Tam &Toby do Europe ...Take two

Well I've just got to this aire that has hook up at nevele about 10km west of ghent .
Unfortunately there's 2 Van's here at the minute but it's still early so who knows one of them might leave soon so I'll hang around an hour or so and see.

Had to go get some gas too as 1 bottle was finished so that's 22l I've used in approximately 8 days
Dont know if that's good or not

When I put the heating on this morning my control panel switched off all power to the van so no lights , no pump and no fridge till I had started up the van.
Because the heater is now wired direct to battery it would work but nothing else would ?

Basically as soon as my panel reads exactly 12v it shuts everything off.
So while the heater or ebl etc can work ti 10.5v my control panel wont let it as it shuts down at 12v

I dont know if that's right or not


If I cant get hooked up at this aire my only option is to head back to france and try and use one of the ones I used there before.

I was going to change my tunnel booking to the 26th but as it's a 9.50am crossing on a tuesday I'd maybe have problems with the vet and worming so I think I'll have to just leave it to the thursday or bring it forward 1 day to the wednesday 27th
 
Northernraider said:
Sat here with my coat and hat on drinking coffee
Click to expand...

Surely that's a good enough reason to turn round now and head back to Spain/portugal where at least when the sun comes up in the morning you know it'll be warm. More than enough work down there for the able and willing. Go on you know you want to.

We've had a extended stay in the UK this year of around 3 months compared to the normal 1 month, but said that after my mums 80th birthday celebrations we would head south again, that was yesterday so what should we do? Getting fed up with all the grumpiness around and the we don't want you here brigade.

I Sence that you've become a little more grumpy over the last while, no offence meant, so your tolerance levels are going to be tested to the limit back in England, it certainly is ours.

Re warden jobs not sure if they still have the same owners now but where I worked on Mull had an excellent financial package so could be worth a look.

Shawn
 
Others will poo hoo this no doubt but a couple of years ago we had heating problems in our van whilst on the way back to the UK in November, a friend had previously said that in his small camper with no heating he just lights some T lights in the sink. We lit about a dozen in our sink and you'd be amazed about the heat they create.

Roof vent ajar and carbon monixde alarm working as it should.

Shawn
 
shawn&emma said:
Surely that's a good enough reason to turn round now and head back to Spain/portugal where at least when the sun comes up in the morning you know it'll be warm. More than enough work down there for the able and willing. Go on you know you want to.

We've had a extended stay in the UK this year of around 3 months compared to the normal 1 month, but said that after my mums 80th birthday celebrations we would head south again, that was yesterday so what should we do? Getting fed up with all the grumpiness around and the we don't want you here brigade.

I Sence that you've become a little more grumpy over the last while, no offence meant, so your tolerance levels are going to be tested to the limit back in England, it certainly is ours.

Re warden jobs not sure if they still have the same owners now but where I worked on Mull had an excellent financial package so could be worth a look.

Shawn
Click to expand...
I cant head back to spain as toby needs an mot on 4th of january and before that he needs welded, new front shocks , serviced, a cam belt fitted , the ebl fixed , the control panel fixed , a decent solar regulator etc etc etc

And I need to earn some money

It's not ideal returning in the winter but needs must for this year ....

I'm grumpy and less tolerant as I've never been a winter person , I get seasonal affective disorder....but the last 4- 8 weeks I've had very little human contact that hasn't been online , I'm bored and fed up and really just want to get home where at least theres people I know.

I'm also worried about a winter in the van in the UK and if I cant find work etc

I'm trying to keep positive and plan ahead to try and sort that but it's one thing after another just now and I'm becoming more and more aware I'm not prepared for this ?
 
My two penneth - I think the trailer is the best bet, as you then have the option to buy any old small car whenever you like, and can then take the car wherever you decide. You may get better deals on small cars that are not toads. I think smart cars would be small for you and the dogs really. Re the electric problem - get on an Aire with electricity as there’s nothing worse than being cold! You can settle in for a couple of days wherever that is and recharge your batteries- both you and Toby! ?
 
