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Belgium Jeeper Days. 2022


doodle

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9 minutes ago, UKTJ said:

So is your TJ OK to drive to continental events?

I've never had an issue, driven to 4x Chambon events....

Also ahem , never adapted the headlights either- didn't drive that much at night though apart from one event!

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16 hours ago, V said:

In the photos above, the French registered silver TJ with big tyres and blue bead locks caught my eye. I reckon it is illegal in France if French registered vehicles have to comply with EU type approval law and their own national DRIRE(MOT) standards.

  • No side repeater indicators
  • Inadequate tyre coverage above and in front of the tyres
  • Above bumper tow hooks
  • Snorkel (counts as an engine induction system mod)

I am very interested how that TJ remains road legal in France. It would be very useful information for English rellies living over there.

Hi V, I feel your points are valid and interesting.

As you know I had a house in rural France for many years and gained many french friends. The thing is ,I feel that their attitudes to rules.regulations and the EU were quite different to those in the Uk. It may also be the case that the treatment received by road users when apprehended by the 'police' is different too(based upon one personal experience). The local  attitude is difficult to describe. One may conclude that they simply ignore what they don't agree with. Their wonderful expressions summed it up. EU for example generated an out blowing of air ,with puffed cheeks, backward leaning and hands turned upward and outward. An expression of contempt!

What I am trying to say is that TJ may well have been 'on the road' without issue even though technically it was illegal.  My reasoning is this. There were many YJs(Hoorah) at the event some heavily modded.  There were also many Jeeps of all sorts which arrived on a trailer more or less modded. One Yj owner and I became quite friendly. His YJ looked similar to that silver TJ in spec. It arrived on a trailer, had plates , the front one of which he removed on site(we do the same). I asked him why he was on a trailer. His reply was that he had driven  a long  distance (480 Ks ). Although his Yj was licenced and he used it , it was much more economical to trailer it behind a diesel car!

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I am late as usual but I had a great time at the Belgium Jeep Event despite having my front tyre not punctured but literally popped out of the Rim coming down brutally from a very steep mount. As it was very muddy I must admit that replacing that wheel was no fun even after trying to clean the mud of that wheel in muddy water before returning it to my inside rear tyre carrier. I cannot thank enough Doodle (Paul) and Digger (Phil) for their help with this experience. I am glad there was a Jet Washer on site.

One thing I would like to say is that my 5 Ton Bottle Jack was really useful on that occasion because a High Lift Jack would have lifted the body of the Jeep but not the Axle.

 

Apart from that this Event was really well organised by friendly Guys. The food was really nice and so was the Beer ! Lol I will go back next year for sure.

 

My adventures were not finished unfortunately as on Monday on my way home in North of France my Accessory Belt broke not far from Saint Omer. Luckily that happened when driving through villages at relatively slow speed not on Motorway as losing power steering with 37in tyres is quite scary. I had a spare belt in my Jeep and with the help of my nephew we managed to replace it (See pics where he is above and me under, Lol). The new belt didn't last long after only few hundred metres it was too damaged to carry on and I had to cut it.

So I came back home on the back of the AA Recovery Truck around Midnight. Good job I had European Breakdown cover !

The Jeep is now at my favourite Jeep mechanic's workshop in West Yorkshire. I hope to get that issue sorted very soon.

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8 hours ago, Wildjeeper62 said:

I am late as usual but I had a great time at the Belgium Jeep Event despite having my front tyre not punctured but literally popped out of the Rim coming down brutally from a very steep mount. As it was very muddy I must admit that replacing that wheel was no fun even after trying to clean the mud of that wheel in muddy water before returning it to my inside rear tyre carrier. I cannot thank enough Doodle (Paul) and Digger (Phil) for their help with this experience. I am glad there was a Jet Washer on site.

One thing I would like to say is that my 5 Ton Bottle Jack was really useful on that occasion because a High Lift Jack would have lifted the body of the Jeep but not the Axle.

 

Apart from that this Event was really well organised by friendly Guys. The food was really nice and so was the Beer ! Lol I will go back next year for sure.

 

My adventures were not finished unfortunately as on Monday on my way home in North of France my Accessory Belt broke not far from Saint Omer. Luckily that happened when driving through villages at relatively slow speed not on Motorway as losing power steering with 37in tyres is quite scary. I had a spare belt in my Jeep and with the help of my nephew we managed to replace it (See pics where he is above and me under, Lol). The new belt didn't last long after only few hundred metres it was too damaged to carry on and I had to cut it.

