Category Archives: VAN BUILD

Having recently upgraded my own caravan system, I took the opportunity to make this step by step guide to installing an onboard water system in your caravan for less than £100.

When we first learned about aires we were excited about the prospect of being able to park in ski resorts for such a small amount of money. As touring seasonnaires, the biggest cost we thought we would have to account for was parking or staying in campsites, but aires offered a very cheap alternative. We will readily admit, we knew very little about how aires worked and nothing about the customs and etiquette involved – something we have learned is quite different in winter. What do you need to know about staying on aires in winter? There are some fundamental things that it is useful to know if you’re planning to stay on aires in winter – particularly if you intend to use them as your base for a skiing or snowboarding holiday: Electric hook up Access to fresh water Disposing of waste Toilets and showers Access and parking up The costs of staying on a motorhome aire The rules and etiquette Finding winter aires for skiing The concept of a ‘camping car aire’ might be entirely new to you, or you may only have used them when touring in summer – if so, we suggest you read this article […]

All opinions are our own – it’s important to note that this is not directed at our facebook group – it is based on 12 years of facebook experience! Once a season, we get really agitated about something. It all started with a blog that we wrote in response to someone’s ludicrous list of essential items one might need for a motorhome ski trip. That backfired when we got kicked out of a facebook group (read that one here). That was Winterised Year One. Year two brought about a whole new thing to get repeatedly angry about – pseudo science and nobheads making unhelpful suggestions that were at best sketchy and at worst, downright dangerous. Year three and the Winterised Motorhome, Campervan And Caravan Skiing and Boarding group has gone from strength to strength. This awesome tribe of individuals have encouraged and supported each other – with the super experienced OG sharing their wealth of all things snow and vans with newbies and those venturing off grid for the first time. Solo travellers; families; Nordic skiers; and gappers – people in self builds; folks in expedition trucks; retired empty nesters living the dream…. All have found something in common on […]

Words: Winterised Caravan Skiing Guru John Wilson Preparing for your first trip to the mountains with caravan in tow might be a little daunting – the lure of chalet holidays past might still be strong, with afternoon cakes and warm accommodation enticing. However, all these comforts can still be yours, as long as you are happy to do a little bit of DIY before you set off, and when you get there – being the driver, the provider of the cakes. How do I get my caravan ready to go skiing? To begin the process of getting your caravan ready to go skiing we recommend spending time surveying your caravan and take a ‘bottom up’ approach to preparing for the adventure. Here’s what we’ll cover here to get your caravan ready to go skiing: • Getting the Right Tyres • Awning Skirts • Waste Pipes • Gas Locker • Inside the caravan • On the Roof Getting the Right Tyres Unlike your car (or a motorhome – check here for up to date information on winter tyre regulations for motorhomes) there is no requirement for your caravan to have winter tyres with the snowflake symbol (3pms) as it is classed […]

15 Awesome Gifts for Campervan Skiers and Snomads If you’re here looking for guide books and melamine crockery, you’re going to be disappointed. This is stuff for true snomads and is all about the mountain picnic AKA the Skicnic. We’ve all spent a mint on mediocre tartiflette and soggy lasagne. We’ve all caved into a €10 beer at 2000m and given ourselves a bombardino bill induced heart attack whilst admiring the view from a south facing terrace. Enough of this nonsense! We’re here to solve all your problems and give you the tools to be the BEST gift giver for the mountain lover in your life. In fact, you don’t even need a van to appreciate this stuff – whether you’re up for a splurge or looking to save, we’ve put together a mega list of Skicnic tips and stuff for every skier or boarder. Here’s what we’re covering: Couloir Coffee Breaks Telecabine Tipples Snowdrift Skicnics   You can click on any of the images or titles for an Amazon link. Couloir Coffee Breaks It’s not even funny how much coffee can cost on the mountain and if you get drawn into some sort of ‘round’, you might even find […]