Stonemags76 said:
My two penneth - I think the trailer is the best bet, as you then have the option to buy any old small car whenever you like, and can then take the car wherever you decide. You may get better deals on small cars that are not toads. I think smart cars would be small for you and the dogs really. Re the electric problem - get on an Aire with electricity as there’s nothing worse than being cold! You can settle in for a couple of days wherever that is and recharge your batteries- both you and Toby! ?
Click to expand...
Yeah I was thinking that last night about the trailer.....I dunno though I then need somewhere to park that while I'm at my mums. I'm still thinking it all over.


My immediate issue like you say is finding a hook up ....not sure if either of these Van's are going to leave here today , 1 Belgian and 1 Dutch...both with sat dishes up etc so probably sat watching tv with heating on lol .....why would they move?
That's the problem theres not many places with services and hook up around





Jeeso the belgian guy from last night has just turned up here too ...probably also looking for a place ?
 
Northernraider said:
I cant head back to spain as toby needs an mot on 4th of january and before that he needs welded, new front shocks , serviced, a cam belt fitted , the ebl fixed , the control panel fixed , a decent solar regulator etc etc etc

And I need to earn some money

It's not ideal returning in the winter but needs must for this year ....

I'm grumpy and less tolerant as I've never been a winter person , I get seasonal affective disorder....but the last 4- 8 weeks I've had very little human contact that hasn't been online , I'm bored and fed up and really just want to get home where at least theres people I know.

I'm also worried about a winter in the van in the UK and if I cant find work etc

I'm trying to keep positive and plan ahead to try and sort that but it's one thing after another just now and I'm becoming more and more aware I'm not prepared for this ?
Click to expand...

I'm sorry if my post made you more fed up.

We were in a similar situation when we started out in 2009. We hadn't ventured abroad at that time and by the December we knew it was going to be a tough winter in the van, not working at that time, we are from Kent so headed further south and spent the winter around Devon and Cornwall which in theory had slightly better winter conditions which it did for that winter. We survived but it was hard. The next winter we had convinced ourselves that we would head to Portugal as decide it was unlikely that we'd get raped pillaged and murdererd in this unknown place that we had heard terrible stories about, yay we survived to tell the story. All our vehicles have had their mots due in late October/early November so that's when we now come back and then head of before Winter proper, usually first week in November.

We feel your pain. I referenced in a previous post that we might now head back out to Portugal but the reality is that we most likely won't just yet. Both sets of parents are due operations between now and End of Januar, none life threatening im glad to say but we feel we should be here to support them through this time. So we are busy looking for some thing to do for the next few months, paid or Volunteer via the Workaway/Helpx sites. And as much as we really want to run away to the most remote hotel in Scotland to look after their hotel whilst the owners have some time away in reality we can't because it wouldn't be practical with the family appointments in Kent. We love our family but we are now somewhere we don't want to be, in a country that doesn't seem to want us here at the worst time of year.

We feel your pain.

I'm sure you've looked at this but, what about having a busy month in England, get the work done on the van, mot it early, get those cvs done and have the interviews as it's now that campsites are looking for recruiting good staff and then come Christmas head back to Spain where you love to be. Yes you'll have fuel costs from Scotland-Spain but you'll be there in less than a week and most campsites especially ones in Scotland don't open much before Easter so you'd get maybe 3 months in Spain, financially I bet it would still work out cheaper than staying in England.

I know from reading some of the posts I've written recently I'm becoming grumpy so sort of know how you feel.

Take care and hope you get the hook up later today, maybe you can play some of your loud music which will stir them to move.

We're in Kent near Ashford so can wave as you pass.

Shawn, Emma and Margo.
 
Northernraider Tam keep your chin up won’t be long before you are in the UK. Hope you get EHU where you are now but if possible start looking round for somewhere else so as to have a plan B. Keep in touch with us all on here we are all rooting for you.

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Northernraider said:
It's not switched off this time fortunately, but panel keeps lighting up and flashing charge. Now that heating is off its showing 12.3v again ?

