(See the rest of our tip index here)

In the past I have tried some devices that enable you to watch TV on a laptop and I had mixed results.  Flakey quality, high power consumption, and unreliable software.  So I gave up and bought a Meos 13.3″ TV unit which has served us well for a few years.  However, this unit failed, and with zero after sales service and no spares avaialable, its destined for the bin.

But as we seldom watch TV, but still want the ability to, I sought a cheap alternative…

Knowing how poor computer based TV receivers are, I avoided the unbranded eBay units, and bought a branded August Digital Freeview unit from Amazon mainly due to the price (£16.49 delivered) and the fact most of the reviews were excellent.  But also, its a brand, with an English support website – www.augustint.com - that in istself is a rareity.

So, the box arrived and I was surprised to find it was a full cosumer box, with all the cables, remote control, CD, and even an indoor aerial.  I would not recommend the aerial as you do need a decenr aerial same as any TV.  Rather than use the CD I downloaded the latest drivers and software from their website and installed those (though the version numbers were same as CD).  The installation of the drivers and the software was trivial and worked perfectly on Windows 7.  The device simply plugs into a USB port and takes all the power it needs from there – no other power required.  Its about the size of a USB memory stick – so quite tiny!  The remote control is the size of a credit-card.

All good, so I ran their software, Total Media 3, which tries to be an full “Media Center” and integrates all your music and videos & DVD as well as the TV.  Actualy rather impressive and it does just work.  It feels like the real Windows Media Centre but a little quicker (and simpler) – but no complaints.  Setting up the TV card is simple, though two niggles – the channel scan takes longer than a TV, and the channels aren’t in natural order.

But, apart from that it simply just works!  The TV will work full-screen or in a small window, and the sound/picture quality is as good as you’d hope.  You EPG (TV Guide) can either be via the Internet or via the aerial - so no Internet required.  Great idea!

We’ve set the TV up on both laptops, neither of which are powerful (one is am old Samsung Netbook, and the other a low power Asus) – and they both work fine.  (The slower Netbook takes longer to channel scan, but works quickly once scan completes)

For £16.49 – an absolute bargain and not worth fixing the old TV for!

If you go for alternative makes, make sure the device has an English website where you can get updated software, and it isn’t a cheap clone where support will be non existent.

 

(See HERE for our other GPS download index page)

Thanks to Zebedee on Motorhome Facts Forum who gave me this data (and said it was okay to use!)

These databases contact the GPS POIs for the French Municipal campsites.  These can be bargains as they are run locally, and these may well be cheaper than ACSI type sites.  The name is included which should allow you a quick google.  These will be perfect for our French cycling trip too!

There are over 2,200 points and the density can be seen below:-

 

I’ve converted the data to the following formats for free download

For simplicity, all downloads been moved to a single page.  Click HERE to get the free downloads

Hope these are useful!  Other GPS databases (for Aires etc) are listed HERE

    

(See the rest of our tip index here)

Learning languages isn’t natural or easy for us, neither of us came from school with a language or really got taught a language well.  Before our travels we asked for tips and we were recommended Rosetta Stone; Michel Thomas; and I also bought a talking translator!

Here is our findings from our usage.

Electronic Translator

The translator (Franklin Speaking Global Translator) is excellent – I’d never use it to try and hold a conversation, but if you are looking up a word, for example “chair lift” – it will tell you the translation and also speak it to you so you can try and remember it and use it in your speaking.  Really quite powerful and useful  as a learning tool.  It covers most European languages, and Russian, Korean, Japanese etc, an also has sentences you can play with and learn on.  It knows 450,000 words and 12,000 phrases, and speaks 115,000 words in recorded human voice, easily fits into a pocket, fold out keyboard, back-light, and USB rechargeable battery lasts ages.

We have tried cheaper translators and though their vocabulary is smaller, the main problem is not knowing how to pronounce words which this Frankin device gets around.

Michel Thomas Method

Michel Thomas though is probably the most useful training tool.  He provides language CDs in introductory, advanced and also review courses and language builders.  It isn’t a typical boring repeat and learn type CD, it is a recording of a class with 2 students (you become the third) – and you do feel you are involved in the learning – you even get involved with the student mistakes.  The chatter he provides also gives language background and helps you understand “why” things are said the way they are.  The way he teaches requires no memorisation or home work, and he makes it his problem for you to remember – something he does quite well.

We’ve just finished the foundation course (8 CDs) and feel we can converse okay with someone – so long as they are patient and use simple French!  We can now understand a lot more and read a lot more French – more practice required….  For the first run through its probably better to sit down and chill with a drink and finger ready on “pause”, but for repeats its okay to have on when driving.

Now we’ve been through the foundation course CDs there is a 2-CD refresher course we’ll go over a few times and then hit the advanced course.  Then, of course, try and make the French speak slowly and using simple French and we’ll be home and dry!!!

That said, I’ve had a couple of conversations with people on ski lifts – one conversation was 50/50 English/French – as in he was speaking English and I was replying in French – something we both enjoyed.  Shame he was a skier! 

To show what words are covered and the type of phrases, see the attached PDFs of the course manuals which are just a guide to go with the CD course – I’ve attached here to give you idea of the depth the course takes.  By themselves they are useless – you do need the audio course CDs to go with them.  You can download a demo .MP3 file so you can see how the course starts before you buy.

• Download free Michel Thomas French Foundation PDF
• Download free Michel Thomas French Advanced PDF
• Download free Michel Thomas French Language PDF
• Free Demo MP3 to see how good course is (NOTE:  45Mb download – ZIP file with MP3 inside)

Do remember though, he teaches in a way you understand why you say what you do rather than just learning a sentence parrot fashion.  If you haven’t tried it you should!

