🎯 Spare Wheel? Best SIM? SOG toilet? YOUR motorhome questions answered

Hey guys, I've not done a Q&A for ages, so I wanted to take a few moments and answer some of the recent questions that I have got. If you're new here, hi, I'm Kat. I run the motorhome and van life website Wandering Bird, and every single day I get questions from people and I cannot possibly answer them all, even though I really do appreciate people emailing in. So I try and make one of these Q&A videos around every month or two just so that I can give you your answers, and hopefully they will be helpful to you. So let me dive in to some of these. The first question I've got is from Sue asking about spare tires, or what do I have on my vehicle. And actually, Sue, your question prompted an entire email, and I think you're on my email list, so hopefully by the time you watch this, that email has gone out and you've got the answers. But for anybody else watching, most motorhomes or campervans no longer carry a spare wheel or tire, however you want to call it. In fact, most of us now only have a puncture repair kit and sometimes that gunk that you can spray into the tyre. I will leave some of the links below which actually will help you pick out the right kit, because not every puncture repair kit or gunk are suitable for motorhome tyres. It's really important if that's all you've got, then it definitely works on the type of vehicle and the vehicle tyre that you have got. However, having a spare wheel is a really good idea as long as you've got the weight or the payload to have one. Because frankly, if you're in the middle of nowhere or you're touring Europe and you're, you know, up a mountain or something, whoever comes to rescue you with your breakdown cover probably isn't going to have the correct type of wheel or tire for you. And if you're carrying your own, then they will hopefully maybe be able to change it. Obviously, the bigger your vehicle you've got, the less likelihood there is of somebody sitting on the side of the roadside and changing that wheel. I know for a fact I certainly Wouldn't be doing that on my motorhome. But even if they can take you to a nearby garage or something, it makes it a lot easier for them if you have got a spare wheel. But there are some downsides to having your own spare wheel. You have to make sure that it is serviced, but you've also got to make sure that the cage and the mechanism— they get really, really rusty, and sometimes they can break or just completely disintegrate. So you've got to make sure that they're serviced and looked after really carefully. So Hope that answered your question, Sue. Great question. Like I say, spawned an entire email, so I love questions like that. Next is a question from Andy, another one that came from an email. So I put out an email fairly recently about what to do if your toilet is all smelly and various things that you can do to make it easier for you. And Andy replied going, what the heck is a SOG? Or an S-O-G. And that is a term that I used in my email and didn't explain. So thank you, Andy, for giving me the opportunity to So a SOG unit, I don't even know what it stands for, but it's basically a unit— I had one on my last motorhome, it was really good— and you fit it to your toilet area near the cassette, and it's basically like a fan that sucks out all the nasty smells. And so you don't actually need things like toilet chemicals or anything in there. So if, like me, you prefer to stay in off-grid places or aires or places like small campsites that might not be hooked up to mains toilet and you want to use the Fos-System to empty it out, you can make sure that you empty it all out and you haven't got any nasty chemicals in there which might damage their FOS system. However, one thing to be aware of with a SOG is that if you use a campsite a lot, all of your nasty smells go off onto the pitch next to you, and that can cause some issues. Also, if your toilet or where you put your toilet cassette is near your habitation door, you will find that those smells drift in through your habitation door, which could make the whole thing completely worse. So just be aware of that. But if it's on the other side and you don't stay in campsites all that often, or you don't really mind about what your neighbours think, then a SOG unit is a really, really good idea for drawing all those nasty smells out. Next is a question from Nigel asking me what data SIM I recommend for use in Europe. Honestly, Nigel, there are loads now that you can use, and I appreciate that does not make choosing any easier. Now, I use EE mostly because that's what I've used since year dot, and I have now got a monthly contract with EE, and I was able to get a second data SIM fairly cheaply with them. So that's made my life a heck of a lot easier. However, they are not the cheapest, and I believe there are some companies that are doing better deals for more data. So that's something you might need to do a little bit of research in. But yeah, I use EE, and as long as there is a decent signal around, they've