon as we hit Finland with unexpected temperatures of 25c in May.<br />
<br />
Every woman is different but I preferred not to wear any makeup whilst traveling. I did take my makeup bag with me and on the odd occasion I did put some makeup on for going out etc. Other than this, especially in hot countries, I wouldn’t bother. One thing that I didn’t consider would take up so much room in our Adria Twin was Contact Lenses; I had a year’s supply of these things and trust me, they take up quite a lot of room.<br />
<br />
There isn’t a lot of advice out there for women traveling via this method of transportation and at the end of the day, I found anything that I forgot to take, I could usually pickup anywhere in Europe.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uxWMxd6aduk5MaOSXOd9vhcGrs46zTH19HLGnyOitn2FznULjhyHyJInkHq9DdyDpTL_afD177_alJBkOwCaYhcAAzLDcYhIPS5y5XCmsMLg0hrWf0VNsdmipess_8jVWUTVVq2RmSg/s1600/SAM_5157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uxWMxd6aduk5MaOSXOd9vhcGrs46zTH19HLGnyOitn2FznULjhyHyJInkHq9DdyDpTL_afD177_alJBkOwCaYhcAAzLDcYhIPS5y5XCmsMLg0hrWf0VNsdmipess_8jVWUTVVq2RmSg/s200/SAM_5157.JPG" width="200" /></a>Also, just before we left in April 2011 Adam fitted and installed a <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/hairdryer-from-12v-in-motorhome.html" target="_blank">2100W Inverter</a> mainly for me to dry my hair. This really came in useful whilst driving through Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It was great to wash my hair in a morning and be able to dry it straight away, especially when temperatures were a cool 2c outside and 6c in the van.<br />
I hope that this mini guide has given you some advice which will help you when packing to go away in the future, be it a short or long journey. If you would like to ask me any questions just drop me an email.<br />
<br />
Sophie<br />
www.europebycamper.com<br />
<br />
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Camper Van Essentials for a Girl

Over the past year we have had hundreds of enquiries but for me, one of the most popular enquiries has been what I think is necessary to t...

Touring Europe for a Year - What does it cost?

