Quick question for ferry experts, I was wondering if I could get some guidance on car vs van vs motorhome.

Two of us are going to the alps in June and are taking my van. Ferry prices stack up as follows:

Dover to Dunkirk, car/motorhome less than 2.4m = £55 return approximately.

Dover to Dunkirk, van less than 2.4m = £250 return approximately!

As you may have guessed I want to take a van (albeit a small one), do you think Norfolkline can make the distinction between a van and a motorhome?

Thanks for any advice you might have, its a bit of a p*** take to pay another £200 for soemthing the same size as a people carrier.

What sort of van is it?

If its a T5 then I might be able to offer some information to help based on chassis numbers etc etc………

What did they say when you spoke to them?

I had a similar issue regarding the IoM ferry and they were happy to consider my van as a people carrier/motorhome once I explained it was not being used for commercial purposes.

Same here on the Dunoon ferry where you can speak to the ticket chap. Just checked the M6 Toll road details and the measure they use is height at the first axle. Under 1.3 m and its the cheapest, over 1.3m its more expensive so its nothing to do with car/van etc etc. Good for catching 4×4 and people carriers.

Bigger companies may use the number plate anpr to decide if its a van/camper/people carrier from the vehicle database, as druidh says, a call may be best…

Moe – it’s just a distinction between commercial and private. Emphasise that it’s a people carrier instead and they should to it for the right price.

I have a T4 camper and sometimes just have to clarify that its not a T4 commercial.

I wouldnt worry about it and just buy the cheapest ticket. In my experience, providing you are not trying to board at the busiest times, the guys working on the dockside don’t seem to care too much about anything. They just want to load the boat. As far as I can remember, I’ve never payed for being ‘overheight’/ bit too long for my ticket when taking kayaks to europe.

I regularly take a T3 multivan on that route on a car ticket and have never had any problems.