been very good for me. Next one is from Sheridan, who says that To save space, she decided that she doesn't want to take her grey water waste or the 40-litre fresh water butt. I'm guessing you come from a caravan background, Sheridan. But how then does she manage her water and her waste? I tell you what, this is such a common question for people who come from caravanning. They're like, well, how do I manage all of this stuff? The answer is you probably have to empty and refill maybe slightly more often than you are used to. So for example, when I am touring, especially if I'm staying off-grid, I tend to book into a campsite or an aire or even just use a service point every 3 days, maybe 4 if I'm lucky, and there I will empty out my waste. So that's my grey waste, more for my toilet, and also I can then refill with fresh water. Now most of the time that's me traveling on my own, so if there are 2 of you, that gap will obviously be shortened to 2 or maybe 3 days. Because one thing with a motorhome is you will probably be touring around more. That's one of the lovely things about having a motorhome is you can move around a lot more and you can just go past the service point or use the services at campsites if you're staying there. If you are going to be staying put on a campsite, that's when it can get a little bit more difficult, especially if you're going to be staying for 5, 6 days or even a week and you want to stay in one pitch in one place. The only way that you can really do it is to pack up your awning and everything else and drive your motorhome round to the service point where you can then Empty out your waste. Now, you can obviously take your toilet cassette and walk it around to the emptying point, and sometimes you can get these serviced pitches with the motorhome. Now, a lot of them in Europe, they require you to have some sort of long hose, and there will be a grey waste disposal point on your pitch somewhere. So having a length of hose that connects to your grey waste outlet tap, and then you can just stretch it to the waste disposal point, can be really, really useful. And often, if you do get a serviced pitch, then it will have a fresh water tap on there. So again, you just need a hose and you can connect that then into your fresh water. So if you are going to be staying on a campsite for a long, long time, then getting a service pitch might be the best option for you. Next one is from Moira. I'm going to read this to make sure that I get it correctly. So, my current understanding is that to take a pet to Norway, you need to get an AHC issued in the country you're going to Norway from, so Denmark, Germany, or Sweden, and then you need a UK-issued AHC to get there in the first place. So you end up with 2 AHCs nested one in the other. If this is correct or not. No, it's not correct, Moira. So you only get one AHC per trip. So I'm assuming, like you say, you're starting in the UK, so you will need to get an animal health certificate for your dog or pet to leave UK and go into the EU or the Schengen zone. And that is the animal health certificate. That is your one bit of paperwork. What you do when you get up to a border, so Denmark, if you're crossing into Norway or the top of Sweden, if you're going to cross into Finland, is you take that animal health certificate into the vet, and when they give the tapeworm, they literally will sign and date and stamp that animal health certificate. And then when you come back to go back from EU back into the UK, use the same animal health certificate— there's space on there to do it again— and get another tapeworm signed and stamped and dated on there. So you're Your pet will need 2 tapeworms, assuming you don't go into Norway and then back out, back into the UK within 5 days. So you will need 2 tapeworms, and they can both be done on the one animal health certificate. Next question is from Philip, and this is such a good question, Philip. I'm really, really pleased that you asked it. Do the French campsites shut like the supermarkets or other shops tend to do in France for lunch? The answer is yes, occasionally they do. And to be honest, there are quite a few campsites in the UK that you'll find shut between like 11 and 1 or something Or whatever time they're booking in. So yes, a lot of campsites across Europe, not just in France, will be closed for the hour or 2 before check-in time officially is. So let's say for this example it's 1 PM, then if you turned up at say 12 or half past 12, you might not be able to check in at all. So it's always worth arriving just slightly after that check-in time is open. Now normally this is when they do things like cleaning the toilets and doing their admin, all this kind of stuff, so there might be somebody around, but they will be technically closed and they're very unlikely to open for you, but that is a really good question. The other thing to be mindful of is sometimes the office could be closed in the morning after, say, 9 to 10 AM, and even if checkout is like 11 AM, but you've got your passport or some sort of