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just some of the receipts we<br />
accumulated!</td></tr>
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One of the most popular questions about travelling Europe we get asked is how much does it cost. We've decided that in the interest in helping others we'll publish our detailed trip statistics to show you how we did. We did this trip on what we perceived to be a tight budget - perhaps if you are retired then you'll want to do more or if you have more time you will want to do less miles, but with hindsight there is very little we would have changed about our trip. <a href="http://www.quicken.com/" target="_blank">Money management</a> was crucial. Because of our budget constraints we carefully monitored and recorded all of our expenditure to ensure that we weren't over budget.<br />
<br />
<b>First, some statistics from our trip!</b><br />
<br />
We travelled <b>23,044 miles</b> over a period of <b>334 days</b> from 7<sup>th</sup> April 2011 until 6<sup>th</sup> March 2012. We passed through <b>21 countries </b>(stopping in <b>18</b>) consuming <b>3,805</b> <b>litres of Diesel</b> from <b>62 fuel stations </b>and <b>280 litres of LPG Gas. </b>We paid <b>19 road tolls</b>, <b>14 ferries, 5 vignettes </b>and <b>4 tunnels.</b><br />
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We 'Wild Camped' for <b>219 nights (66%)</b>, stayed on Aires or other recognised motorhome parking areas for <b>45 nights (14%)</b> and stayed on camp sites for <b>70</b> <b>nights (21% </b>with 29 of those nights being in Morocco).<br />
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Food wise we visited <b>115</b> supermarkets or other food shops and ate out for usually for lunch but sometimes for tea <b>101 times</b>.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Our average miles per day were <b>78 miles </b>and our mode fuel consumption (taking into account number of miles travelled between the calculations and averaging that out) was <b>33.4MPG</b>.</div>
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<b>Adam</b> drove for <b>170</b> days (80% of the driving)<b> </b>while<b> Sophie</b> drove for <b>19 days</b> (10%) and we shared the driving on a further <b>20 days</b> (10%). There were <b>123 days</b> (36%) where we didn’t drive anywhere at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The maximum number of miles we drove in a day was <b>372</b> on the first day of our trip getting from Calais to Dummerlolhausen. The only other day where we exceeded 300 miles was Asiliah to Marrakesh in Morocco (365 miles). The minimum number of miles we did in a day was 2 miles (leaving one place and arriving to stay at another) from Aghios Konstantinon to Gytheio in Greece.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4sAJqzWwLe-jzkTNATGKltwhSGTkfZoTuPYUKv8yVbsq7umqvqMIM4f-0nfZH1LPAqG1U6-AM2LpqbPBgWl6Zdp39-WOq84lMvsNntS29fiKsgDDcmp6-JYo6VwjbVuXC0c8VLhxWoQ/s1600/Greece_Panaroma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4sAJqzWwLe-jzkTNATGKltwhSGTkfZoTuPYUKv8yVbsq7umqvqMIM4f-0nfZH1LPAqG1U6-AM2LpqbPBgWl6Zdp39-WOq84lMvsNntS29fiKsgDDcmp6-JYo6VwjbVuXC0c8VLhxWoQ/s400/Greece_Panaroma.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With views like this available for free why pay to stay on a camp site?</td></tr>
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<b>Totals</b></div>
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Ok, so enough beating about the bush! What was our grand total?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">£9,570.19 or £28.83 per day<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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Or in other words, two people, a little over 11 months full board for £14.41 per person, per day. This is how we broke down and recorded our spending:</div>
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<b>Fuel (42%)</b>We always tried to fill up in the cheaper country.</div>
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<b>Food (26%):</b> Food bought from a supermarket / shop. Includes Wine / Beer but not eating out.<br />
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<o:p></o:p><b>LPG (2%):</b> Our gas for cooking, heating and running the fridge when not on sites.<br />
<o:p></o:p><b>Transport (11%):</b> Tolls, Vignettes, Ferry’s, Bridges, Public Transport & Parking when not overnighting.<br />
<o:p></o:p><b>EO&E (14%):</b> Eating (and drinking) Out and Entertainment / Entry fees.  Also includes personal items such as clothes, shoes, laundry etc.<br />
<o:p></o:p><b>Overnight (5%): </b>Cost of sites, aires or parking overnight where a cost applied.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where the money went, 42% of our expenditure was on Diesel.</td></tr>
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<b>What is not included?</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Items which we viewed as being outside of our living costs which are: Vehicle Insurance (£500), Vehicle Road Tax (£195), Travel Insurance (£200), <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/guide-to-vodafone-data-traveller-data_01.html" target="_blank">Mobile Phone / 3G Internet (£180)</a>. We also didn’t include our ‘side trip’ to <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/06/st-petersburg-russia.html" target="_blank">St Petersburg</a> (£500) as we left the van in Helsinki and felt it would unfairly skew the results. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>Comparing Countries</b><br />
In the below table we have broken down our expenditure for all of the 18 countries that we stayed in. The biggest factor influencing costs was if we stayed on a camp site or not, which made expensive countries like Norway (where we only spent £2.78 a day on food over 4 weeks, but spent £0 on campsites) appear comparative to Latvia, where we opted to stay on camp sites because of a lack of wild camping opportunities. All of the figures below are laid bare for you to view and dissect and are of course only representative of what we chose to do on this trip and not necessarily of that country as a whole!<br />
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<b><i>So what's our strategy on keeping costs down? </i></b></div>
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<b><i><br />
</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Our next blog post, Europe on a Budget will be published shortly and a link will appear here!</i></b></div>
</div>
</div>

Touring Europe for a Year - What does it cost?

Just some of the receipts we accumulated! One of the most popular questions about travelling Europe we get asked is how much does it ...

