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Julien de Jurquet

Campervans, motorhomes, cycling and calculators

Julien de Jurquet writes for Outfarer about campervans, motorhomes, cycling and calculators. He reads instruction manuals to the very end and never lets a figure through without its unit, so that your choices rest on sums rather than promises.

The team’s numbers person. Precise, patient when explaining and drily funny, Julien takes marketing figures apart with undisguised pleasure, turns any problem into a table and lets no approximation slip, not even a colleague’s. He also keeps an eye on how we run our comparisons.

A spreadsheet for everything, shopping list included, a soft spot for old steel bikes, and one habit he will end up passing on to you: checking whether a value is in W or Wh. With Outfarer since 2026.

On Outfarer, he covers campervans and motorhomes, cycling, on-board power and calculators: sizing a battery or a solar panel, estimating range, comparing consumption, and understanding what the figures on a spec sheet really mean. He builds the magazine’s tables and calculators, and makes sure every comparison rests on criteria announced in advance.

His method: start from the manufacturer’s data, measurement standards and published studies, redo the calculations and show every step, so that you can run them again with your own figures. He always separates what is measured, what is declared and what is estimated, and prefers an honest range to a number too precise to be true.

He also keeps his tables up to date: when a standard changes, a manufacturer corrects a spec sheet or a reader spots an inconsistency, the calculations are redone and the update date appears under the headline. A factual correction is always noted at the bottom of the page.

To suggest a topic or report a mistake, write to the editorial team from the contact page: your message will be passed on.

Topics
Campervans and motorhomes, Off-grid power, Cycling, Calculators, Comparison methods
Languages
French, English
Portrait of Julien de Jurquet

Articles (28)

Village motorhome aire seen from above, six vehicles of different sizes between low hedges, a couple walking off towards the rooftopsCampervans

French aires: prices, services, time limits

Free or €30 for 24 hours, limited to 48 or 72 hours: what French motorhome aires offer, based on nine dated examples, from water points to apps.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··15 min

Frosted sill of a grey panel van conversion in a snowy car park at sunrise, a faint plume of vapour rising from a pipe under the floorCampervans

Campervan heating: diesel, gas or electric

Diesel, gas or electric: fuel per night, leisure battery draw, noise, prices, type approval and carbon monoxide, to choose the right campervan heater.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··14 min

Insulation samples on a plywood workbench: a slab of brown cork, undyed sheep's wool, black foam and a roll of silver filmCampervans

Insulating a campervan without condensation

Lambda, thickness, thermal bridges, vapour barriers, condensation on bare steel: the figures for choosing a van’s insulation and keeping the damp out.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··13 min

Three white converted vans parked at sunset, the middle one with its side door open on a pale wooden interiorCampervans

Campervan hire: price, excess and deposit

Headline prices and the fees on top, an excess of £1,250 to £2,500, deposit, card cover, cancellation, condition report: what UK hire terms say.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··18 min

Bicycle handlebars at night, front light on, its beam drawing a crisp patch on wet cobbles, blurred street lamps behindCycling

Lumens, lux and the law: reading a bike light

No law we read mentions lumens: Germany counts in lux, Britain and France set colour and mode, US states set distances. Here is what to check before you buy.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··9 min

White van seen from behind, doors open on wooden crates, a water jerrycan, a cool box and folding chairs, with bikes on the roof rackCampervans

Motorhome payload: the sums and the weighbridge

Payload is the maximum authorised mass minus the mass in service. What the empty weight counts, the 5% tolerance, how to weigh, and the fines by country.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··16 min

View from inside a converted van with pale wooden fittings, door open onto a gravel track, a winding mountain road and peaks in the mistPlan your trip

First campervan trip: steps and checklist

Your first campervan trip in 9 steps, for beginners: DVLA papers and licence, weight, power, gas and water, where to sleep, winter. Printable checklist.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··21 min

