French heat!

[westfalia]

Made this shade up from bits and bobs to take heat away from the fridge area. Seems to be working well so far. Strong reflective tarp and bungee balls and @Bigted brilliant connectors for the left hand side rail. Total cost about 16£View attachment 46852View attachment 46853

Has anyone on the campsite asked you why you
have such a small toilet tent

 

[Nick Stubbs]

Currently living with the heat, just driven from the Lott to Provence 45 deg, fridge, air con and vehicle all good, camp sites relatively quiet still, had no issues getting showers any time of day.

 

[Carrot]

I got caught in the heatwave in France last year - 40 in the day was bad but it was the 30 C at night that was the killer. We got a mosquito net and had the sliding door open all night, had some little fans, wet flannels etc. Some of the tenters were hiring air con units it was that bad. We went up into the mountains to get away from it in the end. Had no problems with the engine or the fridge, it was the passengers that couldn’t hack it!

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

Hi we’re taking Herman to France o our first foreign trip and mega excited obvs but given latest developments have a couple of questions:
1. Apart from the obvious like checking coolant before setting off and after a long drive, is there anything else we should doing to avoid any chance of the engine overheating in 40 degrees?
2. We’ll obvs need to take regular breaks and stops for water but anticipate that at our arranged stops, shower facilities etc will be rammed. Is it OK therefore to part fill the on board water tank at some point beforehand and travel ? That way, at least part of the set up will be done before we arrive and can rig our own shower on arrival if needs be.

Cheers all

Taff T

Western Sahara 44´C. No engine overheating; a/c works a treat.

 

[JerryB]

Just back from 4 weeks in France we had a temperature of 42 showing on the dash, no problem apart from getting out of the AC van it was like an oven outside. Fridge on setting 3 all the time we where away beers still cold even in the high temps.

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

I got caught in the heatwave in France last year - 40 in the day was bad but it was the 30 C at night that was the killer. We got a mosquito net and had the sliding door open all night, had some little fans, wet flannels etc. Some of the tenters were hiring air con units it was that bad. We went up into the mountains to get away from it in the end. Had no problems with the engine or the fridge, it was the passengers that couldn’t hack it!

To keep cool, insect free and secure on hot nights I have an Indel B cube. It runs off the leisure batteries and the adverts say it’s plug and go as if you could plug it into a 12 volt socket; in fact it needs heavier wiring and they supply a harness which is easy to install. The downside is that it is as big as a cool box but I’m not pressed for space. The warm air is evacuated by hoses that fit on to a window with a clever device which means the window can be almost entirely closed.

 

[kaf2546]

In 42 Provence just now, keep a couple 750 ml water bottles in fridge, metal best, setting 3 or 4, magic. Water tank up to you but 10 litres a decent back up. At night been 28-30 but fine in roof bed with all vents open and no covers especially if you can park with a breeze and shade, loving it! Sites been quiet and many have near empty piscines. Only trouble we've had so far, as posted elsewhere, was awning seam split in heat.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

 

[Matthew Wood]

Been in Europe for the past 2 months, Italy for the past few weeks, it hasn’t reached French 40+ degrees but we have had 3 weeks of temps between 34-37 degrees and Ozzy (Ozzy Ocean) has been absolutely fine, we have been packed to the top (6month baby and a dog +2 adults) and not a problem. Kept an eye on Adblue, oil and screen wash (gazillions of bugs) but the van has been awesome, on some terrible roads and up some steep inclines...

 

[TripleBee]

Modern cars are meant to perform in the most extreme conditions, so why would it not be possible to drive in moderate extreme conditions?
I have been to the south of France end of may, first week of june, and it was quite hot already (+ 30°C.).
Driven a lot of up and down roads, including the Mont Ventoux. Up there it was much cooler (20°C.) but when decenting, temperature went up again, and my brake system was tested to the limits. As far as the smell of burning brakepads and I even lost my Chinese center caps in my front alloys. Because they didn't fit too tight, I had taped around the clips and the tape was just molten, so the center caps disappeared after I came down the Mont Ventoux.
An hour later, the brakes were still small heaters.

 

[Carrot]

To keep cool, insect free and secure on hot nights I have an Indel B cube. It runs off the leisure batteries and the adverts say it’s plug and go as if you could plug it into a 12 volt socket; in fact it needs heavier wiring and they supply a harness which is easy to install. The downside is that it is as big as a cool box but I’m not pressed for space. The warm air is evacuated by hoses that fit on to a window with a clever device which means the window can be almost entirely closed.

We said we’d seriously think about an air con unit if we went down that way again. The big whites we saw all seemed equipped with them. Northern Spain for us this year, we know our limits now!

