Headlights

[amandastuart]

We're new to the world of Motorhomes and hope someone can help us.
We're about to take delivery of a 2024 Swift Voyager 540. We plan on taking it to Europe
Can anyone tell us are the headlights LED and do they need beam deflectors for driving abroad?
Thanks in advance

 

[Spriddler]

No joy asking the supplying dealer I suppose?
Maybe the answer will be in the owners manual when you get it.

 

[97243]

No joy asking the supplying dealer I suppose?
Maybe the answer will be in the owners manual when you get it.

I think that it is a perfectly reasonable question to ask here.

Dealers can't be trusted to know their arse from their elbow and the info is unlikely to be in a handbook, which he doesn't have at the moment in any case.

I thought this forum is supposed to be welcoming to newbies.

 

[David and Sally]

Our 2023 Ford Transit based Bailey has bulbs and does need adjusters. And

 

[Spriddler]

I think that it is a perfectly reasonable question to ask here.

Dealers can't be trusted to know their arse from their elbow and the info is unlikely to be in a handbook, which he doesn't have at the moment in any case.

I thought this forum is supposed to be welcoming to newbies.

Precisely. It would be interesting to know if indeed the dealer (esp main dealers of brand new vehicles) was sufficiently informed since It is frequently posted on here that dealers are inept and that m/home manuals are pretty useless.
(I don't belong to Fun to be clever).

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[RustyRuss]

Looks like beam deflectors, but to be fair we’ve driven all over France in our Ducato based MoHo and never bothered with headlight adjusters, but we try to only drive in daylight. I found the Transit owners manual on the Ford Owners website, it only mentions height adjustment.

 

[ctc]

Buy the beam deflectors and fit the if you have to drive at night, very unlikely in my experience.

 

[Bonsaiman]

Looks like beam deflectors, but to be fair we’ve driven all over France in our Ducato based MoHo and never bothered with headlight adjusters, but we try to only drive in daylight. I found the Transit owners manual on the Ford Owners website, it only mentions height adjustment.

You know it’s illegal not to have them fitted and it’s an on the spot 90€ fine

“I only drive in daylight” is not accepted by the police as a reason not to have them fitted

Ask me how I know

 

[JRT]

If I may just interject-

Headlights are often required in the rain/fog during the day too, if only to make oneself more visible. When arguably the wet conditions can cause more dazzle so headlight deflectors should really be fitted regardless of whether one intends to drive day time only or not.

I always fit mine as soon as I can when on the other side. They cost coppers after all.

I've even had the French come up to me in supermarket car parks and say thanks if they have noticed them.

edit - beaten to it by Bonsaiman

 

[Dolmen]

I would suggest that it is unlikely that the LED’s will have automatic adjustment as this would be a big thing in the Motorhome world and would have been commented on here before. I drive a lot on the continent and a lot overnight so I always use deflectors, just think it is common courtesy. There is an adjustment for headlight height, however, all that does is reduce how far you can see, doesn’t change left to right

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[Scotsblood]

Just a quick update on this one.
I bumped into near neighbours this morning and started a conversation as their motorhome has just reappeared on the drive after being away for a few weeks.
He reported a great, although very wet trip, other than being fined TWICE for no headlamp deflectors on their way back to Dieppe.
The first time was on the Mulsanne straight, they were using the chicane just before the Hippodrome and pulling loads of non-French vehicles for inspections. 90€ fine, no excuses accepted.
Second time around the morning after, they were caught on the D579 just south of Lisieux. They, and it seems lots of other motorhomes were being pulled off the main road to an inspection station in the Intermarche car park. They and van were fully checked, documents, licenses, hi-vis, triangles etc. and lights, tyres and then van weighed, luckily they were 80odd kilos underweight but another 90€ for no deflectors.
Neither "we don't drive at night" nor "they adjust with this lever", (height adjustment only), was accepted at either site, they just bluntly reinforced French law requires visible beam deflectors or masks on all RHD vehicles.
Clearly it was also the root of a bit of marital unrest as his good lady was quite acidic in her comment, "He will spend the tenner in future and be done with it"!

 

[Just smiffy]

Just a quick update on this one.
I bumped into near neighbours this morning and started a conversation as their motorhome has just reappeared on the drive after being away for a few weeks.
He reported a great, although very wet trip, other than being fined TWICE for no headlamp deflectors on their way back to Dieppe.
The first time was on the Mulsanne straight, they were using the chicane just before the Hippodrome and pulling loads of non-French vehicles for inspections. 90€ fine, no excuses accepted.
Second time around the morning after, they were caught on the D579 just south of Lisieux. They, and it seems lots of other motorhomes were being pulled off the main road to an inspection station in the Intermarche car park. They and van were fully checked, documents, licenses, hi-vis, triangles etc. and lights, tyres and then van weighed, luckily they were 80odd kilos underweight but another 90€ for no deflectors.
Neither "we don't drive at night" nor "they adjust with this lever", (height adjustment only), was accepted at either site, they just bluntly reinforced French law requires visible beam deflectors or masks on all RHD vehicles.
Clearly it was also the root of a bit of marital unrest as his good lady was quite acidic in her comment, "He will spend the tenner in future and be done with it"!

Did the police actually test the headlamps for beam deflection…? As this is surely the only way to tell….

 

[carolyn]

We always buy them and put them on when parked at the Port. The cost of a cup of coffee.

As others have said , the weather might be dreadful. There might well be tunnels. I’m also one to avoid breaking laws knowingly. Some are quick to complain when visitors to our shores do it.

 

[Just smiffy]

Is there a LAW in France that states GB plated vehicles must have headlamp stickers on…. Come on someone prove me wrong..

 

[meanders]

We have headlight protectors that we always fit while waiting for the tunnel, although on one occasion, I had to fit them whilst on the train. They came with the masks and the correct placement marked. https://motorhomeessentials.com/product/headlight-protectors/

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[NR]

We're new to the world of Motorhomes and hope someone can help us.
We're about to take delivery of a 2024 Swift Voyager 540. We plan on taking it to Europe
Can anyone tell us are the headlights LED and do they need beam deflectors for driving abroad?
Thanks in advance

Hi, great question, close to 100% sure they won’t be LED. However, we are off to Germany shortly and never considered deflectors, we do have LED headlights but no idea how you go about fitting deflectors or even if then need them.