is 7 metres to long for rural europe ? Need help with van dimensions

[mark61]

Nope. Sales person said he couldn't guarantee delivery dates for this year and the earliest could be August but very likely to be late. And also theres very little change on the 2018 model thats of interest. Perhaps the FWD. I hear that there's a 2019 change happening as well where they're bringing out a configurable version for camper conversions.

Also, the outgoing 2018/2017 models are much cheaper, and in stock.




Never considered that coming down would be harder. In a car I just fly down at breakneck speed. I guess with a van its 3.5tons trying to fly off the mountainside.

Yes, bet theres hardly any discount to be had on new shape. If you like exploring, may be worth considering the 4x4 option, especially if you intend being up mountains in the winter. May even be a few demonstrators going cheap with the new model round the corner.

Brakes have improved hugely on modern vans, yet to get any fade on current van despite "enjoying" the occasional downhill Normal mode is to hold in gear though.

 

[nicholsong]

nomadichobbit(what a mouthful - could you be just Sue or Mary?)

Overhang has been mentioned but to summarise it is significant in three ways

1 Grounding on steep gradient changes, e.g. ferry ramps or start/end of steep hills/flatter areas.

2 Outswing when turning sharply.

The first is not usually a problem at 7m, although having a towbar we scrape occasionally, but we have only had to abandon two steep inclines, but not in the mountains - both times was leaving the floodplain climbing into a village. In the mountains to ensure not gounding on the inside of a steep hairpin try watching the traffic opposite and then when clear take the outside of the bend, even on the wrong side. Usually with a high vehicle one is clearly visible to oncoming traffic. Ferry crews will watch, and if marginal will provide mats or advise taking the ramp diagonally.

The outswing problem just needs careful watching in wing mirrors, including fitting parabolic mirrors to watch the rear upper corners not normally visible. If I have to negotiate a tight turn like that I often get out to check obstacles, below and above.

With these caveats in mind there is no reason to not take a 7m MH into the mountains - I have been most of the places on barryd's routes with no problem, although there is one road in the Lakes I have done but he does not fancy, as I keep reminding him.

Geoff

 

[jacquigem]

We use a satnav programmed with the dimensions of the vehicle. It may have saved our marriage.

I don't think ours will !!

 

[Deleted member 1540]

Best sat nav for your POI ? Or could they be loaded on my phone?

The POIs can be loaded onto many different sat nav devices. Amongst other formats the universally used TomTom and Garmin formats are supplied, so check if any sat nav you're considering is capable of loading third party POIs using these formats.

There is a Wild Camping app for Android and iOS devices, and there are lots of sat nav apps available which can load our POIs. Many members use the free app maps.me which offers offline maps and our POIs can be loaded into the app.

 

[nomadichobbit]

The POIs can be loaded onto many different sat nav devices. Amongst other formats the universally used TomTom and Garmin formats are supplied, so check if any sat nav you're considering is capable of loading third party POIs using these formats.

There is a Wild Camping app for Android and iOS devices, and there are lots of sat nav apps available which can load our POIs. Many members use the free app maps.me which offers offline maps and our POIs can be loaded into the app.

Excellent, thanks. I'll probably use the phone and download several apps. Thanks for suggesting maps.me.