This in conjunction with our translator helps us phase sentences just using the translator as a tool to tell us the right word (and speak the pronunciation) to fill in the gap.

Michel also does other languages (see HERE) – including Spanish, Germain, Italian etc.  We also use the German version but aren’t familiar with the others

Rosetta Stone

Finally, Rosetta Stone is a PC and/or Mac application which takes you through learning and understanding basic sentences by matching words and hearing a real person speak with a picture.  It is very clever and it does increase understanding (we repeat what it says to practice as well) – but it doesn’t half go on and unless you are really motivated it can get tedious….

Rosetta Stone is also very very expensive – especially in comparison to our 2 preferred tools above.

In order, we’d recommend Michel Thomas method to anyone;  we’d also recommend the translator as an additional tool; but Rosetta Stone is a little boring and may well be forgotten about.

If anyone knows of a DECENT iPod/iPhone application that is as good as the translator then let us know, as sadly most translators we’ve found on the iPhone are basic and don’t have the detail of the dedicated translator.  Maybe one day…

(See the rest of our tip index here)

Our panel van conversion is professionally made and pretty much to a high standard and well insulated, though it was never sold nor suggested it was winterised.  I’d guess most campervans aren’t designed with heavy winter use in mind, so I thought I’d share our experiences and tips.

Using these tips, the van is pretty much perfect till about -5’C, perfectly fine till about -10’C, but beyond -15’C we hit its limit and have to give up with onboard water.  For safety and to prevent frost/ice damage, where we expect -15’C we will drain down the van and simply use a water container for fresh, and a washing up bowl for waste.

A few points worth noting though is how others cope.  We’ve seen DIY panel van conversions with no insulation and just rugs hanging from the wall….  We’ve also seen £60k+ vans with £2 bubblewrap around the cab (!!).  We’ve also seen people sitting inside vans with hats and coats.  Each to their own, but for us, if we can’t sit around in boxers ‘n’ t-shirt then its not worth it!  Hence our wishes for winterisation may be more extreme than others.

Base van

Our base van is pretty well insulated anyway, rock-wool insulation is already installed in most places.  The floor is raised and insulated and the roof and walls are material/carpet lined again with insulation in. 

We have gas heating and hot water and refillable gaslow.

All of our habitation and roof windows are double glazed.

Read your van manual so you know what goodies you have to play with.  Ours for instance has heated mirrors, heated windscreen and heated washer-jets.  Posh maybe, but I forgot about the heated washer jets when they were frozen solid so didn’t turn them on.  Doh…….

Water Tanks & pipes

Both our fresh and waste water tanks are under-slung, and all of the fresh pipework is on-board.  Waste water from the bathroom is under-slung to the tank.

Cold Air

By design, campervans are designed to have holes in in order to allow Oxygen to get in, and CO2 and other gas byproducts as well as raw gas to escape safely.  If you block all the holes you will die!  However, you should be able to stop cold air in some places.

Our Modifications / Usage tips

Water-based Modifications

We have insulated our fresh water tank, mainly double-layer and triple layer on the leading edge.  We also have a 12v (25W) heater installed with a defrost thermostat that automatically switches on/off to ensure water stays above 5’C.  The waste tank is simply insulated with the idea to drain the waste water continuously into a bucket.  The fresh tank is rated at remaining liquid till about -26’C.

All exterior pipework is insulated.

We have also lagged any pipes we can find, for instance under the kitchen sink.

When we expect freezing temperatures we leave the hot water tank on in order to prevent freezing, and the insulation in the area is such that it isn’t “close” around the tank, but enough to allow the heat to escape and keep the pump and main pipework area warm and the pipes fluid.

The toilet is on its own enclosed water system, so we just ensure the heating is left operating in the bathroom to allow the flush water to stay liquid.

When on hookup we have a small (500W ish) oil radiator in the bathroom.  This ensures the toilet doesn’t freeze, but it also makes a great room for drying our snowboarding gear!!

Insulation changes/ideas

We have added insulation around the fridge and the kitchen sink for winter use, and though this may make the fridge less efficient in the summer we’ve also added a thermostatic fan which will aid the fridge keeping cool.  We’ve also crammed insulation in between the van body and any furniture we can.  We have, of course, left gas-drop holes free and clear.

We found there were major draughts around the rear wheel arches where the cupboards are made over, so we’ve added insulation here, and we’ve also “sealed” the bottom cupboards so cold air within cannot come in to the habitation area.  Great, but this means the cupboards are colder and may well aid the pipe freezing problem above.

In a Panel Van Campervan, or I guess any motorhome, the main area for heat loss is the cab area where glass tends to be single glazed and insulation tends to be lacking.  For instance, the air vents let in air; the safety belts may have a huge hole straight to the chassis, and the seats act like fridges as the bases are metal welded direct to the un-insulated chassis.

We have made 2 pairs of curtains.  Both pairs are dual layer, with one layer being fleece and the other being blackout material which you can’t “blow” through.  One pair is full length and goes round a rail in the cab area, which goes all the way around the seats.  These Velcro against the van walls next to the door and together in the middle. When closed, they are black-out type and it means the van seats can be used as part of the habitation.  No draughts can be felt from anywhere in the cab and the insulation properties must be 15-20’C+.  For instance, we put our snowboards away in the “cab side” of these curtains.  In the morning there may well be snow on them and in the door footwells, whereas the habitation area and main seats have been 20’C or above.

