Scooby to the Alps
 

Hi,
We're off skiing in a couple of weeks and driving there in the Classic Wagon, I've put some nice new snow tyres on and bought a folding snow shovel...but aside from that I feel a bit unprepared. Presumably people on here have driven theirs across the Alps, any advice, tips, essentials to carry, best snow chain/socks, or just "yay, it will be great enjoy it" or "good luck fool" welcomed.

Cheers

Joe

You will have to have chains , local police may order you to put them on if conditions are bad. Wash off the underside of your car whenever you can; industrial quantities of salt are used. Even my seat rails rusted from my shoes touching them!! Each country has different requirements in car, like tabards, spare specs, spare bulbs, triangle , breathalyser etc.
Have fun.

My tips from lots of French & Swiss ski and alpine summer trips:-
​​​​
- 2 x breathalysers from Halfords for France.
​​​​​- headlight beam benders (worth upgrading your bulbs first)
- 150 Euros cash in the car to save getting taken to a cash machine if you get caught speeding
- Keep your speed below 160kmh if you can
- Swiss vignette motorway sticker if around Geneva on your route.
- We like driving at night - take the 11-12 tunnel and arrive for breakfast ( flask and sandwiches handy to keep you going at 3am)

Great fun. Once got stopped for speeding at 95mph in my Legacy Turbo mk1 ten minutes after swapping drivers. My other half had averaged 120-130 cruising for the last 2 hours.....

You will need one reflective yellow/orange jacket per seat belt so normally 5, and they have to be in the car not in the boot. You will also need atleast one reflective warning triangle. Spare bulbs and fuses are recommended but can't 100% say a requirement or not same for first aid kit.
You will also need a set of snow chains even if you do not use them, some roads require them to be fitted before you drive on the road and if you are caught without them you will be in the brown smelly stuff.

Lots of waxoil. A former colleagues nissan stagea (freshly imported) looked like it had been left at the bottom of the sea after two trips to the alps.

No need for chains or socks - scooby on winter tyres is pretty unstoppable in my experience.
Enjoy, it's a great winter car!

Unfortunate choice of words!!!!

Personally I would be have a go at putting chains on while the car is on your driveway at home just to be sure I knew what I was doing and could do it with cold hands / freezing fingers. Never fitted chains to a car, for that reason alone I would be trying it. Oh and depending on the history of your car, check your spare wheel fits - discovered at the weekend the spare wheel on one of my cars which I have owned for several years while the right size, has the wrong pattern for the wheel studs!!!! You wouldn't want to find that out in the Alps in the dark and freezing cold!!!!

...or be reliant on the standard classic spacesaver

It's not a case of needing them, on some roads in the Alps AFAIK it is a legal requirement to have them and have them fitted before attempting to drive up the road.

Thanks everyone for their advice, just returned and everything was awesome! The Scoob performed faultessly and has done 1600 miles in a week averaging around 27mpg, now it needs a good clean....

Cheers

Joe

Glad you had a great time. Where did you go? I'm guessing from the mileage that it was northern French Alps, near Geneva?

Val d'Isere, half term week so it was very busy but the weather was fantastic. Those French roads are lovely and you can really crunch through the miles on them. On the way down we did it in one stretch all the way from London, set off at 5.30am arrived at 9.30pm, bit of a sore arse but nothing compared to a week of amateur snowboarding....

Sweet. My lad worked there 2 years ago, bit busy for me. You can cut Lyon out and go through the Belley gorges and over the Col du Chat into Chambery, a nice back road detour via Yenne.