We have been hearing about Aires for years from people and publications about motorhome travel in Europe (but more specifically France). We have been told, and read widely, that these are like overnight parking places for RVs that typically are not suitable for trucks, are specifically set aside for RVs in or on the edge of towns, and usually provide a sani-dump, fresh water (and even sometimes) electrical facilities. But in truth in our last two seasons in Europe we have not actually used one. We have often had conversations with non Europeans about the word Aires and its meaning. Google translate will tell you it means something like area, or zone. But that does not really explain the terminology Aires
Well today we left our camping ground in Badenweiler and headed into France with the goal of being in the Spanish town of Figueres in 3 days to be entertained by a range of things related to the famous Salvador Dali. It took less than 50 km of French motorway for the term Aire to become common place. The motorways we traveled today have either a picnic/rest area or a roadside fuel stop every 15km or so and both of these stops are labelled Aire followed by a name, such as Aire de Portes Les Valence. It is worth noting that the motorways we travelled today are all limited access toll roads and the fuel stops are part of the motorway. The motorway Aires are not the same as the Aires for motorhomes although many motorhomes and trucks spend the nights in these motorway Aires.
You will see the difference below when I talk about our overnight stopping place.Thus we concluded that the term Aire is general usage for a "place to stop".
Now to the alternator part of the title. I noticed at our first rest break this morning that my Stirling B2B battery chargers (that pull current from the alternator to charge the house batteries) were not running but instead were showing some kind of error condition. I eventually worked out that they were complaining that the alternator (and hence the truck batteries) were delivering too much voltage. A quick check with the multi-meter confirmed that the truck batteries, with the engine running were showing 16-17 volts and with the engine off were showing 12-13.
Further playing around revealed that as the alternator sensed the batteries being increasingly charged (drawing lower current) it delivered a higher voltage. This is exactly the reverse of what it should do, and hence I concluded that the alternator was f----d. And even worse I concluded that if I continued this way for any length of time I would kill all 3 of the starting batteries at a minimum and maybe all 3 of the house batteries as well.
Given that I had just had Erik at Adventure Trucks replace all 6 batteries at a total cost of something like 6000 euros I was keen to safeguard the batteries.
What to do ?
As it happened we had picked one of the RV type aires for our nights stay, and it was by shear coincidence that it was right in front of an RV sales and service shop just a little south of the town of Chalon sur Saone.
After some directions from the RV shops staff, and a bit of on-foot exploring I discovered a nearby Volvo truck dealership and arranged to have them replace the offending alternator the next morning. A significant achievement in that I speak no French and the Volvo guys speak no English.
Did I mention that the alternator was basically brand new having just recently been replaced by a local Mercedes truck dealer (in Eindhoven, NL) at the same time that adventure-trucks replaced the batteries?
Did I further mention that I have been carrying a brand new spare alternator (Delco 22SI) in the truck since late 2012 on the advice of Rob Pickering (a well know US Unimog guy), and hence I only needed the Volvo guys to remove the current alternator and install my spare. They did not have to source a new alternator for me.
I should mention, in the interest of full disclosure, that the alternator seemed to be working perfectly and my Stirling B2B battery chargers were working, when I picked the vehicle up from adventure-trucks a week ago. Thats life.
So with the repair planned I went to bed wondering what that Mercedes dealer in Eindhoven had actually installed, and whether tomorrow would bring additional problems.
Most motorways in France are privatized toll roads and are somewhat infamous as being expensive. We travelled a little less that 300km (approximately 200 miles) at a cost of 50 euros (about US$55). This will be an equation that is familiar to anyone that either crosses the Tacoma Narrows bridge regularly or drives on motorways in Sydney. Privatization does not deliver efficiency, but rather monopolies that get to gouge the populus.