document left behind the counter, you need to be there between those opening hours. So just make sure that you know exactly when the office is going to be open in the morning that you're leaving so you can get your passport or whatever it is that you've left. Paula's asked, can I recommend a good vet for coming back to the UK from France. There are hundreds, literally hundreds of them where you can get a tapeworm done and get all your paperwork signed and stamped before you come back to the UK. There is a fantastic Facebook group called Authorised Vets EU. I'll leave the link to it so that you know what it is, but on there is a map and that will give you all of the different various vets and things that people have used to be able to get their tapeworm before they've come back to the UK, so it's a really valuable resource. It's another SIM card one. What is the best SIM card to make sure that I don't get stranded without signal in remote Scotland? Candice, I completely, completely understand this fear. This is one of the things that led me to actually buying the Starlink because I did not want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere when I was up in Norway, and the only way that you can guarantee that you will always have a signal is to get something like a satellite phone or satellite connection with a Starlink, because your SIM card is only as good as the signal around it. And I'm sure you know from— you could drive down a major road, you could be in the middle of London and not have a very good phone signal. And unfortunately, if you don't have a very good phone signal, whatever SIM card you get, whether that is on your dongle for your internet or actually on your phone, isn't going to be able to get a signal either. So if you are somewhere that's quite wild and remote, the chances of having a really good 4G signal are very low. Although literally I'm filming this whilst I'm in Iceland in the middle of nowhere by the sea, and the 4G signal is spectacular. So it does very much depend on where you are. If you're really anxious about it and don't want to be broken down without being able to call for help or anything like that, like I say, I completely understand that Then that's when I would invest in something like the Starlink Mini or a satellite phone or something like that, so that you know that you have got some sort of backup emergency system. Now, the Starlink is, I think it was about £300-£400 to buy it, and then you can turn it on and off. So you can pay for the lower rate data, and you can literally just turn that on and off when you're touring, so you don't need to pay for it every single month. So that is the best backup option for you. The other thing that you can do is have a couple of phones and have them on different networks. With the hope that if one doesn't have a signal, then the other one will be able to pick up some form of signal. That's the only other alternative that you can do. It's not the best plan, but it is a plan which gives you a little bit of extra coverage. But fingers crossed, you won't need them at all. And last up, a really good question from Finbar. Again, some brilliant questions over the last few weeks, guys. Thank you very much. If you do want your question answered on my next Q&A, then please do get on my email list and send me an email, and I will answer for you. But Finbar asked, He's got a motorhome over 3.5 tonnes, and when he sets up his sat nav with all the vehicle dimensions and the weight and everything else, the speed that is displayed on the screen— is that the correct speed for his vehicle? My answer, Finbar, is that it really should be, but as far as I know, it's not. So if, for example, on a motorway you are limited to 60 mph, I believe the speed limit on that sat nav will still be 70 mph. So it's actually incorrect for the weight of your vehicle. I've done some research on it for you, and as far as I can tell, TomTom is saying you have to set the maximum speed for your vehicle. So again, you would have to adjust that for every country that you are traveling into, but you could set the max speed for that vehicle as, say, 60, and then hopefully it will display that for you. But it probably won't on lower roads, and it is such a really good point. So if I do ever get an opportunity to speak to somebody from TomTom, I will pass that on for you. If anybody does know anything different, or perhaps you have a make of sat nav that definitely does show the correct speed for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, please do drop that in the comments for me. Right, that is everything from me. I hope you found those questions and answers useful. If you did, a like is always very much appreciated, and if you're not already subscribed to the channel and you would like to see more videos about motorhoming and van life, get your questions answered, and stay up to date with the latest topics, then please do hit subscribe. If you do want to know more about touring in Europe, you'll find this video useful, and I'll see you there. Take care, bye!