In the event you’ve ever needed to take your motorhome snowboarding or park up within the mountains over winter, this submit is for you!
Learn to winterise your motorhome & put together for snow and residing in excessive chilly. We additionally speak about the way to discover in a single day parking locations for vans, aires or campsites throughout winter, the way to handle energy throughout winter vanlife, issues to organise earlier than you permit and getting essentially the most out of ski tenting.
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Motorhome skiing- what’s it?
One of many issues we love most about travelling in our motorhome is the liberty. The power to go the place we wish, once we need to (international pandemics apart!)
We spend loads of time touring Europe in a motorhome and we wish to suppose we’re pretty good at adapting to our surroundings. We’re fairly self-sufficient, know the way to keep off-grid for a number of days with out subject and might handle energy, water, waste and all that different stuff which comes with expertise.
However…
There’s something about staying in a motorhome up excessive within the mountains, whereas temperatures drop effectively beneath freezing, snow falls (loads!) and issues get much more inaccessible which is a completely completely different kind of vanlife.
Your choices are fewer and it’s important to be way more ‘on the ball’ with issues like campervan heating and caring for your automobile.
That is motorhome snowboarding (or ski tenting, because the Europeans name it).
So, what’s the large cope with motorhome snowboarding?
We’ve been within the mountains as late as December, and once more in March. Each occasions there was snow, however we didn’t keep longer than a day and it wasn’t proper within the coronary heart of the chilly season.
A few years in the past, we spent per week at Mont Dore in central (ish) France, and had a VERY steep studying curve each earlier than we went and while we have been there. On this submit, I need to share with you the largest suggestions and tips we learnt for residing in a motorhome over winter.
Our fears earlier than we headed to the snow…
Our largest concern is whether or not our motorhome (a UK-built Swift 685) might be as much as the rigours of winter motorhome residing in such a chilly, hostile setting.
Would we be heat sufficient? Will our programs cope? What preparation do we have to do upfront to make life simpler? What occurs if all of it goes unsuitable?
To assist educate ourselves, we spoke to somebody who has spent months in mountains over winter. In truth, 95% of all her time in a motorhome EVER has been throughout winter.
Please notice that winterising your motorhome to be used in mountains just like the Alps is NOT the identical as making ready your van to be used within the UK all through winter- that’s a lot simpler and also you don’t have to do many of the steps talked about beneath.
In the event you’re not going to be utilizing your van for just a few weeks, we extremely suggest shutting it down safely to keep away from burst pipework or injury. Learn our step-by-step information to winter shutdown right here.
Motorhome snowboarding and winterising your motorhome video
Watch our video chat with Hannah from winterised.com and snomadsites.com. In the event you favor to learn or need extra data on factors mentioned within the video, you’ll discover them beneath.
We hope you discovered the video helpful. In the event you did, we’d like it if you adopted us on Youtube. New movies with suggestions for motorhoming and campervanning within the UK and Europe are launched weekly.
Motorhome & Campervan skiing- important suggestions
As mentioned within the video above, listed below are some tricks to put together your motorhome or camper for winter spent within the mountains. A few of them genuinely are life-saving; getting caught in temperatures and circumstances like these with out being ready is not any joke.
Winterise & Put together your automobile
It’s extremely probably that your motorhome or campervan is not going to be enough in its present state (except you purchased one particularly for winter use!)
Due to this fact, you’re going to want to do some work to it to get it snow-ready!
Jobs to do to organize for winter within the mountains embrace:
Insulating your motorhome
Apparently, the conventional ‘gray’ lagging insulation shouldn’t be sufficient. The black model (known as Armaflex) is the one to get- out there from most European {hardware} shops or Amazon. Locations to focus on embrace:
- Exterior water tanks and pipework (It’s price including some to inner water tanks too in case you can)
- Any pipework which runs alongside the ground (that’s most of it!)
- Wheel arches
- The ground– attempt to create a ‘double flooring’ impact utilizing insulated matting the place you possibly can, or use carpet items
Important GEAR to take
There are some stuff you NEED to carry- and a few stuff you SHOULD carry to make life simpler for you!
This isn’t an exhaustive record, however a superb start line contains:
Utilizing your motorhome throughout winter
It’s necessary to keep in mind that how you employ your motorhome between spring-autumn is not going to be the identical as utilizing it in the midst of winter up a mountain in -17c!
Your programs is not going to operate in the best way you could be used to, and there might be different jobs you want to do to maintain every little thing operating.
Even in case you’re used to wild tenting along with your motorhome, you’ll want to take note of the following pointers:
Waste tanks
If you park up, place an exterior bucket or container underneath the gray waste drain, and go away it open. This helps stop freezing. Make sure you empty the bucket often!
Most Aires could have locations to get rid of waste, though not all services can be found on a regular basis (we’ll get to that!)
