Travelling by motorhome is fun and exciting, and motorhome trips offer a great sense of freedom. But is it always fantastic? Isn't it sometimes the case that the car breaks down, that all the nice places are full, or that you freeze because the gas is not working? We received a request to write about mishaps during our motorhome trips. Enjoy!
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Amazing all the time ... right?
As long as nothing serious happens, we think motorhome holidays are worth every little mishap. Because yes, it is clear that it happens that the car breaks down or that the plan for the fantastic destination does not really hold. But most things can be solved in one way or another! And most of the time it is fantastic.
Here are ten mishaps from our motorhome years. Sometimes you are unlucky and sometimes you haven't planned carefully enough. When we write these things, we often get a comment like "But shouldn't you, being so experienced, have planned better and known better...?". But no, we are not "perfect planners". Time is often short and we have the best control afterwards - when we write our travel reports.
We like the freedom and the adventure, and we think it's ok that travelling includes both "ups and downs". Looking back, we also have to say that it has sometimes been quite hectic with work, holiday planning, children, collaborations and assignments. Phew, we just say! Here are some mishaps and "not as planned" moments from our motorhome trips.
1. Italy 2009: Everything in the motorhome got soaked.
On our very first motorhome trip to Europe, we took Peter's youngest son Billie and his cousin with us. Amongst other things, we went to camping Sabbiadoro, east of Venice in Italy. One evening we ate at a restaurant together, and then the guys wanted to go home and play computer games, while we wanted to hang out in the city for another hour. Soon it started pouring rainlike when you think you are standing in the middle of a waterfall. Also, the thunder started to rumble right above us.
"But help, we have all the skylights open," said Peter. "Yes, but the guys will close them?", I thought. Or did they? We ran as fast as we could towards the campsite and when we arrived, the guys were quietly playing video games under the awning. Inside the motorhome was all roof windows open and just everything was soaking wet.
2. Italy 2011: Motorhome ladder caught in an awning
Our second motorhome trip in Europe was to Lake Garda in Italy. Peter's youngest son Billie and his mate were with him for the first half of the trip, and were then due to fly home from Milanso that eldest son Robin and his girlfriend could join us for the second half of the trip.
But did you know that entering Linate airport with a large motorhome is tricky? In the end we found a car park where we could fit - we just missed the fact that the payment station's awning was hanging down so low that the just got stuck in the roof rack and pulled the whole ladder apart. Peter looked horrified as he surveyed the mess, and he wasn't any happier when I documented his horror ... "Do you have to take a photo?"
3. Italy 2011: Crowded at all campsites
During the same trip we headed to Lago d'Iseo (Lake Iseo), where we heard that it would be extremely beautiful. This was not exactly a mishap, but an example of how things don't always go as planned. We were expecting idyllic campsites close to the lake, but it turned out to be packed everywhere. "What, you haven't booked? Here you have to book months in advance!" Oops! That night we ended up parking along a street instead of a beautiful lake ...
4. Spain 2014: No LPG = freezing cold Christmas Eve
At the end of November 2014, we embarked on our 1-year-long Motorhome travel in Europe. At the beginning of the trip, we were challenged by the cold and had difficulty obtaining LPG. Every country has a different system and the most complicated was in Spain, where you needed some kind of certificate from the authorities to buy LPG tubes. Before Christmas Eve, we were almost empty in the LPG tube and came up with the smart (we thought) idea of looking for a winter open campsite to be able to heat the car with electricity.
The roads were winding up and up as we drove towards the campsite Picos de Europa. The campsite was open because it was located in a mountain range where people come to hike. At this high located campsite it was very colder than it has been down on the coast. But what about the electricity? Well, it was only 6 amps so we couldn't use it for heating. It became a call Christmas Eve ...
5. Spain 2014: The clutch stopped working in the middle of the road
We decided to hurry down towards the Portugalto hopefully solve our problems with the gas. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far. Already after five kilometres the clutch gave up. It sank to the bottom, and it was impossible to continue.
Now we had the chance to test the roadside assistance insurance we had taken out ... and it worked! After about two hours Miguel came (on a Sunday) and started working on our car. Miguel didn't know any English, but he knew how to fix a car and after another hour or so we were on the road again!
6. Sardinia 2015: A motorhome window was broken
After a few days at Camping Sardegna in Porto Pino in Sardinia, the campsite owner asked us to move the motorhome back two metres so he could accommodate more campers. No problem! Since we were only going to back up a few metres, we didn't tidy up too much and left the windows open. Bonk!
The open motorhome window above the dining table hit a pole and cracked right through ... Oh no! We had to find glue and tape. In fact, we went with a glued window for five years, before we switched to a new one. new motorhome window last year.
