CAMPER: No winter tires, but willing to go in november (2020)
 

Hi,

I've got an Iveco 40.10 WM which I converted to a camper. I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland and I’m planning to get my camper ready for the trip next year (still al lot to do…).
As I’m making a list of things to be done I wondered about the tires. Due to the size of the tires choices are very limited (255 100R16). I can’t find winter.tires for this truck. I’ve read that it’s forbitten to drive without winter tires from November till April, so that might be a problem.
Can anyone of you tell me if it’s allowed to drive around without winter tires in November? Otherwise I’ll have to change the plans and do the trip in October.
Same things goes for snow chains, is it allowed to drive on Iceland without bringing chains?
I hope you can help me to get this clear.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/k_...6=w963-h809-no

Hi,

you don´t need snow chains in Iceland. For the tires this rule applies: from the 1st of november the tread depth should be at least 3 mm (milimeter)
I strongly advice you not to go on summer tires because in november there can be rain, but more likely it can snow and the roads can be very slippery. If you arrive by ferry from Denmark you will immediately out of town have to go from sea level upp a 600 m high mountain with about 12 percent increase. For your own and others safety the use of good tires is priority number one.

Germany has pretty strict winter tyre requirements and maybe Denmark has too so their rules will probably apply
Over 3500kg rules are different

Thanks for the reply!

I would like to get some snow, but you are right about putting safety as my first priority. What time of the year would you advise me to go to Iceland?

The best time of the year depends on what you want. The weather is always unpredictable, one can be lucky one can be unlucky.
January - February cold, dark, snow and northern lights.
Mars - April cold, daylight, snow.
May still some snow
June-July-August summer about 10-20°C
September can still be summer but can get chilly
Oktober-November getting dark and rainy, snow and storm
Desember dark, rain or snow, northern lights

Most campings are open from mid May to mid or end September.
Highland roads are open from July to end of September, 4x4 required.
Outdoor swimmingpools are open all year round.

All year there can be occasionally a severe storm but it last usually not more then a day. During such storms it is not adviced to drive campers and caravans because they can easily be blown off the road. It happens every year. As I said it only last about a day or so. Same when roads are closed during snowstorms. Just be patience and wait it out. Therefore its best to have some spare time. Roads can be slippery from Oktober to May.

Have fun planning your holiday :)

By the way, we can't see your photo - probably set to private on google.

How's the planning going, especially with the current events and stuff? I'm basing my answer off of this info, October is rainy, but November is full-on winter and the least popular month to visit, I'm assuming because of the season. So it might be good to rethink the month you intend on visiting.