french alps in winter Forums

mistychelle

hi ,,,pleased to have joined you all,,we are planning to do a winter season in french alps ,can it be done in a mh ,i ask you all?.any suggestions on suitable mhomes/ sites ,would love to hear of any similar travels to snowy places,or any hints and tips you may have Smile

we are looking to buy our first mhome shortly so very pleased to have come accross such a usefull website,,,

twooks

welcome to the site,
a simple answer is 'yes of course you can' motorhomers do it anywhere anytime anyway.
never done it myself tho I'm sure you'll be inundated with ideas and advice and suggestions - just watch this space Razz

Noomo

Though you might find it a bit earthy, (it's from a campervan perspective)you could try here:

http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/

Go to

Misc

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Snow

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Snowboarding out of a camper AND Preparing your vehicle for winter

Boff

Hi mistychelle,

first: Motorhoming in Winter is great fun! Provided that your motorhome (and you) are suited for it.

If you haven't bought the van yet, then check that it is winter proof: Check especially for the water and waste water system (are there any tanks, pipes or pumps outside of heated areas?), the overall insulation (all windows except cab double-glazed?), the heating (is it powerful enough?) and the gas supply (a 13-kg gas bottle can be empty after 4 days if it is really cold outside).

The following accessories are essential in Winter, especially in the mountains:
- Silver Screens to isolate the cab
- snow Chains
- folding shovel.

In addition I would recommend to put on winter tyres.

One more remark if your van is powered by a Diesel engine: Normal Diesel fuel becomes semi-fluid at temperatures below freezing point. I don't know whether you can get that stuff in UK but on the continent the petrol stations switch over to special Winter Diesel in October. This stays liquid until about -25 degrees centigrade. So if you are not sure what is in your tank try to drain it as much as possible and then refill in France (is far cheaper anyway there Very Happy

).

Best Regards,
Gerhard

Motorhomersimpson · Moderator

Hi mistychelle,

As far as heating goes, look for a motorhome that has diesel heating.

You won`t have to worry about the gas, it can be used while traveling, uses about 1 litre in 24hrs constant use, diesel is fed direct from the vehicle tank to the heater.

As for diesel as boff pointed out, I am pretty sure that in this country anyway, that is no longer a problem, you would be wise to check it though.

Homer Very Happy

peejay

Hi there misty,

If its your first time, could i suggest the vosges mountains, not so far to travel, we were there last year, loads of snow and beautiful scenery. There are loads of sites and aires in the region, good places being Gerardmer, La Bresse, Col de la schluct and tha ballon d'alsace. Not as expensive as the alps and less crowded, we dont ski but did a bit of snow walking and toboganning, had an absolute brill time! No problems in your 'van as long as it's winterised and if you dont have a large supply of gas, book into sites with high amp electricity and use an electric heater or ultra heat if fitted.

pete.

Anonymous

Hi,

We've spent the last 2 winters (7 months in all) skiing in the Alps in a fairly standard Benimar coachbuilt and never stayed on a camp site.

It's not specially winterised and has been comfy. After our first month-long exploratory trip I did a few things like lag the waste pipes and add some extra heater outlets. This made a bit of difference. DOwn to -10c it's fine. Below that you need to start putting anti-freeze down the drains. At about -15 you wake up to frozen fresh-water pipes, but it soon goes away when the day warms up.

Most of what's been said so far I'd agree with.

The standard 3.2kw Truma heater is plenty, but at worst used 13kg of propand in <4 days. Average is about 7. Last winter I fitted a diesel heater as well. It's just as expensive to run and _really_ hard on the electrics, but our gas was lasting several weeks which is a lot less hassle.

Chris

mistychelle

wow loadsa replys Shocked

.your a friendly bunch of guys & girls,thanks a lot for that Very Happy

,we havent brought our home on wheels yet ,we still waiting to sell the brick house to fund it,but it helps to know a little of what your talking about,when the dealers head for you across the forecourt,to be honest theyve all been pretty rubbish on verbal help. so thanks again for all yours Very Happy