Stranded in France (Vanlife Fiasco)
112,379
Published 2024-04-22
For some reason we seem to attract vanlife drama and it happened again. We got stranded in France in the weirdest of ways. In the final vanlife video of our Europe series, we race back home for a funeral but get stuck along the way.
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⭐ About Travel Beans:
Hello and welcome to our channel! We are Alex & Emma, a British couple who have been exploring the world together for over 10 years - from backpacking to vanlife:
2012/13: We both embarked on our own solo backpacking trips through Southeast Asia, where we would eventually meet at a hostel in the mountains of Thailand and begin traveling together. After a year and a half of backpacking around Southeast Asia & Australia, we returned home and to the corporate world!
2015: Travel Beans was born and we filmed our first videos on a road trip around Europe with friends! This was our biggest trip yet.. and you can go back and watch the entire adventure because we filmed ALL of it! This trip took us through Russia, Mongolia & China, on the longest railway journey in the world. Followed by highlights such as staying on a local island in the Maldives for a month, going on safari in Sri Lanka, couchsurfing & hitchhiking in Korea, seeing the snow monkeys in Japan, island hopping in the Philippines, trekking 60km through the centre of Myanmar, exploring the Indian Himalayas, and checking out some of the incredible US National Parks.
2016: Despite an unbelievably memorable year and a half of travels, which we were incredibly grateful to have had the privilege to experience.. we found ourselves in New York City, battling depression. At this point, we decided to go home and confront this problem head-on.
2017: After 6 tough months at home we decided to go away again, but this time with a goal in mind.. to turn travel into a lifestyle. We left the UK with just £500 in our bank account and a dream to make a continuous travel lifestyle happen! We both got online English teaching jobs to be able to fund our travels and to keep creating videos. We can't quite believe that our younger selves decided to take this plunge but we are so grateful they did as we are still on this journey today!
What now?
Over the years, we've discovered that we LOVE road trips and even decided to renovate our very own little VWT4 van into a campervan to be able to enjoy vanlife and spend more time on the road. We are now the proud owners of 2 awesome little campers - one based in the UK and one that we keep in the USA. You'll often find us using one of these vans to explore Europe and North America. If you enjoy this kind of content we'd recommend checking out our Italy Road Trip series, USA vanlife series and our Japan in a Tiny Van series as well as our UK vanlife content.
Our time spent overcoming depression has influenced our outlook on life dramatically! We are now traveling the world in search of what makes us happy. We love sharing the highs and lows of our trips through our videos and hope to spread a little positivity and light to all of the beautiful people who take the time to tune in and watch each week!
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BEANS OU
All Comments (21)
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Check out betterhelp.com/travelbeans for 10% off of your first month of therapy #advert
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I am 86 and I always said if things, usually bad, didn’t happen , you would end up having no memories. Now that I am 86 I can tell you that is also true. all these bad things become adventures that your mind remembers and become a big part of your life…. quite enjoyable actually. Good things just become part of an overall memory and not specific in your memory at all. The exception of course outstanding good things…like the birth of your baby or meeting your beloved always remain in your memory’s
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Have 4 weeks off without a camera. No filming of any kind. Go somewhere nice and warm. Recharge your batteries.
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Adblu faults are well known. My Ford transit developed a fault after parking on a steep hill in Sheffield during lockdown. It thought the tank was empty and went into limp mode all the way back to chester over some very steep hills. It took two days to reset itself and hasn’t done it since. The sensors in the tank often go faulty. The adblu crystallises when it’s exposed to air. I’m glad your van was okay after a simple reset.
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If in the budget… Do a cruise trip to Alaska! And don’t skip the First Class Train Ride from Anchorage to Denali. You and your viewers would NOT regret any of it!
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Simple. Just have fun. We’ll go along for the ride.
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Maybe a "slow travel" series, where you pick one accommodation for 2 weeks but that still has interesting days out within an hours drive? Eg Bordeaux - city stuff, vinyard trips, arcachon on the train. Its still travel, but maybe more restful with a nearly toddler on the move? Or van life in NZ before Noah turns two and his ticket is a full fare? Break the journey up in Singapore and Australia?
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I took delivery of a new Fiat Ducato based camper 2 years ago. First trip to France, we had the same problem with Adblu system and ditched in Dijon, sleeping on Fiat's forecourt on a Sunday night. They had to order a new part from Italy which took 10 days to arrive. Imagine my anxiety level rise as I watched your video and your need to get home. Well done in getting it sorted! 😊
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The trouble with many channels is that however good, they can get stale. Your sincerity, evolving lives and "prediliction to attract interesting challenges" keeps me glued to your channel. Sooo looking forward to whatever difference you come up with, and with your trump card - Noah. it promises a world of 'very different to anything before'. Please keep staying you!
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When you put Ad Blue in, do not immediately turn the ignition on. Turn it three quarters power, wait 30 seconds, then turn ignition on & you won’t have a problem.
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Next time you come to America, do a transatlantic cruise. The repositioning cruises do many stops and are less expensive. Y’all are such a sweet family and Noah Bean is so cute and chill.
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We found that when the adblue light didn't go out after we filled it up again that it was because we had to run the van for longer . Short journeys weren't flushing it through. When we went further and got up to speed on the motorway for a longer journey,the light went out.
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I used to do fundraising for our kids' elementary school and I 100% would bring my cute 3 year old when I would go to businesses to ask them to sponsor the school. So glad the van was fixed super quickly! What a relief, especially after stressing! Rick Steves always says "stressful experience + time = funny travel story" so you're set there!
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We had the exact same issue with our Peugeot boxer van - after cold weather in the alps too! Ended up getting an ECU/mapping specialist to 'delete' the Adblue system from the onboard computer, far far cheaper than having the tank or other sensors replaced. Also a permanent solution and has no impact on MOT tests in the future, worth considering!
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You guys just made me put my small diagnostic machine in my van for any possible resets needed.
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Happy 1st Mothers Day. ❤ Great servic at Peugeot, just the break you needed. Whatever you decide to do next I'm sure it will keep us entertained. ❤x
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My husband and I love your videos. One idea that came to mind would be a European River cruise. There would be lots of variety like van life with the many stops but an itinerary/food/housing already planned and you don’t have to worries about all that.
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One thing that helps driving in rain or snow is wearing sunglasses! That cuts down the glare and makes it easier on your eyes.😊
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France seems to be the place for random strandings! Back in January, I was road tripping through France, Belguim and Luxembourg with my toddler and we almost got stranded in the middle of nowhere in France. But you're absolutely right about the bad stuff making a trip memorable - the highlight of that day was the carbonara (of all things!) we had in a supermarket cafe in this small rural town whilst I planned the way out of the situation we were in!
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We think you need a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Unwind, enjoy the beaches, the food, it’s a very friendly family place. The locals all come out on Sundays with the kids and just enjoy the life. Cheers ❤