7. Sardinia 2015: The motorhome would not start
The engine light came on intermittently during our 2015 trip to Europe. We had enquired at several workshops, but no one had found the fault. When we arrived in beautiful Cala Gonone in Sardinia, the problem escalated. Twice the car refused to move forward, and then even the tool icon started to light up ... But how would we find a workshop when we couldn't drive, and without knowing the language?
The owner of the site sent us to the nearest petrol station. There we asked "Mecanico?" and pointed to pictures of an engine light on a torn-out page from the FIAT instruction book. The man fuelling the cars pondered a bit and then waved us into the shop where he called for a mechanic. Despite total language confusion, we were able to give the name of the garage and the petrol station man announced "trenta minuti". And yes, after 30 minutes a mechanic came to the site. Fantastic!
8. Sweden 2016: Water leak - whole floor soaked.
We had taken the campervan to Blidö to attend Peter's niece's birthday party. fantastic weddings. All the nice clothes were in the motorhome and when we woke up we were looking forward to a great day. But wow! The floor in the bathroom and the centre aisle of the motorhome was soaked.
The water ran out under the toilet seat in the bathroom and continued onto the carpet in the hallway. As soon as the water was switched on in the motorhome, it kept running, so we just turned off the water and started drying. The day after the wedding, Peter had to start tinkering with the couplings ...
9. Sweden 2016: Intersection stop on the motorway
We should lecture at a meeting with Caravan Club at Husbilslandet in Kristinehamn and drove down the day before to attend the joint dinner. But there was no dinner at Husbilslandet for us. Suddenly, in the middle of the motorway, the motorhome stopped working. The engine light and several warning lights came on and smoke came out of the bonnet.
We were on a two-lane road that was about to become one lane, and Peter was braking as fast as he could. If we had stopped 50 metres later, we would have come to a standstill. exactly all traffic on the E18, but now we managed to position ourselves so that the cars just could get past. We took blankets with us, sat on the grass embankment and waited for the recovery lorry. The motorhome remained in the workshop in Kristinehamn all winter ...
10. Sweden 2021: Burglary in motorhome
The latest mishap did not happen on a trip, but at home in the car park. And isn't it typical that this is the place to be burgled? Someone smashed a window to get in and then tampered with the entire motorhome. They tore open a door and the alarm went off all night so that the batteries were discharged. We've just got the campervan back from the workshop and will tell you more about what happened soon!
Not as intended on the motorhome trip - your experience of mishaps?
What mishaps and 'not as intended' moments have you experienced on your motorhome (or car or caravan) trip?
You might also like:
Travelling abroad with a motorhome - 10 things to look out for
Travelling by motorhome in Germany - all you need to know
Germany welcomes motorhomes (and Sweden imposes a ban)
10 great countries for motorhome holidays
Tips for a successful vanlife holiday
Moving to a motorhome permanently - Maria and Jöran tell us about it
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Matts Torebring says:
My good friend used to say about me, "You must be awfully old" as much as you have been through". One could say that about you too. We ourselves have only had a couple of mishaps. Filling water in the diesel tank in the mountains, can only end in one way. Next time a stop on the autobahn outside Göttingen. A new AC in the living room that ran on the 220 & 12 v. The workshop had forgotten to mount the ground cable that was almost 1 cm thick. It cost us a day and 600 €. It often feels good afterwards when the problems are solved. Does not apply to burglary.
27 March 2021 - 7:19
Helena says:
Yes haha, we may be getting a little old 😉 Nice that you have not had so many mishaps! Hard when it happens of course, but most things can be solved, and are later weighed up by all the good moments. Wishing you a nice weekend!
27 March 2021 - 8:08
Lena - good for the soul says:
Hehe, how crazy things can get with things. Fortunately, everything works out in the end. And afterwards it usually becomes a "funny" story. Or a whole blog post 🙂
Hug Lena
27 March 2021 - 7:43
Helena says:
It does not always go as planned, but most things work out, even if it can be difficult at the time. Wishing you a nice weekend!
27 March 2021 - 8:09
Seija Viitamäki-Carlsson says:
Forgotten loose step ladder, when we left the daughter on Lidingö. Discovered it when we stayed with my sister-in-law in Nyköping. Bought a stool at Ikea and continued the journey to Puglia. In Hungary, Petch, the cultural capital of the year, fines in the city, when we would buy coffee bread. At the campsite, it rained pine cones on the roof. Likewise in Krakow, then it was walnut rain. On the journey from Albania, a skylight blew off. We looked for dealers, visited the Burstner factory in Germany. Got a new roof hatch first at Åströms in Sundsvall. We were lucky that it didn't rain. Large plastic bag covered the shutter and stayed in place. Flooding in the bathroom when someone got to the shower hose, which was switched on. Burglary at a large, busy Rasthof in Germany. We slept, woke up to someone in the car. Broken lock and insurance issue. We drive about 10-1200 miles / year. Since 2006. Third motorhome. We are 70+, both drive. Free campers and live on campsites. Continue as long as we can. Now planning a spring trip to Österlen (halfway to Italy) from here in Hälsingland. Happy Easter🥰
27 March 2021 - 9:09
Helena says:
Wow, you've been through a lot!!! And how unpleasant with the burglary!!! But wonderful to hear that you use the motorhome so much and that you have plans for the spring! Have fun and Happy Easter!
