advice wanted on europe trip.

Welcome back ,sounded like fun ,we are hoping this trip will encourage us to go abroad more .

Matt, Sounds like a great trip, glad it went well and the Kombi managed the Pyrenees. My question is about electricity in France, electricity not being my specialist subject. I have read quite a bit about reverse polarity, how do you know it is an issue at a site before everything blows up, and what do you do to hook up in these circumstances. I am getting a continental adaptor for hook up, it sounds as if you took extra equipment to test and resolve this issue. This will be our first camping trip to France, and we are really looking forward to it.

Hey Rebeldog

Just get yourself a polarity checking plug like this:

Towsure Polarity Checker

When you get to your campsite, hook up and then plug this in first before you plug anything else in.  The probability is that all will be well, if it isn't then you will just need to reverse the wires in your hook-up cable to swap them round the other way.  No big deal. Take a screwdriver!

As tim says, what you need is a socket tester. You can get them online cheaply or go to a diy store which will be more expensive. I made up a reverse polarity lead to take with me as I didnt want to mess around swopping wires once there. Also I did not know how often I would come across it. I didnt need it at all. Reverse polarity means the live electrical feed is the neutral and the neutral is the live. What you need to do is open one end of your hook up lead and swop the live wire into the neutral connector, and the neutral onto the live. Remember to change it back when you leave the campsite. Otherwise you can make a short extension lead that is reversed. Any caravan supply shop will sell the cable and the 2 blue hook up ends. You only need a metre of cable.
I keep the socket tester in the socket below the back seat so it doesnt get lost. It showed that all the sites we visited were not earthed, this is not a problem.

Thanks both. I understand that, which is a minor miracle.

Hello rebeldog. Glad that made sense to you. This was our first trip abroad and it was a lot easier than we had thought it would be. Out of the 10 different campsites we visited only 1 was on the old french plug hook up, all the others were the blue euro connector that is standard over here. I'm sure you will have a fantastic time, it appeared all very relaxed on french campsites and the owners are very friendly and helpful. Where is it you are heading for?

i have at last got round to downloading some photo's off my phone

basecamp 1 on the golfe du morbihan, just 2 hours drive from st malo.

one of the local empty beaches from basecamp 1

walk along the coast from camp 1

basecamp 2, st jean de monts

sun shade set for drizzle, not such a spacious campsite and plaged with mosquito's from the hedges

basecamp 3. ile de re, back in the sun, washing day!

the path out of the back of the campsite to the sea

la rochelle, one of the few days not spent on a beach

la rochelle, a 50 minute public bus ride from the camp on ile de re which saved having to navagate the city in the van

basecamp 4, montalivet, across the gironde and into aquataine

miles and miles of empty beach, all the way to spain

Wow! Looks amazing - thats the kind if beach we love!

campsite halfway across france heading for the med. this is the swimming lake, with the bar and resturant on the other side

Barcelona. 16 euro's a night with electric and a free coach into and out of barcelona each day, how do they stay open!

anyone for cake, las ramblas

the road over the pyrenees. after much map studying, this road looked the best for us still having brakes when we got to the bottom of the other side.

nearly at top, now thats a dirty van, and yes that is snow on the top of the mountains

on top of the world

FAB pics - thanks for sharing  
Looks like you had a good time
Like the various angles for the sun canopy too

back to montalivet

a little stone balancing to pass the time

back to the morbihan and a visit to vannes

the night before the ferry home and we cant help finding yet another fantastic beach next to st malo.

Scooby wrote:

Like the various angles for the sun canopy too

the sun canopy was a must. we got it from the bus shelter. thought it was a bit expensive before using it, but now couldnt fault it. we spent so much time outside, it extends the van space, and should it rain you can still sit out or have the door/window open which stops you steaming up.
we were quite amused to watch all the caravan people take hours putting up huge awnings and then spend all their time sat outside them.

Did need to take it down when the wind picked up as it got quite noisy flapping as the wind caught under it.

Ace pics

Wow Matt - what a trip. Great memories I'm sure.

Looks amazing!

Looks like a great trip. Well impressed with the stone balancing

It was a trip of a life time. What campervans are made for. Going before the summer holidays made it possible as it meant we didn't have to pre book any sites, and could go where ever and when ever we liked. We followed the weather forcasts on the web and moved accordingly. This meant we had fantastic weather through out. It was getting noticably busier during the first 2 weeks of july and the cost of most coastal campsites rise hugely around that time.

coooool :-)

Amazing photos Matt, thank you for sharing. As you say, definitely what Campervans are made for! And now a bus shelter sun canopy is on my 'would love to have' list.  

Brill pictures Matt. What a trip. Feels like we need to get planning for our next Euro trip. We loved driving round France, and with 1 exception, it was very easy to find camp sites, none booked in advance, just come and go as you please.
I'm sure the answer is yes. Do any of you have experience of camping in Belgium and Holland? Any tips, views?

Just back from a tour of north France, Belgium coast and Holland. Very impressed by the Netherlands as a country, and good for a VW as it is flat, totally flat. Did the south west coast, round Rotterdam to the bulb fields. All fairly accessable from Calais. I couldn't explain the point of Belgium, and the coast was overdeveloped, but would be interested in looking at inland Belgium more. Brugge is very much a tourist magnet, but well worth a visit for all that. Also took some time to look round the northern corner of France round Calais which was worthwhile.
Everyone liked the VW and lots of people stopped and looked at it. It really is an ideal vehicle for these trips. Planning for next year begins now.

We'd like some photos of your trip please Rebeldog?