Full time through winter in search of new life
- Thread starter dawsey
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MisterB
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- Feb 25, 2018
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- enough to know i shouldnt touch things i know nothing about ....
Well, I’ve done a week of intensive French, a total of 30hrs and persuaded the school to let me take the A1 test on the 17th Nov. Can’t do it sooner cost the school is shut from 1st to 13th Nov as it is moving location. I have the final ‘culture’ day in Brest on the 14th. I will do 6 hr this monday just before the school closes for a relocation, then on the 15th and 16th another 6hr each day, it gets me to 48hr. I do the test on 17th 3hr so it all counts as my hours making 51hr, just pipping the absolute min of 50hrs you must do to be able to take the A1 test. If I pass it will be quite good, there are folks in the class who seem to have been going to class for months and done 200 or 300 hrs and they still not ready for the A1 test. It’s cos many of these guys can’t even read and some don’t seem self aware enough to understand how important it is for them, just listening to music in class, gambling (the africans) or in case of some of the Afghans, watching American baseball. Others among the Afghans are pretty studious though. Most of the arabic/muslim women seem to lack confidence for some reason.
I reckon all the clever folks on MHF, if applying themselves, would not have a problem. I’m quite enjoying formal, structured language lessons. Bea is hopeless at teaching me, she just gets annoyed that I can’t instantly grasp some super complex verbal conjugation.
Had an issue with the camper, lost all power and the belt started screaming, but concerned to make it to a safe place a couple of days ago. Must have stressed the electrical systems with all these early morning dark starts and 50A charging on B2B (no sun), plus lights, heating, wipers etc. It’s 100A draw, at idle when cold. I fitted a 180A alternator before this thing , but hey..
Got underneath today and the alternator reaction arm bolt has sheared off, it’s deep in engine and impossible to get out. No wonder we lost all power and cooling, nothing to keep the belt tensioned…. It was slipping like crazy, giving no output and screaming like a banshee. Thankfully I had sneakily constructed the electrical system design so the FIE, lights, engine, indicators etc could could run off the leisure batteries in event of total failure, it allowed us to get to Beas Dads garage.
Found this:
View attachment 828652
The circled bit is the cast lug that the alternator torque/adjustment arm bolts to, Also it is the electrical earth. Bolt has sheared clean off in the lug. Can’t get it out (had a go though, hence the scorching) No wonder some elec glitches had started happening. There was no earth! The bolt has snapped clean off. Nothing keeping the alternator/ water pump belt tensioned at all.
To fashion an in-the-field fix I used Beas dads welding gear to fabricate and weld up a clevis extension to the torque arm so it locates positively over the lug and can’t move. It thus again allows load reaction (tightening of the belt), so I banged on a new belt and made up a new earth strap linking alternator and block and all was good! It took a few hours, but no worries. It’s the sort of thing that a garage would tell some poor person is an engine out job for access and a helicoil and then suggest ‘€000’s and weeks.
View attachment 828657
All back together now and ready for test at 0730 Monday again, when it’s all lights on, heating and demisting on, fridge on 12V, and engine running, 50A from B2B…. It’s 100A draw starting from cold.
Will be fine
And that's one of the reasons I always thought that him and Bea would turn around any project they got involved in and perhaps why he sometimes comes over as naively confident. There is no naivety in their confidence( Or ability) ...
What’s the problem? it’s just an automated manual system, they are pretty simple things. I’ve got it on one of my cars, it uses essentially the same Magnetti Marelli product as your Vans, (it was actually developed as the ‘F1’ system for Ferrari in the 90s). Mine is on a 7 speed Graziano transaxle. They are a bit funky to drive (especially if no hill hold feature), but are really robust, very little mechanically ever goes wrong with the actuator rods and selectors. Hydraulically, the pump can fail (easy diagnosis and easy fix), fluid lines (if flexi) can crack and leak (same again) and rarely the speed sensor can fail. That’s about it. Normally issues are caused by how robustly the control software and error state reaction is deployed, eg comms issues caused by corroding connectors etc. The biggie in my application is the reaction to clutch wear, when the ‘kiss (or take up) point’ system clutch wear calibration is done, normally on startup, if excessive clutch wear is detected it disables the ability to select a gear and leaves you stranded as opposed to throwing an error and giving a warning that you need to replace the clutch. I don’t know if this is common, I wouldn’t have thought so in van applications. I used a specialist to access the calibration code and disabled this feature on mine.Dawsey ... are you any good at fixing Comfortmatic gear/clutch issues?
