Travelling Abroad

[And7]

I'm planning to take a trip through to Central France later this year and would love to do it in the Caterham but I have a few worries about potential headaches, could someone please help me with the following...

 

Due to the lack of knowledge about the locations for re-fueling stops I was planning to carry additional fuel in cans, but this is taking away any valuable storage I have and I'm not sure if this causes any legal problems with the style of a Caterham. Is it advisable to take extra fuel if so what precautions are necessary or what routes best if not taking fuel?

 

Are most/all ferries going to be OK for carrying a Caterham in terms of ground clearance and loading/unloading problems. Are there any other points to watch when using the ferry. Is the channel tunnel a better option?

 

Am I likely to attract too much attention from the gendarmes? I dont mind attention, I drove through Spain in a Mini Cooper with an unorganised crowd for long periods, but dont fancy being pulled over frequently for no real reasons.

[And7]

Sorry forgot my P's and Q's

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Andy M.

 

[mikehoile]

Have a great trip. The French will love you for taking the 7 across and will chat for ever. Fuel is no problem but make sure that you have a full tank for Sundays as many garages can be closed this day, some supermarkets might be open some of the time on Sundays. Ground clearance shouldn't be a problem with a standard car, but be guided by the ferry staff who know what they are doing. Whilst some will flash and wave going the other way just to acknowledge you, this might be a warning that there is a speed trap ahead and don't drink and drive cause they will cut your nuts off !! Can't wait to go back again, the roads are generally fantastic and above all much less congested than this country - exept of course in cities..You'll enjoy it!!

[tony pashley]

Andy - if you have a thirsy car (eg. XFlow) like me, you'll feel easier with a gallon in can if can make space for it. But fill it up at your first stop on the other side. If you're unlucky to be caught getting on the ferry with fuel in cans you may be descended upon from a geostationary orbit.

 

In some of the more rural bits you may find petrol stations that don't take the full gamut of credit cards and have decrepit card swipers that fail. If you have both MCard and Visa and a bit of cash you should have no problems.

 

If you're worried about sacrificing luggage space for a placcy fuel can - get two hood bags or a waterproof 'Ortleib' bag from an outdoor pursuits shop and bungee it onto the roll over bar.

 

Which places are you heading for?

Have a great time - (won't be difficult...)

[EFA]

If you have a feuk injected car on throttle bodies which allows the injectors to conduct heat from the engine, take some injector cleaner and add it each time you fill up, adding more if you fill up in rural garages.

 

French filling stations have coloured fuel which can separate into the fuel/dye components on the tip of the injectors causing them to glue together if you stop after a good thrash and the engine cools right down.

 

This sympton and cure took two trips home from France on a recovery vehicle to diagnose!

 

Otherwise France is OK, but filling stations tend to close at night even on N classification roads. If you run low on fuel at night, make for the large towns or services on the payage - These are about the only 24hr filling stations (in Normandy/ La Sarthe at least!)

 

Fat Arn

The NOW PROVEN R500 Eaterid=red>

See the Lotus Seven Club 4 Counties Area Website hereid=green>

 

[Foxy Smith]

Could I hijack this thread and ask a related question. What do people generally carry in the way of jack/tools. Are there ultralight jacks/wheelbraces availiable for touring? Also how is the problem of luggage security approached e.g. when on the ferry or wandering around those quaint little French towns?

 

Thanks,

 

Foxy

[allen]

Lots of good advice already. If worried about ground clearance on the ferry, talk to the loading crew who will do their best to help.

 

Travelling at night - Arnie is right, 24hrs petrol only in large towns and services on the Payage Autoroute. I always take a gallon can, and have yet to have a problem with Customs, ferry or Gendarms. I have also needed that extra gallon on a number of occasions.

 

The French will love the car. Have fun - you will.

 

allen

 

 

[Snapper]

Take a spare Clutch & accelerator cable because you won't get these parts abroad, While in Spain last year one of the Spanish cars cluch cable snapped, I thought are I can help him out because I have a spare. But because he was left hand drive it didn't fit.

 

These parts arn't that expensive but could save your holiday.

 

 

 

Edited by - Snapper on 15 Feb 2002 13:45:24

[tony pashley]

Brake cable? Is Andy taking his Bugatti as well??!

:-)

[eric]

HI

 

I live in France with a 7 Sprint and I can tell you that you will not have any problem with fuel.

 

Be careful on Sundays, and take your credit card with you in case of automatic pump delivery.

