A different way to get UK Internet TV abroad

Those of you who like TV but travel abroad regularly will know what a pain it can be to tune in to BBC and ITV.

If you have a "normal" Freesat/Sky dish, it will work as far as central or southern France, depending on how big it is. beyond that - ie down into Spain and Portugal, you are looking at using a different satellite and receiver and a 90cm dish, which while not too complicated, is a bit of a pain for normal users.

More recently, owners are turning to the internet to get their BBC and ITV (and many others), but regular users will know that BBC and ITV can tell that you are abroad, and block you. 

You can get round this by using a VPN service, but again, this can get a bit too complicated for the average guy, and BBC and ITV are constantly playing cat and mouse with the VPN services and banning them - so it will work fine for weeks, then disappear.

And if you do use the internet for TV, then you have the added problem that usually you can only really do it easily on your phone laptop or tablet. If you want it on your main TV, you have to connect your device to your TV with an HDMI cable, which can be a pain, and it uses a lot of battery power, especially if you use a laptop.

The other problem is that internet TV uses quite a lot of data, and you have to decide whether to use your UK sim, roaming, or buy a local SIM card. However data prices have come down these last few years, and I find that this problem is nowhere near as bad as it was a few years ago. I find that you can generally buy data for well under €1 per gb, and if you have Netflix and Iplayer on the low quality setting, you can get about 3 hours of viewing out of a gig.

All in all it's always been a bit of a cat and mouse game, and certainly a pain in the arse sometimes. I do it for a hobby, but I know that many others just give up.

So that's the background - now I want to tell you about my latest solution, which I am extremely happy with. What follows assumes you have either a hotspot or wifi router in your van, with enough data for your viewing needs. My favourite 12v router is the Huawei B525 which has big antennas. I am not a fan of those tiny MiFi units - their antennas are too small. 

It revolves around the Amazon Firestick, which costs about £40, and plugs into the HDMI socket of any TV, and converts it to a Smart TV. Even if your TV is smart already, you still need a Firestick for this solution. Then you need to subscribe to a service called UK EXpat TV VPN. It's a few pounds per month. What is different about this service, vs all the other VPN services, is that they guarantee access to UK TV services - so that if UK TV services suddenly have a purge on VPN services and cause a problem, UK Expat make the changes at their end, so you have to do nothing at your end.

The other piece of the jigsaw is that they provide an app that you download to the Firestick, and this app only needs 3 clicks of the remote to start up.

So all you need to do, is switch on the TV, select the HDMI port, wait for the Firestick to start, click on the VPN, and you are then good to go - Iplayer, ITV Hub, Britbox, Netflix, Amazon and all the others, all work perfectly as they do back home.

All you need is enough data in whatever country you are in.

It is also a low power solution, which is important if you spend a lot of time on battery power.

I have been using it for several weeks now, and I am so impressed I decided to blog about it. I used to spend ages messing around with various VPNs and changing things around, but since I got this, it has been a doddle. 

I am not saying this is the only way to get UK internet TV abroad - there are loads of ways if you are techy enough - but I am saying that this is the easiest and simplest I have ever come across - it just works and is easy to use.

This should be of particular interest to anybody who winters abroad in Spain or Portugal (or Italy even) - data is cheap in these countries. France is a bit more awkward, but your satellite system should work in France if you have one.

I should also say that I am am not claiming any originality or credit for this setup - only that I have found it the easiest and most efficient of the many I have tried so far, and that that should make it more accessible to non techy people.

EDIT - If you are using a UK sim card - roaming - then you usually don't need the VPN - the firestick will think it's still in the UK. But if you use a local non UK sim, then the VPN is essential. 

This website is useful for getting data deals in different countries
https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Europe

And this is UK Expat VPN - I daresay I could get a commission for linking them, but I can't be bothered - not many people read this blog anyway!
https://www.ukexpatvpn.com/

Classic Hymer Buyers Guide - the tough version!

I have just read yet another tale of woe from somebody who bought a van that turned out to be a dog. Every year it is the same story.

So here is the smack in the face guide to how not to buy a classic motorhome! However it must also be said that many sales go without a hitch - honest sellers and willing buyers - but they tend not to shout about it online - you only hear the bad stories.

First thing to remember is that you are buying a box of tricks made from wood and metal that is 20 or even 30 years old. Stick an old fridge or TV, or even an old car in your back garden, and then go away and come back in 20 years - that is the sort of wear and tear you can expect. So the first thing to remember is that no old van is perfect. 

But when you do buy a classic van, there are certain things you should at least check, and are entitled to as a minimum.