Mechanically, the weak point of automated manuals is that they can wear out clutches far more quickly than a good driver would. It’s because many people maybe not fully aware that they are not an automatic treat them as a slusher (torque converter auto) which you can leave ‘slipping’ indefinitely without issue (ie crawling in traffic, crawling up hill, reversing on full lock, or up hills etc).
This wears out clutches of AMT (automated manual transmissions) very rapidly.
Shrimp
Funster
Yep, looks like a Japan-spec 4JG-on with the rear disk brake, as opposed to the USA-spec earlier 3RW with the measly drum
Ours (bought for Bea to learn on cos of the light weight and low seat) is a 4JG.
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Late to the party, but that's right, it's Chateau Suage at Exireuil that is still for sale. We can see it on a hill a couple of kms away from our kitchen window.I'm not sure that is correct?I read an article in the Express that indicated exactly that, but in fact the newspaper appeared to have got completely the wrong end of the stick (surprise surprise
). It was another chateaux that had featured in the spin-off show - 'Escape to the Chateau DIY' - up for sale, not Dick and Angel's place.
- Aug 18, 2014
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Good luck with that.
- Aug 18, 2014
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That is because in Spain it is illegal to wash your vehicle in the street, on your own private property or anywhere apart from standalone environmentally* recycled vehicle wash areas.
* it is an environmental offence with eye watering fines.Ground water contamination
Minxy
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Read post #2 onwards ....
Minxy
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Don't we know it! We had to swill down the bit of tarmac next to a MH service point due to our Romy being sick, a chap on a scooter came along and was having a right go at us despite us explaining why - we don't speak Spanish but he understood perfectly from my 'animations' - he actually rang the police who turned up just after we'd gone to the nearby supermarket - they actually pulled in the car park but didn't bother us.
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?Read post #2 onwards ....
Minxy
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Sorry, my link didn't show up ...
MH full service - very happy with local Hull company
Just had our Carthago given a full base service including: oil & filter air filter brake fluid change new brake pads at front & cleaned at rear (didn't need replacing) In addition they also knew about greasing the Alko rear axle, many places don't!!! Cost: £472 + MOT at £50 = £522 Will...
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Looking briefly it seems that the servicing place has messed things up. I would politely but firmly, and both in writing, request then demand they put it right then use the small claims court using that thread as evidence.Sorry, my link didn't show up ...
MH full service - very happy with local Hull company
Just had our Carthago given a full base service including: oil & filter air filter brake fluid change new brake pads at front & cleaned at rear (didn't need replacing) In addition they also knew about greasing the Alko rear axle, many places don't!!! Cost: £472 + MOT at £50 = £522 Will...
It’s not worth trying to sort it yourself, you will just give a reason for the ones who are culpable to escape responsibility.
Whoo last night was a bit rough. The last forecast update at 7pm yesterday said 155kph, up from 135 previously forecast. There wasn’t time to move anywhere properly inland. In the end, 200kph plus gusts was measured locally. We were on a beach near Roscoff, Finistere which is in the far North West Brittany coast. I oriented the van into the wind and we put ourselves into a slight cove where winds would be lower but something big still hit us, I think it was a park bench that has moved quite a distance in the night. It’s bashed up a bumper a bit. All roads in Finistere are closed for today due to downed trees and power lines.
The good news is that all 6 of my solar panels and the retracted sat dish all survived the storm, which somehow also managed to partially open the bonnet and deform the mechanism. That will be an easy fix though.
The good news is that all 6 of my solar panels and the retracted sat dish all survived the storm, which somehow also managed to partially open the bonnet and deform the mechanism. That will be an easy fix though.
