FAQ Travel and Road Trip: Campervan Hire

For campervans fitted with a lift-up roof, you can put it up and down electronically (from the onboard computer) or sometimes manually (using jacks). When you hire a campervan, we will take the time to explain and show you how the lift-up roof works. However, you should obviously make sure there are no obstructions (for example, a tree branch) above the roof when you lift it up as well as always moving the canvas inside when you put it back down, so you don’t risk catching and tearing it. Handling the lift-up roof is an area of concern during campervan rental and you need to be careful because the damage can be expensive.

The amount of fuel you use during the campervan hire period will depend on your driving, but as a general rule, whether for the 5 berth campervan or the 2 berth van, you need around 8 litres per 100 kilometres in mixed conditions. The vast majority of our campervans run on diesel. However, motorhomes such as the Fiat Ducato use more fuel.

The basic principle for a campervan trip is to travel light and be organised. Going on a campervan road trip gives you more comfort and space than travelling in a car, but space is always the key in these ‘mini-homes’ on wheels! For your van trip with WeVan, apart from your personal belongings and duvet/sleeping bag and pillow, you don’t need to pack anything in particular because we have provided everything for you: crockery, kitchen equipment, solar shower, brush, extension lead, water pipe, fitted sheets, etc. etc. As for the personal belongings you need for a campervan trip, that obviously depends on your destination, the length of your trip and even the season, but we have put together a short online guide to help you prepare as much as possible for your van trip!

Travelling in a campervan is an affordable alternative to more ‘traditional’ forms of travel. Obviously, if you don’t have your own campervan, van hire is a significant expense and travelling by van in Europe, for example, is no longer strictly speaking a cheap trip; rather, it has become another form of travel. Travelling in a campervan gives you complete freedom to stop whenever you want, change your destination at the last minute and much more besides. However, if you are flexible on your hire dates, you will always find attractive van trip offers at WeVan, especially for long periods out of season.

Hiring a campervan is often a ‘first’ for many of our customers, who have legitimate concerns about nights on board. To give you peace of mind for your van trip, there are several applications that will help you find the perfect ‘nightspot’ for your first night under the stars! The most well-known French collaborative application, Park4night, is a useful source of information for your van trip: it lists thousands of sleep spots, campsites, dump stations, etc. throughout France and Europe. There are also other sites that might be very useful in helping you find places to spend the night during your campervan trip, such as Gamping, Homecamper and France Passion.

There are lots of tips and tricks to help you find a good sleep spot during your van trip. Firstly, choose a quiet place (preferably on crossover roads) with a nice view if possible! Secondly, use a detailed map or sites that list wild campsites for campervans (Gamping.fr/Park4night/France-passion.com, etc.). Of course, travelling in a campervan also means obeying the rules on wild camping. We give you a few tips on this subject on our website: https://www.we-van.com/en/conseils-voyage-van-amenage.php

In theory, it’s entirely possible to travel in a campervan with your pet (unless maybe it’s the biggest dog in the world, a 110-kilo German mastiff). However, at WeVan, each rental agency has its own policy on whether or not to allow pets on board. In fact, most agencies allow you to travel in a campervan with your pet. In this case, make sure you protect the van and its accessories and clean it thoroughly (fur, odours) so you can return it in the same condition as when you picked it up. Otherwise, you may be charged cleaning fees. In this way, the van will be immaculate for the next customer’s road trip.

When travelling in a campervan, there are a few essentials to remember. Here is a short, non-exhaustive list for van hire for a weekend or more: Swiss army knife, head lamp, clothesline and pegs, bin bags, toilet paper, small pickaxe for burying toilet paper, storage containers for easy access to your belongings, etc. Useful tips: if there are several of you on board or, even more importantly, for a long journey such as a van trip in Europe, for example, take an outdoor tent (2") to store your belongings at night and save space in the campervan, and plastic sheeting to put in front of the side door under the awning.

There are few administrative burdens when travelling in a campervan in Europe. With proof of identity (a national ID card is sufficient) and a valid driving licence for all drivers, everything is in order for your big van trip. However, you should find out whether the countries you are visiting require a translation of your driving licence or an international licence. When travelling in a rental campervan, you also need as a minimum copies of the campervan registration certificate and green insurance card (some countries require the originals) as well as your van rental contract.

Children are always big fans of campervan road trips: imagine a real house on wheels, with a kind of hut on the roof for sleeping under the stars! However, for a successful van road trip with children, the rule of thumb is not to plan an overly ambitious itinerary and to break it into short sections with outdoor activities rather than long daily journeys of several hundred kilometres! You also need to do much more advance preparation and be very organised during your van trip to minimise the frustration and hassle that is inherent in this type of trip (and spices it up!).

For a campervan road trip, the first budget item to take into account is the van hire. On our website www.we-van.com you can get a quote easily and in just a few clicks to estimate this cost according to your van road trip plan (prices vary according to the time of year, the length of the trip and the date of your booking). Once your campervan hire has been confirmed, you can work out your budget with the help of many online travel sites that offer estimates by destination. The unique factor to take into account with a van road trip is obviously that you don’t have to budget for accommodation (except at some campsites) and there may be significant fuel and toll costs depending on your van trip.

With smartphone navigation applications such as Gmaps and Waze, hiring a campervan and hitting the road without a care in the world has become very easy. So although all our agencies offer GPS as an option with the rental van, they have become less useful than before (even for foreign customers who want to hire a van in France).