NUTS & BOLTS
Insurance: similar to Mexico, you need foreign motoring insurance if traveling with US or CDN plates (& you need an oval country sticker for your back bumper). We recommend this insurer: Thum Insurance
Contact:
Andrea Nelson
International Insurance Manager
Thum Insurance Agency, L.L.C.
Continental US: 1.800.968.8486
Phone: 001.763.413.4718
Fax: 001.763.413.4728
andrea@thuminsurance.com
For years we had used AIU (now called Chartis), however they ceased to offer European Foreign Motoring Insurance as of August 19, 2009.
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Notes on how to use the maps on this site, if you wish to do so:
1) you can zoom in to any area of the route using the "+" & "-" icons.
2)You can change the map to satellite picture view by clicking on "Sat" - & then zoom in for a birds-eye picture of the area.
3)Or you can click on one of the balloons and zoom in using the prompts that will pop up.
4)Click on "View larger map" link located below the map. This will bring the map up in a new window, with a column containing all the points of interest(some with comments). You can click on the points to take you right to a particular sight.
A lot had to be done to ensure the Rialta was Euro-ready. The following are some essential points, but is by no means an exhaustive list. For more detailed information, I refer you to the books below.
1) Basic maintenance - I'd rather do things like change the tires, wheel alignment, clean the fridge burner, change the generator oil, etc. prior to traveling. Also bought a spare water pump, a complete set of bulbs and a backup Valterra dump valve.
2)
Electrical
- we needed a step-down transformer to convert 240V to the 110V the coach
uses, but this time we went for one that also regulates the voltage. Also reconfigured the Rialta's electrical inpoint cord -
basically cutting it short. The
Seven Star ATVR-5000
was installed in the trunk drivers side (the 3000W
ATVR-3000 would have been enough, but we opted for a 5000W, even though
it was larger & harder to fit in.). I needed a small plastic 3-drawer
set from Staples to be able to position it. Once in Europe, I bought
electrical cables at the German version of Home Depot (Hornbach,but
also Bauhaus) one adaptor cable (two-prong to blue 3 prong CEE connector that
you frequently find in campgrounds) & two 2 prong extension cords - one 20
m, one 10m (you need lots of length in Europe, since power points are
generally not located at each campsite).
3)Books & Websites
This is a good recent book & web page, with loads of info:
Take Your RV To Europe By Adelle and Ron Milavsky
This is one of the originals & is frequently revised - I had this one about 17 years ago:
Europe by Van and Motorhome by David Shore and Patty Campbell
This is a Classic for driving car or motorhome in Europe: MotoEuropa
Mike & Terri Church have a camping book, which will be familiar to those of you who use their Mexican & N. American books: Traveler's Guide to European Camping In Europe, though, you have a great array of other books to compete with it.
Here's a web journal written by Americans who shipped a Winnebago View over (theirs is an excellent, clear narrative - their explication of the Nuts & Bolts part of the process is much more detailed than mine & I recommend that you visit their site! ):
There are a number of non-campground options in Europe for camping. In Germany called Stellplätze , in France called Aires ( a range of guides are available- Google is your friend :-).
See below for a bit more info on stellplatz.
And in France there is a great organization called France Passion !
Finally, here's a useful list of links - I especially like to surf the European motorhome forums for first hand experience:
4) Maps - the Michelin atlas is a must.
I also bought the European software for my Garmin GPS.
I stopped in Bremerhaven at the German version of "AAA/CAA" - called ADAC. Showing my CAA card produced a bunch of free maps, a few brochures on sani-station locations in Europe, and I bought a routing program designed specifically for RVs: "Camping and Wohnmobil Europe 2007". It's a MS Streets & Trips type mapping program with very complete campground & Stellplatz/Aire info, as well as other useful points of interest like propane stations. Well worth 40 Euros. Also bought their Stellplatz Fuhrer book, which covers Germany and a lot of the rest of Europe. There's a French guide as well, which I haven't yet acquired: "Guide Officiel des Aires de Services Camping-car ". 2009 Note: I have also now purchased Bord Atlas, as well as downloading their POIs into my Garmin 770.
