The NEW BRUTAL SCAM That Targets Van Lifers

Whilst living in a van in italy, in our microcamper, we experienced a new scam that is horrible - so we thought we best share for all the van lifers out there that need to know

ALSO in this travel vlog, we go through some of our top questions about car camping, including equipment we rate and don't rate #VanLife #TravelScams

CONNECT PLUS ROUTER & ESIM

If you like our travel vlogs 2024, please subscribe to our channel for weekly content

Join this channel to get access to perks:

We also post daily updates on Instagram, please come and say Hi over there:

For Collabs or Promos, please contact us via our

BLUETTI POWERBANK
BLUETTI AC180 POWERBANK FEATURES
This affordable power station has an incredible 1800W output with a 1152wh capacity.
It can be smart controlled with app based tech, and has 11 outport ports for multiple devices.
An 0-80% recharging in just 45mins

Little About Us*
Welcome to our channel! We are Liam and Janine, a husband and wife duo with a passion for travelling and living in a camper van. Over the years, we’ve embraced the van life, starting with vanlife in the UK with a Ford Transit camper van conversion and then upgrading to a Citroen Relay (luton) removals van campervan conversion. We absolutely love the freedom and adventure that comes with being a van life couple.
Following this we travelled to India, and now we are in a micro camper doing van life Europe

[paulinehiggins]

Liam we had very similar happen to us in Italy, they said we broke their wing mirror. We said OK let’s go to the police as we knew we hadn’t hit them so not suspecting a scam we thought they’re just crooked BUT this was in 2021. They weren’t happy with us wanting to go to the police and I must admit it scared the crap out of me. I put the phone to my ear and said I was calling the police. They got in their car and went. We were in a hire car not a camper, very scary. ❤️

[Tortured-soul]

Years ago while going back home from L’Estartit in 1993 we were a little convoy of six family cars with CBS each.We were warned not to stop if anyone tried to get us to stop by intimating we had damaged their car. A car came along the side of my husband and I, the driver was shaking his fist at us and throwing things at us from his car. We got onto our family via CBS and we boxed him in 😂 the look of shock on his face when he realised that we were all together. He almost crashed his car by leaving the motorway at top speed while we were all throwing food at his car.🤣 Still makes me giggle thinking about it.❤

[sueprior]

I believe my parents got scammed several years ago in the South of France when a moped said my dad had knocked him off and damaged the bike. It was lots of money but my dad handed over the cash to repair it. I believe he went round doing this often. Lesson learnt. Don't hand over cash. Loved the Amalfi series. Thanks.

[diwarburton]

Credit to you both for spending 3 months in such a small space. Another tip for washing up is use the spray with a mix of 20% white vinegar to water. Killls off bacteria and doesn’t need rinsing.

[untamed-artist]

There’s been a situation in Portugal car parks, (which targets cars, not just vans!)where you come out of a supermarket to find someone accusing you of damaging their car and of course their car does have damage so it comes down to your word against theirs. They also demand money.

[liznutting]

So good to see how happy and optimistic you are compared to a few months ago after your difficult times when you you had problems with the garage. You have shown us the meaning of resilience.

[mollyg]

This happened in Europe a few years ago, car overtakes you pointing to your car and when you pull over one man will show you the tyre which they stabbed at your last stop causing a slow air release whilst the other one robs your car.

