Basics to take on a trip to France

[T'Onion]

we are there for the first 3 weeks of August ,booked via ferrycheap (sea france )(follow the link in GC)

Tolls , not sure how it works ? hight/length , ours was a high top

yes to alternator belt , pas belt if fitted.

just take your time and enjoy the ride

[Gandalf]

we are there for the first 3 weeks of August ,booked via ferrycheap (sea france )(follow the link in GC)

Tolls , not sure how it works ? hight/length , ours was a high top

yes to alternator belt , pas belt if fitted.

just take your time and enjoy the ride

I'll defo keep an eye out for your LT then.

Oh i'll definitely take my time - not too bothered if we don't make Barca (would like to make Carcassonne tho) TBH just want to have a good time taking in the sights etc.

[Ian Hulley]

Tolls , not sure how it works ? hight/length , ours was a high top

There are several lanes ... the automatic ones for cars have low height barriers which probably exclude even a tintop T25. All the high lanes are manned and you are charged according to how nice the attendant is feeling ... IIRC a T25 is 'class II' and you pay about a 1/3 more than a car.

Be warned that a few years ago the toll (Peage) booths used to be closed on bank holidays (and when the French went on a random strike just to peeees de foreigneurs erf ) and only the automatic lanes were open

Ian

[Gandalf]

Tolls , not sure how it works ? hight/length , ours was a high top

There are several lanes ... the automatic ones for cars have low height barriers which probably exclude even a tintop T25. All the high lanes are manned and you are charged according to how nice the attendant is feeling ... IIRC a T25 is 'class II' and you pay about a 1/3 more than a car.

Be warned that a few years ago the toll (Peage) booths used to be closed on bank holidays (and when the French went on a random strike just to peeees de foreigneurs erf ) and only the automatic lanes were open

Ian

So now I need a chainsaw then!

[andisnewsyncro]

Used a few automated ones without height restrictions; the only problem being that in the van I was too high to reach out of the window to the low payment slot for cars and too low to be able to reach the really high ones for trucks, so I had to get out every time to pay......
I'm pretty sure that we only got charged the car rates though, according to the signs, but it was a little while back now. I need to go again very soon to refresh my memory

[T'Onion]

I'll defo keep an eye out for your LT then.

I'll say it before t'others do , 'ya can't miss the fat heffa'

[Westy End]

i agree with what is already said above. the tolls are dull. look on a map for a nice straight "b" road and it will have little traffic on it and lots of people to smile at when they point at your nice van. and nice village cafes to stop off in on the way.

i must get all the belts for when we go - last week in july and first two in aug - looks like france will be awash with us!

[Ian Hulley]

the tolls are dull.

They do have their uses ... if you want to cover a great many miles in the cool of the late evening or night for example. It's also sensible to run your proposed route through Michelin Route Planner with the 'avoid tolls' feature on and then off to compare the mileage against the cost. On one leg of our European tour last year ~12 Euros saved 3 hours driving and about 80 miles. IIRC the (spectacular) trip to and through the St.Die toll tunnel in the Eifel mountains saved us over a 50 miles of hard, winding mountain roads.

Ian.

[Big Boris]

We will be in France the first two week of August too!!!

[jed the spread]

Bog roll.

jed

[jed the spread]

as are we!!

Whats your itinerary Jason?

jed

[jason k]

still debating jed!

thinking of ferry to santander and drive back up or eastern france / switzerland.

cant decide!!!

you going over then?

[jed the spread]

still debating jed!

thinking of ferry to santander and drive back up or eastern france / switzerland.

cant decide!!!

you going over then?

Thinking about it, although i have always wanted to drive to the artic circle so it might be Norway. I take it you have seen this before, http://www.furgovw.org/mapa_furgoperfecto.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; there are some really good looking spots west of Santander.

[Gandalf]

Bog roll.

jed

Jed - you write that as if speaking from experience.

[jed the spread]

Yep!!! Take as much fresh milk and bacon as you can because you wont see it much in france, tons of other nice stuff we dont get here like those red long sausages that i love so its swings and roundabouts. Oh and dont let them see you emptying your waist tank on the road or over a drain on a road otherwize you will be lynched as they dont like it for some reason. A bloke pissing up a wall in a main street however seems to be quite acceptable behavior in France along with encouraging dogs to "pooh" everywhere, and every bush in France seems to have some form of turd and scrunched up bog roll combo

jed