The Vans
The Vans

The Vans

August, 6-9th, 2019

Deeply disappointed by our early return from the Dordogne and buoyed up by slightly cooler weather we effected our plan to go out “little and often” in an attempt to train the cats for living in the new van.

Melle, Fontaine de Villiers

Trip the 2nd for Van Nessa.

GPS Coordinates : 46.231778  -0.143972

https://campingcarpark.com/en/shop/parking-areas/camping-de-village-area-of-melle/

Another former Municipal campsite, smaller than the one at Tauriac and less formally arranged. Sanitaires again – just one toilet and one shower, and again rather basic. They don’t look very nice and could do with an upgrade but that shower performed fantastically well, with plenty of hot water on tap.

We chose this site for the same reasons that we chose the last one – good shade from mature trees and a safe area in case of cat-escape.

The weather being cooler and the cats being less hyper, we managed to stop out for our planned three nights. Melle offered plenty to keep us occupied and although I took many photographs on our wanderings I actually failed to find the time to take photos of the site, sorry.

An extensive network of footpaths can be accessed directly off the site. Much of the walking forms part of an Arboretum, with 1,800 different types of trees and 300 different roses. Three National Collections are held. There is an additional Forest Arboretum opening off the Discovery path, and a cycle route on the former railway extends to almost 15 km (linear route). Some walking routes are entirely off-road but others cross parts of the town

In the town there are three lovely Romanesque churches to visit, a market hall, a motorbike museum, and some historic silver mines to see. Good eating possibilities, with two Michelin-recommended establishments within half an hour’s stroll of the aire and plenty of other eateries available. A particularly lovely Lavoir is sited right by the aire. Children’s play area faces the site. Friday market.

The Verdict

I am going to give this one 4 stars also, mainly based on its fit with our preferred lifestyle.

We enjoyed our stay and plan to return in the future.

Van Nessa

We ate out twice and made a salad on the other evening, so cooking facilities remain untested.

Having twice been to a site with showers, the bathroom remained untested also (but see forthcoming post…)

The bed remains comfortable and we slept transversely again.

The Cats

Dusty and Chloé behaved better than we might have expected. Dusty was a bit rowdy on the journey there, Chloé elected to travel on the bench seat and snooze her way through the journey.

Dusty was less inclined to sit outside this time, due possibly to this site having become quite busy whilst we were there – he’s nervous of other people and vehicles. I put him out on a line but he chose to return inside.

I also tried Chloé on a line but she got in a bit of a guddle with the washing up bowl, scared herself and managed to back out of her escape-proof jacket. Fortunately she did not run off but went up on the axle somewhere similar and when she emerged, she also chose to go back inside the van.

Overall I believe that she is now pretty much bomb-proof in this respect, seeing the van as her safe place. We have concluded that she learned her lesson in Viviers and is now minded to stay close to home. We also believe that her stopping out for three nights was probably not of her own choosing.

Those may be filed under “famous last words” I expect.

Being on mains hook-up we plugged in a Feliway diffuser and nights were fairly calm. Dusty was far quieter on the drive home, though a long way from actually being silent. Chloé popped up into the over -parcel shelf and didn’t come out until we were parked back at home.

Overall I am leaning towards finding a tethering solution for travelling with Dusty in preference to putting him in a carrier. He’s far too active to allow him to be loose when we are driving but may complain less if not boxed. Mr Snail finds driving along to a cat’s chorus to be very stressful.

Our next task on the van will therefore be to fit an appropriate fixing point for the cat’s harness.

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July 23rd 2019

Trip the 1st

It was mid-canicule and powerfully hot at home so Mr Snail thought now the new van had arrived, the thing to do would be to go in search of cooler weather. He found some, down in the Dordogne and we packed up and took off .

We had chosen a CCP aire on an ex-municipal campsite that had good tree cover for shade and was away from roads (thank you, Nevilley) in case of cat escape.

Tauriac, Le Mas de la Croux

https://campingcarpark.com/en/shop/parking-areas/tauriac-le-mas-de-la-croux/

A nicely tended former Municipal Campsite. The trees are mature, as are the privacy hedges between pitches. The pitches themselves are spacious and unexpectedly feature flat concrete pads for parking.