The second set of curtains go between the cab seats and the habitation area and are fully velcroed.  These give a pretty much air-tight seal of the cab meaning that the habitation area (albeit smaller without the cab seats) is a LOT warmer as there is no heat loss from cab.  The benefit is that it is discreet as from outside the van seats look normal and behind is just “black”, so very stealthy and safe for wild camping. 

Only one set of curtains is used at a time (unless wild camping in -10’C or colder!).  We also use external silver screens in safe places.

The curtains are by far the best insulation modification we’ve made. 

Beware of stopping too much air flow as you may end up with condensation issues if the rest of the insulation isn’t up to the job.  I can happily report we do not suffer from any condensation (except van windscreen at times) so we are fine.

Heating

Our gas heating is fine even at -10’C or less, as long as the cab curtains are insulated.  Also the thermostat is good to allow it to run all night.  This makes it expensive ish as depending on the temperature the gas may only last 3-4 days.  Hence gaslow is important!

When on hookup, we have 2 oil-filled radiators.  One sits between the cab seats (900W) and one in the bathroom (500W?).  These are enough to keep the van at 20’C when it is -10’C outside.  A booster 1/2kw heater will get the van to a sleepy 25’C when its -15’C outside! 

Gas

If you are on a Propane gas system you will be fine, but if you are on Butane you may want to consider swapping as Butane only gasses and is usable at well above 0’C.

Gaslow or other refillable systems use a mix of Propane/Butane depending on where/when you bought it.  UK LPG is Propane, but Europe varies and tends to include more Butane…  Again, buy as close to the winter resorts as possible as we’ve found they use a winter mix.

The problem is, if you have a 80/20 mix of Propane/Butane and your gas locker is cold, then you will only use the 80% of Propane and the 20% Butane will remain as a liquid and stop your capacity.  Next time you fill up (80/20 mix) you will still have the 20% of Butane in the tank so effectively you will have a 64/36 mix.  If you repeat this a few times you will find you have very little usable Propane….

The only option is to go to wamer climes and burn off the Butane, or heat up your gas bottle locker to allow the Butane to gas.  Our gaslow bottle is in an internal cupboard as warm as we want so its not a problem for us.

Vehicle Engine etc

Before leaving, get antifreeze checked and rated, ours was validated at -35’C before we left which should be sufficient.

Fill up with Diesel near the winter areas as, though MAYBE more expensive, the fuel has winter additives in to prevent diesel waxing in the cold.

I would suggest if temperature is (or has just been) below -15’C and you can wait, then have a cuppa and wait a few hours, maybe till the sun shines on the van.  Ours, after a night of -18 really struggled to start when the temperature was -12.  It really wasn’t happy and you can imagine the oil being solid, the fuel being thick….  The starter motor has a huge about of work and the cold battery may not be able to cope and may well fail.  Best to wait…  I’d also suggest after a really cold night you check your antifreeze is still fluid.

Our van, maybe because it is gray, can be covered in snow and ice, and then after an hour in the sun we can clear it easily.

We have bought a 12v to 12v charger, which is like small and clever jump leads.  It plugs in a 12v socket on a working vehicle and also to a 12v socket on a “flat” vehicle, and it cleverly charger via the 12v sockets whilst maintaining a steady current.  We will use this to charge from habitation to engine battery if we ever need to – just our self insurance plan!

Make sure your windscreen washer fluid is up for the job.  You can get full “extreme winter” fluid which you use neat and it does not freeze.  If you use this, I suggest you empty the washer fluid reservoir first so you don’t mix it and reduce its efficacy.  

Tyres / Chains / Snow

If you plan winter use we would strongly recommend snow tyres.  In our case, and our real life experiences, on summer tyres we’d “spin” and get stuck on the slightest of inclines, and even on the straight when it is snowy, we’d have little confidence of grip.

We changed to snow tyres which we plan to keep on all year, and the difference is astounding. We were able to go up hills and overtake other stuck people – notwithstanding the extra cornering and braking grip.  The slight extra noise, maybe slightly worse life and fuel economy are well worth the price for the safety of these tyres.

We also carry snow chains (as required by law), and indeed have used them in conjunction with snow tyres.  Only because the road was sheet ice covered in snow!  We didn’t actually get stuck and need them as we were still moving, but the extra grip of the chains was considered wise considering the sheer drop next to the road….

We also carry, though so far never used, a big spade.

We have seen people with snow socks and other goodies, but as far as I know, these may work but don’t comply with the legal requirement of chains. 

We would strongly recommend you keep the chains inside the van where it is warm, and practice NUMEROUS times at home.  Cold and wet chains aren’t easy to fit at -10’C for the first time….  Also, when you fit chains, wear a fluorescent jacket!!!  We’d also suggest you know if your van is front or rear wheel drive and fit the chains on the correct wheels!!!  Yes, we’ve seen pictures of RWD BMW’s with the chains on the front wheels (which is wrong!).  Finally, make sure you are aware of your handbook requirements for chains.  Ours says you MUST turn off the traction control system when chains are fitted.

When parked up for a long time, take every opportunity to remove as much snow and ice as possible.  If you don’t then you could get a continuous stream of water/ice that will make SOLID lumps of ice in places you can’t see and will take an age to thaw.

Remaining Problems / Points to Note

Our fresh water is fine to about -10’C.  Beyond this, to about -13’C the pipes behind the cooker that lead from the pump to the kitchen will freeze.  The pipes are certainly embedded in some rock-wool insulation, but as the kitchen cupboard under the cooker is closed (as it has a gas drop hole) then there isn’t enough internal heat to keep the pipes fluid.  If the cupboard door remains open then this is unlikely to freeze.