Water
Many aires and campsites will go away a contemporary water faucet operating, in order that it doesn’t freeze. We additionally recommend utilizing a water filter for ANY campsite water- simply in case (or get one in every of these AMAZING lifesaver jerrycans)
TOP TIP: Don’t drink yellow snow… 😉
Energy & Heating
Many campsites within the mountains don’t have 16 amp electrical energy provide and so your campervan or motorhome heating may not work in addition to you might be used to! It additionally means you want to be selective about how a lot electrical energy you might be utilizing without delay (you don’t need to be THAT van which is consistently tripping everybody’s electrical…)
Gasoline heating is a superb alternative- but it surely makes use of loads of fuel. We get via a 6kg bottle in about 3 days. We extremely suggest becoming refillable fuel bottles in your motorhome in case you’re going to be travelling in Europe a lot- ensure you know the place the closest provide is (and if it stays open throughout winter!)
Diesel heating can be an incredible different, however many vans don’t include it as normal. In the event you do match it, concentrate on the load and the way it impacts your motorhome payload.
Don’t overlook, you will have someplace to dry moist gear. It helps in case you have a rest room with heating- string a line throughout the highest and grasp every little thing as much as dry in a single day.
READ MORE: The whole lot you want to find out about motorhome/ camper heating
Photo voltaic
You’ll be able to’t depend on solar energy throughout winter in the identical method you possibly can at different occasions of the 12 months. The solar isn’t as sturdy, there are extra midnights and extra areas of shade. Additionally, you’ll be utilizing extra energy than you would possibly usually.
If you have already got a photo voltaic panel fitted, then by all means use what you possibly can, however don’t depend on it as your solely energy supply.
Battery
Batteries don’t like chilly. They don’t run as successfully so you want to be extra vigilant about taking care of them, ensuring they don’t run too low, giving them a superb cost often and customarily babying them.
READ MORE: The whole lot you want to find out about motorhome leisure batteries
Generator
In the event you’re going to take your motorhome snowboarding, you’ll most likely need to carry a motorhome generator. Everybody does- simply you’ll want to use it through the day, not late at evening!
LED lights
We at all times suggest LED lights to avoid wasting power- particularly in case you’re doing loads of motorhome wild tenting, however in winter it turns into important.
In fact, don’t overlook your clothes. Right here’s a necessary information of what to put on when snowboarding
Hiring a motorhome or campervan for snowboarding
There are corporations which lease out motorhomes or campervans for snowboarding. In the event you select to try this, please be sure that the van is correctly insulated and geared up with every little thing you want.
Motorhome skiing- aires or campsites?
One among our largest questions was HOW do you discover someplace to remain within the mountains? Motorhome touring in France is simple sufficient in ‘regular’ seasons, however we all know many mountain roads shut throughout winter- so how do we all know the place we are able to go or the place is open?
It’s true that many websites shut throughout winter, however there are locations, together with free motorhome parking and in a single day stopover spots which stay open all 12 months. Sadly, it appears like some aires are being closed, however there are nonetheless campsites open and out there.
There are execs and cons as to if you keep in an aire or on a campsite in your ski tenting journey!
TIP: In the event you’re on the lookout for ski tenting websites, search for the phrases ‘caravaneige’ or ‘snowmobiling’- each phrases utilized by the French
Professionals of campsites
- Can usually be booked in advance- simpler in case you’re reserving ski colleges or gear rent
- Extra dependable electrical hookup
- Bus or service to take you to the lifts if it’s not close by
- Drying rooms- this looks like an incredible resolution to the moist clothes issue- there’s nothing worse than damp ski jackets and pants the day after! (Bear in mind to take your individual padlock for safety within the drying room)
- Assist getting towed out in case you get caught
- Different services, akin to a small store or restaurant, which may be useful
Right here’s an instance of a campsite we’ve heard good evaluations about which caters to motorhomes, campervans and even caravans throughout winter! (I like the actual fact it has an indoor pool!)
Professionals of Aires
- Cheaper
- Extra flexibility to comply with the snow
- Feels extra like an journey!
discover locations to stick with your motorhome throughout winter
It may be tough to discover Aires in Europe within the normal method for motorhome snowboarding. It’s not simply discovering the places- it’s figuring out if they’re open throughout winter, what services they’ve open throughout winter and what number of areas might be out there (aires can go from 140+ areas to lower than 50!)
A greater possibility is to make use of snomadsites.com, which caters for winter websites and has extra data than you can even suppose to ask!
Is motorhome snowboarding cheaper than occurring a ski vacation?
It is a robust one. Most individuals who go on a snowboarding vacation solely go for per week or two most.
Most individuals who take their motorhomes to the mountains both stay close by or are going for a few months.
Nevertheless, as Hannah says, the hassle and expense wanted to verify your automobile is correctly capable of hand a winter within the mountains usually makes it not price it except you intend to spend months on the market.
It’s additionally much more tough when it comes to sensible life- you have got moist clothes and damp to cope with, water, fuel and electrical points and the fixed concern about getting snowed in. In the event you’re simply doing it to economize, you would possibly need to suppose once more or no less than do the sums very rigorously earlier than you commit.
Phew! That was loads of data to soak up however, as we found, ski tenting is a completely completely different kind of motorhoming or vanlife.
Nothing beats ‘doing it your self’, however I hope you’re feeling way more knowledgeable earlier than your first motorhome ski journey.
In the event you’ve been snowboarding and brought your motorhome or camper and have every other suggestions, please do go away a remark and share your knowledge.
Protected travels!