Morocco Laptop GPS - Garmin nRoute

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<span lang="EN-GB">We use
our <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/03/dashboard-mounted-laptop-gps.html" target="_blank">dashboard mounted navigation (click)</a> system in Europe a LOT.  Thanks to Microsoft Autoroute, our location is
plotted in real time on a map and we have all of our useful POI (Point Of Interest)
information available to view at the click of a mouse.  Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn’t provide any
mapping information for Africa so upon arrival you are presented with a totally
blank continent!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Microsoft Autoroute - No good for Africa</td></tr>
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There is
a solution, however, thanks to Garmin. If you are familiar with Garmin products
you may have already seen or used some of the programs I am about to talk
about. There may even be a better way of doing what it is I am about to describe
in which case please get in touch!</div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB"><u>What you need to download and install (in this
order).</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">Garmin Basecamp (MapSource) - <a href="http://www.garmin.com/uk/maps/trip-planning-software/basecamp" target="_blank">Click to Download</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">This is
the engine behind the software, it allows you to plot and use the data and
manipulate the maps but not to navigate as it has no GPS option. It’s not much use on its own, unless
you already have a Garmin in which case you should be able to view the maps you own using this software.We have a TomTom so no idea how one would go about loading their Garmin maps onto the computer!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpcR0_yU2oa1PwbaqDLuRM13okxQl403KVSFFXRKlggisewKOwOfX7nutiebikVRwwhja5s9HGXWHKugTYMpE7Etr6JBBQawM8SBpye2h5h1eclaOFGbqLiLuz3LNIKBQs3nSqhe1wvA/s1600/Basecamp.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpcR0_yU2oa1PwbaqDLuRM13okxQl403KVSFFXRKlggisewKOwOfX7nutiebikVRwwhja5s9HGXWHKugTYMpE7Etr6JBBQawM8SBpye2h5h1eclaOFGbqLiLuz3LNIKBQs3nSqhe1wvA/s320/Basecamp.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garmin Basecamp showing some of the POI's from the Olaf Map <br />
(scroll down for details of where to download it)</td></tr>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Garmin nRoute - <a href="http://gawisp.com/perry/nroute/" target="_blank">Click and Download 'nRoute_276.exe'</a></b></div>
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nRoute itself is a legacy program which means it is no longer
supported by Garmin and is not available from their official site. It is
however available to download elsewhere on the internet. I couldn’t get it to
work on its own, without having a copy of Basecamp or Mapsource downloaded onto the system already, hence the step above. The software accepts a GPS input from a Garmin device and will plot your current position on a map. If you have a regular USB or Bluetooth GPS receiver like then you will need an extra bit of software detailed in a minute. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMszWuxJ84EBX7v-F8cdLIOY7o3XdgB05Lc4UOvrvElIWrxcVorjBFCHQrfb4ZyiSq3SO8llpv8w_m5NgrW6tGn-DWmEBDFDcT3QXzsS7wkt65oAB6RNkVEhR31y3P7D6FGmx5PrRp2cA/s1600/nroute1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMszWuxJ84EBX7v-F8cdLIOY7o3XdgB05Lc4UOvrvElIWrxcVorjBFCHQrfb4ZyiSq3SO8llpv8w_m5NgrW6tGn-DWmEBDFDcT3QXzsS7wkt65oAB6RNkVEhR31y3P7D6FGmx5PrRp2cA/s320/nroute1.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garmin Nroute connected to a GPS <span style="font-size: x-small;">receive</span>r</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Open Maps Free Navigation Map's <a href="http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/" target="_blank">Click & Zoom to Morcco, select 'enable manual tile selection'</a></b></div>
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Open Maps allow you to download free navigation maps, if this is of interest to you and you do not already have the Garmin maps. You can easily switch between maps using the interface and choose which one you prefer to use - Olaf's map is much more detailed in some areas but you can't plot a route using it. Since both are free, there is no harm in using both. You need to download 3 tiles for full Morocco and Western Sahara coverage.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<b>Olaf’s Free Morocco Map (Marokko-Topo) - <a href="http://www.island-olaf.de/travel/marokko/maroc-topo-20071221.exe" target="_blank">Right Click, Save As</a>  |  <a href="http://www.island-olaf.de/travel/marokko/gps.html" target="_blank">Click to see information</a></b></div>