[josimpson]

Bloody hell some people are so unscrupulous, very scary! I’ve heard of people throwing eggs at car windscreens which obviously makes you instantly turn the wipers on making it even worse, you stop and are then robbed! Who thinks up these things? Glad you’re both safe and you escaped all that. Excited for your next plans 😊

[fromtheblonx]

Loved this 3 month trip with you! Can't believe it's 3 months! And all this time I've been living vicariously through you guys whilst trying to recover from chronic illness. You've given me great comfort and joy and I'm looking forward to your next installments. Sending peace and love to you both😊🙏🌱💚

[iceroad]

Well…..as an experienced driver of Italy both in HGV’s and touring in a Ford Ranger every year both surprises me but at the same time it doesn’t.
Clearly this is an ongoing problem, though never happened to me.
Back in the day Northern Italy was very dangerous for us HGV drivers, particularly the area between the two tunnels and Turin/Milan. We nicknamed it Bandit Country. High value loads were targeted and your truck could be stolen just filling up or grabbing a coffee. A friend’s dad was once tied up and thrown in the trailer left for dead at Gran Bosco. Those days are very much behind us now, but the attitude still remains under the surface.
We transit Northern Italy every year in the Ford Ranger, either going Blanc, St Barnard, St Moritz on our way to Puglia. Never ever had a problem.
However if this situation does occur, and Iv got to disagree with “the police are useless”, call the Carabinieri NOT the Politzi. All my contact with the Carabinieri has been helpful and positive both as a HGV driver and in the Ford, the Politzi are just looking for fines (they once fined me for a dirty number plate) and not much help. Either call or go to the nearest Carabinieri station should this situation occur.

[anthonypapheys]

turn your gas cooker down to low once the pan gets hot it keeps the temperature going .saving on gas

[Van_Diesel_vw]

Thanks for the highlighting the latest scam, don’t need to go to Europe to get scammed 😢, plenty of scammers in the UK, would recommend having cameras on your vehicle.

[jeantucker]

Unfortunately I they try it on everywhere. In Australia they claim people push a supermarket trolley into their car. Just be very assertive back. They back down

[adrianmichell-zo]

Why not use White Vinegar?!
Ideal also for suacepans if foid is caught/ slighty burnt in the base. Add vinegar agitate, leave a few moments, put lid on and heat up . Wipe out with kitchen paper towel !😊😊

[Chris_the_Muso]

I've found the little stoves that take the butane canisters to be excellent, so I'm not sure why they did not work for you. On a recent trip I cooked four breakfasts and boiled the kettle eight times on one canister, and still had a bit left. I do have a collapsible wind shield that I use, so maybe that has something to do with it? The canisters are cheap and you can buy them almost anywhere, even some supermarkets. The only problem some people have is the canisters can ice up in really cold weather, so you just keep one canister warm and swap it out if the one in use starts to slow up. In warmer weather it's not an issue. Works about as good as any other gas stove I've used.

My best camping meal is a one pan pasta verde that I can make at the drop of a hat. That and a glass of red and I'm a very happy camper.

[korobagor]

Same thing happened to us last year in Northern Italy with a caravan. We were on a 10 wk, 10 country trip from Ireland. We were near Milan when we saw a car flashing us behind. Pulled in and the driver said we hit him on a roundabout. Pointed out a black mark on the caravan & a broken wing mirror on 'his dad's borrowed car'. Had a photo on his phone with the cost (€370) of a replacement. We totally bought it. Ended up giving him about €300. We were never happy about the circumstances (I'm an ex driving instructor & chauffeur) & this just confirms our suspicions. It totally soured our view on Italy & we would be VERY reluctant to visit again. Personally I don't wish karma on the c**t, I just know it will happen.

[rodneil]

To get your sleeping bag back in the original bag is to just stuff it in, don't fold it, nothing just stuff a little bit at a time. It works every time. I used to work in a camping and fishing store and put hundreds of sleeping bags back in the original bags. 😊

[nicolae]

About 3/4 of the way through watching, so many great tips relating to car camping also handy for van life I have saved this video to my reference list!

[melissamcgrath]

That little lever next to the dial on your cooker, that needs to be in the UP position when not in use otherwise all of your gas will leak out. We have one and we use it everyday multiple times a day and we go through one gas canister a week. Also when you’re not using, remove the gas canister

[leslieelizabeth]

Thank you 🙏 once again. We have been freezing here DownUnder. So watching your travels has lifted our spirits so much.