Uk to italian lakes in earlybay

[Mikeoggie]

Hi everyone,

Hope you're well.

After some advice... me and my girlfriend are looking at doing a european trip in my 1970 earlybay

Just had a engine rebuild so I'm feeling it can do it, just wondering if anyone here has done the same trip? We're looking at lake como via france and switzerland.

Obviously going to be taking it easy but just wondering if anyone has done the same trip or similar? how long it took them etc we've got 2 weeks due to work and uni but I'm unsure on what campsites to book on way. People at work think I'm mad saying its too old but I'm determined to prove them wrong just hope the bus won't let me down haha so peoples reassurance who have done would be welcome!

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Tofufi]

I've taken mine to Spain a couple of times. No reason old cars can't be reliable

1500-2000 miles in a fortnight in them is OK, just make sure you're realistic how many miles you can achieve in a day, especially if you're on slower roads. Mine (1600) will sit at 65mph, but when the temps are higher I prefer to go a bit slower.

In Spain/France we didn't book campsites either time and didn't have a problem - but we don't travel in August when it might be busiest...

 

[StuF]

Done Europe several times, loved it! Been to Gerona, Monaco, Italy, Germany and more in the bus. Just keep an eye on the temps and enjoy your trip. We were doing 6/8 hr sessions just to make the distance stopping only for fuel and rest breaks.

 

[Mikeoggie]

I've taken mine to Spain a couple of times. No reason old cars can't be reliable

1500-2000 miles in a fortnight in them is OK, just make sure you're realistic how many miles you can achieve in a day, especially if you're on slower roads. Mine (1600) will sit at 65mph, but when the temps are higher I prefer to go a bit slower.

In Spain/France we didn't book campsites either time and didn't have a problem - but we don't travel in August when it might be busiest...

That sounds ace, yeah mines a standard 1600 I usually sit about 55 anyway so that'll be fine. Did you need to anything to the van while away or was it faultless? I was thinking of taking points,condensor, belt etc. Basic stuff I could change myself

Handy to know about the campsites too, I'll be going end of May. To be honest I wanted to do that anyway and just stumble across campsites see where we end up -more fun that way haha.

Cheers for the reply mate

 

[Mikeoggie]

Done Europe several times, loved it! Been to Gerona, Monaco, Italy, Germany and more in the bus. Just keep an eye on the temps and enjoy your trip. We were doing 6/8 hr sessions just to make the distance stopping only for fuel and rest breaks.

Once I've done one trip I think I'll get planning my next one haha, I've only been to wales in it so far be glad to get some proper use of it!

Was the van faultless on the trips you've done? As I said earlier I'm going to take basic stuff with me so If I'm unlucky I can hopefully get it running again.

Can't wait now haha, cheers for the reply man.

Mike

 

[thejinx]

We went to Belgium last year Ypres, our first trip abroad in the van. We are in deepest South Wales so it was longer this side of the channel than the other. From my experience know how to diagnose and fix minor problems. At the time i had a points and condensor dizzy and this kept failing (Cheap points, cheap dizzy). i had a few other problems but nothing major i lost a woodruff key in the grass which lead me to Roland's bus farm (awesome). Cobbled roads played hell with nuts and bolts coming loose, the window fell down and the coil fell off the mounting. Again sounds like a mare but lessons were learned and rectified and i loved being away in the van. Also this forum is brilliant even when abroad. By the way stuck the window and coil back up with gaffer tape it got us back home. So do it, what's the worst that can happen?

 

[Tofufi]

That sounds ace, yeah mines a standard 1600 I usually sit about 55 anyway so that'll be fine. Did you need to anything to the van while away or was it faultless? I was thinking of taking points,condensor, belt etc. Basic stuff I could change myself

Handy to know about the campsites too, I'll be going end of May. To be honest I wanted to do that anyway and just stumble across campsites see where we end up -more fun that way haha.