 

[Chrisp]

Similar to Altvic, I used our beach blanket which has a reflective underside and fixed it up with the roof cover fixings. Simple and effective. (Why did I buy a black van!?)

 

[jts46]

Why cover wheels?

 

[Hotel California]

Don't worry about the French heat ....it's the heat here in Belgium that's keeping me awake at night

 

[Bellcrew]

To keep cool, insect free and secure on hot nights I have an Indel B cube. It runs off the leisure batteries and the adverts say it’s plug and go as if you could plug it into a 12 volt socket; in fact it needs heavier wiring and they supply a harness which is easy to install. The downside is that it is as big as a cool box but I’m not pressed for space. The warm air is evacuated by hoses that fit on to a window with a clever device which means the window can be almost entirely closed.

Any chance of a photo of your installation, sounds like a decent option.

 

[Chrisp]

Why cover wheels?

Good question. Saw a lot of people doing it on a campsite and copied!

 

[peregrinus]

Good question. Saw a lot of people doing it on a campsite and copied!

Lots of people do it in Spain and S France. It’s considered to protect your tyres from direct sunlight (UV and heat). No idea if it’s a real thing as I’m not a scientist.

 

[CaliforniaBen]

Why cover wheels?

We do it as well, anything over 27 degrees

 

[TripleBee]

What happens to rubber when exposed too long in UV and very hot temperatures: the rubber degenerates, cracks, gets older too soon. So if your caravan, camper, car stays too long in the sun, it can be a good idea to protect the rubber from aging too soon.

 

[Melanie Day]

Lots of people do it in Spain and S France. It’s considered to protect your tyres from direct sunlight (UV and heat). No idea if it’s a real thing as I’m not a scientist.

Saw this on a few motor homes in France last week, had no idea what they were up to at the time.

We have had 42.5 on the dash whilst driving and 33 inside temp at night!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

Any chance of a photo of your installation, sounds like a decent option.

Bellcrew, I’m in Tétouan for a while minus the van. I’ll do some shots before the end of July

 

[WelshGas]

What happens to rubber when exposed too long in UV and very hot temperatures: the rubber degenerates, cracks, gets older too soon. So if your caravan, camper, car stays too long in the sun, it can be a good idea to protect the rubber from aging too soon.

Even better is to use the van as intended so the tyres wear out and have to be replaced before the heat and UV destroys them.

 

[jts46]

And flat spot

 

[Taff Tenor]

View attachment 46927

Similar to Altvic, I used our beach blanket which has a reflective underside and fixed it up with the roof cover fixings. Simple and effective. (Why did I buy a black van!?)

I liked the black and was sceptical when our salesman put us off for that reason - luckily for us he was and us a real Cali enthusiast and knows what he’s talking about!

 

[Taff Tenor]

Great posts and I’ve nothing to add. 42.5c travelling between Tours and Claremont Auvergne and 45c on our arrival in Avignon / Pernes les Fontaines but I needn’t have worried as with air con on and fridge at 3-4, ‘Herman’ took it in his stride at a steady 70 mph. 2000 mile round trip and it was only us that wilted and the twist grip gear change on one of the bikes that split with the intense heat - amazing machine

 

[B J G]

Good afternoon,

It will take another 3 weeks to our holiday, but my brother in Germany warned me from the heat.

I am not too worried. I plan to fill up the water tank (which I always do when we go away), not only for drinking but to be able to refresh.

From the speed I don't plan to drive faster than 130 km/h which should not put too much strain on the engine (even if it is fully loaded). What I will do, is if we stop for a break I will keep the engine running in idle for about a minute or two and not switching it off straight away. This should help to cool down the engine components. My driving teacher told me that many, many, many.... years ago and I read this as a recommendation in 2x German CamperVan magazines (under section tips and tricks of what to do travelling in high temperature).

The fridge will be on for the 3 weeks holidays, but I hope it is designed for that.

I don't believe we have the air conditioning on a lot, but if it gets really to warm of course we will. Recommendation was not to use it too much because it generates extra heat in the engine compartment. This seems to me not logical - not to use the air conditioning if it is to hot?!

Normally I am known to worry a bit too much, but funny enough I am not worried to travel with the California in the heat.

Enjoy your trip and have a wonderful and save journey.

Regards,
Eberhard

I tend to select the oil temp display (MFD) and leave the engine running until it drops to around the 100 degrees indication when the engine is in high air temps.
I also don't have the air conn set to less than 10 degrees (usually 6-8) max below the outside air temp. You need to get used to the outside air temp and getting out of an 18 degrees van into 38 degrees air can be quite a body shock.