I dont know...I'm fed up with it , its freezing tonight but I cant run the engine now as it's too late so just have to leave it off and just water heater on ....cant risk frost damage so I need to leave that on.

Panel currently reading 96% and 12.2v
But if course I've worked the heater directly to the batteries so i dont know ?
I cant remember how many nights that is now since hooked up. Whether its 2 or 3 but not as if I'm running the TV etc just a couple of led lights and the heating
Click to expand...

Tam

I am a bit late on the electrical problem and what I write may have been done before.

We have an EBL and the voltmeter on the panel always reads 0.15 - 0.2 volts lower than a multimeter directly onto the terminals. Have you checked this on your set-up? It may be that your batteries are not going as low as you think.

Secodly, battery readings should be done when they have 'rested' for at least an hour, i.e. with no charge and no load. Are you checking them that way?

You have said somewhere that when driving little is going into the leisure batteries from the alternator. This is normal because the regulator on the engine battery reduces the alternator output when that battery has been topped-up after starting. A solution to that problem is to fit a battery-to-battery (B2B) charger which provides maximum charging to the leisure batteries. To learn more go to Sterling Power's website where there is a good explanation about how they work.

We fitted a Sterling B2B and we can re-charge our batteries with 30 mins of driving - very useful when solar is minimum.

The only snag we have is that their B2B output is not compatible with EBL ammeter, by their own admission, and gives a negative reading, but the charging can be seen by the higher voltage input. It can be solved by fitting a shunt, but that is expensive. I believe the Vitronic equivalent B2B does not have this problem.

I hope the first advice was not teaching granny to suck eggs, but I think you should seriously consider the B2B, especially since you seem to move location quite frequently like us. It would keep your batteries topped-up so probably prolong their life and save you money - we have two 90Ah lead/acid batteries which are 6 years old and doing fine. In extremis you could get a lot of charge into them with just 30 mins. running stationary.

Cheers, Geoff
 
shawn&emma said:
I'm sorry if my post made you more fed up.

We were in a similar situation when we started out in 2009. We hadn't ventured abroad at that time and by the December we knew it was going to be a tough winter in the van, not working at that time, we are from Kent so headed further south and spent the winter around Devon and Cornwall which in theory had slightly better winter conditions which it did for that winter. We survived but it was hard. The next winter we had convinced ourselves that we would head to Portugal as decide it was unlikely that we'd get raped pillaged and murdererd in this unknown place that we had heard terrible stories about, yay we survived to tell the story. All our vehicles have had their mots due in late October/early November so that's when we now come back and then head of before Winter proper, usually first week in November.

We feel your pain. I referenced in a previous post that we might now head back out to Portugal but the reality is that we most likely won't just yet. Both sets of parents are due operations between now and End of Januar, none life threatening im glad to say but we feel we should be here to support them through this time. So we are busy looking for some thing to do for the next few months, paid or Volunteer via the Workaway/Helpx sites. And as much as we really want to run away to the most remote hotel in Scotland to look after their hotel whilst the owners have some time away in reality we can't because it wouldn't be practical with the family appointments in Kent. We love our family but we are now somewhere we don't want to be, in a country that doesn't seem to want us here at the worst time of year.

We feel your pain.

I'm sure you've looked at this but, what about having a busy month in England, get the work done on the van, mot it early, get those cvs done and have the interviews as it's now that campsites are looking for recruiting good staff and then come Christmas head back to Spain where you love to be. Yes you'll have fuel costs from Scotland-Spain but you'll be there in less than a week and most campsites especially ones in Scotland don't open much before Easter so you'd get maybe 3 months in Spain, financially I bet it would still work out cheaper than staying in England.

I know from reading some of the posts I've written recently I'm becoming grumpy so sort of know how you feel.

Take care and hope you get the hook up later today, maybe you can play some of your loud music which will stir them to move.

We're in Kent near Ashford so can wave as you pass.

Shawn, Emma and Margo.
Click to expand...
It's ok I was already fed up before that lol.