Cheers for the reply mate

Yeah, I love doing the foreign adventures with my bus

First trip we did, somewhere just south of the Pyrenees mountains the pin between the clutch pedal and clutch cable wore through. We replaced it with an M6 bolt and carried on

Second trip, I had a loose wheel about 1500 miles into the trip... can't really explain that as the wheel hadn't been off in all that time. :msn4:

Just make sure it's well serviced (including stuff like brake fluid, adjustment, all the grease points etc rather than just engine bits) and you'll be fine. Last year we took only a basic toolkit between 4 cars (MG Midget, Fiat 126 and 2xearlybays) and didn't need 90% of it - and the bays didn't give any trouble

A few more pics to inspire you

 

[Mikeoggie]

We went to Belgium last year Ypres, our first trip abroad in the van. We are in deepest South Wales so it was longer this side of the channel than the other. From my experience know how to diagnose and fix minor problems. At the time i had a points and condensor dizzy and this kept failing (Cheap points, cheap dizzy). i had a few other problems but nothing major i lost a woodruff key in the grass which lead me to Roland's bus farm (awesome). Cobbled roads played hell with nuts and bolts coming loose, the window fell down and the coil fell off the mounting. Again sounds like a mare but lessons were learned and rectified and i loved being away in the van. Also this forum is brilliant even when abroad. By the way stuck the window and coil back up with gaffer tape it got us back home. So do it, what's the worst that can happen?

Haha I’ve heard of Roland’s bus farm looks cool! Definitely worse places to end up eh haha.... ah that’s sounds cool mate, definitely worth it and I bet it meant some funny stories can’t wait to start using it properly!

Note to self: pack gaffa tape
Mike

 

[Mikeoggie]

That sounds ace, yeah mines a standard 1600 I usually sit about 55 anyway so that'll be fine. Did you need to anything to the van while away or was it faultless? I was thinking of taking points,condensor, belt etc. Basic stuff I could change myself

Handy to know about the campsites too, I'll be going end of May. To be honest I wanted to do that anyway and just stumble across campsites see where we end up -more fun that way haha.

Cheers for the reply mate

Yeah, I love doing the foreign adventures with my bus

First trip we did, somewhere just south of the Pyrenees mountains the pin between the clutch pedal and clutch cable wore through. We replaced it with an M6 bolt and carried on

Second trip, I had a loose wheel about 1500 miles into the trip... can't really explain that as the wheel hadn't been off in all that time. :msn4:

Just make sure it's well serviced (including stuff like brake fluid, adjustment, all the grease points etc rather than just engine bits) and you'll be fine. Last year we took only a basic toolkit between 4 cars (MG Midget, Fiat 126 and 2xearlybays) and didn't need 90% of it - and the bays didn't give any trouble

A few more pics to inspire you

Haha ... who had that wheel off last?

Yeah I’m not expecting a faultless trip to be honest that way it’ll be a nice surprise haha.

Sounds awesome mate love the pictures! Cheers for the advice as well I will do

 

[norm]

mike
do it
we've used our bus for the last five years (family of four)
1st year Spain
2nd year around the Dordogne area in France
3rd year Switzerland the back into France (lake Annecy)
4th year south of France
last year touring around the black forest and France
this year were back into Germany then on to Switzerland
usually have some minor dramas (lose shock bolt ,lose carb ! this year the alternator pulley came lose and tried to eat itself which ended up with us being transported to a local garage ) :lol:
make sure you have European breakdown cover (what's the worst can happen? )
and get to know your van before you go
as said above take some spares, plenty of tools and enjoy the look on peoples faces when they realise you've driven from Blightey in an old "unreliable" bus
its the main reason we got our bus to use it
you cant buy memories and hopefully the kids will remember these holidays for years to come
norm

 

[StuF]

Exhaust fell off because i reversed into a tight spot with high curbs
Coil failed due to a crack and all the oil leaked out so kept cutting out
Had the brakes fail because I left the handbrake partially on

Other than that no issues abroad

 

[Termite]

I drove mine around France for Euro 2016. We had tickets for the quarter final in Marseille and then the one in Paris two days later, so that was a bit of a mission. Was a great trip though and the only issue we had was an oil leak that meant I put 4.5 litres of oil in it over 2000 miles and a problem with the starter motor solenoid that had me jumping the terminals underneath with a massive screwdriver. It was an awesome trip with the matches giving us a focus of having to get somewhere. Probably did around 6 hours a day driving, whcih was a plesure as I'd spent the previous 18 months welding it up...

About two weeks after I got home, I did an oil change and noticed it was like glitter. Also couldn't get it to idle properly. Basically the engine was knackered and I ended up building a new one, which is now in and ready for the next trip.