 

Enjoy your trip, you can choose the scenic road on a Michelin map, those underlined in green colors.

 

There is also some specialist near Paris, at Rambouillet Auto Arc distribution and in Vals les bains the Caterham agent.

 

There is also Caterham competition in Ribautes les Tavernes near Ales in the south.

Ask Caterham their numbers or e-mail me eric@bonzai.fr

 

But I am sure you will not need them.

 

 

Eric

[Jam Mad]

been there, done it, lived it, loved it. i'd agree with all of what has been said here, except for trusting the ferry staff. they have no idea how low our cars go, and twice in two journeys tried to guide me over a tie down eye. the second time i didn't notice until it was too late. the car was fine, but i was annoyed.

 

the other important thing to remember, that we had problems with, is you have to make sure that you have a good amount of fuel each evening, as well as for sundays. unless you're on an autoroute, all the petrol stations close at around 1800-1900 at night.

 

i did see the gendarmes set up a roadblock for no reason other than to hassle drivers. luckily i had pulled in to the garage 100 yds short of them, and was turning around to go back the other way once i had filled up. the grubby petrol attendants that i were chatting too seemed to indicate that they do this fairly often ( i was in a southern rural area of the haute provence ) and by the look of the number of people getting tickets, i'm not sure just how friendly they would have been if they'd stopped me. they can be severe. watch out for their military style speed ambushes, using camouflaged speed cameras on small tripods. if someone flashes you, slow down for a while to be sure.

 

but apart from that, i have NEVER had so many people smiling, waving, hooting, shouting, stopping and chatting as i drove past.

 

security on the ferry was just a risk we had to take, and we were fine. we tried not to leave anything in the car when it was left parked in towns when we went to markets, or we left it in sight. i'm not sure i'd be happy otherwise. france is lovely and very safe, but petty crime in a few areas is high, and you never really know whether you're in one of those areas.

 

errmm.. that's about it. if you have any specific questions, then you can email me if you like. but it really is special. everywhere we went we had a special welcome 'cos of the car we drove. people filmed us on their videos, and got us to take pictures of them next to 'le petit voiture cool' ! great fun.

 

are you planning on using autoroutes ? i did, and it was a mistake. huge tyre wear, and no fun. if i had it again, i would have extended the holiday, and gone on more fun roads !

 

have fun, i'll remember things from that holiday forever. maybe the cool super 8 film i have of a little red seven tearing around mountain bends will help ! teeth.gif

 

j

 

ps search the archives with the word 'france'. when i got back i wrote a little 'lessons learnt' thread.

 

Edited by - jam mad on 15 Feb 2002 08:43:07

[ECR]

Don't forget that the smaller filling stations (and most of the shops) close down at 12:00 noon for a two hour lunch. I have found that if I start looking for a filling station when the gauge reads half full I stay out of trouble.

 

Security is a problem anywhere. You have to accept that anything left in the car is likely to vanish so only leave non valuables. The rest I carry in a padlocked aluminium case on the luggage rack and loop a steel cable from the locks around the rear roll over bar.This has proved enough of a deterrent to casual thieves

 

Enjoy yourself.

[allen]

Please be aware that, whilst Eric (who should know) says 'no problem with fuel, but take your card with you for automatic pump delivery' - These seem to require a pin number, and I have never been able to understand the instructions and have dismally failed to ever make them work!

 

Those with good french and pin numbers for your credit cards may have fared better.

 

allen

 

[eric]

Automatic pumps are not so numerous.

And I hope they will not be in next future.

The frenchmen don't like them.

 

So I am sure you will not have fuel problem. I never had even the Sunday. The only thing I do, is to refuel at the middle of the tank.

 

But I do that with any car.

 

 

[Old Septimus]

Watch out for serious traffic calming items - speed bumps, raised crossings and so on - which now proliferate in many rural towns and villages on the D roads. There is often little warning of these apart from the presence of flower beds in the centre line of the road! Some of these will take your sump off at more than walking pace.

[metal mickey]

Whilst travelling back up to Le Harve two years ago after LeMan we stopped off in Lisieux to have a look around the Bassilica.

Foolishly we left our mobile's,glasses and '7' hats under the seats,attached the tonneau and wandered off to have a look around. Hour and a half latter we were back, everything looked fine. Tonneau off, stowed away and jumped in. Reached under seat for hat and glasses - nothing ! Jumped out of car and did handstand in footwell - nothing ! Oh b---s thought I. Got back in and pressed clutch, something felt funny. Back out of car again and looked down towards pedals and there sat two mobile,s!