I cant help it I'm a worrier....my mum etc always goes on about it but its just how I am and I struggle to stop it , I worry about everything whether I can control it or not and then the danger is I get depressed about stuff I feel I'm losing control over.

As much as I love my mother also ....she can be difficult as shes quite stuck in her ways and has her own routines and habits etc . As it is staying there a few months even if it is only in her driveway will be difficult I know that.

She's already dropping hints about the dogs going in the house etc ( despite her having dogs of her own before ) sometimes i think she does just like complaining and is a little cantankerous....but then it's her house etc so i have to respect that's just how she is , but i know there will be issues regardless


That's why I'm thinking once home if I have cheap transport I can deliver takeaways in the evenings to make some money over the winter while I apply for campsite jobs ,event jobs etc starting springtime
As I did delivery work for years it's something I should be able to pick up and it's mostly cash in hand....and the dogs can come with me in the car while I do it

It's a plan of sorts .....then hopefully if I get a wardens job starting spring time I can go off and do that.....and if the cheap car is a toad I can take it with me easier etc.

Basically I've not done the warden stuff before , so I find know if I'll get anything , I've not had a job interview in 14 years and I've never actually needed a cv before .....the whole employment thing has changed dramatically since I was last unemployed so again I'm worried about that too.

Despite having been in the van the last two years that has pretty much been holiday and not having to work etc so I'd put everything else to the back of my mind
Now I have to deal with all that and I'm just worried of all the uncertainty surrounding it

I'm sure it will all work out in the end , I'm a hard worker and I can turn my hand to most things...I just need an employer to see that...but not sure how easy that is in the current market.

Everything just always seems more positive in the sunshine lol

Sometimes I wonder if selling my house, leaving a £30k a year job and chasing a dream was the right thing to do

But then the company I did work for ( havelock Europa ) went bust and made everyone redundant back in august ....so I'd have been pretty much in the same situation now anyway only I'd have had a £300 per month mortgage to pay


I love my dogs to bits but now the do affect everything I do from here on in

Something that maybe I didn't give enough thought to initially but again will work out in the end

Doing it solo I think adds that little more hassle but I'm also starting to realise meeting someone that would want this type of lifestyle might not be that easy to find ......and that worries me too lol
I'm not sure I want to be single forever



Damm I'm good at depressing myself ....
 
tonyidle said:
If necessary you can park it under the car. I do that if I'm anywhere that space is tight.
Click to expand...
Hmm problem is I'll be at my mums in her drive for a couple of months

The car I could park in the street but the trailer .....she would have a fit lol
 
Northernraider said:
It's ok I was already fed up before that lol.

I cant help it I'm a worrier....my mum etc always goes on about it but its just how I am and I struggle to stop it , I worry about everything whether I can control it or not and then the danger is I get depressed about stuff I feel I'm losing control over.

As much as I love my mother also ....she can be difficult as shes quite stuck in her ways and has her own routines and habits etc . As it is staying there a few months even if it is only in her driveway will be difficult I know that.

She's already dropping hints about the dogs going in the house etc ( despite her having dogs of her own before ) sometimes i think she does just like complaining and is a little cantankerous....but then it's her house etc so i have to respect that's just how she is , but i know there will be issues regardless


That's why I'm thinking once home if I have cheap transport I can deliver takeaways in the evenings to make some money over the winter while I apply for campsite jobs ,event jobs etc starting springtime
As I did delivery work for years it's something I should be able to pick up and it's mostly cash in hand....and the dogs can come with me in the car while I do it

It's a plan of sorts .....then hopefully if I get a wardens job starting spring time I can go off and do that.....and if the cheap car is a toad I can take it with me easier etc.

Basically I've not done the warden stuff before , so I find know if I'll get anything , I've not had a job interview in 14 years and I've never actually needed a cv before .....the whole employment thing has changed dramatically since I was last unemployed so again I'm worried about that too.

Despite having been in the van the last two years that has pretty much been holiday and not having to work etc so I'd put everything else to the back of my mind
Now I have to deal with all that and I'm just worried of all the uncertainty surrounding it

I'm sure it will all work out in the end , I'm a hard worker and I can turn my hand to most things...I just need an employer to see that...but not sure how easy that is in the current market.

