Skip to main content

Meet Hotwheels



After Rome we enjoyed two nights in Paris before catching the train to Sens where we met Phil and Hanna from Euro Camping Cars. After completing some paperwork, we took possession of our campervan. The small wheels and the side graphics reminded us of a matchbox car so the van became known as Hotwheels.
Hotwheels is based on a Fiat Ducatto with a turbo diesel engine and a 6 speed manual gear box. The gearing allows for the steepest hills as well as relaxed motorway cruising.  


The size and configuration has proven to be perfect for us. The van is small enough to squeeze through most country villages and low enough not to get jammed in tunnels. Roads in Europe are very different to roads in Australia. The bed remains permanently set up at the back and has storage under it. 





The dining table remains set up in the middle and the front seats swivel around as extra seating.


Between the table and the bed is the bath/toilet area and the kitchenette that includes two burners, a sink, a 90L fridge/ freezer and cupboards.

On the roof is a solar panel that even on wet and overcast days produces enough power to keep the battery topped up and the fridge and led lighting going.

Most importantly Hotwheels has a sturdy bike rack on the rear door. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to take a Van-life gap year

How to take a Van-life gap year You don’t just wake up one day, book tickets, fly to Europe and pick up the first campervan you see.  There is a lot of planning and organizing to make it happen. For us, it was a concept that we worked towards over two years and got serious about in the last 6-8 months.  Van purchase In researching vans, we learned that we could buy one, but couldn't insure or register it without being either European residents (read: address, bank account and utility bills in the country we wished to buy the van in) or set up a company to own, insure and register the van. Now this is not straight-forward as one needs to be able to navigate the system from the other side of the world and in another language (as vans in the UK / Ireland were considerably more expensive than on the continent). There are a number of companies who provide services in this space.  We chose EuroCampingCars, because they are based in France and deal in la...
2 comments
Read more

Massif Central, France

The Causses is a limestone plateaux with green fertile canyon valleys. It is at the southern end of France's Massif Central. It is a vast and largely unspoiled territory with amazing scenery.  For us there were 3 highlights: Millau Viaduct (world's highest bridge), Gorges du Tarn, and the Roquefort cheese caves.  Millau Viaduct Loving most bridges and being fans of Lord Norman Foster's other architecture (British Museum, Hong Kong Airport, Bundestag in Berlin) we were excited to visit the world's tallest bridge in Millau. It has a structural height of 343m and is a 7 pylon multi-span bridge. It is not only beautiful with its needle pylons reaching for the sky but is also considered an engineering marvel.  Gorges du Tarn A canyon formed by the Tarn River near the beginning of its journey to the Atlantic Ocean is nearly 53km long and 400-600m deep. Over millennia the river has eaten its way through the limestone plateau. The gorges are flanked ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Normandy and Apples

Autumn in Normandy (or Normandie as spelt by the French) is apple season and they are everywhere. Beyond a pomme tarte tartin, what else is made from apples? Cider Normandy is well known for its cider. It has been made there for more than 1000 years.   Charlemagne, who in the 8 th century united most of Western Europe apparently enjoyed a tipple, but cider production flourished from the 15 th Century when royalty enthusiastically supported production. The apples that are used for cider making in Normandy are generally old varieties. The apples are very small and can be a blend of up to 100 types of apples. Some cider apple varieties which the Normandies use are: Rouge Durent (sweet), Rumbault (tart) and Mettais,   St Martin, Frequin, and Binet Rouge (bitter). Binet Rouge is so bitter, it is considered inedible as an eating apple. Traditional cider is not carbonated ie no fizz and is served at room temperature.   The taste of it varies depending on ho...
Post a Comment
Read more