Beyond -15’C – the pipe that connects the fresh tank to the pump freezes.  This is rather annoying as it stops all water flow in the van.  The fresh tank heater with natural conduction will keep this fluid till about -15 but after this it isn’t sufficient.  As such, if anything close to -15’C is expected we drain and shut down the water system.

Melting snow off the roof will run down the normal drainage channels and then freeze, then more water freezes onto this and eventually we get a lot of icicles.  Most aren’t an issue, but Ford in their wisdom have drainage running down the (large) gap between the front wing and the cab doors.  We have had this ENTIRE area as a solid lump of ice which prevents the doors opening!  Eek.

The sliding side door doesn’t feel superbly insulated but we can’t get into it to check and add more insulation.  Also, where our “step” is inbuilt into the floor, the cold can be felt here more than we’d like.  We have a draught-excluder but not sure it’s that great as it seems to be the whole door.  Though to be honest only a consideration at -10’C or less.

At -10’C or slightly less if windy, the floor becomes quite cold as we do not have carpet in (our choice).  Thick socks and slippers help, but ideally we’d have added more underfloor insulation. The alternative is to have thick carpet rather than vinyl but that wouldn’t be usable for us!  Considering we have maybe 4” of underfloor insulation and a gap from metal chassis – vans built directly on the metal van floor must struggle more.

Quick tip list for full winter use

• Don’t run fuel (Gas/Diesel) low – you never know when you might be stuck and need it.
• Fill up at/near winter resorts as fuel is geared for winter use
• Snow tyres are a safety device and really quite good
• Carry snow chains in the warm and practice before you need them!
• Take a spade
• Take and wear fluorescent jackets when outside the van
• Check engine antifreeze specification
• Change windscreen wash to winter use
• Read van manual on chain usage and all electric gizmos
• Read habitation manual on how to drain down/isolate various parts of habitation
• Consider getting insulated cab curtains made
• Oil radiators are good – small ones available – and we feel safe leaving on 24×7 (unlike a fan heater)
• Insulate all visible pipes and water tanks.
• Insulate any bare-metal you can see inside the van – but do NOT block gas drop holes.
• Take soft brush/broom to remove ice/snow from van exterior as frequently as possible

(See the rest of our tip index here)

The Best Travel Gadget Ever

Whilst I’m fairly technical and like my gadgets, its rare that I am really impressed with a new toy, and rarely does a new toy exceed my expectations.  Now having put the new toy through its paces whilst being away, I can only say I’m even more impressed than before.

What is it?

 

Its our iPod Touch third generation.  The comments herein also apply to the iPhone and perhaps iPad – though the iPad is a lot bigger (which has benefits) it is also too big to be discreet.

Whats an iPod Touch?

Well firstly, its a music player.  Though never, ever think that just because it has iPod in its name then thats all it does.  It has the same software as the iPhone and thus has millions of applications (though most you won’t want) – but it does have some awesome features which as a travel gadget mean it has a very versatile use.  The amazon links above have all the technical specifications, but…

Features for travellers like us!

• Music:  Ok I hate iTunes, but once all your music is on the thing you have one of the best MP3 players available, with album art, genius mixes and very good sound quality.
• Bluetooth:  With the Bluetooth, we’ve bonded the iPod to our van stereo so we can play our music over the van stereo without wires.  This means we can have the iPod and controls in the back of the van and play the music out of the front.  Neat!
• Good battery:  Only needs charging up if you use it a lot, and it charges quickly via a £2.99 ebay charger!
• Screen:  Very good screen that can be easily read indoors and outside.  Small enough to be discreet, but clear enough to read even small text.  Touch gestures mean using it and zooming is trivial.
• WiFi:  Very easy connection to WiFi hotspots and unsecured networks.  Excellent for discreet walk by scanning and quick connects.
• eMail:  Very good email connectivity including offline caching meaning you can write emails and store them for when you have a connection; and also download all your emails for reading later.
• Maps:  If you get even brief internet access in a town, you can click on “Maps” and download the local map which is cached.  Not only that, it works out where you are through wifi location.  Very rough but it is good enough to stop you getting lost.  The iPhone GPS will be much more accurate but even the WiFi location guess it positions you accurately enough.
• Safari:  Very good internet browser – that although small, the zooming is great and makes a quick surf very easy to do.  It even renders this site well!
• Games:  Virtually an unlimited supply of free and cheap games from the iStore and the quality is better than the Nintendo DS – so much so the DS hasn’t even been turned on for the last few months…  Still trying to get 3* on all Angry Birds levels..!
• Included apps:  Diary and Contacts integrate with Outlook, and Calculator and other conversion utilities just work.  They feel like quality and not some afterthought and are fully integrated into eMail.
• Paid applications:  There are some great applications you can buy though I’m not going to recommend specifics.  Suffice to say there are translators, tourist applications, city guides, walking tours etc.  Just amazing what there is….
• Skype: Yep – you can make free or paid skype calls from it from a wifi connection!

This is tip of iceburg really – it just works – and if you have a particular requirement there is almost certainly (within reason) going to be an application for it on iTunes. (e.g. underground maps, train timetables, games, facebook, google-earth etc etc).

Is there any gadget better?

Than an iPod touch?  Yes – an iPhone would beat it.  The iPhone also has camera, GPS, and digital compass which are all excluded from the iPod touch.  However, we found it difficult to justify the additional iPhone costs especially as abroad we don’t use it as a phone, thus the iPod touch won for us. If you have unlimited funds, or indeed use a phone a lot, then consider an iPhone.  However ensure the iPhone “phone” is off when abroad else you will get stung for huge roaming data charges.  (The iPod touch will never have any running costs)

All my experience of other gadgets, mobiles, and Windows Smart phones just don’t really compete with the iPod touch.  They feel flaky in comparison and many features feel like afterthoughts.  They definitely aren’t as easy to use as the iPod touch which, quite simple, does what you what in the way you expect.

