A complete restoration service is available

If you are one of the many people who fantasise about an old-school Volkswagen ‘bus’ but would like it to be as good as new, Volkswagen’s factory restoration service might interest you.

In 2007, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles founded a new department dedicated to preserving its heritage: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimers.

Since then, it has purchased and restored about 100 vehicles for its own collection and this restoration service is now available for customers, providing you with the unique opportunity of a factory-restored VW.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimers dedicated new building in Hanover has nearly 7,000 square metres of floorspace, accommodating a number of historical vehicles and a workshop which includes everything from a sheet metal bending bench, lathes and milling machines to a paint shop.  The department has a staff of 13, including mechanics, a technology historian and an event planner.

Owners of an historic Volkswagen Commercial vehicle can now have it restored here, at its place of origin.  The team will undertake any scope of work – from a full restoration to a simple ‘get this back on the road’ job.

Some of the vehicles in the 'Oldtimers' own collection of restored VW vans.

Each quote is tailored to a customer’s individual requirements and at the end of the job, you will receive a factory restoration certificate.  In addition, customers are also provided with comprehensive documentation of the restoration of the vehicle, with every step photographically documented and described in detail, recording your restoration for posterity (and for future owners).

To find out more, visit www.volkswagen.co.uk.

This formula – plus the added attraction of varied and often beautiful settings for overnight parking – is what has made France Passion such a success. Motorhomers can stay onsite at vineyards and farms for no cost. The hosts simply  hope that they will consider learning about and sampling their produce.

I’ve known about France Passion and its Spanish, Italian, German, Swiss and Belgian equivalents for years, but until recently, I did not realise that there is a British scheme, too.

Brit Stops

Brit Stops was founded by keen motorhomers Steve and Mandy and gives you the chance to stay without charge at 146 rural host sites around Britain.

Steve recently sent me a copy of the 2012 Brit Stops guide to review and I have to admit to being very impressed. As well as vineyards, which are mostly restricted to the south west, there are dozens of farm shops, pubs, ski areas, breweries and even an airfield – all of which are happy to have you for the night, as long as you abide by the Brit Stops code of conduct.

A look at the Brit Stop entries for the area I live in (North Yorkshire) confirms the quality and appeal of the sites and makes it clear that touring the UK using Brit Stops as well as campsites and wild camping is a very attractive option.

Motorhomes Welcome

It makes a change to see an initiative that welcomes motorhomes outside campsites in the UK. Although the Brit Stop hosts are not campsites, some of them do offer additional facilities such as water or waste water disposal that will help you reduce the need to use campsites and give you the chance for some much more memorable experiences.

After all, what would you rather spend your money on? Top quality local produce, or campsite fees?

Joining Brit Stops

Joining Brit Stops costs £25 per year, valid from March to March, for which you get a good quality, pocket-sized guide book detailing all the stops, listed by geographical region.

You also get a windscreen sticker to display on your motorhome, confirming that you are a Brit Stops member.

For more information, visit www.britstops.com

Drivers will have to carry a breathalyser in France from July 2012

From July 2012, anyone driving in France will be required to carry a breathalyser.

Yes, that’s right, a breathalyser – so you can check whether you are over the limit before you start driving.

Cheap & Cheerful Breathalysers

According to the IAM, single-use breathalysers will be sufficient to meet the rules – these will be on sale for a pound or two at Channel ferry ports.

That’s fine for complying with the letter of the rules and is probably the route that most people will take, but bear in mind that these cheap, disposable items are not very accurate. Don’t rely on one if you really think you might be over the limit.

Lower Limit In France

You should also remember that the French blood alcohol level is much lower than the UK limit – France complies with the EU recommendation of 50mg per 100ml of blood. In the UK, on the other hand, the limit is much higher, at 80mg/100ml, as for some unknown reason the UK government believes it is acceptable to drink quite a lot when driving.

Our government has refused to lower the drink-drive limit, despite expert recommendations and clear evidence that the risk of having an accident increases near-exponentially above 50mg. (Even 50mg is too high; at this level, the risk of having an accident is five times higher than for a driver who has had nothing to drink.)

The IAM says that the new rules come into effect on 1st July 2012 and from November 2012 there will be a fine of €11 for not carrying a breathalyser when driving in France.

