Taking the van skiing
Am not actually a caravan but a motorhome so hope it’s ok to be here. we are going skiing in it in February. Does anyone have any tips on anything about how best to keep the van happy in the snow. We have a Eldis encore with Alde heating and we do have electric on the campsite. But I am worried about the water freezing...plus where can you buy chains. All advice would be gladly received
Comments
-
I doubt anything will freeze up while you are inside the MH and using heating. You could use a small water carrier inside for drinking, and use site facilities for showering, so that you have little in grey tank. Put a bucket under tap and leave tap open so that it runs straight through, then just empty bucket as and when required.
As for snow chains, this is a good website, make sure you read up about sizing, fitting, using prior to purchase. Not all vehicles can take them.
https://www.roofbox.co.uk/snow-chains/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs73q45jm3gIVir3tCh0JPww9EAAYAiAAEgLeXPD_BwE
Enjoy yourselves!
0 -
You might find www.motorhomeski.com helpful.
0 -
You don't say where you are going but in some countries winter tyres are essential, and in the event of an accident you may be held responsible if you are on normal tyres. They also make an incredible difference when driving on snow. Best to check this, winter tyres can be rented.
0 -
Thank you all for your reply’s. This has been very helpful. We are going to the alps in France and hopefully doing this in future years. The water tank is under slung but with facilities it may be that we don’t need running water. It will be quite an adventure !!!
0 -
Our pipes froze last year in York and that would be nothing like the overnight temps in the Alps. We coped by having fresh water in containers on board. We had already attached a micro heater to our tanks but this didn't stop the pipes freezing. If you can get at anything and lag it well this will help. Lots of people go so I'm sure you will manage ok especially if there are good facilities on site (I expect you'll have to get fresh water from inside a building.) Look out for snow chain offers in places like Lidl and practice putting them on before you go. Take equipment to get yourself off the snow if needed, similar to winter trips here.
0 -
You probably have thought of this basic check, but just in case.
If you anticipate being in extremely low night temperatures .
Worth just checking or have checked the % dilution rate of the anti freeze in the vehicle radiator some service garages (possibly more in the south of England) go for a minimum accepted dilution rate based on av temperatures in our country.
1 -
I would recommend you look at the site winterised.eu winterised.eu it’s an English site by a couple who took an elddis MH skiing for 6 months. It has lots of practical advice including lots of Aires you can use, many for free.
0 -
Yes. Even though it is .eu is actually a UK based site
0 -
BB, the small micro heaters do work on water tanks however it is the pipe work that is vulnerable on vans and at some point most pipes are exposed.
There can also be extreme drops in temperatures in the UK during the winter months, you'll see people with vans in the Cairngorms etc on ski-ing trips etc. There are ways to cope with very cold weather which some will know about on here and various conversations have cropped up in the past. Where are Chasncath when you need them?!
0 -
In the past we've taken our motorhome to the French Alps, not for skiing but to visit our daughter and her family. (Grandsons started to ski at age 3!). This photo, if it appears, was taken in early March 2013 at Bourg St Maurice. At 9 am the outside air temperature had crept up to -20C. Minus 10 is more common by day, but nights are colder. Beware that some sites will limit you to 10 amps to discourage electric heating. We had a 1 Kw fan heater that we kept running in the background, using gas to bring up the heat!
Down on the valley floor, chains are not required, but if you wish to camp at one of the aires up the mountains you need snow tyres or chains beyond designated points on the access roads.
We have an on-board fresh water tank , but used the heated blocs sanitaire. An open bucket for waste water not a wastemaster as you'll not get the ice out of it until Spring! At Bourg the blocs have facilities for stowing and servicing skis, and drying rooms for wet clothing.
If you need to buy a french gas bottle, you'll have to give an address but no one at the garage/supermarket will take any notice of what you put down!
For Alpine sites, the ski season is high season so don't expect any discounts!
p.s All the local service stations switch over to 'winter diesel' around now, so don't fill up until you're getting near to the region.
1 -
p.p.s
Make sure you lift your electric hookup cable out of the snow at regular intervals: it'll slowly sink into the ice when the sun comes up and when more snow falls. If you don't, you might have a problem when you come to leave the site. You'll notice others doing this so it's a known problem. Alpine snow turns to ice or icy powder not long after it falls so make your snowman while you can/ have snowball fight. Only the Brits do this.
the sun does shine!
1
