# Motorhome to North Cape Norway



## bluroo (Jun 13, 2012)

We are wanting to plan a trip to Norway, hopefully to get to the north Cape for the "Northern Lights" Can anyone give some advice on the possibility and the best time of year. Also any tips for such a trip.


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## Westbay (Mar 15, 2008)

The Northern Lights are usually only around in winter months, so don’t go just for them or you’ll almost certainly be disappointed. We did the trip starting early August and took 7 weeks. By 20th August most midgies are gone, but by the end of the month nearly all the campsites / attractions are shut for the winter. It became our mantra Norway closes on August 27th. 

We made a big mistake in driving straight for the top (through Sweden / Finland, better roads) then slowly working our way back. Do it the other way round. For us it was all down hill after the top, in lots of ways. We did the coastal route A17. Not that good, full of massive lorries barrelling through tight tunnels. Not that many places to wild camp other than grotty laybyes. I would go inland more. 

The road system around Bergen is a nightmare for Tolls. We ended up having to go into a police station to sort out the fact we might be high enough to trigger the machine to think we were a commercial but we were in fact just a camper. In the end we just said sod it and drove through the prepaid lanes – never had any fines/ charges sent to us.

Wouldn’t bother going back. Just spent our second year going to the Shetlands – better scenery nicer people.


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## PhoenixK (Jun 24, 2012)

Hi Bluroo,

To see the northern lights properly you need to go in winter. Me and my partner went in Febuary this year for 4 weeks in a specially prepared Land Rover touring around Norway and then Sweden. It's a popular trip for prepared 4x4s to undertake. A motorhome could do it as even in the worst of conditions little local cars are running around but it would need special preparation to cope with at least -20 if not worse in the depth of the winter.

Mudrut, an adventure company run a trip each year for Land Rovers, there blog of a recent trip can be found  here 

Photos from our trip can be found  here 

With the sun being at a near solar maximum at the moment this year / next is the time to go as the norther lights are amazing.

As for route you can catch a ferry to Denmark and then drive Denmark>Sweden>Norway.

We caught the chunnel then drove all the way up to Denmark, jumped on the Hirtshals - Larvik ferry to Norway and then drove up the E6 pretty much all the way to Nordkapp. Then drove down the centre of sweden (including a night in the ice hotel) to Orso, back over to Oslo and the reverse route of before.

We stayed at cabins on campsites everywhere we went, whilst the majority of sites are shut over the winter more than enough still operate that with a bit of planning we didn't struggle for anywhere to stay.

We never struggled for attractions to visit or things to do. Especially in the north they are geared up for winter tourism with plenty of attractions / activities.

It was a fantastic trip, brilliant scenery, lots of experiences and the most amazing northern lights.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

This is our Landy parked up in a maybe about 5 miles outside of Tromso:









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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Lights*

We have been to Norway 3 times in winter by motorhome. A couple of other times staying in Houses.

Our Experience is that many campsites are open all year and are geared up for them. One had A Jacuzzi, Sun Beds, Steam Bath and Sauna. They even had free Private bathrooms.

One site we stayed at accepted vistors up until midnight. That was for camping and for overnight huts. Speaking to the owners. They said that many motorists traverse the country and stay in huts with log fires. Preferring not to fly or use trains.

We managed on winter tyres no problem, never needed our chains. We were in the previous model Sprinter 4x6 (higher Chassis). I think the lower chassis newer 2006> Sprinters with twin rear wheel drive may struggle with deeper snow.

But having said that. We saw FWD motorhomes that seemed to cope with winters / studded tyres. We did not see any off road though.

We never saw the northern lights. But when we were higher up in Norway. It was reported on the Scandinavian news channel that a perfect display was seen over the skies of Oslo. Bit like chasing the sun I guess!.

TM

PS: The Norwegians have a saying... "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing".


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*ferries*

Ferries - you do not have to drive through sweden if you do not wish to.

http://www.colorline.com/

www.dfds.co.uk

http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/routes/

http://fjordline.com/

http://www.scandlines.com/en

http://www.ferries.co.uk/denmark.html

http://www.ferries.co.uk/norway.html

http://fjordline.com/Om-bord/Vare-nye-skip/Nye-skip/

Hope this helps?

TM


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## bluroo (Jun 13, 2012)

Thanks all for your input. It will help in our planning, in both the timing of the trip, the direction of travel and the modifications required to the RV.


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## AutoMax (Sep 23, 2008)