I wrote about the launch of the new Euro 5 Ducato models last year, but the motorhome specification has a few additional standard items that are worth mentioning separately:

• Comfort-Matic automatic gear box is now available with the 2.3l engine as well as the 3.0l engine. I predict it will become very popular with motorhome buyers now it is available on the most popular engine.
• Updated dashboard with posh wood-effect trim. The new dashboard also includes a TomTom My Port and the option of a built-in TomTom LIVE system.
• One final new feature that should be popular is Traction+, a traction control system that simulates the effect of a limited slip differential by automatically braking whichever wheel is spinning – should be useful on campsites. This kind of differential-equivalent system is becoming increasingly popular and is even used on the new Ford Ranger.

Cab view - 2012 Fiat Ducato

To find out more about the new Ducato, visit www.fiatprofessional.co.uk or call in at Fiat’s stand at The Motorhome Caravan & Camping Show at ExCeL, London (14–19 February, 2012).

If buying or building a new motorhome is on the cards, you might also want to plan a visit to one or two motorhome shows over the coming year.

If you are thinking about buying a new ‘van, a show provides an opportunity to see a lot of models and dealers together in one place – even if you are not inclined to do a deal on the spot.

For anyone planning a self-build motorhome project, a visit to a motorhome show gives you the opportunity to research all the main layouts on the market in one place and decide if any of them are for you – or whether you will aim for something completely different.

Motorhome shows can be divided into two categories – indoor and outdoor. The advantages of each are obvious and explain why the two big indoor shows of the year – in February and October – top and tail the outdoor shows, which run from April to September in 2012.

Here’s a full listing of all the main motorhome shows in 2012:

• 14-19 February 2012: The Motorhome, Caravan & Camping Show – Excel London
• 27-29 April 2012: The National Motorhome Show – East of England Showground (nr. Peterborough)
• 18-20 May 2012: The Southern Motorcaravan Show – Newbury Showground
• 15-17 June 2012: The Midsummer Motorhome and Caravan Show – Kelmarsh Hall, Northamptonshire
• 13-15 July 2012: The Northern Motorcaravan Show – Cheshire Showground (nr. Knutsford)
• 17-19 August 2012: The Western Motorhome Show – Three Counties Showground (nr. Malvern)
• 21-23 September 2012: The Motorhome Show Season Finale – Lincolnshire Showground (nr. Lincoln)
• 16-21 October 2012: The Motorhome & Caravan Show – Birmingham NEC

Click here to read our review of the National Motorhome Show at Peterborough in 2011.

Ford provided the cars to mark the launch of the Mondeo, which the company hoped would become a world car, sold in multiple markets. The 4x4 in the background is a Ford Maverick. This photo was released by Ford of Britain as part of the company's 2011 centenary celebrations.

Fancy trying to take a Ford Mondeo through Siberia in winter? I thought not.

But trying to do just that was at the heart of documentary maker Richard Creasey’s 1993 Overland Challenge expedition, the goal of which was to travel overland from London to New York, via the not-yet-open Channel Tunnel and then over the ice of the Bering Strait from Siberia into Alaska.

It didn’t quite turn out that way but the team did make it all the way to New York, after struggling through Siberia, beyond the end of any known road, in the middle of winter.

The Mondeos were never going to make it all the way, and even the team’s six-wheel drive Ural army trucks (winterized down to -70°C) experienced some problems.

The final stage across the Bering Strait was to be done in an Arktos – an amazing all-terrain amphibious craft built in Canada. It didn’t quite turn out that way, but you’ll have to read the diary for the full story.

The severity of the conditions they faced cannot be imagined by those of us who live in ‘normal’ places, but the problems can perhaps be hinted at when I say that the picture accompanying this article, which comes from Ford’s archives, depicts a relatively trivial and easy part of the journey in good weather conditions. Travelling in their Ural trucks on Siberian winter roads, they experienced temperatures down to -60°C, massive storms and conditions that make the roads on Ice Road Truckers seem like the A1.

(It’s interesting to note that normal Western Europe/Scandinavian specification vehicles and equipment tends to be tested down to 40°C – below that, you are surprised with all sorts of amazing problems.)

You can read Richard Creasey’s fascinating trip diary and see photos and maps from the expedition on the H2G2 website – click here.

It’s an incredible tale, and makes you realise what a monumentally vast wilderness Siberia really is.

At a different time of year, it might just be possible to think about reaching the eastern coast of Russia in a large 4×4 motorhome (perhaps something like this), but even then you would probably be defeated when you reached the end of the road. To do it in the middle of winter really was something else.