One afternoon in May, a few years ago, James and I decided we’d get a motorhome and take it skiing for a season. We went online to work out some of the logistics of actually undertaking this venture, and due to the sheer lack of information about, we concluded that we’d pretty much invented the whole concept. Wrong. Despite being late to the motorhome skiing party by about 40 years, we did establish one thing. There’s not a lot of information out there to help first timers and so here we’re going to share some of the things we learned early on in our motorhome skiing adventures. In this Beginners Guide to Motorhomes Skiing we’re going to cover the following: Planning your trip Preparing for departure The journey What you should do on your first How to go with the flow What to do if it all goes wrong What not to do under any circumstances How to do it better next time If you haven’t got a van yet, you can check out detailed information on Choosing a Motorhome for a Ski Trip, and Three ways to go Motorhome Skiing – this guide is about the trip itself. Planning […]

For many people, simply getting across the channel can be one of the biggest expenses of driving to a ski resort from the UK but there is a frequent traveller programme for the channel tunnel that can save you hundreds of pounds, even if you only travel a few times a year because you can share it with another person. Can I Share A Eurotunnel Frequent Traveller Account? One of the many benefits of the Eurotunnel Frequent Traveller programme is the ability to share the account with a ‘Nominated Person’. This means that two parties can share the ten ticket minimum purchase – they do not need to be related or travelling at the same time.  In this article we’ll talk you through the different types of Frequent Traveller Wallet available, plus the extra costs you will incur for on peak and high season travel; any ferrets that are accompanying you; and the charges for motorhomes, campervans, caravans and trailers. We’ll also show you how to share this cost with someone else and if you’re looking for a EFT Buddy, how to get in touch with us so we can put you in contact with a fellow infrequent traveller so […]

If you’ve read our No BS Essential Motorhome Skiing Items list then you’ll know that we’re pretty opinionated when it comes to some of the stuff that people will tell you is vital for survival when it comes to high altitude winter camping! We’ve also always been on a fairly tight budget when it comes to travelling – we put work on hold for extended periods of time and that means we’re usually watching the pennies more than many who are either working a season, living the good life in well-earned retirement or cramming their skiing into a few short weeks. We’re known for spending smart – investing in high quality gear that will hopefully last a long time and leaving out stuff that we think we can do without. This list is specifically about electrical gear and it’s stuff we’ve found invaluable or it’s made life a load easier one way or another. Motorhome Wifi iBoost (All year round) Heavy Duty Insulated Cable for EHU (All year round) Fishing Rod Stands (Winter use) Rubber Cable Cover (all year round) Power Spliter (All year round) Motorhome Wifi iBoost (All year round) In 51/2 months, we used a grand total of […]

Before we went motorhome skiing, we considered snow boots to be a luxury / fashion item. In fact, on my last first trip before Winterised came into being, I took a pair of winter leather riding boots. They are waterproof and warm-ish and the worst I was going to put them through was a 5 minute trudge from an aprés bar to a restaurant. That’s how skiing holidays used to be for me. Fast forward to ‘new me’ who skis from a mobile chalet and I decided to reconsider my footwear. This post is going to go through a lot of information, but the short version is that having researched snow boots for months before choosing, and then battering several different pairs on our short list in real life testing, we are fully in the ‘you get what you pay for’ camp. Our ‘forever’ boots are Sorel Glacier XTs (click here to see them on Amazon) and they are the most expensive snow boot we tried. We have never once doubted the value of that investment. We know that these aren’t necessarily within everyone’s budget (upwards of 100 bucks – there are men’s, women’s and kids versions) and there are […]

Anyone who’s spent any time touring Europe in a motorhome will know that if you are planning to stay on a campsite, it is best to book in advance. Campsites that open in and around resorts for the ski season are limited – far fewer than are open in summer which means that if you are travelling during any of the holiday periods, they can get very busy – not only that, not all welcome caravans in winter. For this reason, we consulted with Winterised Caravan Skiing Guru John Wilson. All the campsites listed here are also open to motorhomes. If you’re considering taking your caravan skiing, also check out John’s article ‘Can I Take My Caravan Skiing’. So let’s answer the question, where can I take my caravan skiing? Here are ten excellent winter campsites that welcome caravans during the ski season:  Austria Panorama Camping, Tirol Camping Arlberg, Tirol Tirol Camp, Fieberbrunn Aktiv Camping Prutz, Tirol Camping Solden, Solden Camping Hofer, Tirol France Camping Huttopia, Bourg St Maurice Camping Caravaneige Le Giffre, Samoëns Camping Chantalouette, Praz sur Arly Germany Camping Oberstdorf, Oberstdorf As you can see from this list, there are plenty of options for taking your caravan camping […]