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The Olaf map is well respected by hardened overlanders for Morocco and contains a wealth of POI and map information for free and we found it largely accurate during 2,000 miles around Morocco. A fantastic resource.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Note: </b>This map does not support ‘navigation’ but does have lots of POI information built in so is worth installing. Using nRoute or Basecamp you can swap between maps maintain your existing position / view so it's easy to find out which map is best. We use this map for the built in POI information.<br />
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<b>Franson GPS Gate
Client - <a href="http://gpsgate.com/download/" target="_blank">Click to Download - 'Free GPSGate Client'</a></b></div>
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The final piece in the puzzle is to get your regular GPS
receiver to work alongside Garmin Nroute, which only detects a own branded
Garmin GPS receiver. </div>
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<b> </b>  </div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Connect
your USB GPS Receiver and open <b>Franson
GPS Gate Client</b>. Set it to emulate a Garmin device on an available COM port
and minimise it to the tray. You can now open <b>Garmin N Route</b> which should have automatically detected the free <b>Marokko-Topo</b> map. If it has not you may
have to re-install the map in the root of the C:\ and manually select it’s
location.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofQTD7vUBXWO_FPPIJnYJoqoB-1qtIAfIKQULFbs7kZRvASrRy_33ITMR22feAXHHAZIHRBAutqpQlLGSes5ZXHHD7nE-stieTTiBnUJQamWBzwNTFinBOngv2P-GHvh-BXeSyuSTxfA/s1600/gbpsgate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofQTD7vUBXWO_FPPIJnYJoqoB-1qtIAfIKQULFbs7kZRvASrRy_33ITMR22feAXHHAZIHRBAutqpQlLGSes5ZXHHD7nE-stieTTiBnUJQamWBzwNTFinBOngv2P-GHvh-BXeSyuSTxfA/s320/gbpsgate.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NRoute with Franson Gate GPS Client open & transmitting</td></tr>
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<b>Using the Software </b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmy8bRJSHWT2_DVjLIUx9zpH7JvXBsGNTbTPZxqJK7oRC2_Auc6U7Yh3LgPUWjPwQP6tzq_u3kQTnFfi-FKi3fIHvQm1VfuezFRIats7pMMPL5-Z3QfO0Eoe221oSKGsDCH0gOjrWbp70/s1600/nroute3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmy8bRJSHWT2_DVjLIUx9zpH7JvXBsGNTbTPZxqJK7oRC2_Auc6U7Yh3LgPUWjPwQP6tzq_u3kQTnFfi-FKi3fIHvQm1VfuezFRIats7pMMPL5-Z3QfO0Eoe221oSKGsDCH0gOjrWbp70/s320/nroute3.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wide angle zoom showing the Satellites Pane</td></tr>
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The software is relatively straight forward to use. The bottom section of the software is the menus for Waypoints, Saved Routes, Tracks, Favourite Finds, Status (giving speed & height), Driving Directions (for Garmin Maps), Trip Computers and Satellites</div>
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If you right click using the 'pointer' tool you can choose 'Find nearest places' and select 'Campground or RV Park; which on the Olaf map contains lots of information regarding nearby camp sites. </div>
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</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYS-rVRpysqSTVlJOcKAjwIugosa_vkCEeWgMt4i58HNk3-DADR-9f1gXM_kX4j3RqMWFpyekZ3VxHYHYxjRYZjliFaqPsdi6dAu7a7ibDspVLH_5blbRuKKRS7tyn08H-MVsaPvcFKZM/s1600/FindNearest.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYS-rVRpysqSTVlJOcKAjwIugosa_vkCEeWgMt4i58HNk3-DADR-9f1gXM_kX4j3RqMWFpyekZ3VxHYHYxjRYZjliFaqPsdi6dAu7a7ibDspVLH_5blbRuKKRS7tyn08H-MVsaPvcFKZM/s320/FindNearest.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'Find Nearby Places' pane</td></tr>
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The best way to get used to it is install and and have a good play around with it while Simulating the GPS by selecting Utilities > Simulate GPS to allow you to play with the map while still at home before getting to Morocco.</div>
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We found it a fantastic tool to have in Morcco and I hope that you've found this post of use too!</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">There is a good guide for using Garmin nRoute for navigation <a href="http://www.gpsinformation.org/penrod/nroute/nroute.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span><br />
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