KOMBI Kaper 2015

alderley wrote:

Another question, are we likely to need a 2 pin hookup adapter, and could reverse polarity be a problem? Are our vans set up to deal with reverse polarity, and is it a good idea to carry a polarity tester and adapter?

Yes get a 2 pin adaptor - again eBay.

Probably not a reverse polarity problem, but I have a checker so will have it onboard. Vans not set up to deal with reverse polarity, that's why we carry a screwdriver onboard to swap the wires in the cable over.

Got one for £7.39 with free delivery from eBay. Bargain.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230v-Euro-2-Pin-Power-Hook-Up-Adaptor-Socket-For-Caravan-Electrics-/131544316061?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1ea0a6f89d

After realising on Friday eve that one of our passports expired a few months ago, I will be on a mission this week to sort the quickest way to renew it! Arghhh, not really what I needed at the moment!

25 days to go!

You know it's long when the "packing piles" appear....

A few days before a trip in Tallulah (apart from the occasional spur of the moment trips) we start a "packing pile" in our dining room. The pile generally consists of 'stuff' that we will be taking outside of normal food and clothes, and for whatever reason is not already in the van either because it has been used elsewhere, has come out for cleaning, or is weather or activity related.

Our CamperJam packing pile (CJPP)appeared last weekend whilst sorting out some other stuff, swiftly followed by our Kaper packing pile (KPP).

Thought it might be useful to others if I listed whats already in our KPP:

Ticket pack/paperwork from Select Sites (incl beach bag)
Passports, driving licenses, V5 and insurance docs (these aren't actually in the packing pile, but they all together somewhere safe...)
Vehicle related Euro extras - beam benders, spare bulbs, breathalysers (warning triangle, first aid kit and florescent jackets already in the van)
Walky Talkies and charger
Euro mains converter
Washing line and pegs (!)

The pile will continue to grow over the coming days so I will update my list and maybe others could suggest things as they think of them.

Excellent info Tallulah. Thank you.

I'm taking it that we don't need both parts of the driving licence as the second part is obsolete. Is it a requirement though to bring the V5 document?

Another thing for the list is the Sat Nav remembering to set the distance in kms and to disable the speed camera alerts.

Oh, and look at the temperature in La Rochelle today - 37° !

Going to need to remember the suncream.

I'll probably take both parts of licenses anyway and I believe it is a requirement to carry the V5 (now known as a VRD) but make sure you take a copy and keep that at home.

Will be tinkering with sat nav while waiting to board the ferry - took ages last year - and we need to restock sun team which will then be added to our KPP.

If you have a TomTom you can connect it to your PC and it will upgrade your European settings automatically to ensure you are fully legal for driving in France. It did take ages though !

beakyboy wrote:

If you have a TomTom you can connect it to your PC and it will upgrade your European settings automatically to ensure you are fully legal for driving in France. It did take ages though !

iPhone with Navigon, French maps already loaded, speed cameras already switched off, just need to change it to kms which takes a couple of seconds.

We use Via Michelin on the ipad/iphone in France usually.

It's a good idea to make sure you've got your breakdown details in your phone too in case you need to ring them. We always carry our Medical Insurance details (as a file on the phone) and European medical cards too.

It seemed on last years trip that if we'd all followed our own Sat Navs we'd have all gone off in different directions,we ended up turning ours off before the midway point as there are only so many 'turn around when possible'  commands you can take..

Some modern Sat Navs will have RTI Live information taking into account current delays whereas my TomTom works from preloaded maps and just works on what should be the quickest route by using or avoiding motorways without taking into account live traffic data.

Enjoy the Konvoy , keep the walkie talkies on and don't lose sight of the van in front - Happy holidays..

I think the walkie talkies were a great idea when we went the first year. It's always diffiuclt being in a convoy - it's as hard at the front, keeping an eye in your rear view mirror, as it is bringing up the rear, but we'll volunteer to be the last van, as we've been to the island before - if we got lost off the back we'd still be able to get there.

Ok, so not long to go now folks!

Out of interest, what will people be having on their respective pitches?

On mine, I'll have Max, the Kyham awning and the club event shelter.

What's going to be on yours?

Route down to the Ile de Re now in the first post.

1 bay 1bell tent and 5 people and lot n lot of sun

Small setup as last year, kombi and sun canopy plus space to park the trailer, bikes and boats.


Oops, nearly forgot the small pop-up festival tent...

We'll have the van, the sun canopy, a pop up small festival tent and the trailer.

TimV wrote:

Route down to the Ile de Re now in the first post.

Boo! - was hoping for Le Mans and down to Cholet to avoid Nantes and to take in Wigan's twin town, Angers. Still, if we bring up the rear you won't notice we've gone off piste...

We'll have the van, sun canopy, Kyham awning, trailer, bikes, kayak, tables and chairs. Now I've listed them I'm beginning to wonder if we've got room for everything.

Juat been looking at the route and also a map showing a list of E85 petrol stations - E85 in France.

There are a few on the way, it would be useful if we could tie in breaks or fuel stops with E85 stations for the watercooled contingent as its just over half the price of regular unleaded.

There's one in Caen although it looks like its on the wrong side of town based on our route, there's a couple on the Rennes ring road (approx 200km from the port) and another couple on the Nantes ring road (approx 300km from the port) all of which should be well in range if we've topped off our tanks in Portsmouth - the best we've ever done on a tank was 453km but we were increasingly anxious above 420km.

There's also one on the outskirts of La Rochelle which could be very useful for the return trip as it appears quite close to the main road.


EDIT: The link to E85 in France was out of date so I have updated it with a new one.

Will be meeting in Morrison's again this year?

If so the closest petrol station is the Asda about 1/2 mile away on Holbrook Road, PO1 1JP which may also be the cheapest.

There's also an Esso station on Kingston Road, PO2 7TZ which is about 1 mile from the meet point.

I've sent my spies out and they report both at £1.14 per litre at the moment.

Tallulah wrote:

Will be meeting in Morrison's again this year?

Yes - it's the ideal spot - ability to park the BraziBays in a row plus a short drive to check-in reducing the chance of losing members of the konvoy!

Will it be on the road next to Morrison's or will the supermarket car park still be open?

AbsintheKombi wrote:

Will it be on the road next to Morrison's or will the supermarket car park still be open?

It was still open last year but please be careful when turning in as the left side curb is VERY high...