Everything just always seems more positive in the sunshine lol

Sometimes I wonder if selling my house, leaving a £30k a year job and chasing a dream was the right thing to do

But then the company I did work for ( havelock Europa ) went bust and made everyone redundant back in august ....so I'd have been pretty much in the same situation now anyway only I'd have had a £300 per month mortgage to pay


I love my dogs to bits but now the do affect everything I do from here on in

Something that maybe I didn't give enough thought to initially but again will work out in the end

Doing it solo I think adds that little more hassle but I'm also starting to realise meeting someone that would want this type of lifestyle might not be that easy to find ......and that worries me too lol
I'm not sure I want to be single forever



Damm I'm good at depressing myself ....
Click to expand...
Sending hugs Tam :hugs: :hugs:
 
Blossom said:
Northernraider Tam keep your chin up won’t be long before you are in the UK. Hope you get EHU where you are now but if possible start looking round for somewhere else so as to have a plan B. Keep in touch with us all on here we are all rooting for you.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm gonna give it till after my lunch here and if they haven't moved I'm gonna drive back to France to that aire I used before , but no guarantee it will have a free space either ....might have to just wait it out.
But the drive might put a little in the batteries at least




One thing i have decided is .....I'm buying a generator when back in the uk

So if ever in this situation again I can at least park somewhere remote and use that to charge batteries

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Northernraider said:
Yeah I'm gonna give it till after my lunch here and if they haven't moved I'm gonna drive back to France to that aire I used before , but no guarantee it will have a free space either ....might have to just wait it out.
But the drive might put a little in the batteries at least




One thing i have decided is .....I'm buying a generator when back in the uk

So if ever in this situation again I can at least park somewhere remote and use that to charge batteries
Click to expand...

RE the generator, read my post 5,742 above.
 
nicholsong said:
Tam

I am a bit late on the electrical problem and what I write may have been done before.

We have an EBL and the voltmeter on the panel always reads 0.15 - 0.2 volts lower than a multimeter directly onto the terminals. Have you checked this on your set-up? It may be that your batteries are not going as low as you think.

Secodly, battery readings should be done when they have 'rested' for at least an hour, i.e. with no charge and no load. Are you checking them that way?

You have said somewhere that when driving little is going into the leisure batteries from the alternator. This is normal because the regulator on the engine battery reduces the alternator output when that battery has been topped-up after starting. A solution to that problem is to fit a battery-to-battery (B2B) charger which provides maximum charging to the leisure batteries. To learn more go to Sterling Power's website where there is a good explanation about how they work.

We fitted a Sterling B2B and we can re-charge our batteries with 30 mins of driving - very useful when solar is minimum.

The only snag we have is that their B2B output is not compatible with EBL ammeter, by their own admission, and gives a negative reading, but the charging can be seen by the higher voltage input. It can be solved by fitting a shunt, but that is expensive. I believe the Vitronic equivalent B2B does not have this problem.

I hope the first advice was not teaching granny to suck eggs, but I think you should seriously consider the B2B, especially since you seem to move location quite frequently like us. It would keep your batteries topped-up so probably prolong their life and save you money - we have two 90Ah lead/acid batteries which are 6 years old and doing fine. In extremis you could get a lot of charge into them with just 30 mins. running stationary.

Cheers, Geoff
Click to expand...
Thanks Geoff yes any advice is always welcome as I'm first to admit electrics just confuse me .....thanks really has to go to Lenny HB for his patience at times when trying to assist me , that's why I intend to visit him on route home so he can hopefully look at my system and advise the next steps , I'm quite happy to invest the money in fixing my ebl or panel etc and if need be fitting an alternative charging method and solar charger etc ....I'm prepared to be doing that I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing and not changing parts that dont need changing etc

At the minute I'm just totally confused by the whole thing ...as currently my panel says batteries are dead ...its showing 3% now
With engine running it shows +3.5 amps
And they sit around 13.4v with engine running

Engines been off about an hour now and they read 12.7 both on panel and with a meter direct at the battery
The problem is as soon as I run the heater that 12.7 will drop drastically to 12.2 or 3 and then down to 12v within 30 minutes or so and as soon as it hits 12v the panel switches off all power ?