27 March 2021 - 10:53
4000mil says:
Fun to read, I tend to think more and more that everything difficult and that goes wrong becomes a funny story afterwards. It definitely seems like you have to be pretty handy if you have a motorhome!
I also think that this is sometimes met with "you should know/know" is a bit boring. Because we are all just people and it is a strength to dare to make mistakes.
27 March 2021 - 9:16
Helena says:
It's probably easier if you're a bit handy 😉 And yes, I can understand that you've encountered the same attitude. But as you say, you are only human, and you are often wisest afterwards 😉.
27 March 2021 - 10:55
Maria/Magnolia Magis says:
Hi hi hi of course you should photograph EVERYTHING!!! 🤣
In fact, we have managed quite well with our motorhomes. Or yes The Seagull stopped outside Ronneby...after that it became Måsajävel... But the towing service was quickly on site, we did not even have time to drink the coffee.
A motorhome got too close to a rock and cracked the fender a little...
Otherwise, no major mishap.
Yes! A Micro went down when we were driving and broke into a thousand pieces....
27 March 2021 - 9:25
Helena says:
But isn't it? On some occasions I have probably lost myself in the situation and forgotten to take a photo, but if I just remember it, the camera goes out 😉 It sounded a bit dramatic with the microphone! Was it not stuck?
27 March 2021 - 10:57
Maria/Magnolia Magis says:
Yes, but not enough...
28 March 2021 - 13:40
Ama de casa says:
Of course there are mishaps and difficulties when you are travelling. You have to be creative in these situations and you have succeeded in doing so.
The biggest "mishap" that hit us was when Hurricane Odile attacked us in Mexico. Without water, telephone, electricity (and internet! 😉 ) for three days without any contact with the outside world. Then we managed to escape with a local bus to a place further north that was less affected. Had to change the plans radically. It became an extra week in Mexico instead of the intended (and booked) trip to Hawaii. Both airlines and hotels were very understanding and we got almost all the money back from the cancellations we made.
But it was very good anyway. The extra week in Mexico was nice (we swam with a lot of sea lions) and we went to Hawaii the following year. It is important to be flexible and adapt to the circumstances (much like now in C-times...).
Another "mishap" was when we were flying home from Brazil and got a message from Google (not the airline!) on the shuttle bus to the airport that our flight was cancelled! Since I am very much in favour of being out in good time, this resulted in us coming home 6 hours earlier than planned.
So not all mishaps are bad if you are a bit creative 😀.
PS: Hahaha! Of course you have to take photos! All for the blog! 😀
27 March 2021 - 9:39
Helena says:
Wow, what stuff you've been through! But sometimes it becomes, as you describe, good anyway! And yes, we try to work according to the motto "everything for the blog" ðŸ™'
27 March 2021 - 10:58
Hasse says:
To offer something that has gone wrong over the years, let's go to St Wolfgang in 2018. We had travelled from Rostock in the morning. It was full when we arrived in the evening. Got a place a little stupidly, but were promised another one the next day. The next day we moved to another spot, got close to a tree and heard a branch touching the side of the car, but no marks. Nice. Once set up, we went down to the lake for a swim. Warm and nice, almost thirty degrees in September. On the way up we see an antenna under a tree, smile a little and think that it is a bit of a pity for someone who went away without an antenna. After the next dip I become suspicious. Looks up at the roof, damn it's my antenna. Takes me to the tree, yes it was still there. Went a few hours of work, borrow a ladder and more, duct tape solved it all. The story is longer, but will be another time. 😁
27 March 2021 - 9:45
Helena says:
So, but wow, what a feeling it must have been to discover that it was your own antenna that you looked at!!!! But completely agree, silver tape is a lifesaver!
27 March 2021 - 11:00
Hasse says:
The story continues with a heavy rainfall in Trogir a week later and the duct tape doesn't like that, so what happened then?
27 March 2021 - 17:46
Helena says:
Oh well ... it shouldn't be too easy ... 😉 ...
27 March 2021 - 17:54
Husis blog says:
Wow, a lot of things you've been through that you can probably laugh about in retrospect but maybe not in the moment.
My owners have had two mishaps, as far as they can remember.
The first was when my predecessor was backed up so the whole side was basically a little indented and scratched. Not easy to get spare parts so the owners had to make a temporary seal and 6 months later I was fixed.