When we were first looking at taking a season out to road trip around the Alps, we considered options besides motorhome skiing – and that included towing a caravan. Without sufficient towing experience we decided against this but on meeting hardy caravan skiers on our mountain journeys, we realised this was possible, even for the less experienced caravaner. So can I take my caravan skiing? It is popular in Europe to take a caravan skiing and there are a large number of accessible campsites across the Alps, Dolomites and Central European Mountain ranges where you can park your caravan and take to the slopes. Knowing as we do, that everyone has a different experience of touring in the mountains, we decided to reach out to someone with years of winter caravan touring triumphs, mishaps and disasters to get the low down on just how you take your caravan skiing. In this first article on caravan skiing, guest writer John Wilson shows you where to start when considering a caravan skiing holiday. If you’re intrigued by the idea and want to find out more, please sign up to the newsletter below where you’ll get regular updates from the Winterised Project. Taking […]

We’re very pleased to offer a discount on purchases made on the official GasIt LPG web shop. You’re going to find this useful whether you’re maintaining your existing LPG system, looking to upgrade or fit one from scratch. The Winterised discount code is variable – what that means is you’re not going to know exactly what value discount you will receive until you apply the code at checkout. Why is the code variable? Actually it’s pretty smart. GasIt are a British company based in North Wales in a competitive sector. They also have to import a lot of components and products to complete their excellent LPG systems. The world is a topsy-turvey place right now and so rather than applying a blanket discount, they cut their cloth according to their own margins, the exchange rate and the variable duties they are required to pay. Bravo to them for being sensible. Example: We input our complete system requirements this morning and the averaged discount was 5% on the total order. Very happy with that on an already like for like price. Please do not share this across any social media or GasIt will have the right to remove it and that […]

Choosing how you intend to insulate your winterised motorhome or campervan is probably the most important element of any van build or motorhome refurbishment.

We departed for our first ever motorhome skiing trip without any plan further than Dunkirk, and even that didn’t pan out as we were re-routed to Calais in bad weather.

Having spent years watching the #vanlife movement explode in all sorts of directions, we decided that if we were to get the van we wanted, we were going to have to build it ourselves.

For our first season in the mountains and to our surprise, our motorhome didn’t come equipped with any solar panels so with only a few weeks to go before departure, and a lot going on in preparation for leaving, we hastily investigated whether we’d need a generator for our motorhome skiing trip.

This is a topic that caused us a lot of confusion when we were looking for a suitable campervan for our motorhome skiing trips. We invested a lot of time in researching this and found some interesting and valuable information.

When we began planning our first motorhome ski adventure, every forum we came across mentioned Montgenèvre. We put it on the to-do list and when we arrive, weren’t disappointed to discover a fantastic aire and everything we needed close by.

Having quit our jobs, when we were first planning our motorhome ski season we were committed to keeping the costs down as low as possible and we quickly realised the best way to do this was by keeping our camping costs to a minimum.

When we were planning our route around Europe we wanted to cover as many ski areas as possible and obviously, Switzerland was high on the priority list. When we started to do some research we found that there are a lot of things you need to consider before you go.

When we were looking to plan our ski trips for this season, we quickly realised that Easter is late again this year and some ski resorts are closing earlier than they have in recent years.

If you’re going on a motorhome ski trip, there are a lot of reasons you should consider avoiding the French school holidays if you can.

Snowpass is the Oyster card of the ski-world – ish. Accepted as a mode of payment for ski lift systems across Europe. The ski world’s answer to the Interrail pass and the National Trust Membership.

