# Touring at -10 can be interesting



## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Just returned from Spain, using Aires of course.
In Hendaye at -10c my battery failed and had to be replaced, old batteries suffer in the cold.
All water supplies across France frozen, fortunately everything topped up.
Waste tank freezes and cannot empty contents.
Never a problem emptying loo.
Very mean with toilet flush.
One internal tap still working, others frozen.
Free electrical hook-up fails at 10p.m., now on gas which runs out at 4a.m. get up to switch to second tank -14c.
Removing screen and blocks in morning 'interesting'.
Roads well salted and dry.
UK after tunnel, slush and not fully cleared.
We were never cold in bed and the gas heating while revealing many unexpected draughts was good.
If you are contemplating touring overseas at this time of year, I hope some of these thoughts may allow you to avoid some of my pitfalls.

Loved every minute.... Rosalan


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## mrbricolage (Jun 30, 2008)

We camped at Woodhall spa, Lincolnshire over the weekend. Apparently it was -5 during the day and -16 at night. Fortunately for us the van is fully winterised, so tanks were not frozen nor did we run out of gas. 
However there were others on the site who were struggling with the conditions. Including a few frozen tanks/ water pumps, dead batteries, etc.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Arctic*

We went to the Arctic Circle winter 2007, was -27c at the coldest.

Managed okay, but you need a well insulated van.

Never got stuck in snow or on ice.
Nothing Froze
Nothing Jammed

TM


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

*Re: Arctic*



teemyob said:


> We went to the Arctic Circle winter 2007, was -27c at the coldest.
> 
> Managed okay, but you need a well insulated van.
> 
> ...


Frankia, you don't just pay for the name. :roll:


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Re: Arctic*



Jezport said:


> teemyob said:
> 
> 
> > We went to the Arctic Circle winter 2007, was -27c at the coldest.
> ...


It was our Eura Mobil of the time!

TM


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

*Re: Arctic*



teemyob said:


> Jezport said:
> 
> 
> > teemyob said:
> ...


We looked at Eura Mobils but they all had small fridges :lol: so we got the Frankia


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Fridges*

Yes, ours had a didy fridge so I put a fridge/freezer in the Garage

TM


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## WildThingsKev (Dec 29, 2009)

*Re: Arctic*



Jezport said:


> We looked at Eura Mobils but they all had small fridges :lol: so we got the Frankia


Why do you need a big fridge when it's -27 outside?


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Re: Arctic*



WildThingsKev said:


> Jezport said:
> 
> 
> > We looked at Eura Mobils but they all had small fridges :lol: so we got the Frankia
> ...


To keep the beer warm and liquid !

DOH!


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

*Re: Arctic*



WildThingsKev said:


> Jezport said:
> 
> 
> > We looked at Eura Mobils but they all had small fridges :lol: so we got the Frankia
> ...


Because the foxes eat my chicken when I leave it outside. And the birds peck my plums


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## johnthompson (Jul 29, 2010)

rosalan said:


> Just returned from Spain, using Aires of course.
> In Hendaye at -10c my battery failed and had to be replaced, old batteries suffer in the cold.
> All water supplies across France frozen, fortunately everything topped up.
> Waste tank freezes and cannot empty contents.
> ...


We also have just returned from the French Med including a trip to Italy in 2ft of snow.

I endorse everything that was said. We lost our starter battery because of the cold and had a failed alternator regulator in Italy. Our leisure batteries seemed to be also failing but we have had them tested in the UK today and they are fine so it was the cold again.

Waste water tank froze up at Narbonne Plage. Very very cold and blustery winds day and night. Tried to wash dirt off the back window and the brush froze instantly to the window. Managed to dump toilet contents OK on route but had to wait until Birmingham on Saturday night to get rid of the waste water collected all the way through france at minus 10c.

Now at Sedgefield in County Durham enjoying the mild temperatures.

It will be southern Spain for us next winter.

John


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

johnthompson said:


> rosalan said:
> 
> 
> > Just returned from Spain, using Aires of course.
> ...


We were in Southern Spain 1st January this year for 10 days. Weather was beautiful. Bit chilly most nights and oddly warm others. Max we recorded was +24c. But most days it peaked around 19-20c.

However,

We were in the same area 2 years before. It snowed on the beach and it was a bluddy cold wind.

One year, there were around 100 car crashes in a couple of days due to snow on the AP7.

TM


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## spatz1 (May 19, 2011)

This explains a bit about why batteries behave as they do and coupled with the fact you seldom see above 14.4v from a van charger.... the results are apparent.

http://screencast.com/t/nKWyPlv6z


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## fdhadi (May 9, 2005)

We went to Denmark for New Year 2011. It was very cold (-25) most nights and not much warmer in the day, but nice and snug in the mh with the Alde Heating.

The Burstner didn't miss a beat, could not fault it at all.


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

Just had a look at the CAK Tanks tank heaters, the thermostatic one is £69.97 and the non thermostatic one is £44.42 so surely you can buy a cheap thermostat and save money by using the non thermostatic one.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*heaters*

Or buy some cheaper ones!

TM


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