So you see the French have very select thieves, they were only after the '7' caps after all.

 

Our own fault I know but you live & learn.

 

p.s. passports were in our pockets!

 

[And7]

Thanks alot everyone for all your advice, I am a lot more at ease now to do the journey and I'm hoping to do many more if this one goes to plan. I read the review of one of the clubs trips to Le Mans and I think that will have to be next. Although it sounded quite a bit more shall we say "full on" than this trip we be.

 

Clermont Ferrand here we come.

 

Andy M.

 

[mav]

And7,

 

We have recently been over to France in the 7. Fuel was no problem. Take CC as they give a good rate of exchange as well as being accepted nearly everywhere. We took the Tunnel option, and found the service excellent. Don't know about ferries, as I have not yet been on one with the 7. The French are 'Mad' for unusual cars, we were beeped, flashed, waved to and all manner of smiles etc from just about everyone.

 

Regards,

 

Martin

[Fast Westie]

I thinks most things have been said. The only other thing I would take is a new fuel pump (if it is a Facet) these are lick rocking hose sh*t over here (I'm in France).

 

English credit/debit cards don't work in the automatic petrol pumps.

 

Take some cash with you as you can generally persuade someone to help you out. Don't forget you need Euros since the good old Franc is no longer legal tender.

 

Take a Michelin map and stick to the D roads, particularly around Clermond Ferrand. And take a trip up the Puy de Dome

 

Let me know if you need any more advice

 

The car in front is a Westfie1d wink.gif

[catse7en]

Hi

 

Travelling through France I have found that fuel is the main problem if you are making long journeys. Depending on what model you have, the fuel consumption/range of the car. I tend to buy fuel at the hypermarches, they have the best prices. Usualy there is a pay booth as you drive away from the pumps. But this tends to be closed for lunch often from midday till after 2pm. And again overnight. They do have pumps that will accept cards, BUT they are geared up for the technically more advanced French cards. None of the British cards, switch or visa will work in them. So although there are often signs that say fuel 24/24 that only works if you have a French bank card. When the pay booths arre manned you can usually use the British cards, so cash is not essential. (British cards will usually work to get cash from hole in wall machines.) You will usually be OK at the Aires (Service Areas) on busy Motorways, as there the payment is usually made in the shop like a British Petrol station. The problem is of course tahty in a se7en you don't really wan tbe using the motorways when the D roads are so much more se7en friendly. So use the D roads, and stop for lunch when the french do, or at lweaast refuel just befiore lunch. and they may be back at work before the tank is empty, hence my original comment about range!

 

Enjoy it

 

John G

[Nick Chan]

Not sure what else there is to add to this one! I have been over to France many times but always in my diesel people carrier! (How else to carry 6 people, 5 bikes, numerous bits & bobs, kitchen sink... and still get over 600 miles on the tankful!!)

 

I have been thinking of taking the Seven over to France (actually "under" as we use the Chunnel) but wondered about the clearance getting the car along the train. We always use the train and have noticed that there is a raised section the length of all the carriages. From memory it seemed to be 2-3" high and about 12" wide. Has anyone had any problems with clearance on this section - maybe its just my car and my weight being the problem!

 

Otherwise I agree that fuel availability is not a problem on the motorways or generally in the towns. The paege can be a little expensive with its toll system but brilliant for crossing the country very quickly (La Rochelle to Calais in around 7-8 hours but even my TDI dropped to low 30's mpg!)but is likely to be incredibly boring in a Seven so stick to the other roads methinks.

 

Have a brilliant time

 

Nick

 

 

[Peter Carmichael]

There is no issue on the Shuttle for ground clearance. Been there several times with 48mm under the sump. The main clearance issue is when entering the train.

 

The ferry was fine last weekend as well.

[caterhamnut]

all of them....

[agbucks]

arnie, re injector cleaner, demon tweaks have si-1 and si-2 (redline). any preference?

 

 

[Fast Westie]

I have been thinking of taking the Seven over to France (actually "under" as we use the Chunnel) but wondered about the clearance getting the car along the train. We always use the train and have noticed that there is a raised section the length of all the carriages. From memory it seemed to be 2-3" high and about 12" wide. Has anyone had any problems with clearance on this section - maybe its just my car and my weight being the problem!

 

No Problems here

 

The car in front is a Westfie1d wink.gif