Grey city bike locked to a steel hoop stand with a black D-lock, on a cobbled street lined with pastel-coloured facadesCycling

Bike locks: what Sold Secure, ART and FUB mean

Sold Secure, ART, FUB 2 roues: what bike lock ratings measure, why their levels can’t be converted, and what insurers ask for before they pay out.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··10 min

Close-up of a bicycle cassette and chain in a workshop, the slightly oily steel sprockets in front of a wheel's spokesCycling

Gear ratios: how to calculate development

Chainring, sprocket, wheel size: work out metres of development and gear inches, compare two drivetrains and choose your gears for hills or touring.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··11 min

A gloved walker's hand holds a phone with a dark screen at arm's length, in light rain, beside a ridge path in mistHiking

Walking apps: maps, offline use, GPX

OS Maps, Komoot, AllTrails, Outdooractive and Footpath compared: base map, offline downloads, GPX and prices in pounds, from publisher pages, November 2026.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··10 min

Close-up of a walker's wrist wearing an analogue watch, the hand resting on the cork grip of a trekking pole, above a blurred alpine valleyHiking

Walking time calculator with three methods

Enter distance and ascent: the tool gives walking time by the simple calculation, DIN 33466 and Naismith’s rule, with the limits of each of them.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··9 min

Gas locker open on the side of a white van: two red cylinders, a black hose and a brass regulator fixed to the wall, in the light of an autumn eveningCampervans

Propane or butane in a campervan: gas in Europe

Butane stops vaporising near 0 °C, propane keeps going to -42 °C. The 30 mbar regulator, French cylinders, hoses, adaptors and checks: a campervan gas guide.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··12 min

A runner's wrist with a black sports watch, its screen dark, held out over a ridge path and a flowery grass slopeTrail running

Heart rate: three ways to set your zones

Maximum, Karvonen reserve or threshold: three ways to calculate your heart rate zones for trail running, with a worked example and the limits of each.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··11 min

A hand in a dark sleeve holding a black pump nozzle in the fuel filler of a white van at a service station at duskCampervans

What a campervan really costs per year

A campervan costs about £9,100 to £10,900 a year to run before finance, on Ford, DESNZ, HMRC and Quotezone data. Every line priced, with its source.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··15 min

Aerial view of the Briare canal bridge, a long straight structure crossing the Loire, which is lined with trees, sandbanks and villagesCycling

La Loire à Vélo: stages and logistics

La Loire à Vélo is 631 km (392 miles) from Cuffy to Saint-Brevin: the easy sections, daily distances, the train back, luggage transfers and what it costs.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··11 min

A hand holding a spoon above a pan of steaming couscous on a rock, next to dried fruit, almonds and a wedge of cheeseCamping

Wild camping food: amounts and a menu

How much food to take wild camping: about 4,500 kcal a day on a trek for 70 kg, or 1 kg of dry food. Freeze-dried meals, water, gas and a menu.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··15 min

A walker sitting in the grass of a flowery mountain meadow, drinking from a metal bottle, with a sandwich on a stone beside his rucksackHiking

Water and food on a walk: the right amounts

How much water and food to take on a day walk: at least 1.5 litres each, drink before you feel thirsty, and eat a little at every stop.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··9 min

Shaping bay with a raw white foam surfboard blank on a wooden workbench, a yellow tape measure and a metal calliper beside itSea

Surfboard volume calculator for your weight

Work out your surfboard volume in litres from your weight and ability: the tool, Firewire’s chart, Lost’s ranges and where each one stops being reliable.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··7 min

Overhead view of bikepacking kit laid out on a wooden floor: empty bike bags, a sleeping bag, a rolled sleeping mat, a stove and water bottlesCycling

Bikepacking kit list and how to load your bike

Bikepacking: where each bag goes, how much it can carry according to the makers, the limits to check, the lights the law requires and a printable kit list.

Portrait of Julien de JurquetJulien de Jurquet··13 min