There is something uniquely stressful about driving a brand new motorhome across southern Spain while quietly wondering whether the engine is about to give up on you entirely. That was our reality for most of this video, and if you watched the last one, you’ll know exactly how we got here.
Where we stopped
The Clipper, Gibraltar, recommended to us by a couple of locals we bumped into that very morning while they were cycling around the port. Full English breakfast and a shandy (it was gone 1 o’clock, so that’s practically afternoon), and genuinely lovely. If you’re heading into Gib, this is the one.
The breakdown saga: what we actually know now
So here is the situation in plain English. The van loses power after roughly an hour to an hour and a half of driving, particularly on hills. No warning lights. No error codes. The local mechanic in Portugal had a look but couldn’t plug his diagnostic machine in because the van is simply too new. Fiat Assist, which we have as part of our European cover, could only offer recovery, not a mobile mechanic, and getting us into a Fiat dealer proved impossible because they were either too busy or it was the weekend. Not ideal, to put it mildly.
What changed the picture was a call from Lee, the technician handling our case for Fiat’s roadside assistance, who had seen this exact problem three times already on other brand new vans. His working theory is a software issue, possibly triggered by over-the-air updates. It is not a mechanical failure, which is genuinely reassuring when you are 5,000 miles from home. The fix, for now, is simple enough in principle: drive no more than around 100 to 150 miles in a stretch, stop, let it cool, and carry on. Not Tuscany, but manageable.
One thing worth noting here, because I have had comments asking about it: a Bip and Go toll tag would have been genuinely useful on this trip, particularly when I was navigating toll booths alone. Normally Lyndsay handles that side of things, but yes, lesson learned. They cover France, Spain, Portugal and possibly Italy, so it is probably worth sorting one before the next run.
Mariposa Libre: the campsite that delivered when we needed it most
We have been to Mariposa Libre before, three years ago, and we came away saying we wanted to move to Spain permanently. Revisiting it this time, with Steve a bit under the weather and the kids needing a couple of days to shake something off, it delivered again in exactly the way we needed. Small site, probably around a dozen vans at most, but there are four pitches right next to the pool and those are the ones you want. The pool is the whole point of this place, and at 35 to 36 degrees, the kids were in it from arrival to bedtime, every single day. George would probably have slept in it if we had let him.
Three nights came to 139 euros in total. That breaks down to 22 euros per night for the unit and two adults, three euros extra per adult, and three euros per day for electricity. We also used the washing machine four times, had ice creams, bread, and drinks from the honesty system, so the total was a little more than that by the end. Still a winner, honestly, for what you get.
The one frustration, and this will not surprise anyone who has watched the channel for a while, is the three-way fridge. At those temperatures, it is essentially decorative. We were seeing 23 degrees inside the fridge in the afternoon, even with the sun on the other side of the van. It cools back down to around 5 or 6 degrees overnight, which is fine, but it cannot cope with 35 degree heat during the day. We have had fridge fans in previous vans and they bring it down a degree or two at best. The only real answer is a 12V compressor fridge, and that is exactly what we are sorting when we get home.
Questions people ask
Does Fiat Assist actually help if your motorhome breaks down in Europe? Based on our experience: it depends on what “help” means. They can arrange a recovery truck to tow you, and they will try to book you into a Fiat dealer. What they cannot do is send a mobile mechanic, and getting a dealer appointment quickly proved impossible, either because dealers were fully booked or because it was the weekend. If the van can still move, recovery is a frustrating offer. Worth knowing before you rely on it.
Do you need a passport to enter Gibraltar from Spain? Not any more, as we discovered from a couple of locals who cycled past us that morning. We were fully prepared to walk back to the van for ours, having remembered the old passport checks and police with rifles at the border. Now you just walk straight in. The runway crossing is still there, and still brilliant if a plane happens to be landing.
How much does it cost to stay at Gibraltar marina overnight in a motorhome? We paid 17 euros for the night, which we think was the larger vehicle rate. The smaller motorhome price appeared to be 15 euros. There is also a service point right there at the marina, which is very handy. Fuel in Gibraltar, incidentally, is cheap: we saw unleaded at 1.24 and diesel at 1.27 per litre, which compared to mainland Spain is very good indeed.
How much does Mariposa Libre cost per night? We paid 139 euros for three nights, which works out at 22 euros per night for the unit and two adults, plus 3 euros per extra adult and 3 euros per day for electricity. The washing machine, ice creams, and drinks from the honesty bar will add a little on top, but only a little.
The full video is on the channel, and it is worth watching properly because the conversation with the Fiat technician tells you a lot more about what this software issue actually is. If you have had anything similar on a new Fiat Professional base vehicle, we would genuinely like to know in the comments.
Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnb0IyotNtc