So – thats our best gadget – multiple uses and it just works. Thats my top tip – even though I hate Apple!

   

 

(See the rest of our tip index here)

Our definitive Internet access guide for motorhome travellers

Whilst I fully accept being away means avoiding the usual internet emails and news, there are times when you need to access the Internet when abroad.  Typically this is very simple to achieve through simple roaming contracts with a mobile broadband supplier, or indeed getting PAYG mobile broadband for your local country.  However, I for one begrudge paying for Internet and of course roaming mobile broadband internet charges are extreme.

So this is a quick guide on how I access the Internet, pretty much hassle free, pretty much anywhere.  Please note though, I only need infrequent email checks and irregular surfing.  If you need full on surfing 24×7 then my ideas herein will not be sufficient.

But – this is how I do it, and am currently doing it sitting in a wet van on the coast in Denmark using laptop with long range aerial and unsecured wifi from no idea where…

My Equipment / Setup

1 – iPod Touch

We have a 3rd generation iPod Touch.  This is an excellent piece of kit which not only keeps all our music, but also has 3 important functions for the traveller.  See my full review of it here

Wifi:  It has full wifi capabilities, and not only that, it is intelligent in its use of hotspots.  For instance if you log into a hot spot called “FON_AP” – then it remembers all your credentials and will automatically log you on next time it sees one of the same name.  In addition, the in-built wifi scanning connection tool is quick to refresh and very simple to “try” open networks for connectivity. 

Safari:  It has a full web browser in the form of Safari – and this gives a pretty much full web experience.  Really quite impressive – and okay, not perfect for every day surfing, but ideal for quick things.

eMail:  It has full email integration with a number of providers, we use googlemail, and the iPod integration uses offline caching meaning you can write emails to be sent later; or indeed get all your emails and read them later.  Absolutely a dream to use for both reading and writing – more impressive than expected.

OK the iPod touch takes some practice, but compared to other smart phones and similar devices – its easy and actually out performs expectations.  It is discrete enough to have on/open whilst walking round town or anywhere you walk until the “open” wifi spot appears.  Probably about 70% of open wifi links allow you to connect, and around 70% of these work and connect to the Internet…  Simply scan…. click…. if connects open email…. sync…. done. 

Clearly if you scan a working spot in range of a cafe or parking place, then grab a cuppa and get the laptop out and connect to the same one!

2 – Laptop with long range WiFi aerial

I’ve got the USB Rocket wifi card mounted high in the van which gives us a range of 3-400m of available wifi.  This means when parked we get a good range for available wifi and whilst there isn’t always an open spot you may be in luck. (full review here)

However we’ve also used this when driving (well, when Mel drives I can use it!) as the range is sufficient that you have time to find an open network, connect, and sync email without stopping especially at slow town speeds and at junctions.  Though you have to be quick!

3 – BT Broadband/ FON

I’m amazed at how many people have BT Broadband but are unaware that they are permitted HotSpot access via the FON network…  This included my Dad (tsk!) as well as a couple of travel mates.  Nowadays, as far as I am aware, BT gives “unlimited wifi” when you use their broadband.  For contracts pre March 2009 you need to activate it (free) but post March 2009 it should be enabled by default.

This means, your BT username/password (e.g. fredsmith123@btinternet.com – note the btinternet.com ending) means you can legally/officially log on to any FON or BT Openzone network free of charge!  (erm – thanks Dad as he pays the broadband bill!).  Please note – this only applies to BT Home broadband accounts, NOT BT Business Broadband (Sorry Andy!)

In the UK there are so many BT Openzone hotspots its trivial, and abroad there are an increasing number of FON hotspots you can use.  We’ve found and used a few just by walking about with the iPod on and scanning.  Really easy… 

Fon.com have maps showing locations of wifi, and there are sites that have all the data on.  I’ve got an 2010 file with 650,000+ hotspots on for offline use which makes life a lot easier.

If you have BT Broadband, please google “bt fon”  “fon map” etc for full details.

 

4 – Kindle 3G

We’ve reviewed the Kindle 3G here - and for book reading its great, but for Internet access its also superb as all Internet over 3G is currently free anywhere.  Whilst it isn’t a perfect solution for internet access, it is sufficient for the basics and will suffice for basic email and internet use.  For backpacking it will be essential!

5 – McDonanlds

Yes – we know…  But we don’t eat there, but most bigger ones in Europe have free WiFi (see HERE for details)

In conjunction with the GPS locations, you can use the long range aerial above and simply sit outside making your own brew and borrowing their wifi.  Normally quite good links though they don’t allow “all things” to work, but eMail and web should always be okay.

Summary

Thats my collection – my Windows smart-phone seems to be retired now – the iPod touch if far superior for this purpose.  And quite simply, when I’ve needed to I’ve been able to get Internet access for no cost.  Hope this is useful to someone!  So far I have been able to check email multiple times daily quite easily.  Sad I know but I’m finishing off a project that means I have to be on email….

We do walk/cycle around a lot which means we do cover lots of areas as we like exploring both town centres and other parts of towns.  If you don’t walk very far then the chances of finding a free hotspot is proportionally reduced.

Legalities

This is just how I do it, it may or not be good for you.  Using non-hotspot unsecured wifi connections may be illegal but you need to check.  I believe if someone has left wifi unsecure then its because they want to help lowly travellers like me (thanks).  You should satisfy yourself with the law of the country you are in before following my tips! 