A Plan d’Eau adjacent to the site features a small beach, supervised swimming (in season and in fixed hours) children’s play area, crazy golf and a bar/restaurant. Naturally, some noise is generated until late hours when the weather is clement.

The site is also bordered by a shallow and slow-running arm of the River Dordogne. There are smaller, unhedged pitches on concrete pads overlooking the river, lightly shaded by trees.

A rarity for motorhome aires – there are Sanitaires. Somewhat basic but better than no facilities at all. These are seasonal. Also the aire is shared with tenters and tuggers in high season.

There is no commerce in the village other than at the Guinguette but shops may be found at the next village, about a mile away. These remain untested by ourselves.

The site is very pleasant and we might have stayed there quite happily (and will probably return sometime) but the weather, although 7 degrees cooler than at home, remained too hot to be at all comfortable.

https://www.google.fr/maps/@44.9057863,1.7727134,17z

Cats escaped.

Tempers frayed.

It was too hot to do anything other than to sit outside with a cooling fan running to generate some breeze – which is why I have no photographs to share.

We packed up early the following morning and fled home to our stone-flagged floors and air conditioning units.

The Verdict

Taking this under consideration as an Aire rather than as a Campsite, I think that we might rate it as a 4 star stop. Bear in mind that we did not explore the area at all, for fear of expiring from heat exhaustion.

Van Nessa

Performed well. We had a comfortable ride of three hours there, and thoroughly appreciated her efficient cab cooling especially when we encountered roadworks in Limoges en route.

It is the season for roadworks in France, Deviations and Routes Barees abound.

We did not cook, only prepared a salad.

The bed proved to be capacious and comfortable – we slept in a transverse configuration.

So far we are having trouble in adjusting to the more cramped conditions.

The Cats

Importantly, we had failed to register how much more difficult it would be to deal with cats when we have a wide sliding door rather than a narrow hinged one.

Dusty seems quite happy to be attached to a line and to sit under the van in the shade, watching the birds.

Chloé popped outside for a look but fundamentally prefers being inside. Not a good choice in that extreme heat.

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A brief update/small upgrade

Nessa had another upgrade today and has been fitted with a Cruise Control. Diagnostic tests have been done and all is well but a test drive is now required.

On the Good News front, we finally became brave enough to examine the damage done to the flyscreen when Dusty escaped… and there isn’t any! The fact is, the screen is not secured at the bottom and any errant cat may simply slide under it. When seen in the dark it appeared wrecked but must in fact have only been a little rumpled. It’s fine. But, now that we know, we shall have to keeper tighter control on Dusty.

We bought him a straitjacket…

I still haven’t taken any photos of the van, been waiting for work to be completed and tools put away. I shall be packing the van tomorrow so hope to take that opportunity to take some beauty shots.

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It came!

I said that she was coming and indeed she did. We collected Nessa from Naintré on the 19th of July and got her home in one piece, though not without a few hiccups – just a few rattles to sort out and an unfamiliarity with the Automatic gearbox arrangements.

The following day we took Nessa shopping and fitted her with a couple of gas cylinders at SuperU. Then we came home and set about moving everything that we had moved out of Heidi, into Nessa.

It did not take long to pack her, though it felt like an eternity in the extreme heat (we were experiencing a Canicule.) It was in fact that heat that sent us on our way sooner than we had thought that we might be off, not to mention to a further destination.

Mr Snail picked a destination based on where we might find a significantly lower temperature and off we went on the Monday, planning to stay out for up to three nights. In the event, we were home again next morning.

It was just too hot and the cats were troublesome and the two factors combined to drive us home.

Mr Snail appeared to enjoy the driving (3 hours or thereabouts) and things look good for covering greater mileages than we felt up to in Heidi Hymer. I certainly felt it to be a more comfortable ride. Nell liked travelling on the bed and the cats… well…

The bed proved to be very comfortable and I enjoyed the ease of getting in and out via the built-in steps.

Neither the cooker nor the shower were tested.

The fly screen on the sliding door is now broken, courtesy of one escaping feline.

Since we came home, the cat problem has been addressed – though we don’t yet know if we have found any actual solutions. Our next trip will be informative. We continue to seek a new home for one or both of them as this travelling life really does not suit – Dusty especially.

