Weekly Digest №44 Fill motorhome gas bottles at German pumps Read
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Fill motorhome gas bottles at German pumps · VanLife Weekly #44

02.11.2026 08:04 12 min РУС
Fill motorhome gas bottles at German pumps · VanLife Weekly #44
Original source: AI · OpenVan.camp

Germany now lets you fill a motorhome's refillable gas bottle at ordinary autogas pumps. The Canary Islands have passed their first decree on campsites and motorhome stopovers. New motorhome registrations in Germany fell 22.2% year on year between July and September. And German traveller Tanja Aumer spent 11 days with the family of a Turkish village headman after her motorhome broke down.

The week at a glance

  • In Germany you can now fill a refillable gas bottle in your motorhome at a public autogas pump, provided it is fitted to the German technical standard G 607. The new rule was published on 20 October 2026.
  • Several Alpine campsites near ski lifts can take your motorhome this winter: from €12.80 a night plus a charge per person in Mayrhofen (Austria), and from 28 Swiss francs a night in Samnaun (Switzerland).
  • The motorhome stopover at the Italian ski resort of Cervinia is closed for the whole of winter 2026/27. The municipality suggests three campsites instead.
  • Since 30 October motorhomes have not been allowed to park on the seafront, in Piazza Bolla or on Via Einaudi in the Italian town of Albenga (Liguria).
  • Tanja Aumer, who left Germany in March on a round-the-world trip, stayed 11 days with the family of a village headman in the Turkish province of Sivas while her motorhome was repaired.

Germany opens ordinary autogas pumps to motorhome gas bottles

A refillable gas bottle, also known as a refillable LPG cylinder, sits in the gas locker of a motorhome or caravan and feeds the hob, fridge and heating. You do not swap it for a full one: you fill it where it stands. On 20 October the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs published a new version of the safety rule TRBS 3151, and you can now fill such a bottle at any public autogas pump. DVFG, the German LPG trade association, announced this on 26 October. Until now, the June 2026 edition of the technical standard G 607 covered how to install the bottle, but no document covered filling it at a pump. Filling there was neither banned nor expressly allowed.

The main condition is that the installation meets G 607. The standard requires the bottle to be secured in the locker, with a seal on the connection to show it must not be undone. You must still be able to take the bottle out without tools. At the pump it can only be filled while fixed in place, and only through a filling point on the outside of the vehicle: a little gas escapes during filling, and you need to stand clear. The pipe from the filling point must not run through the living area. The standard also requires a safety valve and an automatic stop that ends filling at 80% of capacity.

Older installations are not exempt, gas specialist Andreas Irmer confirms: a bottle fitted before June 2026 must also meet G 607. If it does not, the installation has to be modified and then checked by a specialist. The rule does not apply to exchange bottles: you still swap those for full ones at your supplier. Germany's compulsory gas check still applies: it is due every two years and usually costs €40–80.

What this means for you

If you use exchange bottles, there is nothing you need to do. If you have a refillable bottle that was fitted before June 2026, have a gas specialist look at the installation before you first fill it at a pump. Ask them to check the sealed connection in the locker, the outside filling point, the 80% automatic stop and the safety valve. If the installation does not meet G 607, you must not fill the bottle at a pump. If you are still choosing a system, ask the installer to confirm in writing that it was fitted to G 607. The date of your compulsory gas check is on the sticker on the vehicle and in the yellow inspection booklet: look it up before you set off. The new rule applies only in Germany. If you are travelling beyond Germany, find out before you leave where you can fill the bottle in other countries.

Number of the week: diesel up 0.86%

That was the median change in the price of diesel across the 27 EU countries in OpenVan.camp's readings from 26 to 31 October: half the countries were above it, half below. Diesel rose in 22 countries and fell in five. Petrol went the other way, falling in 20 of the 27 countries, with a median fall of 1.16%. Diesel rose most in Latvia, from €2.03 to €2.08 a litre, or 2.5%. For comparison, a litre now costs €2.17 in Austria, up from €2.12. It costs €2.28 in Italy, up from €2.24, and €1.93 in Spain, up from €1.90.

If you are driving a motorhome from France to Spain, wait until you are in Spain to fill up: a litre of diesel costs €2.39 in France and €1.93 in Spain. With an 80-litre tank, that is a difference of about €36. We update prices for every country each weekend on our Fuel prices page.