Country specifics

UK has plenty of hotspots, even in town centres, cafes, pubs and even McDonalds offer free wifi so you can either stand outside and be quick or pop in, have a drink and take longer.  Using the BT Openzone hotspots opens up huge other areas both in towns and almost all residential areas.  Probably the easiest country for obtaining wifi access.

France, Holland, Belgium are all okay, McDonalds is generally good.  Reasonable amounts of FON hotspots in France and Holland though not many in Belgium.

Germany is fairly tough as their laws state people must have secured wifi.  As such even cafes tend not to have free wifi.  That said, I have been able to easily find open wifi every day using the iPod touch as well as the fairly infrequent FON spots. McDonands is fine but you generally need to buy something to get a code valid for an hour.

(See the rest of our tip index here)

For a lot of newcomers and experienced campers alike, one of the regular questions that come up is “how do I get water and empty waste” – especially on long trips.

Well the easy answer is to use campsites, but of course if you like exploring more and using the Aires and Stellplatz networks across Europe, then you may benefit from some further advice.

Locations

Firstly, you need to know where the aires are in order to know where facilities are to fill up with water and empty waste.  You would benefit from the many Aires databases available online (some on my site), but also consider buying aires books – such as Bordatlas (Europe Wide), Camperstop (Europe Wide) and All The Aires guides (Country specific) as these tell you both where the aires are, and also what facilities they have.  Importantly, NOT ALL aires have facilities!!  So make sure you know.

Someone reminded me that, as a last resort, you may be able to get fresh water from the water tap at churches/graveyards.  If you do make sure it is drinking water (relevent in far out places).  We’ve never had to resort to this yet!

Filing up with Fresh Water

Many aires have just taps, many have “machines” you need to connect to.  Due to the variety I can’t detail them here, and must assume when you get there you can see what you need to do!  The one here pictured has a fresh water tap/nozzle (A) (with a hose-loc adapter attached already, I’d always remove that, clean, then install my own); a toilet tank cleaner tap at the bottom (B), and waste outlets on the ground (C) is for toilet and is a lift up flap; (D) is for grey waste.  This one costs 1 Euro for 10 mins worth of fresh water (100 L) though the toilet tank cleaner is “always on”.  Obvious to say, but don’t be tight and NEVER EVER use the toilet tank cleaner tap to fill fresh!

Here is a list of our tips and advice for getting fresh water.  Please also note we happily drink straight from our tank with no ill effects so they must work for us!

 

Hose (8)

We recommend and use a plastic flat hose which can be used without being fully unwound (8).  This is perfect and saves time (and space).  It is infact 3 small tubes combined into a flat hose.  It has standard hose-loc connectors at either end.  We’ve modified this with a couple of holes and cable tie to stop the end coming out when you rewind!  These are hard to find, but look XXXXXXXX.  We suggest you avoid garden hoses as you can get plastic/rubber tasting water – the hose we use isn’t flagged as food quality but we have no plastic taste.  Also – do not use the “flat hoses” that need to be fully unwound.  These are awful, puncture on thorns, and are a pain as you have to unwind them fully each time which makes them both a hassle and dirty. 

If you have the same hose as us, when you put this hose away, always let it empty by winding it all back in but leave about 1.5m lose, then raise the hose reel high.  Laws of siphoning will make the hose empty itself!  Also, before you put away, connect both ends with a female/female adapter to prevent any drips.

The hose we use is easily packable and lightweight.  The only downside is that water flow isn’t as good as a normal hose such that filling a tank may take slightly longer.

Disinfectant wipes (4)

On any tap, you have no idea what else it has been used for.  Not everyone has the same hygiene as you.  So ALWAYS thoroughly wipe down the tap with a single-use disinfectant wipe.  Including inside the tap as far as you can go.  If it looks dirty, go elsewhere, but generally a good disinfectant wipe is okay.

Connectors (1,2,3,5,6)

We carry a few connectors most available from garden centres in a multi-pack.  The main screw on connector (1 )is used in 90% of places; the smaller screw adapter (2) rarely.  The push-on adapter we have (5) is used sometimes but always makes a mess!  As you can see I’ve made a bit of hose with a hose-loc adapter so I can connect my hose to it (via a female/female adapter (3)).  As push on adapters normally fall off, I also carry some releasable cable ties (6) to hold it onto the tap if needed.  Also, some taps are “push to fill” which are a pain, so the cable ties can also be used to hold the button on.

Tank Insert (9)

As you can see from the picture, I have a hose tail (food quality) that connects to the hose reel.  This is the bit I push into the tank and thus never touches the floor and remains clean and is easily washed separately if needed.

Filling toilet flush tank

If you have a toilet flush tank, then you can use the same setup, but just hold the “tank insert” tail above the filler – never let it touch as no doubt the toilet flush chemical doesn’t taste nice!

Keeping fresh tank clean

Please see here for our advice on keeping the fresh water tank fresh

The Toilet

Not the nicest of jobs, but not as bad as it could be!  We use the thetford blue chemical in the tank, and thetford pink in the flush.  Other people have tips on using biological clothes washing liquid and other such things which we have tried.  And okay they are cheaper, but the emptying is less pleasant.  As a 2L (£10) bottle of Thetford blue lasts 15 or so uses then I’m happy with that!  I guess the success of the other alternatives depends on how often you empty the cassette.  Our cassette is big so lasts 4+ days, if you have a smaller type then the cheaper alternatives may work.

Silly and obvious point, don’t put anything bar natural toilet waste and paper into the loo!