Also since arriving home Mr Snail has been making some changes (upgrades) to the van, which now has a second leisure battery plus some extra power sockets and a new controller for the electrickery bits.

I’ll write up the actual trip soon. I will also take some Nessa photos to share.

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Well, that was unexpected…

I was confiding that Heidi’s days with us are numbered, we had picked out our new van and that Mr Snail was taking her to Cognac to get a PX price…

Things did not go to plan.

Heidi was looking gorgeous, considering her age, and we both agreed that the fact that they had asked to see her meant that they would almost certainly make some kind of an offer – otherwise why put us to the trouble. Really, for a lass of 20 years age, she was looking in fine fettle. Why would they turn her down.

Well, it was very much a case of frowning, head-shaking and tutting. It was broken this and broken that (minor things that we had honestly not noticed in the last year) and this requires replacing and that requires replacing and her tyres are too old and… no, we won’t take her, it would be too costly to make her right. They suggested that we had been done when we bought her…

Were they speaking of the same Heidi that we know? Surely not.

My favourite Snail returned, with his tail betwixt his legs.

We talked about the options, which we believed to be few – given the fact that other dealers would not even look at her because of her age. The option that Mr Snail was coming down on was the one that goes “There’s nothing wrong with her and she suits us just fine let’s just keep her.” Nothing wrong with that course of action at all.

What were the other options?

  • We might try selling her privately but that was a course that we knew that we would rather not take. It is a process that is fraught and brings with it onerous responsibilities. Selling used vehicles privately in France is not something to be undertaken lightly. This reason was after all the driver behind seeking a PX in the first place.
  • We could seek a cheaper van that didn’t need us to top up with funds from disposing of Heidi but that wouldn’t work for us and she would have to go anyway, to make space for a new van. We just don’t have room for three vehicles.
  • A dealer that we visited in Naintré last week is having a fair of used vehicles this weekend and inviting owners to come and sell their own vans. We might book a spot there but that would still leave us with the legal requirements and responsibilities thing.
  • A little place outside Lussac Les Chateaux has, we have noticed, usually a few lower-end motorhomes outside, marked up with prices in their windows. Perhaps they might be open to buying Heidi from us. We wouldn’t make as much as from a private sale but would be free of the legal obligations.

We were dejected. I just clung on to the idea that none of this actually matters. We aren’t in need of a new van, it was just a flirting with some kind of desire…

We discussed returning to Naintré before the weekend, to remind ourselves of what they had for sale there and to try and firm up ideas about what our second choice van might be. We might book Heidi in on the DIY sales thing if it seemed a good idea and if there was a van that we might want to buy…

Mr Snail visited their website to remind himself of their stock and to check out the details of the used vehicle event. He noticed that in the earlier part of the week they had some reductions on new vehicles, including on some of the ones that we might be considering.

Thus it was that we got up out of our beds yesterday morning and took Heidi with us to Naintré. It was a very faint hope but perhaps, if they would consider a PX, it would be useful to have her there and not require a second journey.

We arrived, on a far better day than last week, to find many more units on display and the van conversions standing there with doors open ready for viewing. As we crossed the lot, I spotted a Hymermobil of very similar vintage to Heidi. we had some debate as to whether the dealer was selling the van or whether it was there for the weekend sell-your-own event. Then I saw another van, even older than Heidi. I dared to suggest that perhaps they might be up for a PX after all.

A very nice man, name of Christophe, appeared very quickly to see if he might help. He was going to leave us to it but soon realised that we knew what we were looking for and were proper buyers. He stuck with us and we may have tested his patience as we went back and forth between our three personal options (a Globecar, a Pilote and a Bavaria), checking this and checking that and making up our minds (or at least attempting to!)

We chose one: the Globecar. It was considerably cheaper than the Malibu that we had been going to purchase in Cognac. If we couldn’t get a PX then we would still be able to pay for it… but that would leave the issue of disposal in time for bringing a new van home.

