Motorhoming Tips FAQs

We get a lot of questions on email and social media. Whilst we can’t provide 1-1 emails (or we’d never have time to do anything else!), you’ll find LOADS of information on this website (using the search function) or on our YouTube channel.

We’ve also answered some of the more common questions asked about motorhoming and campervanning, including touring the UK and Europe here. If you have any more, feel free to leave a comment on this page and we’ll do our best to answer it.

*We work hard to make this the best motorhome travel blog and road trip website possible, full of helpful content for you. The website is supported by our readers, so if you buy through links on this site we may earn a commission- at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain our own.

If you find this post useful, you can also treat us to a coffee – we promise to enjoy it while creating more useful content like this- we might even indulge in a biscuit (or two!)

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Practical Motorhoming Tips

Campsites

“Can you recommend anywhere to overnight in________”

This post can help you find motorhome/ campervan spots to stay.

If you want more recommendations, have a look at our road trip planners, which have in-depth itineraries and overnight suggestions.

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“What breakdown cover is best for motorhomes?”

This post on motorhome breakdown cover will help.

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“Have you ever come across any product that stops your floor rugs from sliding when travelling in the Motorhome?”

Yup- these!

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“Can’t I just refill normal LPG bottles?”

Please don’t- it’s incredibly dangerous. Refillable LPG bottles or tanks have cut off valves to stop over filling so the liquid can turn into a gas. Normal bottles don’t have these so you could overfill and end up with liquid coming out of your gas jets or too much pressure in the bottle.

And yes, I know there are adapters which can do it and places which offer the service, but I highly recommend you invest in proper refillable LPG bottles which have all the safety features.

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“A while back you reviewed power packs and for whatever reason I didn’t get round to getting one. Now I’m looking again but I see powerpacks are also available with battery chargers/jump leads and tyre compressors on some (a basic tyre pressure unit has been useless and failed before getting anywhere near 80psi) … and now I am lost in my search. Can you help in suggesting which I should be looking at?”

It depends what you want the power pack for. I mainly have one so I can power my laptop and work outside or away from the motorhome, so I love this one.

If you mainly want one to kickstart a flat engine, you’ll need one like this with a huge amount of power, but it doesn’t have any 3 pin sockets for charging devices that need those. Sadly, there’s no ‘one thing is best’ answer.

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Wild Camping with a motorhome

“You say you have not used a campsite for over 3 weeks (whilst touring Ireland.)  How have you managed to dispose of Grey & Toilet Waste? This is a common concern for most who are likely to try wild camping”

I use authorised disposal points or services on Aires. This post will help you further.

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“As I’m looking at stopping in wild places I need a solar panel.  Any recommendations?”

A fixed panel on your roof is better than a flexi one. I have both a 100w and a 200w panel on my roof and they were professionally fitted.

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“My question is about safety. I agree your advice re ‘gut feeling’ but to do that you need to have another site to go to. What sort of time do you usually arrive at your site on the day? If things don’t feel right you have to have time to find another place right?”

It depends on the day and place. Sometimes I turn up mid-afternoon, others I turn up later. There’s almost always another spot within an hour or so. I make sure to read the reviews very carefully before deciding on a spot. I’ve also moved during the night if needed. Keep your van ready to go at very short notice.

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UK & Ireland touring tips

“Ireland- how much of a faff is it taking the dog?”

You can see what I needed on this video. There are also more tips in my Vanlife with Dogs guide.

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Europe touring Tips

Paperwork

“Thank you for your informative emails, they are always interesting to read. We would just like to ask a question please regarding travelling through Austria and Switzerland, which we intend to do next month. We have a 2 berth, 6 mtr motorhome, which was new last year and has the latest Euro 6 engine. We intend to travel through the tunnel and make Bruges our first stop, then into Germany, down the Rhine, eventually into Austria, Switzerland and back through the east side of France. We would just like to ask if we needed anything in particular for Austria and Switzerland, other than the usual stuff we have for France, someone was saying we needed particular forms for crossing the border? Hope you can help.”

Nope- you don’t need anything different, although you will need to buy a vignette for each country if you wish to use the main roads. This is really easy to do and is done at the border. You can find out more here: Motorhoming in Switzerland

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Connectors

“What’s the best electric connection to have for Europe, would the 16A blue commando plug work? and equally what water connections could you recommend please”

Your normal lead will work for most European campsites- I’d recommend taking one at least 20m long or one of these extenders. I’d also take one of these and a splitter.

For water, 1/2″ and 3/4″ are best (like this), but take a collapsible jug too and one of these packs.

Taking a dog to Europe

“Just wondering from your experience how easy is it to find a vet before the return trip to England. What you do, costs etc.”

This post will help, as will my Vanlife with Dogs e-book.

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Internet

“We are travelling to France in May for a month. We have the very same Wi-Fi unit (as your internet in a motorhome post recommends) but which sim do you use for your French travel? Ideally we just want data only sim, for just 30 days.”

I have an EE sim which I pay for on a monthly contract. Data only is fine, and you can get PAYG if that’s better for you. Just be sure it’s unlocked for roaming.

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Winter Touring

“We are considering renting a motorhome in Europe in December/ January, to explore France and Germany. Do you recommend us renting that time of year? Are there issues we are not aware of?  Will the vans with the canvas tops be too cold?”

It will definitely be chilly and you’ll need to make sure you have heating, which will mean you’ll need a lot of LPG (unless the vans have diesel heating.) In my opinion, the canvas top will be freezing!

Be aware many campsites are closed at that time of year, although aires may be open. You might also get snow. This post has more tips for winter motorhoming.

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Motorbikes

“I hear that transporting motorbikes into Europe since the dreadful Brexit requires additional paperwork & costs. What was your experience when transporting your motorbike & did you require additional paperwork & incur additional costs?”

The difference here is in the word ‘transporting’. Taking your own motorcycle for a trip is not a problem. ‘Transporting’ other people’s bikes (such as if you’re shipping them out to Spain for a track day) requires a carnet. Obviously, bring your logbook and other paperwork to prove ownership and insurance.

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Misc Questions

“I’ve lost your email on________. Can you resend it?”

All my articles are on this website (https://wandering-bird.com) so you can search for them using the search function at the bottom of this page.

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“Could you please tell me what the situation is with electric vehicles and will you only be able to use electric vehicles including motor homes after 2030 (I think the date is correct)?”

No idea sorry- I don’t think anyone knows that! My gut feeling is they can’t get rid of all existing vehicles that soon, so they may just ban sale of new diesel vehicles whilst working towards another solution.

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