task Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 A few years ago, probably after some beer, my friend and I came up with the plan of driving to Romania to see a friend of ours. Fast forward to last month and we've now set a date for this endeavour, July next year. Our current plan is to drive to Harwich, get the ferry to Hook and drive down to Romania from there. With overnight stops. There will be two vehicles to our convoy, I'm planning to take the CSK and James is taking his Megane Sport. We will each be taking our partners too, so there should be a decent amount of space available between the two cars. Has anyone done a trip like this before? I'm planning to take some normal spare parts with me such as fan belts, brake pads, oils etc. I'm also going to take a decent set of tools and a good rope. Any suggestions on other spare parts? ECU's perhaps? I've been looking at breakdown cover, a must I think, and am a little worried about who's going to get my pride and joy back to the UK in the event of a breakdown or accident. I'm currently with the AA but they're euro cover sounds sketchy in places. Who have you used for breakdown cover and what were they like? Lastly, any suggestions of places to visit on the way? We're going for 17 days, looking to spend around 10 days actually in Romania. My friend wants to stop at Nurburgring on the way back and we're going to stop at a Spa in Hungary on the way down. My friend in Romania has planned a fairly extensive itinerary of places in Romania itself but we will need to sleep in a few locations on the way down and back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Done that sort of thing a few times, don't really know what to suggest though as most cars should make it with no issues - it's only a few thousand miles of on-road driving after all! Overland to Russia 3x in the 109; that was acting as tech car so was full to the ceiling with tools & gear. Overland down to Bulgaria (via Romania) in an Ibex & a Tomcat; aside from taking 5 heaters between 2 cars and the diesel freezing (requiring a dash of unleaded in the tank & a new fuel filter) plus a switch to proper -60deg anti-freeze, nothing of note went wrong. Overland to Bosnia in the Freelander - didn't miss a beat. If there's two of you; take a tow-rope. Halfords 150-piece socket set is a good investment, jerry can, legal stuf (bulbs, triangle, etc.), and a handfull of cable-ties. Apart from that, spare belt(s) maybe, perhaps a pair of wheel bearings and anything else that's mission-critical - but TBH if it's dodgy, fix it BEFORE you go. One wrinkle; you can't always get non-standard tyre sizes abroad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltan Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I've been looking at breakdown cover, a must I think, and am a little worried about who's going to get my pride and joy back to the UK in the event of a breakdown or accident. I'm currently with the AA but they're euro cover sounds sketchy in places. Who have you used for breakdown cover and what were they like? Sounds like a job for ADAC www.adac.de Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 A second for ADAC. Pretty much as FridgeFreezer but I would add: get the car serviced by someone who knows Landrovers and remove, grease and adjust all wheel bearings before you go - that way the car will be towable whatever else gives up. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Cheers, I'll check ADAC out, someone else suggested them on a different forum too. The CSK was only rebuilt year before last but the plan was to give it a very thorough service before setting off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 What fridge didn't tell you was the trip to Bulgaria was at Xmas and the temperature dropped to minus 20 over night. Once you hit Romania the road surface gets quite bad and watch out for horse and carts with no lights actually watch for lots of things with no lights! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Just make sure your both well serviced, and your recovery agent will repatriate you. I drove non stop to prague and back last year, 23 hours there 26 hours back. Highlight of the trip, the screen wash ran out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I can do that better: 17 hours non stop to prague including ferry.... Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I can do that better: 17 hours non stop to prague including ferry.... This thread seems the ideal point for you to give your experience of international recovery Daan? Sorry to bring it up again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_s Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 hopefully the megane sport has stronger suspension than the clio James used to have. after bending something by going over speed bumps, i'm not sure his car will cope with Romania! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 This thread seems the ideal point for you to give your experience of international recovery Daan? Sorry to bring it up again... Recovery was not nessecary in this instance. Being it in europe, it wouldn't have been a problem. Recovery from Finland is a different matter, and takes about 4 weeks! That is without the recovery from outside europe, which officially never happened... Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I have driven to Romania twice, once 2009 and again 2010 both times for an offroad event and both times towing Driving to Romania is no harder than driving any where else. The route we always took was the main arterial route through Europe (no toll roads) and very busy day and night but a good 3 lane motorway on which you can cruse for us towing was 60. We also ran almost non-stop maybe grabbing some sleep for a few hour in a service area, remember we had our comp tucks and lots of other kit to keep secure. What time of year do you plan to go? Central Europe in summer is like an oven we always went in June/July and day temp easy up to 30plus deg C, this why we kept to 60 or below because in our over loaded transport the tyres were just melting esp the trailer ones. This is also why I now have aircon in my tow car The things we found... The service stations in Germany charge almost a quid to use the toilet (not to much a problem for blokes) Always drive with your head lights on day and night. Had a run in with law in Hungary we had just stop on a service area to refuel and driver change, got back on the motorway and forgot to put the lights on, 5 mins later 2 police cars pull us over. One look at us and they unclipped their guns and didn't speak a word of English... 50 euro fine later we on our way again. Depends on your route, but some countries you need a Vignette (road tax) for the length time that you will be in the country. We needed these in Austria, Hungary and Romania, don't buy these at the road side shacks they inflate the price, instead buy at the first fuel station that you come to once in the country. Some Countries (like Germany) don't allow commercial traffic on a Sunday and the borders of these countries can get very busy on a Saturday/Sunday night. We never did manage to find and break down cover that would work once in Romania, rest of Europe not a problem. In the 2 years back to back that we were in Romania we noticed a difference. The first year we went driving down the main route (the Romanian M6) which in this country would be a single lane B road was scary, massive lorries over taking on blind bends usually with some local in a Dacia welded to the lorry's rear bumper. Lots of women offering services and the fields by the side of the road were littered with over turned lorries. Also the road surfaces were not all that great pot holes and in some places the road had a curb height drop across the middle of it, hard to see in the day let alone night. The next year we went on this main road there were police all over the place with lots speed traps, no women and the roads had been much improved. All the main roads are tarmac but there are lots of smaller roads that are not, and as we found the road maps (if you can find one) are all a bit sketchy, just because there is a bridge on the map does not mean it is still there now some of the overtaking the countryside is just stunning hmm we didn't follow too close behind this one 1 BHP.... Allways had a good time when we went and found the local people friendly and helpfully. paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
task Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Thanks for the write-up We're heading over in July so expect it to be hot, I really must get the air-con fixed in the CSK. Currently I have very road-bias wheels/tyres fitted, better for fuel consumption but perhaps not so good for dodgy roads, I might swap back to the original wheels with a something a little more suitable as I'm worried about damage. The plan is probably to just use the one vehicle once we reach Romania, I'm not sure James is going to cope very well in his ground hugging Megane with some of the more rural roads. It will also save on fuel We have a local "tour guide" once in Romania so hope to avoid some of the normal tourist pitfalls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Honestly, the roads are not green lanes! There may be the odd pot-hole but unless you're going completely out into the sticks they're no different than country lanes in the UK, all the locals are kicking about in Dacias (probably based off your mate's Megane anyway) or the same Fords/Vauxhalls/etc. that the rest of Europe drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Topgear can drive round in suppercars a Megane will be fine.... as was our sprinter support van. But from my experiences it will make life easier if you have a bit of ground clearance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKWraith Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 If you want to visit Romania, , you can get in touch with http://lroc.ro/ members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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