# Defenite requriements?



## Westkirby01 (Jan 25, 2009)

Reading all the posts about travel abroad during the winter, it would appear that there are two essential items required. I would equate these as:-

1. solar panel. 
2. wifi. 

EHU may not always be used as many of the motorhome owners live off-site for various lengths of time. TV is not a viable option without great expense, satellite dish. Wifi is viable with little outlay, hence a tablet or similar would answer most of the requirements. 

The solar panel keeps the battery charged, the tablet keeps the owner in contact via wifi and also gives added facility of being an ereader.

Open for more options. But these seemed to be to be the cheapest.

Regards


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## Webby1 (Mar 11, 2012)

*Essential*

I would certainly put a refillable gas system above a solar panel............... you will always need gas but if on EHU the panel is not needed.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

We have done a mix of one or two night stands and longer stays over 2 winters now. What we have learnt is that you must not rely on wifi. Often it is available at the campsite....but does not work. This was true of even the most organised sites. We also had the firm impression that many sites were putting in new systems and, where they had been free before, were charging for use of the new system. Often this did not work either. Several sites were set up so that you could only register one device per payment so, if we wanted to use 2 laptops and 2 tablets that would have been 4 payments.

Before we went this time we bought a unidirectional wifi booster and it amply repaid the cost in bringing in flaky signals to our laptops. However, if you are going to use it on a tablet then you need a wifi hotspot device as you cannot- I think- plug them directly into your tablet. The shop at Marjal was well set up to supply all these devices and, from conversations with others, it seems that they are generally cheaper in Spain anyway.

We had a couple of elderly Kindles with us and never failed to get a 3G signal so that we always had access to UK daily newspapers and a constant supply of books.

Our most useful thing was a cheap pop-up festival tent. This was pitched and packed away in no time and contained all the items that usually heap between the swivelled cab seats and the dashboard when we are in one place for a while.

G


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

Personally - 

I'd strongly recommend a solar panel, or indeed two. There's a lot of free sun power about down here, even in winter.
If you are thinking of staying anywhere without the constant umbilical cord of EHU for more than a couple of days, then for me it would be an absolute requirement.
In 9 weeks touring through this last Jan and Feb we did not use (or pay for) EHU once. 2 solar panels totalling 150 watts, and two hefty leisure batteries, and we really can go without needing to move (ie to start the engine to recharge leisure and vehicle batteries) or needing EHU, indefinitely.
Solar panels are really cheap nowadays, so maybe get the biggest fitted that you can fit on your roof?






The other thing I'd suggest considering, if you have a British MH, is the addition of some method of being able to use a 'foreign' gas bottle.
Many of the Brit MH's that we see down here in Spain and Portugal have either:-

A 'Spanish style' flexible hose & connection attachment to an external BBQ gas point in the side of the MH body - the other end of which hose they attach via jubilee clip a Spanish (and Portuguese, as they are the same) 30mbar bottle-top regulator. Then you can supply your onboard gas appliances through that BBQ point from a Spanish gas bottle.

Or, the addition of a 'T' piece just downstream of their bulkhead mounted UK gas regulator, with an isolation switch; to which they can jubilee-clip a length of Spanish flexible orange hose and bottle top regulator. I think any Spanish caravan/motorhome dealer with a workshop will fir this mod for you for maybe 20 euros or so, for cash...and I know personally of several Brit friends with MH's who've had the mod done whilst over here.
Just make sure the length of hose is long enough so that If you can't get such a bottle into your gas cupboard, you can stand it on the ground outside it.

Thus once in Spain/Portugal, you can pick up a used empty 12.5kgs butane bottle from any carboot sale, secondhand shop etc (just ask around!) for maybe 8 euros, then get it swopped for a full one at any gas bottle retailer/petrol station, for the current price of 17.50 euros.

The you can use el cheapo Spanish gas all the time you are over here, keeping your Brit gas bottle in reserve if needs be.
The when you leave you just turn off the isolation switch and start using your Brit gas bottle instead again.

(I've no idea what the UK Nanny State etc makes of such extra piping, as I live in Spain now; all I can tell you is that literally masses of Brit/German/Dutch/French MH's use this system when here for any length of time.)

Hope this helps.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Another vote for Solar Panel, I wouldnt worry too much about WiFi 

The other essential (for any MH anywhere) is a plastic watering can !!


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## fatbuddha (Aug 7, 2006)

money and passports are always at the top of our list

the rest you can figure out if you don't have them


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Solar panel, Gaslow, and thanks to MrPlod A well selected watering can.
I bought three before getting one that was perfect for the job.

Alan


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## adonisito (Nov 6, 2009)

You don't say how long you plan to travel in the Winter. We can cope easily for 4 weeks without a solar panel, although we do of course, use a few sites or aires where we can find EHU. We also find that 2 6kg bottles of gas will suffice. This does work as most of the aires we use do not have EHU. We have 2 x 110A leisure batteries. Mrs Adonisito cooks every day.
This is based on 4 weeks, no more, and I reckon about third of that was with EHU.


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