Motorhomes aren’t cheap – even old ones – with positively geriatric models starting at around £5,000 and most new models costing at least £30,000. For most motorhome owners, it is the second-most expensive purchase they will ever make.

To help first-time buyers negotiate the hurdles of buying their first motorhome, Motorhome magazine MMM (Motorhome & Motorcaravan Monthly) has published a new guide, Buying Your First Motorhome.

It is aimed at helping first-time buyers to find the right motorhome for their requirements, first time. To that end, it covers a wide range of topics in a step-by-step format, aimed at helping you identify the right type of layout, base vehicle, size, age and dealer – as well as providing an explanation of finance options.

Given that typical British motorhome buyers will spend between £30,000 and £50,000 on a motorhome, spending £4.99 on this guide could be money well spent for motorhomers who are inexperienced or unsure of what the market is currently offering.

The guide also includes a current model guide listing over 900 models, together with a directory of 174 UK motorhome dealers. Insurance and breakdown cover are also covered, as are driving licence requirments for motorhomes over 3.5 tonnes.

Buying Your First Motorhome is available for £4.99 in WH Smith or for £3.49 to subscribers of MMM, Which Motorhome, Caravan and Which Caravan magazines. A digital version is also available from www.pocketmags.com.

Visit www.your-first-motorhome.co.uk for more details.

London LEZ sign, courtesy of Martin Addison

I’ve written about the London LEZ 2012 changes before (and attracted a surprising number of comments), but judging from this article in The Guardian last Saturday, it is still news to many people, including some unfortunate motorhome buyers who are, effectively, being sold duds.

However, I’ve just found that there might be a glimmer of hope for some lucky motorhome owners, thanks to Transport for London updating their database of vehicle information to take into account ‘early adopters’ – vehicles that were Euro 3/Euro 4 compliant before the legal deadline.

For example, I have discovered that my 2001-registered Ford Transit is Euro 3 compliant – I expected it not to be, based on its registration date and my previous use of the TfL Compliance Checker.

Upgraded TfL Compliance Checker

You can now enter your motorhome’s registration number into the Transport For London (TfL) online compliance checker – previously you could only enter its registration date. This means that your specific vehicle model is checked for Euro 3 compliance.

Click here to use the LEZ Compliance Checker

A number of companies have registered as ‘early adopters’ with TfL – meaning that they were producing Euro 3 models before they were legally required to in 2002. TfL now recognises these vehicles automatically in many cases. The UK is not the only country to have had this problem. I now know that I should have a Euro 3 German Umweltplakette - but I was issued a Euro 2 sticker when we visited Germany in 2009.

London LEZ 2012 Rule Changes – Summary

The London Low Emission Zone covers most of the area inside the M25 (but not the M25 itself). Click here for a map.

For anyone who is new to this or would like a reminder, here is a summary of the rule changes coming into force for the London Low Emissions Zone on 3rd January 2012 (this list covers vehicles registered as ‘motor caravans’ only; other requirements apply to vans and minibuses).

Motorhomes with a Gross Vehicle Weight of 2,500kg – 3,500kg

• Must be Euro 3 complaint from 3rd January 2012
• Vehicles registered before 1st January 2002 are assumed not to be compliant
• But… some pre-2002 models are compliant and TfL now has a more sophisticated checking system

For example*, Ford Transit models registered from 1st July 2000, Renault Trafic models registered from 1st September 2001 and Volkswagen Caravelle models registered from 1st March 2001.

Visit the TfL LEZ website for full details (scroll down and look for the link to the list of early adopters).

Motorhomes with a Gross Vehicle Weight over 3,500kg

It’s the same story with motorhomes that have a gross weight of more than 3,500kg. There is a cutoff date, but some (many?) models made just before this might also be compliant. Here are the details:

• Must be Euro 4 compliant from 3rd January 2012
• Vehicles registered before 1st October 2006 are assumed not to be compliant
• But… some earlier models are compliant and TfL has improved its checking system
• A number of ‘early adopter’ companies have registered their early Euro 4 models with TfL. The manufacturers that might apply to large motorhome owners are Iveco, DAF, Volvo, Daimler Chrysler (Mercedes-Benz) and Scania. Iveco in particular supplies the base vehicles for a number of large motorhome models.

Again, visit the TfL LEZ website for full details (scroll down and look for the link to the list of early adopters).

2012 LEZ Changes Still Bad News For Many Motorhomers

Despite the fact that 2001 Transit owners like myself can now celebrate our unexpected LEZ-compliant status, there are still many more motorhomers who will have no choice but to sell their motorhomes or store them outside the LEZ before the 3rd January 2012.