Good luck!

 

[Clem]

I’ve done a few trips and we did Lake Garda one time. Drive down through France, stopped at Lake Leman for a couple of nights then went through Mont Blanc into Italy. We stayed in Milan for a couple of nights then onto Garda, not far from Como. We were there for a week and took a trip via train to Venice too, it’s also pretty close to Verona. We had a great time , camp site was pretty busy in August (we had pre booked) and it was very hot but rained at night.
It was an nice drive, pretty hilly though the Alps but very cool.

 

[Mikeoggie]

mike
do it
we've used our bus for the last five years (family of four)
1st year Spain
2nd year around the Dordogne area in France
3rd year Switzerland the back into France (lake Annecy)
4th year south of France
last year touring around the black forest and France
this year were back into Germany then on to Switzerland
usually have some minor dramas (lose shock bolt ,lose carb ! this year the alternator pulley came lose and tried to eat itself which ended up with us being transported to a local garage ) :lol:
make sure you have European breakdown cover (what's the worst can happen? )
and get to know your van before you go
as said above take some spares, plenty of tools and enjoy the look on peoples faces when they realise you've driven from Blightey in an old "unreliable" bus
its the main reason we got our bus to use it
you cant buy memories and hopefully the kids will remember these holidays for years to come
norm

Haha ah that sounds cool Norm. They'll definitely remember them trips they probably won't see how cool they are till they get older though but hopefully it'll get old vws in there blood haha

I've checked and double checked my breakdown cover can tell I'm confident eh!

Cheers for the reply man
Mike

 

[Mikeoggie]

I’ve done a few trips and we did Lake Garda one time. Drive down through France, stopped at Lake Leman for a couple of nights then went through Mont Blanc into Italy. We stayed in Milan for a couple of nights then onto Garda, not far from Como. We were there for a week and took a trip via train to Venice too, it’s also pretty close to Verona. We had a great time , camp site was pretty busy in August (we had pre booked) and it was very hot but rained at night.
It was an nice drive, pretty hilly though the Alps but very cool.

Yeah thats the route I'm looking at mate want a few nights around the alps, what engine is in your bus and did it struggle or was alright? The train trip to Venice is a good idea! Hadn't thought of that.

Thanks for the reply mate
Mike

 

[Mikeoggie]

I drove mine around France for Euro 2016. We had tickets for the quarter final in Marseille and then the one in Paris two days later, so that was a bit of a mission. Was a great trip though and the only issue we had was an oil leak that meant I put 4.5 litres of oil in it over 2000 miles and a problem with the starter motor solenoid that had me jumping the terminals underneath with a massive screwdriver. It was an awesome trip with the matches giving us a focus of having to get somewhere. Probably did around 6 hours a day driving, whcih was a plesure as I'd spent the previous 18 months welding it up...

About two weeks after I got home, I did an oil change and noticed it was like glitter. Also couldn't get it to idle properly. Basically the engine was knackered and I ended up building a new one, which is now in and ready for the next trip.

Good luck!

Ah bet that was an eventul trip! Good to know, I've just had a new engine so using it a bit more to get it ran in before I go. Where've you got planned next?

Mike

 

[Clem]

My engine is a 1600 with twin carbs so nothing special, it bundled along just fine. The only moment I had where I wished for an upgrade was coming back down Mont Blanc into France at 2 am! Drums did ok, but discs would have been nice!

I've no big trip this year, but I'm sort of long term planning next year to drive down to the South of France and sailing across to Sardinia. We have done Corsica before and its a fairly easy process. My daughter will be 16 going on 17 though, so she's not so keen as she was!

 

[Lee C]

I'd love to do a trip abroad in my truck with foldy caravan!!!!!!
But my truck won't even go over 40mph at the moment
Also the curse of self employment means I only get 1 week a year off :lol:

 

[1961bluebug]

if you go to Italy near Venice, this is a recommended event to visit: https://www.facebook.com/Roll-n-Flat-Beach-Race-2018-1715433882038888/

 

[Mr Bean]

Get yourself All The Aires guide book, mostly free stop overs. Stay away from motorway service areas for overnight stops. Just go and enjoy the roads over there are just made for these vans