5) A Stellplatz or Aire generally is a parking area for self-contained motorhomes. (the terms, though - especially "aire" - are used to describe a large range of options). Some are rudimentary - not much more than a parking spot, some have electric, water & a dump station. Some are free, some cost perhaps 16 Euros (always less than the nearest campground). They are usually in very good locations relative to city & town centres.
Here's an excellent descriptive page of French Aires:
Miniguide to Aires De Service in France
And one for German Stellplätze:
Mini-Guide to German Motorhome “Stellplatz” sites
The stellplatz or aire as it applies to motorhomes is a very interesting facility, something not readily found in North America.
In some locations, it was obvious they were set up to control freecamping - for example, we would see "no motorhome" signs in lots next to the Loire in a town, with directions to the free aire set up a few hundred metres away. Very sensible - a reasonable alternative is provided and everyone is happy.
6) Storage - if you're going to leave your vehicle in Europe for a time, figure out convenient storage. The Milavsky book is a good place to start - it has good basic info on how & where to store.
7)Propane (LPG or GPL): Filled with propane in Bremerhaven - the German filler adaptor (" 1 3/4" acme ") is exactly the same as ours and I had located a couple of stations in Bremerhaven via the internet before leaving. There are a few different nozzles used in Europe - you can buy them, but I found in our previous trips that many stations had them - I never actually used the ones I carried with me.
Some Pictures of various adaptors
8) Communications on the road
Internet: I now carry a small 3 pound netbook with a 10 inch screen and 8 hours of battery power. We often look for a free wifi hotspot for our netbook; sometimes I'll go to an internet cafe & plug in via cable. For phoning, I use Skype on my laptop, which costs about 2.5 cents a minute - free to other Skype computers. Most recently I've been using video calls skype-to-skype - these are free and you can see the other party. When recently in Brussels on my own, I took my netbook to the Galeries Louisa & found a pair of shoes for Taylor - fired up the netbook & showed her the shoes via video skype for her approval (she was in Toronto :-) . Of course, you can find internet points in many places if you don't carry a laptop.
Our main method of communicating though is via Blackberry. All of our emails are forwarded to it & arrive wirelessly; I can check weather around the globe, news & a host of other informational services via the Blackberry web browser ( note - I have now drastically cut my Blackberry usage after getting a few bills! Not only is web browsing when roaming on a N. Am. plan expensive, but the actual charges are frankly suspect & there seems to be no way get them verified). And of course it's a phone as well, if I need voice (expensive) or text messaging. In North America there are 2 phone systems -CDMA & GSM - for Europe you want a multi-band GSM phone or Blackberry - in Canada this means Rogers or Fido (which are GSM), NOT Bell or Telus (which are CDMA). In the USA, there is a similar split among Blackberry providers. Offhand, I believe Cingular/AT&T & T-Mobile are GSM, but please verify for yourself. There is practically no CDMA in Europe.
9)Taking your dog - An angst-filled process that has become more convoluted since we last did it (new regulations were enacted in Europe in 2004). We had to ensure he was microchipped with the ISO standard microchip used in the EU - a call to the microchip registry confirmed that he isn't, so we had to rent a microchip scanner that would read his chip - we carried it with us - and of course they didn't even scan him at the border. We had to download a form from the German embassy site, our vet filled it in and then we had to drive to a Canadian Dept. of Agriculture office to get a government vet to certify the paperwork our vet had filled in. We printed up sheets to go on his crate with emergency number, etc. and we handed one to the stewardess upon boarding, asking her to ensure he was on board (which she did, confirming as Taylor taxied down the runway). In most EU countries there is not and never has been quarantine. A couple of Scandinavian nations and England have had quarantine. There are new measures in place - I have no idea whether quarantine in those countries is still in force for North American dogs, but there are at least additional tests required.
10) DUMPING:
In many places, especially aires & stellplatz, you will find an island with a metal self-serve utilities centre - it dispenses fresh water, electricity and provides for the discharge of the tanks. In France they seem to be called "Flot Bleu" or "Euro Relais" and we have found them in parking lots, aires, on the lots of hypermarches like Leclerc or even just by the side of the road. Just follow the signs picturing a motorhome with a dump symbol below it. In Germany they seem to be attached to a stellplatz. Some have been free, some require a Euro or 2 deposited in a box on the honour system, some are coin-operated, some accept credit cards.
