Hi guys, I’m making plans to drive from Melton Constable to the Hungarian/Serbian border, roughly 1300km
I had a few questions. The vehicle is a decommissioned Volvo fl6 Fire engine.
I was wandering what are the insurance laws when driving through countries in transit.
Is there anything that i need to worry about?
And if any of you know roughly how much diesel would cost for the journey?
Thanks
to drive into Serbia you would require a green card insurance document, the serbs do not except uk issued European cover like you get with most fully comp insurance, covers you for so many days driving in other eu countries but as Serbia is not in the eu they don’t recognise it, as I found out last year when driving back from Bulgaria, cost me over a £100 to transit the country, as for the fuel at 14miles/gal that’s about 58 gallons or 258 lts depending on where you buy fuel its got to be about £1.20 to £1.30 / lts average so somewhere between £300 and £350 in fuel costs 
albie.:
Hi guys, I’m making plans to drive from Melton Constable to the Hungarian/Serbian border, roughly 1300km
I had a few questions. The vehicle is a decommissioned Volvo fl6 Fire engine.I was wandering what are the insurance laws when driving through countries in transit.
Is there anything that i need to worry about?
And if any of you know roughly how much diesel would cost for the journey?Thanks
As somebody just wrote, Serbia is the only one on your route that’s not a member of the EU. You need to pay for the motorways in all countries, But, you can avoid using the toll motorways in Hungary. In this case, your journey becomes longer by a couple of hours, but scenic routes are relaxing… Any info you need about Hungary, just ask
Hi guys thanks for the info, could i pick your brains a little more.
The vehicle in question is leaving England for good and will not be returning, how to i organize insurance for this? Is this going to be done through one company or can i get some sort of transit insurance at each border crossing?
In regards to the Toll Roads does anyone know the rough cost of this?
I’m just trying to figure out if it would be cheaper to drive the vehicle or send it via shipping freight.
Thanks
I would go to your insurance company and get insurance for the minimum, maybe 1 month, you could also get done in Belgium for having no road tax ( but thats a chance u can take)
You will also need a euro vignette for the benelux countries, a toll in Germany, a toll in Austria, and a toll in Hungary, for the Serb border is at the far end of the country close to Kecskemet, i assume its being exported to Serbia, so you will have to park it in the Hungarian part of the border, and hopefully, its driver will have insurance to drive it the rest of the way, but thats not your problem. DVLA has to be notified as to its permanent export. It will be cheaper to drive it yourself, rather than transporting it. good luck.
My advise is to put the vehicle on a flat bed trailer and let someone else take all the strain and possible agro with road side officials, then there is the thought of breaking down in your vehicle, it may pay in the long run and be quicker, you could be a passenger in the truck with the flat bed or maybe put the vehicle in a container if it fits?
Ill give you guys the full story;
The vehicle is a decommissioned Volvo FL6-14 Fire Truck, the plan is to purchase in UK and send it to Georgia.
I’m Still waiting on a quote to send it via ship freight (I know that a 40" container to Georgia costs 2,100 pounds) but the truck isn’t going to fit in that so its going to need to be put into a collapsible container for shipping. Now because the vehicle is bigger and logistically its more of a pain in the ■■■ then I’m assuming that its going to cost more than the 2,100 pounds.
So we were thinking of driving it mainland, now the other issue is that i don’t have a driving license (I will be getting one next month and will be looking at getting one that lets me drive HGV) so I’m also looking for a driver to drive it to the Hungarian/Serbian border and from there my uncle will drive it to Georgia.
I need to look at all the logistical aspects of driving it mainland, and also the cost efficiency. So things like insurance cross country is beyond me and i don’t know how it works. Also for the life of me i cant find the fuel consumption of the vehicle anywhere to figure out how much i’m going to be spending on diesel.
I know if I go through Germany-Poland-Ukraine and then take a ferry from Kerch in Ukraine the journey time is considerably less, but the ferry would cost $300, and as my uncle is Georgian national we need to consider the countries where he needs a visa to enter, so if the journey goes south rather than East and goes down into Greece-Turkey-Armenia-Georgia, then we avoid the $300 ferry charge and my uncle carries the journey on from Serbia.
Also does is anyone looking for a freelance driving job to drive the vehicle from UK to Hungarian/Serbian border?