And that cuts of everything including the fridge .....luckily as I've wired heater direct to battery it doesn't switch of the water heater so that's one bonus as I dont need frozen pipes etc.

Running the engine seems to do very little other than raise the voltage from 12v to 13.4 which let's me use power etc but probably not good longterm

These batteries were fitted new on December the 4th last year and have 3 or 4 years warranty apparently....but I still dont know if they are right or not ?

Toby is a good van. ..he just needs a little help
 
nicholsong said:
RE the generator, read my post 5,742 above.
Click to expand...
Yeah I was just replying to that

The b2b sounds a good idea


I just think after this it might be worthwhile having a safety net in place

The difference between summer living in spain and portugal and this cold dull living over winter time is a shock to the system lol
Last winter I was back in Scotland early october and living in my mums house while she was in hospital .....and then I headed to Spain in January

Did it all wrong this year lol
 
Ah that's a bit lucky so I now have hookup and its putting in a good 16amp at the minute.

The dutch van has left but the Belgian one is planning to stay here till sunday ? so that was lucky

I think I'll be here 2 nights myself at least

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Just thinking on the engine charging it could be worth changing the fuse that is near the engine battery the one that feeds the EBL, on my van it's a 50a maxi blade fuse probably the same on yours. It's not unknown for this type of fuse to go high resistance. I know another Funster who recently had the same problem as you, new fuse sorted it.
Sorry I'd forgotten about it.
 
Glad to hear you got yourself some power. I was going to say if you fancied a drive over or were near to Brittany, I have a couple of nearly new batteries and a generator going cheap, and a power lead and plenty of room for 2 dogs to run around!
 
Figaro said:
Probably realised the crazy Scotsman from last night who runs his engine, was parked up there also !
Click to expand...
Lol noooooo it was a different belgian last night.....although he drove in here earlier and emptied his cassette etc ....I thought he was gonna stay at first but he left.

Theres an old belgian guy here on his own with a dog ....hes staying till sunday

There was him and 2 women in a dutch van here when I arrived but thankfully they left so I got a space.

It's a little compact as only 2 spaces but at least it has all services including 16amp hookup which will charge my batteries up nicely.

One thing with belgium compared to France I've noticed is nearly everyone speaks english and their english is fantastic

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Lenny HB said:
Just thinking on the engine charging it could be worth changing the fuse that is near the engine battery the one that feeds the EBL, on my van it's a 50a maxi blade fuse probably the same on yours. It's not unknown for this type of fuse to go high resistance. I know another Funster who recently had the same problem as you, new fuse sorted it.
Sorry I'd forgotten about it.
Click to expand...
Aye we spoke about that back in February mind .....mine has a 100 amp fuse there and same at the leisure batteries ....not right but I've not managed to find replacements yet and also concerned someone may have changed them for some reason....ie a fault
 
Allanm said:
Glad to hear you got yourself some power. I was going to say if you fancied a drive over or were near to Brittany, I have a couple of nearly new batteries and a generator going cheap, and a power lead and plenty of room for 2 dogs to run around!
Click to expand...
That's a very nice offer.....just out of curiosity what batteries and generator lol
 
Northernraider said:
Aye we spoke about that back in February mind .....mine has a 100 amp fuse there and same at the leisure batteries ....not right but I've not managed to find replacements yet and also concerned someone may have changed them for some reason....ie a fault
Click to expand...
Stick a 50 amp in and see what happens.
 
Northernraider said:
That's a very nice offer.....just out of curiosity what batteries and generator lol
Click to expand...
Both Varta batteries about a year old, ones an LFD 90,the others an LA95 AGM battery.
generator is an SDMO (French made) Booster 1000 900w with Honda engine.
 

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