In brief

  • Spain, Canary Islands · passed by the regional government: on 30 October the islands' government approved its first decree on open-air tourist accommodation. The decree sets out five types of site. They include camping areas for motorhomes and overnight areas, where the limit is 72 hours. Parking on the street still comes under traffic rules and local bans, and the municipalities decide where stopovers go. Sites already open get five years to meet the new requirements.
  • Germany, market: 14,037 new motorhomes were registered from July to September, 22.2% fewer than a year earlier. The trade body CIVD thinks manufacturers built more vehicles than the market could absorb. It says a motorhome that has sat at a dealer for more than 24 months will only sell at a big discount. If you are buying one of these, haggle, and ask what was done to it after it stood idle: the dealer has to prepare it for sale again, and that is expensive.
  • Germany, rental: the American investment firm Kennedy Lewis has taken a 66.69% stake in Munich-based Roadsurfer, which rents out camper vans and calls itself the market leader. The figures come from the commercial register. The five founders keep 16.61% and still run the company.
  • Australia, manufacturer: the caravan maker Essential Caravans went into administration on 21 October. It employs more than 200 people, and this is the third such collapse in the industry in two months. The administrators are reviewing orders and intend to fulfil them. If you have ordered one of its caravans, ask your dealer for the delivery date in writing.
  • USA, electric motorhome · planned: Entegra Coach is preparing the Embark, a motorhome about 9 m long and weighing 8.2 tonnes. It should go on sale in 2027 for about $400,000. Its 140 kWh battery gives a range of 160–177 km, or 724–805 km with the petrol generator. The same battery runs the air conditioning and kitchen when the vehicle is parked, so no separate leisure battery is needed.
  • UK, show: 95,816 people visited the Motorhome & Caravan Show in Birmingham. That is below the 2023 record of 106,131. If you missed the autumn show, the next one at the NEC runs from 16 to 21 February 2027.
  • Netherlands, selling abroad · court ruling: a Dutchman sold his broken-down motorhome in Spain in August 2024 but never received proof that it was no longer registered to him. The Gelderland district court upheld €201 in road tax and a €67 tax penalty: according to the register, the vehicle stayed his until October 2025. If you sell a motorhome abroad, take your name off your home country's register on the day of the sale.

Where to go

The Alps: campsites by the ski lifts, book in November. The magazine reisen EXCLUSIV has listed campsites in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol and Switzerland that you can reach by motorhome in winter, with autumn 2026 prices per night. Tirol Camp in Fieberbrunn, Austria, opens for the season on 2 December. A pitch costs from €39 until 19 December and from about €56 after that. A short tunnel leads to the gondola. Pitches at Camping Mayrhofen in the Zillertal start at €12.80, plus a charge per person, and the lift is about 1.5 km away. At Camping-Resort Samnaun in Switzerland the ski run ends right at the campsite, and a pitch costs from 28 Swiss francs. Popular campsites fill up long before Christmas and New Year, so book now. Check your gas too: butane does not vaporise in freezing weather, so you need pure propane. Autogas from the pump is usually a mix of propane and butane. In Austria, winter tyres are compulsory in snow and ice from 1 November to 15 April. In South Tyrol, Italy, you need winter tyres or chains on board from 15 November to 15 April.

Watch out

  • Italy, Cervinia · all winter 2026/27: the municipality of Valtournenche has closed the motorhome stopover at the ski resort of Breuil-Cervinia because of building work, and has found nowhere else suitable. In the car parks you may only park, not camp. For camping, the municipality names three campsites: Camping Glair in Valtournenche, Camping Cervino in Antey-Saint-André and the Dalai Lama campsite in Châtillon. Check with them that they have space before you set off.
  • Italy, Albenga · in force since 30 October: the town council has reserved parking on the seafront, in Piazza Bolla and on Via Einaudi for cars and motorcycles only. If you are heading there in a motorhome, choose a campsite in advance.
  • France, Chamonix · every year from 1 May to 31 October: a mayoral order bans motorhomes from staying in one spot for more than 24 hours. It also bans sleeping in the vehicle from 22:00 to 07:00 in car parks, on adjoining streets and at the edge of woodland. The fine is €35. The ban is not in force at the moment and returns on 1 May 2027. The town has set aside two car parks for motorhomes on the Route Blanche: one with 49 spaces for vehicles up to 7 m, and Grépon Bus for longer ones. The motorhome association Comité de Liaison du Camping-Car has taken up the issue, but plan summer 2027 around the current rules.
  • Germany, Sylt · in force: the privately owned Ellenbogen peninsula on the island of Sylt has automatic barriers, and parking after midnight costs €125. The owners use them to stop motorhomes staying overnight away from campsites. Leave before midnight.

This week's calendar: 2–8 November

Mobile internet on a trip through the Balkans. The Horizon eSIM (a digital SIM card) for the Balkans works on compatible unlocked phones in 11 countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey. Kosovo is not included and needs a separate plan. Plans start at €1.29 for 1 GB valid for 7 days (price as of 1 November 2026). A route through Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia, for example, is covered by one plan. Connection quality depends on the local network. Before you leave, check your phone against the list of compatible devices on the Horizon website, install the eSIM over Wi-Fi with the QR code, and save offline maps and your campsite's address and contact details.

And finally

11 days in a Turkish village. Tanja Aumer from Germany set off in her motorhome at the end of March on a round-the-world trip, travelling through Turkey towards Georgia. Her motorhome broke down in the Divriği district of Sivas province, and she pulled over at the roadside. Güngör Durgun, the headman of the village of Güneyevler, spotted her, invited her to breakfast and took her to his home. The family put her up for 11 days and arranged the repair. Aumer cried as she said goodbye and filmed the moment on her phone, and the video spread across social media. “For us it was an ordinary good deed,” Durgun said.

140,000 km in a Fiat Marea. Fabio Belnome, 35, from Barcelona, bought a 1998 Fiat Marea to drive to the North Cape in Norway and then get rid of it. Environmental restrictions mean it cannot even be driven in his home city. But Belnome changed his mind: he has now lived in the car for about two years and has driven it 140,000 km through Europe, Asia and the Americas, from the Canadian Arctic to Ushuaia. When the auxiliary belt snapped in Argentina, a mechanic who followed Belnome on Instagram stopped and helped him replace it. Belnome is now in Australia and wants to drive another 22,000–25,000 km there.

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This article was prepared by the OpenVan.camp editorial team. All rights reserved. Copyright information

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