We asked about the possibility of exchanging Heidi and told Christophe her age, we pointed her out in the car park. He didn’t flinch and simply got stuck into the paperwork, working out the figures with adjustments for discounts and additional options costed in. Mr Snail and I exchanged glances. He didn’t want to look at her before we agreed a sale? We asked if he wanted to see her and he said yes but he would fill all the papers in first. He went online and found the book price for Heidi. It was disappointingly low, even after Christophe generously topped the figure up with an additional 500 Euros but, you know, legalities, logistics etcetera… worth the loss to avoid the hassle…

…but he still hadn’t looked at her and after the previous day’s reception at Cognac, we were concerned for poor Heidi.

We need not have worried. Christophe walked in, looked around and remarked that Heidi was in excellent condition (which is what we had believed originally). Deal done.

Now, how on earth was this the same vehicle that was so broken and so in need of work on Tuesday?

We supplied the many signatures required in France when conducting any transaction, wrote the cheque for the deposit, fixed a date for delivery and, it being time to close for lunch, were ushered on our merry way and out of the front door.

Lunch at La Table de Bellefois followed shortly thereafter by way of a small celebration.

We wanted a 6m van, or smaller, but ended up with one longer than Heidi. It is however a matter of girth, not length, I suppose 🙂

The new van is intended to be our last van. We plan to stick with it now and expect it to see our wandering days out for us. It is a Globecar Summit 640. We are having an awning, a solar panel and a reversing camera/multimedia centre (radio, Bluetooth, SatNav etc.) installed and will collect it on the 19th July. That date is, coincidentally, the same date that we brought Heidi home last year. We are dumping the old girl on her birthday. Aren’t we awful.

The new van is going to be needing a name. Any ideas? Alliterative name perhaps to follow Heidi Hymer? Gloria Globecar has been considered, as has Gladys Pugh (Heidi Hymer reference inclusive!) Maybe Sam Summit? I’m thinking though, as it’s a van and not a Eurobox moho, to follow Vincent Van Go (the Roadtrek), we might name it Van Morrison.. or Van the Van!

Can you do better?

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I KNOW!

I am just dreadful aren’t I? Promises to update, partial updates, long, long absences. I can only apologise for having a rich and full life, I guess.

Acknowledged that I have to complete the tale of our last trip and the one before that and the one before that etcetera. Maybe one day I will catch up with myself. However, today I have Big News; Current News.

Farewell to Heidi

Heidi Hymer has not been with us long but she has served us well and one day soon you might read about some of the many places that she has taken us in her year as part of our family but the time has come to bid her goodbye.

An unexpected boost to our finances means that Mr Snail may now secure a new motorhome that is a little more driver-friendly. He has elected to swap to a van-conversion type and has picked out one that has an automatic box. He is looking forward to having a more nimble vehicle that is more easily parked in towns. It also improves considerably on Heidi’s Crit’Air rating of 5, meaning that we will be more able to access towns where Heidi would not be permitted.

Now, this plan may not work completely to our satisfaction and much depends on the trip that Mr Snail is taking today: Heidi is to be inspected by a dealership in Cognac to see if they might offer us a PX value on her. Whether or not we can have the chosen new vehicle depends on the size of the price on Heidi’s head and we may have to return to the van-viewing and selection process again. I do hope not, we have seen much of France in our recent research mode and I do not particularly want to do that again any time soon.

Realistically, it is quite likely that we will have to select a different van and during that process we probably will not be using Heidi to go away in. She has been emptied, cleaned and primped and that’s another process that we probably would not enjoy going through again soon.

A large snag is that, if we do not secure a trade-in today, we have found that other dealers will not begin to consider Heidi for exchange. She is too old for them, having first hit the Snail Trail in 1999. At least this dealer is willing to take a look at her.

I am sitting here, twiddling my thumbs and hoping for the best. It would be really nice, in that passenger seat, not to feel as though we are lurching sideways around every roundabout.

Updates forthcoming. Really. Truly. Well, I hope… Also Plans: A short trip to Italy in late Summer, Girona next May, possibly over-wintering in between in either Spain/Portugal again or possibly Sardinia. Or somewhere else. Or not at all. As always, plans are fluid. Should we get the new van there will be some short local trips prior to the Italy venture for the purposes of familiarisation and de-snagging.

Now, the big question is, where do the cats go in a van conversion?

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