For an unfathomable bunch of reasons, snow sports are about as minor as niche activities get. Couple that with choosing to travel and tour in a motorhome whilst participating in snow sports and you’ll find that there are more people globally building tiny pirate ships in miniature rum bottles than there are people in your tribe. That tribe is our tribe. Winterized. Motor racing is also pretty niche. With the Lewis Hamilton’s and the Ken Block’s of the world filling front, back and home pages, you’d be forgiven for believing that motor racing is a big deal. It’s not. The reason I know this is because after over 15 years working in the sport, I can confirm that pretty much everyone knows everyone or has a mate/colleague who does, and unknown to many, the entire global business that is motorsport is run from a mid-terrace in Paris. What’s this got to do with snow sports? Everything. A few years ago whilst slurping a tepid brew under a leaky tent in a field in Northamptonshire, waiting for a break in the monsoon, I was introduced to the crazy concept of the Andros Trophy. Nattering about crappy weather and racing, an OG […]

Many people dream of doing a ski season and whilst ski-bum #vanlife is one option – there are distinct benefits of becoming a bonafide resort worker, earning actual cash. How about a job as a ski resort transfer driver? As grown-ups the idea of being a 90 hour a week chalet girl or a resort rep for a ski tour operator doesn’t seem to tick the life goals boxes so we asked ourselves the question, what jobs could we do in resort that would enable us to live and work in the mountains for a ski season? Our friends Viv and Jason found one answer to ski season jobs – spending last winter in the Portes du Soleil as ski resort transfer drivers. We decided to grill them about everything that’s involved in being a ski resort transfer driver – is this the kind of job you could see yourself doing to spend a winter shredding the pow? When considering any season long commitment, we think it’s important to be furnished with as much information as possible so a bit of background into Viv and Jason is useful reading. If you’re not into spending the season in a home on […]

As advocates of the old-fashioned road trip, we feel like we’re pretty experienced at in-car-entertainment but it’s changed dramatically since we were kids – podcasts and audible are the new i-spy.

So you’re thinking of how you’re going to do a ski season but you don’t fancy slogging 16 hour days? Here’s how you can join the legion of seasonnaires, Winterized style.

If you’re genuinely looking for some winter van build inspiration, search ‘winter van build’ on YouTube or Google and you’re probably going to be a bit disappointed. It felt like summer 2017 all over again when we discovered that Google had a black spot in the motorhome skiing department. There’s a generous amount of ‘living in a van in winter’ stuff and the odd credible winter van conversion video but certainly nothing that James or I found particularly helpful or inspiring. The aim of this Winterized Winter Van Build series is to walk you through your own winter van build, warts and all, showing you where you can scrimp, save and splash, dependent on your budget, skills and time. We’ve researched our conversion to death, and James has even donated his beloved VW T5 plumber’s-mate as the test-bed for things that have the potential to go horribly wrong. This is us, as complete newbies, screwing things up, just for you. We’re good like that! If you’re up for building your own snow-mobile and you fancy the freedom of mountain hopping, you can find the blog sign up at the bottom of this page and more details about how to follow […]

The Apex ladies XPL looks more like something you might find yourself wearing after severe injury than a state of the art ski boot.

In preparation for the 2019/20 season, we’re starting early with a bunch of upgrades to the Winterized website that are going to make it more usable.

Search Google – you’ll find a lot of reviews and user guides to various motorhome wifi products and solutions to getting internet reception on the road.

GAS IT Discount: Many of you in the motorhome, campervan and #VanLife community may qualify for the Defence Discount Services or Blue Light Discount schemes

We’re mitten converts. Having gone through a 20 year period of firmly believing that, like Mini Milk lollies, mittens are banned from the age of 12, it was exciting to learn that mittens are back – and all the grown ups are rocking them.

These are the top of the range Wed’ze ski socks and unless you have very poor circulation, are as much as you need to keep your tootsies.

If you’re interested in the idea of converting a van into the ultimate winter snowmad adventure camper, you might want to grab the popcorn!

THE SEXIEST PRIZE GIVEAWAY YOU WILL EVER FIND ON THE INTERNET! (Thetford competition for bog and cassette stuff!)

Eight weeks to become experts at anything rather goes against the 10,000 hours theory, but we’re now the go-to van for crisis management and motorhome maintenance advice.

Can British household name ‘Nikwax‘ restore relegated but beloved garments and catapult them back into the premier league of ski gear?

It’s not all bluebird days and snuggly evenings playing backgammon, that’s for sure. Here are a few of the motorhome skiing lessons we learned the hard way!

Turns out, you do need a plan. For the first bit at the very least. The bit where you get a van, and then fill it with all sorts of stuff that seems critical for survival.