I did the trip a couple of winters ago in what turned out to be their worst winter for 40 years. Not that I knew that prior to setting off. One night staying on a weather station, the friendly Norwegian chap that looked after it told us that it had reached - 45.9 c overnight.
Saying that we found the conditions to be easier than we had thought. It snowed virtually every day and they don't hang about clearing the roads with all manner of snow clearing equipment. We were never held up by the weather and never drove on tarmac for 5 weeks as they leave a hard compacted layer on the road surface that looks like somebody has scraped a comb over it. This gives a remarkable level of grip but there are patches that will give your suspension a real workout. Of course snow tyres had been fitted and on the main roads speeds of 40- 50 mph can easily be maintained. But never let your guard down as the conditions change by the hour and you have to vary your style of driving accordingly. If you think that to drive from A to B will take 4 hours. Be prepared to double or triple the time it takes. Some journeys up the northern end are measured in days.
I took snow chains but only had to resort to them once getting out of a campsite and one other time when I pulled over to get past some road works the van slid sideways into the soft snow a passing lorry towed me out. 
If you stop for a relief break or just to take some photos you will find that every passing vehicle will slow right down to see if you are okay. This is especially true on the snow plains of northern Finland when you may not see another vehicle for hours. 
The lorry drivers are fabulous and if you stop overnight at the lorry stops they treat you as one of them. The food is cheap and well cooked local produce. Other places to eat, forget really as its a very expensive night out. I took six weeks food in the van and just bought fresh veg and milk when required.
You can pull over anywhere in reality for the night, even on the main road you will not find too much moving at night to disturb you apart from the howling of the wolves and the occasional passing elk.
We used campsites where we could find them open and even some that were closed for the winter. The people in general are extremely friendly and helpful and speak perfect english. 
As for the vehicle preparation, make sure it has been serviced before you go and your batteries are up to cold weather usage. Consider using winter specific oil in the engine. A couple of times I had my fingers crossed as the engine slowly turned over in the morning. Get into the area with your washer bottle nearly empty and then fill up with their winter wash solution. Be prepared to stop every couple of miles in the snow storms and batter the ice off your wipers. You should take a spare set in case the rubber tears. On stopping for the night, drape a big blanket over your air intakes and radiator openings to prevent the snow and cold air blowing in. Be prepared for anything and everything to freeze solid, so carry no water in the tanks as not the outside air temp that will freeze them but the wind chill as you drive. 
Gas is a problem if you have a refillable tank as the stations are far and few. Consider a pig tail for the local gas bottles so you can change them locally. You will use a lot if you heat the van by gas. I had a Webasto dual top fitted for heating on the go, so gas became just for cooking.
Saying that, it is a fabulous place to visit and you will gasp at the scenery as it just keeps on coming better and better the father north you go. There is plenty to see and do. Do not miss the polar zoo to see the wolves and lynx, or the maelstrom, or the place where they parked the Tirpitz, the air museum, the moutains, the lakes, the incredible looking women, the North Cape........
I would go back any time. Just take normal precautions and care and the trip will reward you in all most every way.

Bob


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## PhoenixK (Jun 24, 2012)

AutoMax said:


> Consider using winter specific oil in the engine.


Not to say AutoMax is wrong at all, its certainly a consideration, we considered this but speaking to some locals they didn't recommend it. It seems that normally winter oils are lower viscosity which risks increased wear on engine components when at operating temperature. The locals we spoke to used regular spec oils all year.

Some more thoughts:

A pre-heater was recommended as it heats the oil and engine up in advance so by the time you come to start the oil is already at a usual viscosity, this also means that much less power is required to turn the engine over on starting, reducing the strain on your already suffering electrical system. Another advantage is you can set it with a switch over relay to turn the fans on before you get in the van so it's toasty warm before you set off. Although it wasn't cheap and took me three days to install the pre-heater was the best bit of kit we fitted. Engine always started as good as at home with no difficulty and was nice and warm straight away. A lot of cars sold in that region come with pre-heaters fitted as standard, you will see the posts for electric pre-heaters (normally Kenlowe I think...) in car parks all over the place. We fitted a diesel one (TheroTop C) as running off the vehicle fuel allows more freedom.

When you do set off in the coldest of conditions you need to take it easy whilst the drive train warms up. Below -20 we could hear the diffs whining a little bit for the first mile or so.

On the Landy we needed a radiator blind as cruising in the colder conditions wasn't enough to keep the engine at full operating temp. Coolant was at the highest mix possible for the engine and replaced shortly before the trip.

Having batteries in excellent condition is a must. As is a fully serviced vehicle in excellent general condition. The cold has a strange effect on all sorts of components. For example: the rubber seals hardening up can make shutting doors hard, they can even freeze to the doors so a good idea to cover them in a light oil / bit of vaseline if poor weather is expected. Below -35(ish) plastic becomes very brittle and easily broken so need to be gentle.

Washer fluid is exactly as AutoMax said. Use the local stuff, its available by the drum load everywhere. Some people fit the 'hotshot' to avoid the need to clean the wipers frequently. We didn't have one but would consider it seriously for another trip. As AutoMax says stopping to clean the wipers every 10 mins is a pain :!:

Fuel: turn up with a near empty tank and fuel up in Norway, it has the correct amount of additives for the cold weather where as continental fuel doesn't always and can lead to clogging up the fuel filter (of which you need to carry a couple of spares) in the cold. Some say it isn't full winter fuel until about as north as Trondheim but this didn't seem to be the opinion of the staff at garages in Oslo.

Lights: They need to be good, lots of tunnels, lots of darkness. Most of the locals have extra sets fitted, the extra ones we fitted certainly helped.

Tyres: Winter tyres are required, we used studded tyres, between them and the groves the ploughs cut in the ice surface grip was surprisingly good. This doesn't mean you can drive like in the UK a good forward plan is required and still easy to lock up but much better than I thought it would be!

Food: Costs a fortune!! Take as much as possible with you to save money!

Coats etc. need to be excellent and need to be sure you have good enough sleeping bags etc. so will be able to survive in the worst of conditions if habitation heating where to break down. Buy the sole grips for walking on ice the locals use (not available in this country) the ones I bought here before going looked really tough but fell apart in 2 days.

A good SLR with a tripod and a lens of preferably f2.8! Play with time lapse and you will have some fantastic results of the Northern Lights!

On the way back go to Kiruna (Sweden) Go for a snow-mobile tour or a dog sled tour if a slower pace is required, followed by a night in the ice hotel, next day go for a tour down the mine, all really good activities!


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