- Dec 24, 2014
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It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, so maybe there'll be some storm-ravaged semi-derelict sites going at bargain-prices for restoration?
Right up your street.
Glad you're O.K. though as I've been enjoying your posts on searching for a site.
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Not wishing to hijack/divert the thread but as Visas had been mentioned, I thought I'd correct a couple of things with regard to retiring to France and obtaining a visa.
My wife and I are in our mid 50s and now live in France. We obtained an 'Inactif' visa last summer. There were a few hoops to jump through.
1. We had to provide proof of an address for the 12 month period. (We have owned a property here for 20 yrs....a long term do'er upper, Kevin McCloud would be bored stiff with us by now)
2. We had to provide proof of finances. There is a set amount for an adult c €1400 and up to double for a couple. It is not set in stone as out of that could come rent/mortgage payment. If you sold a house in the UK and bought here...and banked £100k then you are covered.
(For year two, you apply to renew 2-4 mths before expiry of yr 1 and it is straightforward...if you had no monthly income and were using part of that £100k and were down to say £75k....you'd have no issue with your visa)
3. You need private health insurance for the full period of the visa. The cost varied between €2500 and over €10k for us. Most will not cover pre-existing issues. I had cancer 3 years ago. We got insurance without issue with a policy that simply stated 'Pre-existing issues not covered'. The Policy was accepted by the powers that be.
4. You sign 'on your honour' that you won't work whilst in France.
3 Visa centres exist in the UK. London, Manchester and Edinburgh. London is the busiest, Manchester next, the Edinburgh where we went (from Yorkshire, we figured we were doing a life changing thing so made a short break of it. The Visa centre was centrally located, quiet and the staff were brilliant. We were in and out in 40 minutes incl a 10 minute fire alarm drill)
We brought our furniture across in a hire van, had to call at Douanes in Calais (Tunnel) with official paperwork (removals firm wanted £250 to complete....it was half a side of A5..name, address, signature!) and a list of what was in the van...PLUS stuff we were going to bring later (within 12 months) including my motorbike. We were in and out with forms stamped in half an hour. No issues at all.
2 weeks later we called back on the motorbike with the orginal stamped form. Douane checked the bike VIN, stamoed the requisite form and off we went. We now had 1 month to start the process of re-registering the bike. That took about 3 weeks and cost 45€ in admin to guy who did it for a living plus c €130 in tax. (No annual VEL here)
On arrival we registered the visa and in the first 6 months had x-rays, got our Carte Vitale medical card and then in June received our Residency permit.
We did not have to sit a french test, nor attend any lessons. Not required for our type of visa.
It is bureaucratic but no more so than the UK and I suspect most in the UK would relish a system where incomers had to prove they could support themselves.
(I had to visit hospital before I got my card and had to pay. Emergency dept, several blood tests, 2 Drs, CT scan. I was in and out in 4 hours and it cost €292)
Are we glad we did the move...Hell yes. Pace of life, climate, healthcare, quiet well maintained roads. (I've cycled 3k plus miles here and have yet to have a near miss....had them on every single ride in West Yorkshire)
We are in Creuse, the next department to Correze.
Great to hear that there’s something in place for retirees. Are you exempted from having to learn the language, pass the tests ?
Yes, he said that.
"We did not have to sit a french test, nor attend any lessons. Not required for our type of visa."
We loved that area. We did it on our last trip as we had only driven thru. Nice area to live
Carol
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Well, it looks like your dream to retire in n France might be back on Carol. Thanks to MGDavid for clarifying that. We had no idea as we are just trying to relocate to buy a business.
Looks like common sense has prevailed. Let’s hope that they use the French retirement age and not the Brit one
dawsey when do you finish school and do your exam? It’s a long way back to check.Well, it looks like your dream to retire in n France might be back on Carol. Thanks to MGDavid for clarifying that. We had no idea as we are just trying to relocate to buy a business.
Looks like common sense has prevailed. Let’s hope that they use the French retirement age and not the Brit one
carol
I have a post 50hr provisional test on the 17th. If I pass no need for the next 50hr. It the A1 level, needed for basic work and another visa. I’m confident, the Africans and the Afghans don’t seem bothered, cant be deported due to Human Rights. The Thai brides are trying, the Japanaese business man and me are a team. The Spanish speaking latin americans have already nailed it. The Arabs feel it beneath them.