So I came back home on the back of the AA Recovery Truck around Midnight. Good job I had European Breakdown cover !

The Jeep is now at my favourite Jeep mechanic's workshop in West Yorkshire. I hope to get that issue sorted very soon.

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Chris,

Oh no- you tempted fate with that by mentioning it while we were there- At least it did it after the event!

 

Good times... look forward to the next meet up.

 

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6 hours ago, doodle said:

Chris,

Oh no- you tempted fate with that by mentioning it while we were there- At least it did it after the event!

 

Good times... look forward to the next meet up.

 

Yes Paul at least I had fun at the Off Road event so it was not all bad.

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Hi Chris, sorry to hear you had a rough journey back. I hope all is well with your brilliant Jeep now. It was a pity everyone had planned to go on Monday there was an excellent Beer and Music festival in old Namur, only just over the river from the Boulangerie which provided us with two really good breakfasts, thanks.

 

As a matter of interest to everyone, it is my understanding that it is illegal to not have breakdown insurance in the EU now. It is also illegal to phone one's breakdown from a motorway. One has to call the Gendarmes who take you off the motorway and then one can call your breakdown company.

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9 minutes ago, digger said:

Hi Chris, sorry to hear you had a rough journey back. I hope all is well with your brilliant Jeep now. It was a pity everyone had planned to go on Monday there was an excellent Beer and Music festival in old Namur, only just over the river from the Boulangerie which provided us with two really good breakfasts, thanks.

 

As a matter of interest to everyone, it is my understanding that it is illegal to not have breakdown insurance in the EU now. It is also illegal to phone one's breakdown from a motorway. One has to call the Gendarmes who take you off the motorway and then one can call your breakdown company.

Digger, it was explained to me that the motorways are privately owned- so they're own firm remove you, you may have to pay them, then I would have to claim it back from my insurance company. Once you were off then you could call your own breakdown.

Luckily i have not had to use it yet.. 

When i look its also harder to find a company that will just get your vehicle back to England- a lot suggest that if the value of the vehicle is less the cost to transport they wont!- So my contingency when going to Chambon was already thought about leaving the TJ there, flying home and coming back with a borrowed/rented trailer. All an emergency plan.. This is where a good bit of land to store my own trailer comes in handy.. Its just not as much fun to trailer the Jeeps there as to drive them in a convoy!

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56 minutes ago, doodle said:

Digger, it was explained to me that the motorways are privately owned- so they're own firm remove you, you may have to pay them, then I would have to claim it back from my insurance company. Once you were off then you could call your own breakdown.

Luckily i have not had to use it yet.. 

When i look its also harder to find a company that will just get your vehicle back to England- a lot suggest that if the value of the vehicle is less the cost to transport they wont!- So my contingency when going to Chambon was already thought about leaving the TJ there, flying home and coming back with a borrowed/rented trailer. All an emergency plan.. This is where a good bit of land to store my own trailer comes in handy.. Its just not as much fun to trailer the Jeeps there as to drive them in a convoy!

What cost do they claim to be incurring, sounds a lot if it is cheaper to just dump the vehicle abroad.  What do they do, give you the value instead of towing back?  Who gets to say what your vehicle is worth?

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1 hour ago, UKTJ said:

What cost do they claim to be incurring, sounds a lot if it is cheaper to just dump the vehicle abroad.  What do they do, give you the value instead of towing back?  Who gets to say what your vehicle is worth?

That's what I couldn't fathom. I've got the paperwork in back of Jeep. I'll dig it out later and have a shufti. 

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Just an idea, but if a UK contingent got together it may be cheaper to contract a multi-car transporter to haul you all there and back. The start and end point could be a UK Jeep dealer in the south somewhere. Articulated transporters can take 6 to 12 vehicles. It may be possible to get a UK or EU firm to do this. I don't think both decks of a transporter will be usable with lifted Wranglers, particularly on a cross channel ferry but at least your Jeeps will be freight in transit which changes what an insurance company can do regarding vehicle values. You insure your international freight to the value you say it is, not what someone else thinks it is.

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If you do get stuck with a Jeep stranded in the EU and an insurer unwilling to recover it, there is always a recovery company that will quote you privately for doing the job. Alternatively, if you have a 7.5ton license, buy a recently plated used recovery truck for under £6K, fetch your Jeep from the continent and sell the truck afterwards for what you paid for it.

