Hi Please bear with me as I am quite confused and need to ask a number of questions, to make sure i don’t fall foul of the bad guys the other side of the channel.
background…>
I hold an HGV III and PSV all types (both gained in the days when a crash box was the preferred gearbox of choice )
I was EFAD (Emergency Fire Appliance Driving) trained as well.
In the past I have driven a coach to Saas Fe in Switzerland via Calais / Lyon / lake Geneva.
And other trips to Marseille via Cherbourg / Le-mans and south.
It is some years since I have driven anything larger than an estate car.
A friend of mine is having a chalet built in Allos (north west of Nice).
He is hiring a 7.5t van to take a load of kitchen units and other such things down to the chalet to fit.
I have “volunteered” to accompany / assist him in this venture.
Looking at the various regs concerning drivers hours etc I am a little confused.
I also have a number of general questions regarding the proposed trip.
Am I right in saying a <7.5t van is outside the Drivers hours regulations (where carrying non commercial goods). The hire company says if it is for private use then its outside the act. - is this correct in France as well?
I have heard that lorries are prevented from movement on Sundays.
Does this apply to the vehicle that we intend to use?
If so does the restriction apply to all roads?
I have read (in this forum) that snow chains are required.
Again - does this apply in my case?
Along with all the other items in the list!
We have 2 routes available to us
a) Dover - Calais and down through the centre of France
b) Poole - Cherbourg and across via Le-Mans and then down.
We will be starting from Weymouth, so the Poole ferry is the closest. But I feel the roads are better down from Calais.
What do the “professionals” think?
If we use Calais - which is cheaper and more efficient the Ferry or the Chunnel?
I apologise if these questions are a little on the simple side, but I would rather find out the answers now instead of being given them by a French policeman!
If he is hireing a 7.5 tonner and paying ferries it would be cheaper to get his kitchen from Hygena (owned by MFI ) ,Brico Depot (owned by B&Q),or Leroy Merlin .
Are you sure Condor from Weymouth take 7 .5 tonners? the biggest I have seen on there is a Transit.
To be honest and people will tell me off for this I would still put a tacho in just to cover my ■■■ for speeding etc even if you drop it in when you enter france but then thats just me but then it would show everything your doing so there’s good and bad in what ever you decide …
2nd, vehicles 7,5tn are not restricted
you can drive,
3rd, Make sure that the hire company
have fitted winter tyres,also get them
if possible to provide ““Snow-chains””
you are required to carry them , also
it will save you any trouble if the roads
are that bad,
4th portsmouth–caen
or dover calais
5, I belive the ferry will /is
cheaper,than the tunnel(shuttle)
do not forget HI -VIZ VESTS
FIRST AID BOX; Spare bulbs,
etc read the stickys at the begining
of the euro forum, they will help
you a lot,
I’m not sure about the interpretation for tacho regulations in France for private use. Strictly speaking you don’t need a tacho (why on earth not I’ll never know - you are just as dangerous tired as a hire & reward driver) but try expalining that you are working for fun to a gendarme and see where it gets you - I would use one and abide by the hours rules if I were you. You can drive a 7.5 ton vehicle on a Sunday and public holidays (as today is in France). Regards the route, the cheapest option would be LD Lines from Portsmouth to Le Havre (an hour nearer Paris than Caen), A 13 to Paris, skirt round Paris and pick up the A6 to Lyon. Go through the middle of Lyon rather than the huge diversion round the East side and then pick up signs for Montpellier, Aix en Provence and Nice. Expensive on tolls (check you are paying Class 3 and not 4 at the toll booths) but excellent network of quick and safe roads. Ensure you each take a hi-viz jacket, 1 x warning triangle and a first aid kit. Also GB plate on back is mandatory. For fuel, get off the motorway and buy at a Carrefour or Intermarche supermarket. Eat at Les Routiers on the national network. Bon route.
I presume that you are hiring from Weymouth or Dorchester,both U Drive and Dorset Vehicle Rentals at Upwey do a Continental touring pack with their vehicles
If you’re in a 7.5t you can use the Routes Nationale still I think! If you can then take the Route Napoleon into Nice, you will struggle to find such breathtaking scenery anywhere else, it’ll take a bit longer but you’re not booked in to tip at the chalet are you
@Rog I would not like to try debate that with a
French enforcement officer as the nice gentlemen
may think and act completely in the opposite,
even if the EU rules say other wise,
brit pete: @Rog I would not like to try debate that with a
French enforcement officer as the nice gentlemen
may think and act completely in the opposite,
even if the EU rules say other wise,
I can’t speak for how particular groups of another EU country interperet those regs so I’ll take your word for that
If it helps, as suggested earlier buy you units in France it would probably be a cheaper way to fill the chalet up. If so Brico Depot, (they have a website where you can find their locations) is your best bet price wise.
If you haven’t hired the 7.5tonner yet just to confuse things, you can rent large vans from the local supermarkets in France, link attached. Also check IKEA locations as they are starting to pop up in France now. There’s a large one just opened in Limoges, …on route?
Go as foot passengers on the ferry, take the train to where ever you are picking up the van, go shopping. Word you warning if you didn’t know already, buying goods in France, if something is at fault with the goods after you have left the shop, you can’t take it back and get your money back, you have to go directly to the manufacturer. So check your goods before you leave the shop,…As best you can. I don’t know how you would stand shopping at IKEA ? As they make their own goods.
If you are shopping in France check opening times, they like shutting for lunch 12 — 15.00 and generally all shut on Sundays, pay cash at the toll booths, as you will be charge by your card company (£1 upwards) for the pleasure of their service and there are a lot of TB’s between North and South France!
Bon chance.
)
