P38 to South of France and back....

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richwp

New Member
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86
Location
Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire
We've finally made the decision to take the P38 and tow our caravan to France this summer. I've just finished making all the arrangements!

We leave home on 5th June heading for Dover where we stay overnight before crossing the channel on 6th. First stop will be at Saint-Martin-des-Besaces (Normandy)for a couple of nights, then on to Airvault (near Poitiers) for four nights before the final leg of the journey to Albine (South East France - east of Toulouse). While we're there we're thinking of crossing into Spain to visit Barcelona and following the Med coast east to Marsaille, so lots of driving! We expect do cover around 3,000 miles during the three weeks.

Apparently LPG is readily available all over France so the fuel costs won't bee too bad.

Anyone else done something like this? We'd appreciate any hints and tips!
 

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Went to Malaga and back last summer (2600 miles) in the P38. She took it all in her stride. Just make sure your cooling system is in good nick it can get a bit warm in that neck of the woods, which is why we go there:) Toll roads are expensive but worth the extra in my opinion. Air con on full sit back in your armchair and enjoy the ride.
 
fortgrange said:
Went to Malaga and back last summer (2600 miles) in the P38. She took it all in her stride. Just make sure your cooling system is in good nick it can get a bit warm in that neck of the woods, which is why we go there:) Toll roads are expensive but worth the extra in my opinion. Air con on full sit back in your armchair and enjoy the ride.
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Thanks for the advice. Just had a new radiator, thermostat and housing and had the rocker cover gaskets replaced after a slight oil leak - seems to be fine now. LPG has been serviced - Just got 22mpg on the last tank!
 
best of luck matey but if it were me goin all the way to francein my p38 the only thing i,d be towing is an RAC van,should in case i need him:D
 
make sure you got all the lpg adapters as some use different nozzles, ive heard that some service stations have them to borrow when you fill up

good luck and enjoy
 
richwp said:
We've finally made the decision to take the P38 and tow our caravan to France this summer. I've just finished making all the arrangements!

We leave home on 5th June heading for Dover where we stay overnight before crossing the channel on 6th. First stop will be at Saint-Martin-des-Besaces (Normandy)for a couple of nights, then on to Airvault (near Poitiers) for four nights before the final leg of the journey to Albine (South East France - east of Toulouse). While we're there we're thinking of crossing into Spain to visit Barcelona and following the Med coast east to Marsaille, so lots of driving! We expect do cover around 3,000 miles during the three weeks.

Apparently LPG is readily available all over France so the fuel costs won't bee too bad.

Anyone else done something like this? We'd appreciate any hints and tips!
Click to expand...

I did the trip the other way last year from Poitiers to the north of the UK with caravan. Had one EAS fault on route due to water in a height sensor connector. Soon fixed with the EAS software. Otherwise no probs 22mpg with the caravan on diesel:D

Bugger crossing Dover Calais, thats hard work with the traffic. We do Newhaven Dieppe, saves me hundreds of kilometres.

If you have EAS problems, I have spares and the software.

You are welcome to call in although we will be a bit busy so you will have to excuse the state of the house:eek:

Good luck.
 
I live in the deep south(Herault) and have done the trip a few times in the Rangie,never had a problem(why would i?:rolleyes:),the French road system is the finest i've ever driven on but of course they have to go and complicate things by letting the French use it,so don't let them phase you(funny enough Johnny frog has a grudging respect for Land Rover)
Also the the further south you go the worse the drivers(my department has the second highest death/accident rate in France)and it would be a very brave man to take a caravan through Marseille!

If you're anywhere near me and you need help don't hesitate to ask,

Happy camping!
 
Datatek/Ipsos - thanks guys - it's good to know that others have done the trip before without too much trouble. Thanks for the offers of help. Hopefully I won't need any, but it's always good to know that you're around if I get stuck!

I plan to update the thread as we do the journey - we leave on 5th June. I've planned a short trip to Longleat weekend 22/23 May to make sure that the RR/caravan behave ok together. It'll be good to do at least 1 trip before we head for France!
 
Hiya,

Been through France, Germany, Lux & Switzerland last year. Going back this year as well.
Do you have a satnav system, get the poi's for 'GPL' as it's called in france as well as the adaptors.
Any questions PM me.
 
richwp said:
Datatek/Ipsos - thanks guys - it's good to know that others have done the trip before without too much trouble. Thanks for the offers of help. Hopefully I won't need any, but it's always good to know that you're around if I get stuck!

I plan to update the thread as we do the journey - we leave on 5th June. I've planned a short trip to Longleat weekend 22/23 May to make sure that the RR/caravan behave ok together. It'll be good to do at least 1 trip before we head for France!
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The Rangie is one of the best tow vehicles I have ever owned, extremely stable even at 80mph on the autoroute:D
 
If you come back up our way you're welcome to stop for a few verres de vin , pastis, bit of supper :) We have plenty of space for a caravan and a p38 ;)
 
OXO said:
If you come back up our way you're welcome to stop for a few verres de vin , pastis, bit of supper :) We have plenty of space for a caravan and a p38 ;)
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Thanks OXO - who knows where we might end up! I wish I'd posted the idea of a trip to France before booking all of the sites; we could've done the trip by staying with all of the guys on here who are out there! :p
 
As soon as you get off the ferry, stop and buy "Land" magazine, very good help and specialist section,dont touch dealers, they define the expression stealer. Use the posters here, seems you are covered down through France for help. Here in Aquitaine we tend to regard caravans as targets! Especially when they forget to carry a spare wheel for the `van, and remember to carry ALL the required safety gear,police tend to regard tourists as money sources, its 50 yo-yo`s per missing item, and 50 for not carrying your hi-vis IN the car, not the boot. Andorra fuel is still the cheapest in Europe but its a brave man who takes a `van up there. There are five different colours for diesel in France,depending on tax and usage, but you can bet that no fermier will use anything but the cheapest, the similar story with LPG, you will need an adapter for the cheapest, not sure what its called but its 22 cents, in country areas. Good luck and have fun, agree with previous poster, brilliant roads, just a pity the French use them!
 
Datatek said:
The Rangie is one of the best tow vehicles I have ever owned, extremely stable even at 80mph on the autoroute:D
Click to expand...

Just got back from the "shakedown" trip to Longleat this weekend. P38 was faultless - even returned 19mpg on LPG while towing the 'van with the aircon on most of the way! Now looking forward to the French trip! :D
 
Almost goes without saying, but double check all documents: driving licence, insurance, test cert, reg docs. In all(?) european countries random roadside checks are, relatively, common place. It may be document checks, or alcohol checks. The alcohol levels are now less here than in the UK, and the lax attitudes, of a decade ago are long gone. I`ve been random breath tested at 7-30am in Spain! I`d largely agree the driving standards of the locals decreases the further south you go but always expect to be carved up by 75 plates, and also beware of diesel Mercs & Pugs with overloaded roof racks chasing the ferries off the south coast.
 
richwp said:
Just got back from the "shakedown" trip to Longleat this weekend. P38 was faultless - even returned 19mpg on LPG while towing the 'van with the aircon on most of the way! Now looking forward to the French trip! :D
Click to expand...

As Gtland say's make sure you have all your paper work with you including the purchase receipts for the car & caravan, you may well be asked for them as proof of ownership:D
 
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