The second time was also with my predecessor. My male owner was refuelling and then saw a bulge in the tyre. It became a journey of the last 5 miles at about 30 km/h in case the tyre would explode.
All good
27 March 2021 - 10:07
Helena says:
Yes, that's how it is with these things. Not very funny when it happens, but at best you can laugh about it a few years later! 😉 That with the tyre sounded a bit scary. Glad that it went well!
27 March 2021 - 11:01
bosses says:
In France, the knob on the gear lever came loose and small springs and other things were thrown around. As a result, it was not possible to free the position of the reverse gear. We continued to a roundabout to be able to drive towards a petrol station with a workshop. As my French language skills are non-existent, we were saved by a customer who knew some English. He got the manager to call a technician who turned up in two minutes. A moment later, he had collected everything and wished us a pleasant journey. There was no question of payment. Sometimes you are pleasantly surprised.
27 March 2021 - 10:39
Helena says:
The language thing always works out somehow, even if it can be a bit tricky sometimes. Great that you didn't have to pay!!!
27 March 2021 - 11:02
bosses says:
Forgot to close the window in the alcove and between Falköping and Jönköping it blew away in rain and storm. Strangely enough, we did not notice anything until the next morning when we took a lap around the car at the car park in Västervik. We couldn't find a workshop that could help us so we had to go to Carglas. There we got help to tape the hole and so it had to be the whole holiday.
27 March 2021 - 10:42
Helena says:
But wow, imagine that you did not discover it until the day after!!! And ok, a little nice to hear that there are more than us who have been running around with temporary solutions for a while 😉 .
27 March 2021 - 11:03
Ditte says:
Of course there will be some mishaps and so it is probably even if you have a boat, summer / winter cottage or other. Think it belongs to. We have only rented a motorhome for short periods and then nothing has happened. But when we crossed the USA in a Volkswagen camper, a lot happened, and now we can laugh about it.
27 March 2021 - 13:34
Helena says:
Yes, but it's absolutely true! Some mess is included whatever it is. It's the same with our houseboat, say what has not been troublesome here 😉
27 March 2021 - 17:55
Margareta Lillvik says:
Oh what a great tip .... to write about all the mishaps you have experienced. There are so many that I'll probably have to include them in my own blog at some point. To list them here would be column metres, but of course a lot happens when you are out and about. Later you can laugh about it but just when it happens it is not so funny. It sometimes adds spice to motorhome life too. Now I have to look for our mishaps. The worst was probably when we forgot the children at a petrol station in Belgium, it ended happily and it was with a caravan and not a motorhome. 😀
27 March 2021 - 13:59
Helena says:
I look forward to that blog post! 🙂 And oh yeah, that story when you forgot the children I would like to hear in detail. But above all nice to hear that it ended happily of course! 🙂
27 March 2021 - 17:58
JoY says:
You have been through a few things. The fact is that if you've had a motorhome for a long time, the more incidents occur and as long as the damage is minimal, it's ok.
We have also had a small water leak, which was discovered when our feet got wet during the nightly toilet visit. The fridge has broken twice, in Italy and most recently last year. Both times the "black box". When Jakob was out with his golf friends, 4 of them. It started rattling and smelling bad, don't remember what broke but it was towed and spent the night at the workshop. The guys had to play another round of golf while the workshop repaired the error. There is almost always something that happens when you are out driving. That's what belongs and should be documented.
Have a nice weekend
27 March 2021 - 14:16
Helena says:
Yes, but that's how it is, it's included and the longer you drive the more it becomes ... Interesting to hear about your experiences! The fridge has been a problem for us too actually, we recognise that.
27 March 2021 - 17:59
BP says:
It's strange, isn't it? You remember all the mishaps and you even managed to put them together in one post.
You are quite human, because I can imagine that more people than you have had mishaps, but would certainly not "brag" about them.
Like the post:-)
27 March 2021 - 18:24
Helena says:
Glad you like it! 🙂 Yes, you do remember the mishaps!
28 March 2021 - 8:56
bmlarstravellingblog says:
Mishaps are just as much a part of motorhome life as regular life.
One occasion we will never forget is when we stopped at Biltema in Borlänge on our way up to Norrland, an early morning at the far end of an almost empty car park. When we get out, the entire rear light ramp is in pieces on the asphalt and a bit away there is a car with a large boat trailer after which managed to ram the rear of our motorhome in this huge car park. We can only thank the staff at Forsbergs in Borlänge who managed to "tape" and screw together the light ramp so we could continue our journey. Most mishaps can thankfully be fixed and then it often becomes a fun memory.
27 March 2021 - 20:56
Helena says:
But absolutely incredible that you would be hit there!!! Yes, most things can be fixed, fortunately!
28 March 2021 - 8:58