How to use and find French motorhome service points called Aire de service camping car

Custom is king, but 4 common French motorhome service point brands dominate

There are several professionally manufactured Service Point brands. The most common are Euro Relais (Raclet) and Aire Services followed by Urba Flux. Approximately half the Service Points in France are custom made.

In All the Aires France, the term 'Custom' refers to custom-built Service Points constructed by local craftsmen with inevitable differences in design and practicality. Most are simple but durable and electricity is rarely provided. This has several benefits; they are rarely broken, they normally have a ground level drain, they don’t require tokens and are normally free to use all year round. Sometimes the layout of a Service Point is confusing or a facility is a little way from where you expect it to be. Occasionally instructions state that cassettes should be emptied in the adjacent public toilet. However, we have seen more signs stating that cassettes must not be emptied in public toilets.

Euro Relais and Raclet: Euro Relais and Raclet are the same. All Raclet units are at least 14 years old. Euro Relais has manufactured various sizes, but they are all basically the same. In general they are easy to use. Often there are two water taps. The one for toilet rinsing normally works without payment. The toilet tap is usually marked ‘Eau non potable’ for hygiene reasons, but it is in fact plumbed to the same supply. When tokens or payment is required, 100 litres of water and one hour of electricity is dispensed. A lift up cover at the base enables access to the toilet emptying chamber. The hole is big enough to lose the cap from your Thetford cassette.

Aire Services: The Aire Services brand of Service Point functions in much the same way as Euro Relais units, but is a little more confusing due to the press button operation. The robust stainless steel units are common and normally charge a fee. Credit card payment is the norm for new units. The plastic units are generally free. Pay units generally have one or two CEE electricity points and all have fresh water and toilet rinsing taps. A small WC disposal drain is located at the front. Water is normally distributed for 10 minutes and electricity for 55 minutes. Waste water is usually disposed of in a separate drain.

Urba Flux: Urba Flux Tall are becoming more common each year, especially for barrier entry or parking ticket payment. The Service Points are simple and robust units that distribute water and electricity. Toilet waste and waste water are usually disposed of in drains at the base. You will need a male adapter for the Urba Flux Tall, as seen in the photos.

Flot Bleu: There are several models in the range but only two designs. Mostly they are blue, but they can also be green, white or burgundy. Fontaine, Océane and Marine units have all the services fitted to the outside of the casing. Fontaine units are free, the others take payment by coin or token.
Euro, Pacific and Station Sanitaire have services located behind a narrow door on the left-hand side of the cabinet. These units are rarely free but are very robust and are likely to be in service during winter. Euro units always take bank card payment, the others will be coin or token. Sewage inspection covers are often located at the foot of the Euro and Pacific units, which is useful if you do not need water. These cabinets are also used to distribute tokens and operate barrier systems.