Toilet waste is often referred to as “Black Waste”

Toilet Paper

In our experience, the cheap supermarket loo papers break down fine in short spaces of time.  Avoid premium Andrex type brands, and don’t bother paying for the thetford specialist paper.  Morrisons £1.32 for 12 rolls seem to be the best for us.

Use gloves

Very few people seem to wear gloves as, to be fair, most of the time you don’t need them.  When filling up with diesel we take a few extra gloves from the petrol station and use those…

Obviously discard after use and wash your hands.

Emptying Toilet

If your empty point has a lift up lid, always use gloves to lift the handle, and when you close it never let it drop – lower it gently to avoid splashes.  Poor in the toilet cassette slowly, and if you have one remember to press the “air valve button” on the cassette!

Look for a “flush/rinse” button that will give the empty point a clean.  If your facility has one, I would suggest you close any lid prior to flushing – as some have powerful jets that will spray everywhere if the lid is open.  As usual, keep your gloves on as you have no idea who/what pressed the button last.

Cleaning cassette

Unless you are packing the cassette up for the winter, you don’t want it spotless, so don’t rinse it 10 times.  You need/want some bacteria left in order to facilitate the break-down process.  So a couple of rinses to make sure nothing is stuck should suffice.  When rinsing, never use the fresh water tap (some people may, hence disinfectant wipes!) – there is normally another tap.  If you must use the same tap, don’t let the cassette touch it, and also wipe down after.  For rinsing, we may put in 5L of water, then shake vigorously, then pour out.  Unless you are well practiced don’t forget to put the “cap” back on the toilet cassette.

Once emptied, add your necessary chemical and add a splash of fresh water so the tank always has fluid covering the bottom so that hard solids can’t form.

We always wipe the outside of the cassette down with a disinfectant wipe, then kitchen roll, so it goes back clean and dry.

Where to empty toilet

If you can’t find an aire and need to empty it, you can use public toilets.  But for the sake of everyone, leave it cleaner than you found it and disinfect with wipes afterwards.

IN MY OPINION there is no problem emptying down public loos or any main sewer, so long as it isn’t going into a cesspit where the chemicals may affect the operation. Almost all aires, campsites and disposal points actually connect the toilet and other waste water so in effect it goes down the same hole.  In some countries, such as Finland, they may use earth-toilets which would be damaged if you disposed of toilet chemicals within them, so always check before disposing especially in far flung countries.

In our experience, there are enough formal places to dispose of toilet waste correctly. We’ve never had to use the emergency public loos!

But please, think and leave areas tidy – don’t make yourself and others unwelcome.

Gray Waste

Gray waste is the waste water from washing, showering, washing up etc.  In other words, dirty water but generally well diluted and not unhygienic.

Waste water smell

Waste water should not smell – if it smells then you have a bacterial infection in the tank and this needs to be killed off – else the smell will become a stench!  Please see the Zappys blog on this.  Also, we use Thetford waste tank freshener once in a while that stops this happening.  Generally the smells may become more common in hotter climates, but suggest you are prepared with an antidote just in case you start to get a pong coming through.

Preventing blockage/smell

Wherever possible, don’t put food down the sink, so when you wash up, don’t for instance shove all the food leftovers down the plughole as you would at home!  We would suggest you wipe the plate with a kitchen-roll sheet to remove leftover food, such as rice, and just put it in the bin.  Reducing food in the waste tank will reduce the chance of a smelly outbreak and also leaves the water cleaner.

Emptying waste

Most aires have disposal points, some are drive over and some you have to put the waste down a particular hole.  If you can – great!  These all vary but generally work.

Many of us at home, if say, washing up outside, or indeed having an outside shower, would think nothing of letting the water drain on the grass.  As such, we personally don’t have too much of a problem emptying the grey tank on or over grass or even small amounts down normal drains.  Please note our waste tank is small so for us I’m talking about small quantities (20L or less).  Some people may say this is wrong and inconsiderate – but personally as I’d happily through the water over my garden I think it fine (in small amounts).

However we would also say that you should consider your environment and ensure you will not cause any damage.

Planning ahead

If you are a tourer-type person continually on the move, always have a plan as to where you expect to fill up and empty tanks, and always have a backup plan available.  Also – never leave it to the last minute.  After all our experience, we now make use of pretty much any facilities we find rather than eek out every last drop on board.

We’d say the vast majority of stop-offs have the facilities as described in the books and are fine, though you will certainly find an odd few which are either broken; been removed; or have been left in such a mess you won’t want to use them…  Also – do keep a selection of coins handy as you never know what you may need to operate the machine.

(See the rest of our tip index here)

There are a couple of electrical questions that keep coming up, this is one of them. 

At home, you have constant 240v power supply from the mains, and thus pretty much everything you have connects to 240v.  Most modern “portable” appliances however use a transformer to step down the voltage to 5v, 12v, 19v or similar to power small electrical devices.  Looking around my house, the only truely 240v appliances are large LCD TV, kettle, dishwasher, washing machine, hair dryer, and my PC.

The vast majority don’t actually use 240v.  And to be fair, the vast majority you’d take with you in a campervan would use lower voltages.

The only exceptions which you’d may take away with you are kettle and hair dryer, but really you’d not want to run these on an inverter!!!!

Big Appliances

Some basic maths for you.

• Electric kettle at home takes 240v and is rated at, say, 2kw or 2000W.  2000W/240v is 8 Amps
• Your campervan is 12v, so 2000W inverter sufficient for your kettle would pull 2000W/12v = 166 Amps! 

