Lazy Daze Owners' Group

Motorhome Travel in Scandinavia

September 12, 2018, 12:28:29 pm

My wife and I recently spent a delightful five weeks in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) in a small (6 meter) rented motorhome.  Below are some of the things we found interesting about motorhome travel in that part of Europe:
We saw no motorhomes towing a vehicle. 
We saw no motorhomes or trailers with slide outs.
We never heard a generator running in a campground.  Our rented motorhome did not come with a generator.
Many of the motorhomes had built in bicycle racks often with mounted bicycles.
Very few of the motorhomes had trailer hitches or rear ladders for reaching the roof.
Most of the campgrounds had kitchens which we often used for dishwashing.
Most campgrounds had power pedestals with multiple outlets scattered around.  Campers could generally pick their campsite and then run a cord (our rented camper came with a 50 meter extension cord) to a power pedestal.  We never saw an external surge protector.
We never saw a motorhome hooked up to a city water connection.  Most campgrounds had a water refill hose at a central location.
Most campgrounds had a drain for gray water disposal.   You park over the drain and open the valve.  No hose needed.
Most motorhomes are diesel with manual transmissions.
The black water tanks are cassettes.  You manually remove the cassette and take it to a central dump point in the campground.
Our small motorhome had five skylights which could be opened to let in fresh air.  All but the bathroom skylight had built in shades which could be closed at night (that would be a nice feature for LD to add).
The longest motorhome we saw was probably about 10 meters.  The longer motorhomes are tag axle.
Many campgrounds are for motorhomes only.  Trailers not allowed
Most of the motorhomes do not have roof AC units.
We saw only one fifth wheel trailer and very few pickup campers.  The percentage of pickup trucks on the road is much lower than in the US.  More  people appeared to have trailer hitches on their cars than in the US.  They use a small utility trailer in lieu of a pickup truck for hauling loads.
As a bonus, we encountered no smoke from forest fires.
Paul H.

Re: Motorhome Travel in Scandinavia

Reply #2 – September 12, 2018, 02:37:16 pm

Paul, would you be willing to share your costs?  Sounds like an adventure we’d be interested in. — Jon

Re: Motorhome Travel in Scandinavia

Reply #4 – September 12, 2018, 04:35:59 pm

Thank you, Paul for that detailed info!  — Jon

Re: Motorhome Travel in Scandinavia

Reply #6 – September 12, 2018, 09:11:14 pm

We also used IdeaMerge and they booked us through McRent in Hamburg.  In 2011, a six week rental was $5087USD.  Both companies were easy to work with and we would recommend them.  Back in 2011, Norway had the highest diesel prices, approaching $10/US-gallon.  I haven't looked into what diesel prices are like in Europe currently.

Art

Re: Motorhome Travel in Scandinavia

Reply #8 – September 13, 2018, 09:01:29 pm

"Back in 2011, Norway had the highest diesel prices,..."

Hey Art, I got a big chuckle over that statement. When the family and I were stationed in Germany for four years ('70-74) my job allowed me ample time to travel. The Scandinavian countries were among our favorites. We did a tour, bus & boat, of Oslo and environs. On that tour we met an American School Teacher who was on holiday in Europe that summer. We watched as she ate an orange, peel and all, saying that it was so expensive she was not going to waste any part of it. 

Later on, in Bergen, Norway we were visiting a fish market and there seen common hamburger for sale at $14.00 per pound.