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Just a quick (and late) note to agree with the comments above about how fun, muddy and amazing was the weekend in Belgium. it was my first experience on real off roading and it couldn't start better, something to repeat to the next opportunity.

 

On the gratitude board thanks to Paul for his continuos advise "from the inside" (go to manual); Chris to become my quick-repair-on-the-spot hero and jump the queue facilitator; and specially Phil as without his wise instructions and teaching I could not have done the things I did.

 

Ignacio

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15 hours ago, V said:

If you do get stuck with a Jeep stranded in the EU and an insurer unwilling to recover it, there is always a recovery company that will quote you privately for doing the job. Alternatively, if you have a 7.5ton license, buy a recently plated used recovery truck for under £6K, fetch your Jeep from the continent and sell the truck afterwards for what you paid for it.

I like that idea.  

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Well, all this is new to me re recovery / insurance/ value etc. Doodle you may well be correct re who gets you off the motorway but it is still my understanding that you must ring the police first in order to get them. 

However you might like to consider this. I don't know how old your TJs are but have you considered insuring them as a classic car  which I do with my YJ ?  That way , you get an agreed valuation and you have a choice on loss of  'Take the money and lose the wreck ' or 'Take 80% of the money and keep the wreck'.

I've gone with Adrian Flux where its important that you deal with 'Nick Wilkinson' who is the JOC club contact.

 

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DAN@ADRIAN FLUX
On 27/09/2022 at 10:28, digger said:

Well, all this is new to me re recovery / insurance/ value etc. Doodle you may well be correct re who gets you off the motorway but it is still my understanding that you must ring the police first in order to get them. 

However you might like to consider this. I don't know how old your TJs are but have you considered insuring them as a classic car  which I do with my YJ ?  That way , you get an agreed valuation and you have a choice on loss of  'Take the money and lose the wreck ' or 'Take 80% of the money and keep the wreck'.

I've gone with Adrian Flux where its important that you deal with 'Nick Wilkinson' who is the JOC club contact.

 

Hi.

Glad we could help out with your insurance.

Regards,

Dan.

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Dan, you were an enormous help to me! I know I'm a computer dinosaur but as everyone knows, I'm not too well right now which made matters a lot worse.

I sought various quotes before yours some of which caused me a gr8 deal of unnecessary stress not to mention many ,many hours of precious time wasted! I didn't voluntarily want to change but was forced to, by my current insurer LV. who were unable to renew because they had 'ceased trading in the classic market. I had all kinds of issues including sites 'timing me out' before I could complete the copious forms, inability to access the sites due to the level of computer knowledge required,  agents who clearly did not know what they were talking about, ridiculous questions totally irrelevant to Jeeper's needs etc. Your suggestion ,in the circumstances, that I send all my spec sheets etc to you and you would sort it, was manna from heaven to me! In addition to this ,your quote may not be the cheapest, but it was very competitive and the cover offered,  superior to others.

This latter point  is important to me having spent many years in the financial services business. It never fails to amaze me how many insurance underwriters simply put a line through proposals which they do not understand, rather than put a little effort in to learn about  them and expose themselves to the risk of being able to expand their business.

Dan , you did me a gr8 job , many thanks, from my experience, I wholeheartedly  recommend your service to all.

Edited by digger
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Another late Photo to the post- It had just come across my inbox..

A well deserved trophy me thinks for @digger. A great weekend for all.

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The spoon, which Gary made, is now proudly adhering to my roll cage.

We shall see next year! 

I will hopefully know the rules next time, I have no intention of being the first nutcase again, I will make sure I'm taking part  in the correct class and I hope there will be UK  entrants other than just me!

LOL, it was brilliant!

Edited by digger
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On 25/09/2022 at 23:57, V said:

Just an idea, but if a UK contingent got together it may be cheaper to contract a multi-car transporter to haul you all there and back. The start and end point could be a UK Jeep dealer in the south somewhere. Articulated transporters can take 6 to 12 vehicles. It may be possible to get a UK or EU firm to do this. I don't think both decks of a transporter will be usable with lifted Wranglers, particularly on a cross channel ferry but at least your Jeeps will be freight in transit which changes what an insurance company can do regarding vehicle values. You insure your international freight to the value you say it is, not what someone else thinks it is.

I've been thinking (that's why its a slow reply!)  about your idea. I have a feeling that I've seen vans on transporters in which case 'lifted Jeeps' may not be out of the question. I have an idea too that some of the transporters can adjust their height as well. I'll try and find out a bit more . In principle I think its a good idea, worth investigating.

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