Thanks
Best thing is give a call to Willi Betz / Somat and they are specialist on Georgia also they have own ferry from Bulgaria - Burgas to Georgia - Poti as daily services
or use Willi Betz’s RO-RO service on Daunbe river, you can drop the vehicle at Passau Germany Betz Terminal (Passau near to Austria Borders) then let leave them to handle with your vehicle and put on the RO-RO boat and sailing along way on Daunbe river toward to Bulgaria Vidin or Ruse take about 5 - 7 days journey, Ruse is much better which that’s close to Black sea then your uncle can pick up vehicle then continue drive toward east - Burgas Port and catch the Ferry called MV Sredetz belong to Somat (W Betz)
Many of Turks use their services for heavy loads - Abnormal loads.
RO-RO Services - intershipping-bg.net/index_en.html
Mr. Boyan Stoyanov, He can speak english and write email in english
Tel.: 00498519898560
Fax: 00498519898561
E-Mail: Boyan.Stoyanov@willibetz.com
albie.:
Ill give you guys the full story;The vehicle is a decommissioned Volvo FL6-14 Fire Truck, the plan is to purchase in UK and send it to Georgia.
I’m Still waiting on a quote to send it via ship freight (I know that a 40" container to Georgia costs 2,100 pounds) but the truck isn’t going to fit in that so its going to need to be put into a collapsible container for shipping. Now because the vehicle is bigger and logistically its more of a pain in the ■■■ then I’m assuming that its going to cost more than the 2,100 pounds.
So we were thinking of driving it mainland, now the other issue is that i don’t have a driving license (I will be getting one next month and will be looking at getting one that lets me drive HGV) so I’m also looking for a driver to drive it to the Hungarian/Serbian border and from there my uncle will drive it to Georgia.
I need to look at all the logistical aspects of driving it mainland, and also the cost efficiency. So things like insurance cross country is beyond me and i don’t know how it works. Also for the life of me i cant find the fuel consumption of the vehicle anywhere to figure out how much i’m going to be spending on diesel.
I know if I go through Germany-Poland-Ukraine and then take a ferry from Kerch in Ukraine the journey time is considerably less, but the ferry would cost $300, and as my uncle is Georgian national we need to consider the countries where he needs a visa to enter, so if the journey goes south rather than East and goes down into Greece-Turkey-Armenia-Georgia, then we avoid the $300 ferry charge and my uncle carries the journey on from Serbia.Also does is anyone looking for a freelance driving job to drive the vehicle from UK to Hungarian/Serbian border?
Thanks
ell, it’s sounds like a great adventure…
@betz, there some bloody impressive pictures!
Betz, that is a very interesting post and photos, i had no idea that`s how the firm operates, thanks for taking the trouble to post it, as they say, we learn something every day.
I don’t get it, why drive through serbia? With an old decommisioned vehicle and a driver/copilot who hasn’t done this before, why not stick to the EU- hu,ro,bg? and then the ferry from burgas.
milodon:
I don’t get it, why drive through serbia? With an old decommisioned vehicle and a driver/copilot who hasn’t done this before, why not stick to the EU- hu,ro,bg? and then the ferry from burgas.
I think, the bloke who will take over the vehicle can not get an EU Visa.
milodon:
I don’t get it, why drive through serbia? With an old decommisioned vehicle and a driver/copilot who hasn’t done this before, why not stick to the EU- hu,ro,bg? and then the ferry from burgas.
My uncle is a Georgian national, so he needs a visa for the countries you mentioned. Doesn’t need one for Serbia and Macedonia and can get a transit visa for Greece.
Thanks for the info Betz, very helpful, it was an option we had not considered.
I’m still waiting on a reply for a price quotation.
The best thing to do in my opinion is give the job to an experienced european hgv driver. Me perhaps? 
I’ll organise everything, and take it all the way to Georgia if you want.
Will i be going through Serbia? No, There’s no need.
limeyphil:
The best thing to do in my opinion is give the job to an experienced european hgv driver. Me perhaps?
I’ll organise everything, and take it all the way to Georgia if you want.
Will i be going through Serbia? No, There’s no need.
Whats your email address? We could discuss this more in detail
albie.:
limeyphil:
The best thing to do in my opinion is give the job to an experienced european hgv driver. Me perhaps?
I’ll organise everything, and take it all the way to Georgia if you want.
Will i be going through Serbia? No, There’s no need.Whats your email address? We could discuss this more in detail
billybigrig:
albie.:
limeyphil:
The best thing to do in my opinion is give the job to an experienced european hgv driver. Me perhaps?
I’ll organise everything, and take it all the way to Georgia if you want.
Will i be going through Serbia? No, There’s no need.Whats your email address? We could discuss this more in detail
I agree will be cheaper in long run to get it aken on trailer these romantic adventures never seem to go to plan. A blow out or a breakdown could soon add up