There are 3 main areas you have to look at as a bare minimum - damp, appliances and mechanical.

Damp is the number one killer of vans and the most expensive to repair professionally. Fixing damp problems needs experience and can be labour intensive. This makes it expensive if you are using a professional, but also, means that it can be cheap if you do it yourself because your labour is free. But for most buyers, the number one reason to walk away from a van is damp.

It's not rocket science - the major areas for water ingress are easy to see and common sense can detect major problems. Windows are the main culprit - look closely around the windows for soft spots and discolouration.

Look outside at the sealing around the frame - you don't want to see new sealer on top of old - that's a bad sign. However windows are actually easy to remove and reseal - the first one might take you all day, but after that it gets faster - a window can be removed, cleaned and resealed in under an hour.

The worst case scenario for window leaks is that the damp has crept into the wall and the wall has become rotten. This then needs chopping out and replacing. 

Roof lights are the same as windows - check all around for the tell tale signs.

The next place to look is the floor, especially in the areas near the wheel arches that catch all the water spray from the wheels. Look outside, and in.

Then there are the joins where the walls meet the roof. In Mercedes S class classics, they have a single piece fibreglass roof that overlaps the walls, so problems here are potentially less. But in Fiat family B class, it is a traditional caravan style joint with an aluminium extrusion and sealer. It is hard to check this - but get inside the cupboards and poke around.

Finally - use your nose - smell and sniff - damp has a distinctive smell.

I haven't mentioned the use of damp meters - cheap ones are useless, and the good ones need knowledge to interpret the results. If you are really keen on a van - get a professional involved - unfortunately there are not many classic pros left around, most of them have retired, but they do exist.

Next - appliances. I have lost count of the number of people who simply never check that all the appliances are working properly. I see them online all the time - they come on asking for advice, and my first question is - has it ever worked (for you), and the answer is usually no, but the seller either said "we never use it", or it's an easy fix. It isn't! If it was, they would have fixed it.

Water, heat and refrigeration are absolutely fundamental to the basic enjoyment of a motorhome. So it is essential that you see and feel them working. Ask in advance of the viewing for the seller to switch on all the appliances. You need to feel the heat coming out of the hot air ducts. You need to see the fridge working. Ask the seller to switch on the fridge, on gas, at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, beforehand, and place a cup of water in the freezer, and another on the middle shelf. I shouldn't need to say what you should expect. But there is no way to test a fridge if it isn't switched on in advance.

A new campervan fridge is around £900 to buy and fitting is around £300. The commonest fridge problem is "not working on gas" - as long as the fridge is working on mains (again, get proof) then the gas side can usually be fixed - it's a common problem. The parts are cheap if you DIY or a fridge expert will usually fix a gas problem for a couple hundred or so.

You need not walk away from a decent van because it has a faulty fridge - you just need to know what you might be in for.

However - non working appliances also has another, more sinister side - why? If heat and cold and water are so fundamental to having a good time - then why hasn't the previous owner had them fixed? It is a sad fact that some owners should never have really owned a van in the first place - perhaps they tried it, and didn't like it, or perhaps they were just lazy. Either way, if you detect signs like this, then you have to ask - what else hasn't been fixed or maintained. For some, this will be a sign of a bargain, but for others who want a working van with minimum problems - it should be a red flag. You really want an enthusiastic seller who knows everything about the van. The worst sellers are those selling "for a friend".

Heating - most classic Hymers have a Truma heater that both radiates, and blows hot air around the van. Again these can usually be fixed - but dealer labour can be £80 an hour - it soon mounts up. A new heater is around £800 plus fitting, but there are plenty s/h ones - they were not just used in Hymers. But do you want the hassle? To be fair, heater problems are less common than fridge problems. The commonest heater problem is flat batteries in the igniter - so take a couple of AA batteries!

Leisure Batteries - my attitude to batteries is really straightforward. Unless you have an invoice that shows that the battery is newish, then simply budget for a new battery. Batteries are consumables, and have a life of roughly 5 years. So other than testing that the lights work, the water pump pumps and the heater fan spins, don't worry about the battery - it's not a crime to sell a van with a worn out battery. Same goes for the charger - the charger that charges the battery when you are plugged in - the original, if still there, will be a dinosaur, and 99% of all vans have it replaced with a modern digital charger - around £150 for a good one.