Now thats huge!  The cable to the inverter would need to be massive and the energy required from the battery would not help its life expectancy!  Now say your leisure battery is 85AH, this means it can provide 85 Amps for an hour (or any ratio thereof) though its recommended not to flatten your battery more than 50% on a regular basis, so you really have around 42AH to use.  A kettle on an inverter using 166A means it would flatten your battery within (166/42) = 15 minutes!!!!!

So what I’m saying, is huge energy appliances like a kettle amd hair dryer and not really sutiable to run in a van from battery even if you had an inverter.

Other Appliances

Most portable appliances, such as digital cameras, iPods, GPS, laptops, TVs, DVDs etc can all run from a 12v supply but with a small transformer in the way.  Maplin sell for instance a generic power supply that fits both laptops.  It takes the 12v supply and “ups it” to 19v which the laptops require.  Their range includes smaller units, 40W, for netbooks, up to 120W that will work bigger laptops.  I suggest the 120W version as even though you may not need one so big, it means it is more efficient and doesn’t get as hot. 

eBay is also a great place to buy 12v chargers for mobiles, cameras and the like and these are only a few £ each.

TVs / DVDs

A lot of people take TVs and DVD players away, and some of these are motorhome specific (MEOS, Avtex) and thus designed for 12v.  Some use 240v ones via an inverter.  Some buy cheaper 240v ones which actually have an external transformer 240v AC–>12v DC and they simply buy a converter to plug directly into the van.

Some tips and comments on TVs:-

• Do not use inverter. These are very inefficient loosing maybe 20% of power to “heat” and other losses.  Always run from 12v if you can.
• MEOS 12v TV works fine for me and does pretty much everything you want.
• Rememebr, 12v in a motorhome is actually variable 11v to 13.6v when on hookup to 14.6v when driving.  Motorhome specific TVs are designed to cope with this range, whereas home TVs converted to a van use are expecting a clean and stable 12v supply. Thus some may be sensitive and fail when on a van.  That said, they are a lot cheaper and to be honest I’d reckon most would be fine, so I would give it a go if you fancy it!  You could of course use a voltage regulator to maintain 12v.
• Motorhome specifiv TVs should be lower power and more resistant to vibration than home units.
• If you buy a home TV to use in the van, then make sure it has an EXTERNAL transformer that converts 240v AC to 12v (or so) DC.  I’d recommend you get a good voltage converter with multiple adapters such as from Maplin

Extending Battery Life

Only use things when you need!

Change Halogen lights to LED – this made the biggest difference to us and is very easy (though not cheap) to do

Get a smaller TV.  We’ve got a MEOS 13.3″ because it fits perfectly.  It takes 2A.  15″ TVs can take 4-5A which takes 2x the power.  Do you really need a big screen?

Get a decent laptop!  My old laptop used to draw around 65W to charge, around 6 Amps!  And even then then when fully charged the battery lasted 1.5-2hrs.  My new laptop is an ultra-low voltage Asus UL30A and is superb.  It uses only 3A to charge and the battery lasts 8+ hours.  And its got a better screen, lighter etc…. 

Blown air heating uses a lot of battery, so make sure you use this only when necessary and perhaps insulate the van better and block draughts.

Finally, add more batteries   We have 2x 100AH and these last us very well indeed!

So, Do you need an inverter?

NO!

After my post HERE on an 2010 file for the 2010 data I’ve accumulated, too many people have asked me for a version.  I really don’t want to give it out as most of it is available elsewhere and I do not and never have proclaimed to be the data owner.

But for those that found the Autorote 2010 file useful, here is the version to download.

>>  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 2010 Data <<

** I DO NOT PROFESS TO HAVE CREATED ANY OF THIS DATA – MEERLY COMBINED IT **.  I don’t think this is an issue, but if any of the data owners think it is then please let me know immediately and I will remove this file.  All of the data sources are listed on our links page http://www.doyourdream.co.uk/resources-downloads/useful-links/ 

How to install

I cannot support any other GPS devices, and I can’t help you with your specific device. 

1. When you connect your you should get a new “drive letter” appear on your computer
2. Browse this drive letter and you should see a folder saying “Western Europe” or similar
3. The file you download should be a .ZIP file.  When you open this ZIP file you will see a few other files, .OV2 and.BMP
4. Copy all the file from the ZIP file into your “Western Europe” folder.

The icons, names, and data should match the data and icons in the download.

   

Here is a list of tips we’ve made that are worth listing in one place as otherwise they may be lost in the blog section of the site!

Van Specific Tips

• Which 12v laptop charger for the motorhome?
• Cleaning fresh water tank
• Getting fresh water, and dealing with waste
• Do you need an inverter in the van?
• Ideal laptop for van
• Winterising a Panel Van Conversion Campervan
• Fixing a Malaga 3 Propex gas water heater
• Fixing faulty EGR Valve on Transit Mk 6
• Habitation Service Items and checks

Internet & Electronics in relation to van

• Long range Wi-Fi Access
• Cheap TV ideal for travellers and campervans
• Our definitive guide for easy and free internet access abroad
• Best travel gadget ever (iPod Touch)
• Get UK Internet Content (e.g. iPlayer) abroad
• Kindle 3G – free internet abroad
• FON Hotspots FAQ and GPS POI
• Is Open Unsecured WiFi Safe to use?

Camping / Motorhome site type tips

• 2011 Aires / ACSI / Camping Cheque / Bordatlas GPS
• Cheap off-peak camping (ACSI, Camping Cheques etc)

General travel tips

• Don’t forget your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
• Learn a language – learn to speak the local lingo with Michel Thomas

Finally the generic ones

• All posts tagged “tips”
• All posts in category “Useful Info”
• General Tips page 1  (oldest information, some may be out of date)
• General Tips page 2 (oldest information, some may be out of date)