Choosing a van for our road trip has caused much brain-ache. Part 2 in the Snowchaser series for Fall-Line Skiing Magazine.

Guest article for Fall-Line Skiing: SNOWCHASERS Part 1 of 5

There are a whopping great fist of reasons to buy your gear for next year in the ski and snowboard end of season sales – in fact, for many of us, it’s the principle reason we have a ‘gear problem’.

2018/19 has not been the greatest of seasons. It makes you realise just how lucky we are to be mobile and just how much longer the motorhome ski season is.

Alpe d’Huez has confirmed the closure of it’s aire du camping car and we’re gutted.

Madder about cows than Milton Keynes, the fabulous commune of Le Grand Bornand is an excellent place to take a motorhome skiing trip.

Reluctant to give up our days on the hill to a glorified walk – we made a pretty big mistake. We did not get snow shoes – and we should have.

Things that give me the willies about winter motorhoming and how I overcome them – from getting stuck on a chair lift to flying off a cliff edge in our van.

If you think you don’t need a pick-up truck in your life, you’re very very wrong. Our winter with the FIAT Fullback Cross.

What, where, when, why and how to rent a motorhome for your ski trip

Ever thought of Snowshoeing? Do what?  But I’m at a ski area, why would I want to do anything different to skiing or boarding ALL DAY EVERY DAY??

The answer to the question ‘do I need winter tyres?’ is yes, you do need winter tyres and if you opt out then you’re a bit of a wally.

Skiing or snowboarding isn’t for everyone but there are loads of other ways to enjoy the mountains in winter.

Autoglym embarrass the competition.

The Winterized 2018/19 motorhome ski season.

Back in the day, we used to call it off-piste now it’s called backcountry.

Helly Hansen kit is for you if you want classic pieces – If you’re the girl (or guy) who spends big on some seriously nice ‘staple’ and timeless items.

We’re a bit niche and nobody in the motorhome industry really knows anything about our needs.

The Keen Winterterra boots are a hardy and worthy competitor to their Canadian rivals Sorel. Waterproof, all leather upper and toastie as heck.

We have nothing bad to say about the Honda EU20i generator – primarily because had we not had it, we would have been taking a very early bath on our first motorhome ski adventure.

I love the Landrover Explore smart phone. There, I said it. Why? Because I have come to realise I only have three basic requirements from a ‘mobile’.

Whether it’s shovelling powder and making paths or hacking your wheels out of ice puddles, a plastic snow shovel isn’t going to cut it. You need an agricultural grain shovel.

This is an essential for motorhome skiing. If you’re in a 7.5t A-Class, a coachbuilt motorhome, a van conversion or a camper – you need a screen cover.

Our review of the Karcher Window Vac. Motorhome skiing essential.

It’s probably no surprise to anyone who has dipped in and out of our adventures over the last year to discover we’re off again.

Winter camping in France – our not-review reviews of aires and campsites across the Alps.

Intermediate skis – tried and tested by intermediate skiers.

Two seasons for the price of one. Fall-Line subscription offer for the Winterized Tribe.

Not all vans are created equal.

If you’re hoofing it to the Alps in your motorhome, you should consider LPG refillables – here’s why.

Can you take your motorhome skiing in Chamonix? Yes is the answer and there are lots of options open to you from campsites with facilities to aires with none.

The idea of summer motorhoming fills both James and I with horror. Here’s why.

This is the long awaited ‘how much cash did you splash?’ blog. An average of €45/each/day… so how did we do that when a week in Les Arcs will cost you €1000?

It appears that some of you crazies are looking into embarking on your own Winterised Project – which is good because that’s why we started blogging in the first place – to collect information and illustrate how to, and more importantly, how not to undertake a motorhome ski trip.

WD40, Cable ties and Caravan and Motorhome cleaner – The three things that will get you through any crisis 

Aires of campsites? Which is for you? Here are a few things about both to help you decide.

We spent hours researching snow shovels before making what was not an insignificant purchase in the lead up to our motorhome ski adventure in the Alps – and you might be surprised to learn, it wasn’t a snow shovel because… you don’t need a snow shovel.

We’ve got a policy. Nobody ever says “one last run then?”. Never, ever, ever. It’s probably fatal, we’ve never risked it to find out.

