4x4 Camper van to Norway in January…..

wanderingmerv

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…..how crazy would it be to take a 4x4 camper to Norway in January, just up as far as Bergen perhaps, just to see a few fjords, and if lucky, northern lights. I'd have 3 weeks to get out and back to Ireland.

The Camper is a 4x4, Artic spec hymer, it should be fine. The real question is would there be roads to interesting views open? Wild camping is fine, but the odd night in a camp site for water / dump waste etc.

We carry a serow in the back for poking about spots, but not sure if it would get much use on this trip - Short days etc.?

Any thoughts much appreciated!
Merv.
 
I have started you a separate thread, to save a hijacking of Udders’ summer holiday.
 
It’ll go better than Steptoe’s plan to dash on motorbikes to the artic circle at Easter…… we dashed to Morocco instead.
 
It will be too dark…..go to the Alps to play..

January Sunrise about 11am sunset at 1600

6 hours of grey light a day…throw in some clouds……
 
Put three words: ‘motorhome Norway January’ into Google. You’ll see that people have done it and do do it, in exactly the same way that some people use their motorhome as a base when skiing in the alps. However, there is a real and considerable difference in the likely weather and temperatures (let alone the hours of real daylight) between Norway and large sections of the alps in January.

Whilst you wait for knut to answer, do some research outside of UKGSer, which is predominantly a motorbike centric, warmer months, mid-to-southern Europe, on road, centric forum (with few enough of its members visiting Norway at the best of times) and see what you can make of it.
 
Contrary to some of the above there will be more "light" than in the UK.

The ground will be covered with snow and probably also have clear nights so there'll be a lot of moonlight to illuminate the surroundings.

How do I know this?

I lived in northern Alberta, Canada for a couple of years in that very scenario.
 
Having been to Norway in January my only concern would be the desire to do some wild camping. The kind of spots you'd normally be looking at will be choked with snow so unless you find a campsite or similar open you'll be parking it in town centre car parks a lot of the time and facilities to empty your toilet will be a bit limited though you might find garages will let you empty it in their toilets. Admittedly we didn't explore far off the main routes but we did go from Oslo to Mosjoen and our idea of camping went right out of the window because there simply wasn't anywhere.

Usable daylight is more like 09:00 until 15:30 and one tip I'll offer will be to make sure everything is securely packed away because they leave a layer of packed snow/ice on the roads and in places there'll be craters in it which shake everything to bits and induce tank slappers on bikes :blast

Also beware of big trucks going faster than you are because they give the appearance of being very impatient when they get behind you.
 
Unless you can borrow a set for the trip, I think you'll find the cost of spiked tyres to be prohibitive unless you plan on doing similar trips regularly.

Also, don't even attempt it unless your van is fully winterised.
 
I was up there a couple of years ago with a group of 5 Land Rovers at Easter and we had it in our heads that wild camping would be available everywhere and just pull off the road and set up but it wasn't that easy. We were travelling the main route (is there more than one?) on the western side toward Nordkapp but I only went up maybe a third of the way and then got the bus home.

Maybe it was harder because we were a group but do the research as they say and good luck, sounds like a bit of an adventure :aidan

edit: memories of that trip coming back, it was cold, putting away my non artic spec blow up mattress and it was like trying to fold up a cream cracker :D. And if you can get hold of any hairy/wool animal hides they are the best insulation under you.
 
Unless you can borrow a set for the trip, I think you'll find the cost of spiked tyres to be prohibitive unless you plan on doing similar trips regularly.

Also, don't even attempt it unless your van is fully winterised.

When we went very few motor vehicles had studs or chains fitted and they all seemed to do ok on winter tyres but remember that M+S tyres aren’t the same as those marked with the snow crystal and mountain symbol which is what you’ll be needing.
 


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