So many in UK have no clue what Brexit (shoot me) really means for themselves, their kids, grandkids. EU about to make English the only official language and the idiotic Brits only went and excluded themselves, their kids and grandkids from all the tens of thousands of high paying jobs…..
If they are making English the official language why have you got to do french?I have a post 50hr provisional test on the 17th. If I pass no need for the next 50hr. It the A1 level, needed for basic work and another visa. I’m confident, the Africans and the Afghans don’t seem bothered, cant be deported due to Human Rights. The Thai brides are trying, the Japanaese business man and me are a team. The Spanish speaking latin americans have already nailed it. The Arabs feel it beneath them.
So many in UK have no clue what Brexit (shoot me) really means for themselves, their kids, grandkids. EU about to make English the only official language and the idiotic Brits only went and excluded themselves, their kids and grandkids from all the tens of thousands of high paying jobs…..
- Jul 7, 2021
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Careful now you might upset a lot of people who seem to see lots of benefits where there are none, quite the opposite actuallyI have a post 50hr provisional test on the 17th. If I pass no need for the next 50hr. It the A1 level, needed for basic work and another visa. I’m confident, the Africans and the Afghans don’t seem bothered, cant be deported due to Human Rights. The Thai brides are trying, the Japanaese business man and me are a team. The Spanish speaking latin americans have already nailed it. The Arabs feel it beneath them.
So many in UK have no clue what Brexit (shoot me) really means for themselves, their kids, grandkids. EU about to make English the only official language and the idiotic Brits only went and excluded themselves, their kids and grandkids from all the tens of thousands of high paying jobs…..
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- Aug 18, 2014
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Because he is applying in France with a French wife national rules apply .apply in another state ,like here, & it is automatic ,more or less.. Plus it means that the French can limit those they let in.
I should have been clearer, the EU institutions, Parliament, commission etc based in Brussels, Strasbourg etc are going to vote to make English their principal working language, where previously it’s been English, French and German. The Germans were never that bothered, but the French have until now been pretty insistent that all employees of EU also be proficient in French, it’s still the dominant language for diplomatic texts etc (something about it being more precise).
Anyway, for some reason they have quietly been dropping the French testing for new employees, ensuring only proficiency in English, and it seems they are on the cusp of voting to go wholesale just to English as the working language. With the UK gone the only native speakers of English in the EU are the Maltese and the Irish, so it’s now seen as a minority and more neutral language.
It’s curious, one impact of us leaving the EU is that it looks like it will ultimately end up with what I guess the Brits would have always liked it to have, English as it’s undisputed lingua Franca of choice.
Different subject to what Chaser was commenting on, but yeah this is also true. Because France is Beas home nation then National rules apply, they trump EU rules (who knew?) and we now have to jump through the hoops just as any lady of a certain age marrying a Turkish waiter or a Masai warrior on holiday and fetching him home (or for balance one of those 50yo blokes who goes on holiday to Thailand then divorces the Mrs and comes back with a 20 yr old girl found in a bar). We even have to attend interviews to prove that It’s not a marriage of convenience and I’m not some gigilo after a EU passport. Rules are rules
Nice to hear that there’s stuff in place for retirees to get around it all though - though it is a bit ironic that the cohort who predominantly voted to inflict you know what on everybody else are managing to evade some of the consequences!
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I Best be careful.
I wash mine on the drive. My New neighbours are from uruguay. Not the friendliest of people.
tinkertaylor
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Not sure of how accurate the headlines are but seem promising
French senate backs ‘automatic visa’ right for UK second-home owners
However, two other amendments including a five-year 'homeowner' visa were rejected
www.connexionfrance.com
French senate backs ‘automatic visa’ right for UK second-home owners
However, two other amendments including a five-year 'homeowner' visa were rejected
French senate backs ‘automatic visa’ right for UK second-home owners
However, two other amendments including a five-year 'homeowner' visa were rejected
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