Having a particulate filter kit fitted will not be worth the cost for many owners – nor will the cost of storage outside the LEZ, which means outside the M25. The frustrating part is that most people living in London will only use their motorhomes to get away from London – not to drive around inside the city.

Finally, for those of you who have non-compliant motorhomes and live away from London, it is worth noting that the LEZ includes most areas inside the M25 (click here for a map. The popular Crystal Palace and Lee Valley campsites are both inside the LEZ – so you will not be able to use those as a base for visiting London in a non-compliant motorhome.

*Examples taken from the list of early adopters provided on the Transport for London website

The Fiat Ducato chassis cab - most motorhome conversion start out looking a bit like this

Fiat has just launched the new version of its Ducato van. The launch was virtually necessitated by the need to move to Euro 5 engines and Fiat has taken advantage of this to launch a completely new range of engines, along with a raft of other improvements aimed at improving performance, comfort and refinement.

The Ducato dominates the motorhome market – although it is not universally liked by motorhomers, it is the default choice for the majority of motorhome converters across Europe.

Fiat has developed this relationship over the years and the low, wide, front-wheel drive platform provided by the Ducato does make a good base for mainstream motorhomes.

Fiat even provides special motorhome versions of its chassis cab, featuring a wider track than normal (the width between the wheels) and offering a ‘front-end only’ model onto which converters can bolt an alternative chassis platform, usually provided by Alko.

So What’s New?

The big news is the engines. In line with the coming EU legislation, all engines are now Euro 5 compliant and there have been improvements in fuel consumption, emissions and performance.

The new Ducato in panel van form

The UK market will get two engines with four power levels:

• 2.3-litre diesel (110bhp, 130bhp & 150bhp)
• 3-litre diesel (180bhp)

(Left-hand drive markets will also get a 2-litre engine, in place of the 110bhp 2.3l model. The 2l engine proved too hard to shoehorn into a right-hand drive configuration, so the UK gets a detuned 110bhp 2.3l instead.)

The 110bhp model featured a 20% improvement in torque over its 2.2l predecessor, along with a 10% improvement in fuel economy and a 11% reduction in emissions.

The 150bhp model, which is likely to be popular with the coachbuilt motorhome market, boasts 350Nm of torque at just 1,500rpm while the new 3l model provides 400Nm of torque at just 1,400rpm, which should enable even large motorhomes to make swift, relaxed progress in all conditions.

Weight wise, the Ducato has again been specified with an eye to the motorhome market. I cannot imagine that many commercial van operators will choose the 4,000kg option unless they really need it, as their drivers will then be forced to have speed limiters fitted and work with a tachograph.

The Comfort-Matic automatic is only available with the 3l engine

However, no such restrictions apply to motorhome users (travelling for leisure purposes) and the additional 500kg payload is very useful for larger motorhomes.

Self-levelling air suspension is also now a factory option, something which should work well for larger motorhomes and help reduce traction and weight distribution problems.

In the cab, equipment levels, dashboard plastics and sound proofing have all been improved to provide a more car-like experience, although Fiat’s Comfort-Matic automated gearbox is only available with the 3-litre engine, meaning that the bulk of Ducato motorhomes will come with Fiat’s six-speed manual gearbox.

First Impressions

If you are really unlucky, you will spend £40k+ on a conversion like this with lots of glass windows. Don't do it - buy a panel van conversion with proper motorhome windows. It is worth it.

Initial reviews of the new Ducato in the van trade press are very positive and the Ducato’s new engines should be a considerable improvement over the old (already decent) units.

Although it is not universally popular, I believe that the Ducato is almost certain to continue its leading role in the motorhome conversion market: Fiat’s low, wide platform, good engines and competitive pricing are ideal for mainstream motorhomes.

It is important to remember that motorhomes tend to do very low mileages and spend a lot of time being used as accommodation, not as a vehicles. This means that the Ducato’s qualities are ideal for the job and will, for most motorhome users, outweigh any dynamic or durability advantages offered by more expensive rear-wheel drive vans like the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or Iveco Daily.

Road tolls are in place on certain roads in Norway, but the system is somewhat different to those used in countries such as France.

In Norway, as far as we could tell, road tolls are used to pay for major road works. The tolls are not permanent and an updated list of toll roads is published periodically on the autoPASS website – autoPASS is the main toll system in use throughout Norway.