Solar - same goes for solar - unless you have paperwork that proves otherwise, assume that any solar panels are old - many vans still have solar panels that were fitted in the 90s - and probably cost thousands back then. Nowadays solar is cheap and easy to fit, so is no reason to reject an otherwise good van. You can fit state of the art solar if you DIY and have change from £200.,

Mechanical - I am not a mechanic, I have always used garages for most of my servicing and repairs, but I have picked up a lot along the way. Unless you pay a professional for an inspection, you can only address the basics. These are, in no particular order - 

The engine should start easily - a bit of smoke on start up is OK, as long as it is gone within 10 minutes of driving. The van should pull smoothly - if possible, find the steepest hill in the neighbourhood. 

The gears should change up and down, and the clutch should bite in a normal way. Even if you can't be behind the wheel yourself, tell the driver to do this.

The brakes should work! Seems obvious, but motorhomes hardly ever get to stop in an emergency - they are usually driven sedately. But you need to know that the van will stop hard - so find a quiet road and ask for this to be done. The van should not pull to either side under braking.

Check for oil - this can be a head scratcher - it is quite rare to find a 25 year old diesel that is squeaky clean. There is usually a bit of oil about. Look for lots of it, and shiny. If a van is leaking oil, then the slipstream should be blowing it all over the underside of the van. Also check - is it diesel or engine oil? Many vans have minor diesel leaks that are usually an easy fix.

Pretty much everything mechanical can be fixed - the worst case scenarios are bad engines and gearboxes. Merc gearboxes hardly ever fail, it's always the selectors, which are an easy fix. Fiat boxes have a known problem with 5th gear, so make sure you see 5th working properly - you need a motorway or dual carriageway.

If in doubt - get a garage involved.

Mileage - don't forget many classics have odometers in kms. You can tell a lot from a vans mileage, and also it's UK MOT history. A 25 year old van with 125,000 km on the clock should be classed as "low mileage"! Work it out - that's 5000kms a year. That means basic family use - a few weekends away and 2 decent holidays. But a van with 250k on the clock has done double that - it may have started doing basic family holidays, but later on in life it might have been full timed all over Europe. So ask as many questions as possible and look at the history. Avan that has been full timed and overlanded is not to be avoided at all costs, but also shouldn't be premium money.  

Everything else should be cosmetic - carpets, woodwork, worktops - just be realistic. A good bit of advice is to ask the seller to let you and your partner sit quietly in the van for a while. Feel it, smell it - is it whispering to you?

Finally - and this is the daft bit - the money side.

I have come to learn from many years of stories and meeting owners and solving problems - that when it comes to a classic vehicle - the price is secondary. If you have bought into the vibe and love the scene and want to join in, then plus or minus a couple of grand either way should not be part of the process. Finding the right van for you is the top priority. Unfortunately, they are not making them anymore, so you can't just go out and buy a 93 S700 bench version with a U shaped lounge and bike rack. So when the right van comes along, you have to have the money ready, and pounce!

Also - have a contingency fund. It is totally unrealistic to expect to pay fifteen grand for a 25 year old van and immediately drive it off to the Algarve and have no problems. It just doesn't work like that. Far better to have some money in hand, and expect to have to spend it. I always advise 10% - For less than £1000 you can get a new leisure battery, a new charger, and a habitation check from a reputable engineer, and maybe even a solar upgrade and iron out a few other niggles. Then a few weekends away to iron out the niggles, and then you are good to go. Be ready to buy a solid platform, and have the budget to make it your own. It is far better to buy a van with faults for the right money, and have the budget to fix it, than it is to have somebody else's word that the van is perfect. If you do it yourself, you know it's been done. Only a perfect paper trail from an OCD owner is worth a big premium.

Know the market! Research research research! I drive a 93 S700 - I have seen the same van as low as £7000, and as high as £20,000. The 7k van had 350,000km on the clock and was very tatty, but sound. It needed at least 10k spending on it, if not more. The 20k van was as perfect as you will ever see - a paperwork file 2 inches thick, low mileage, long UK MOT history (plus all the German ones!) and had literally every upgrade and no faults. It sold within a week. If you are REALLY into classic Hymers, you will know that pristine vans are worth a healthy premium - and so do others, sometimes it is simply a matter of whoever gets there first after an ad is placed.

Finally finally - know yourself! You need basic practical skills to keep an old van on the road economically. The worst reason to buy a classic van is because it's all you can afford, but you don't have any practical skills, or the willingness to learn. I have seen so many people come a cropper like this - old vans always come with problems - you have to be eyes wide open and regard it as all part of the fun. But if you pay dealer prices every time you have a problem, you will soon be thousands down on the deal.

Good luck, and join "Classic Hymers Technical" group on Facebook, where you will find a large number of archived posts covering just about every possible technical problem with Classic Hymers, and (usually) how to fix them. The online community is another reason people buy these vans.