I am vindicated. I knew 200 powder free nitrile surgical gloves would come in handy but I didn’t expect it to be on our penultimate day skiing in a winter wonderland.

We covered basic motorhome ski essential kit in our blog titled ‘Our Zero BS Motorhome Ski Check List’ (now renamed 15 Essential Items You Need for Your Motorhome Skiing Trip) which caused consternation with some in the motorhome community. Why? Because we think there are a number of things that people call ‘essential kit’ that’s total nonsense. Our feelings haven’t changed on the topic of glue guns and inflatable mattresses and if you want to read about some of the other daft things people think you should take, check it out here. As a follow up from that blog, and inspired by someone more organised than we are (Wandering Bird – follow her), there are a few things that we have on our motorhome ski road trip that might not immediately spring to mind and you may find useful. Some of them we came across purely by accident, some of them were strategic purchases – all of them are invaluable to us – here they are and we’ve included a few options that were in our short list. Here are our 5 Useful Things You Didn’t Know You Needed For Your Motorhome Ski Adventure: Draining Mat Jet Boil Assorted Bungee Chords A Sledge […]

I’m a 39, wine drinking, female. I do not feature as part of a demographic in any of Red Bull’s marketing meetings. James, a slightly unhinged 35 year old male however features heavily on their spider diagrams of targets. They needn’t waste their budget – he’s in. When I was sat in a meeting in Les Deux Alpes a few months ago whilst James turned his hand to skiing with his BFF Reuben and I was informed about an annual ‘thing’ that Red Bull stage in various resorts, nothing registered. And I mean nothing. That information went in the brain file labelled ‘stuff for the kids and plonkers to get involved in’. For a start, it involved bibs. I’m not a bib sort of gal. Sporting some fresh Helly Hansen swag that I’m testing for work (crap job but someone’s got to give it a proper run in!)… I felt no need to cover my mint jacket (complete with life pocket) with some sort of park-rat style basketball shirt. No thanks. It also involves a disclaimer (disguised as a registration form – you can’t trick me Red Bull know this game intimately), some sort of timing tag and what turned […]

You barely even think about your heating systems at home until they stop working (unless you’re a plumber!).

We’ve had a few people raise eyebrows when we say we left our jobs and hit the road. There are of course a bunch of people who plan long in advance of taking off on life affirming adventures – we do not fall into this category.

Lots of people have asked us what we’ve taken on our motorhome ski adventure – our natural instinct for over planning meant that we researched this extensively before we left, tried to get the best deals on everything we needed, and this is what we lived with on a daily basis. So what are the 15 essential items you need for your motorhome skiing trip? It’s worth noting, there is a finite amount of space in a motorhome or campervan… which means you need to choose every item wisely. This list is based on the fact that we did not have an external garage and we didn’t want to carry a single thing that we didn’t consider essential – life in a motorhome is cosy enough without too many ‘in case of emergency’ items. Some of the lists we’ve read seem bonkers – unless you’re travelling in a 7.5t RV, we have no idea where you keep all this stuff, let alone why you need it. Add to that the monumental expense and suddenly your adventure becomes comparable in cost to a 10 day all-in catered chalet experience for 20! We thought we might regret some of the things we […]

Tuesday 20th February 2018: Alagna, Italy Just Do It. Do not leave the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome show without a plan as to how you’re going to get yourself a home on wheels. You’re visiting for a reason. Some of you are visiting because you have a dream, some of you are already living it and are inspiring other people to do so. Some of you are meeting old friends and some of you are meeting people you know from their YouTube channels! Everyone’s ideas of what they want to do with their motorhome life differs greatly – from weekend warriors exploring their local regions to others, like us, with a very specific goal in mind – giving ourselves the freedom to pursue our favourite activities. In our case, chasing the best snow around the Alps all winter long. Granted, our story is a little extreme and I know that the idea of giving up houses, packing everything into storage and running away from home isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t elements of what we’re doing that aren’t exactly the same as everyone else with a motorhome. The range of options is mindboggling – […]

We’re not daft enough to think we can live a road vehicle, be it for a weekend or indefinitely, and not understand there are going to be some trade-offs to make.