Tolls can crop up on quite minor roads – they are not restricted to major roads. However, they are not especially frequent. Toll prices are pretty reasonable for vehicles under 3.5 tonnes and 6m in length.

To give you an idea of toll costs for a sub-6m van, we paid 450NOK (about £50) in tolls for 4,700 miles driven in Norway. My autoPASS report lists 20 tolls, so that works out to an average cost of £2.50 per toll.

For motorhomes over 6m/3.5t, tolls are approximately 2-3x more than they are for sub-6m/3.5t motorhomes.

How To Pay For Road Tolls  In Norway

Visitors to Norway can register for the Visitors’ Payment system on the autoPASS website before travelling, which is what we did.

All you have to do is enter the dates of your visit (allow an extra day or two at each end, just in case) and register a credit card. You then make a deposit payment of 300NOK (about £33 at 2011 prices), which will be refunded if you don’t spend that much in tolls.

Setting up a Visitors’ Payment account allows you to drive through the automatic payment lane without stopping at the vast majority of tolls. No tag or vignette is required – the toll cameras use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR). Tolls are automatically deducted from your account balance and if that reaches zero, your card will be debited again.

Ninety days after your visit period ends, any remaining balance is credited back to your credit card and you receive, by email, a report listing all of the tolls you paid and the credit card payments you made.

The autoPASS website has both English and German pages and the whole system is excellent and very easy to use. I would highly recommend it as the vast majority of tolls are fully automated with no manual payment option.

If you do choose not to register before you go, the ANPR toll cameras will photograph your registration plate anyway and you will be invoiced for the tolls, via autoPASS’s UK collection agency. There is no avoiding the tolls, although the system is quite slow – most tolls are charged about 3 weeks after you drive through them, but a couple took almost 2 months to be charged to my credit card.

Update 02/12/2011: It seems that the autoPASS system is not quite as efficient as I thought. I recently received a penalty notice through the post from Euro Parking Collection (EPC plc), the UK company that collects tolls, fines and so on in the UK on behalf of autoPASS (amongst others). The penalty was for non-payment of a toll – road, date and time were provided. The fine was about 15 times the cost of the toll. As far as I can tell, the problem is that the local toll company in that area was so slow to bill autoPASS that my Visitors’ Payment agreement had expired before they had managed to collect the toll.

Given that autoPASS allows 90 days after the end of your Visitors’ Payment agreement for final collection of tolls, this is impressively slow. I have followed the (simple) appeal procedure provided by EPC and await further developments. I am hoping that the fine will be cancelled and I will just have to pay the toll (£2.17). I will update this page as and when I find out more.

Update 02/02/2012: Having followed the appeals process as detailed above, today I received a letter from EPC telling me that the fine was being cancelled but that they reserved the right to reopen the case if it turned out that I had misled them or that they had received incorrect information. Fair enough.

It looks like I won’t have to pay the toll, either – presumably because the cost to the Norwegian toll company of collecting the toll from me would be far greater than the toll itself.

For more information or to create a Visitors’ Payment account, visit www.autopass.no.

Norwegian ferries are usually compact ro-ro affairs. Almost all have toilets, larger ones have a saloon and cafe

Ferries In Norway

Norway’s rugged and watery scenery means that fjords and impassable mountains often block the way. Tunnels and ferries are the Norwegian solution to this problem and many roads are interrupted by ferries. Even the main north-south highway, the E6, has a ferry at one point.

To the British mind, these ferries may seem like expensive extravagances, but look carefully at the map and you will find that generally, there is no sensible alternative. Ferries are an accepted part of the road network and local drivers appear to use them as such.

(Tunnels are even more common than ferries but are mostly toll free, so I won’t discuss them other than to say that they are usually good, but older ones can be quite dark.)

Ferry services are usually fairly frequent and run for most/all of every day. Shorter crossings run several times an hour and all the ferries we went on were modern ro-ro type vessels. If you are very unlucky, you may end up waiting an hour or so, especially in summer when the sheer volume of tourist traffic makes them very busy.

Prices for motorhomes under 6m are the same as for cars and you pay per passenger, too (excluding the driver). I believe that prices for vehicles over 6m rise considerably, but the sub-6m rates we paid were fairly reasonable. For example, in June 2011, a 15 minute crossing typically cost around 100Nkr, including one passenger.

To give you an idea of how widespread and essential these ferries are, we went on 18 vehicle ferries while in Norway.