There are alternative ski-life options to ‘ski-in-ski-out’ and they come with a host of perks. From going home leaner and fitter to benefitting from cheap ski accommodation and finding secret resorts… this is why we think ski-in-ski-out is so last season.

Whilst I’ve been blogging, James has been putting up YouTube videos of our motorhome ski adventure for the last few months so welcome to the vlog! If you fancy a giggle, watch the back catalogue – particularly ‘the one where: James learns to snowboard’ but in the meantime, here’s a look at Châtel part deux. Vlogging is not easy and whilst I’ve spent the vast majority of time running out of shot (I’m better at it now than I was in the beginning), James has really taken to it. As someone who had never picked up a vlogging camera until the day we went to collect our motorhome from Elddis, he’s doing really well and getting a lot out of it… rage, frustration, Tourettes and arm ache mostly. If you enjoy them, please like, subscribe and press the notification bell in YouTube – it helps his ego and makes the pain of editing slightly less torturous! There’s loads more to come so stay tuned!

…and other first world problems. If you love skiing and hate boots or simply need to do a lot of walking, read on.

We can’t work out if it feels like a long time since we left the UK or just yesterday. Whichever it is, we now have an entirely new normal.

Why you should travel by ferry

I can’t remember being this excited about anything since the first Dyson handheld thingy that completely revolutionised dog and stair ownership. The Karcher window vac is awesome. We accidentally brought a Karcher window vac with us – it was very much on the ‘nice to have’ list but got bumped when we panic bought the whole of PC World in the last days before we left on our Winterised adventure. More concerned about out tech needs whilst on our radical sabbatical and my ability to ‘digital nomad’, than the practicalities of living in a motorhome as sub-zero temperatures, getting hold of this domestic gadget somewhat appeased us and convinced us we were fully prepared for life on the road. The less said about that, the better. Gadget Envy Forget the brand spanking new motorhome we’re cruising about in. Our Karcher has been the envy of all our fellow winter travellers. We’ve got a pimp screen cover (kindly lent to us by Van Comfort who saved us from buying the wrong tool for the job when we initially approached them for advice) which keeps the screen clear and heat in – but the habitation area is a different matter altogether. It doesn’t matter how […]

A) Don’t try British sarcasm on the Gendarme; B) don’t try to dry your hair, roast a chicken and charge a drill all at the same time on a three day drained leisure battery; and the classic, C) never eat yellow snow.

It’s actually pretty tricky to write an explanation to that from perhaps the most idyllic bar/ restaurant in all the Alps (Le Hors Piste, Chatel)! We’re dry, have mains power, speedy wifi and people bringing us amazing food and drink.

We’ll be frank, we weren’t 100% sure that you do need winter tyres or that they were necessary for this trip.

Day 6 and we’re having a cheat week in an amazing AirBnB near Geneva for Christmas… pre-planned so family could come out to join us but it’s the first time we’ve come up for air since we left home in Oxfordshire last Sunday.

You couldn’t write it. We got snowed in at Elddis. Yup. The day we were collecting our van; the day before we were due to have our winter tyres fitted; the day before the day that we were due to do a dummy overnighter. It snowed. Hard. The journey north Elddis is a truly British manufacturer and upholds some of the manufacturing traditions that are rare in modern robot-run warehouses. Friends and family open days and Friday early shutdown, Elddis is the stronghold of a small former mining town in the North East of England. And the nicest thing of all is that having only visited a few times, we really feel like family. Despite having spent five and a half years in Newcastle as a student, 15 years of southern life means that a trip up north is still ridiculously exciting for me and Thursday was no exception. If a road trip past Watford Gap and collecting the motorhome wasn’t enough, as we hit the M18 it started SNOWING…. So here’s where we start to uncover the motivation behind this winterized motorhome ski trip… IT’S SNOWING… if you understand the way in which that statement should be read aloud […]

As soon as YouTube celebrities starting showing up on the red carpet at film premiers ‘Vlogging’ became a real word. It’s an actually thing and you can be one. All you need is your face and a video camera. But how do you start? Here’s our beginners guide to vlogging kit.

Anyone who has been following our blog will know by now that we are ridiculously lucky. From being loaned our motorhome to getting a whole heap of equipment lent or gifted to us, we are very aware of how fortunate we are.