Need to book a ferry crossing for our Alps trip. I am driving down in mates T5 LWB with side windows and seats in back (1 row). Having trouble deciding what best to call it when filling in the booking.

Don’t think I can get away with calling it a car but is there any merit to calling it a camper, a minibus or a private van??? All are possible and all no doubt have different price structures.

Unfortunately none of the discount codes I have work on anything other than a car!

What do others recommend? Tunnel?

Well the prices go car<camper<van if that makes a difference. We’ve taken a Vito (no rear seats or windows) on as a car plenty of times.

iirc saying it’s a van doubles the price, presumably as they want to charge it business rates.

We did exactly the same with the tunnel, no issues there either

How high is it? This makes the difference I think.

uselesshippy – Member
How high is it? This makes the difference I think.

Not really. Fine on the ferry, and you just go into the single decker part on the train (along with the cars with roof racks, coaches and the like)

We took ours on Irish Sea ferry as an MPV. No issues.

Hmm that is what I wanted to hear! Van prices are silly compared to cars and the footprint of the T5 is no bigger than a large estate car

That’s always been my justification too 🙂

Just put it as a lwb caravelle.. It’s a car according to a V5 and inevitably the same footprint/silouette.

DFDS are usually cheap.
And don’t recall any fuss over our Galaxy & caravan.
Also, if you go in to Dunkirk & head for Lille then south you’ll save some toll fees.

Aye, that is the plan. Taking my time on the drive down, going via Luxembourg and down the Rhine Valley and into Switzerland by the back door. I need to buy a Swiss Vignette anyway as I am back in the country in September so might as well use their motorways as pay the Frenchies!

Can’t you play on the booking system to work out the price differences?

We’ve just booked a return trip on the Newhaven-Dieppe crossing and I was surprised when it came out at just £144 for a 6.5m campervan, at 4 metres high.

Payed the same on the tunnel for a LWB transit and a car, not done the ferry but I’m guessing if you go through the booking process with each option you will find out the price. It likely reads the reg into the process so will know exactly what you have.

i used to book my t4 on the ferry as an mpv. it was lowered and had alloy wheels but was an ex aa with camper interior. diesel car on the v5 as it was factory fitted with back seats and windows.

if it looks like a builders van then you prob wont get away with mpv but if its blinged up with alloys/ tints etc and yo havent got it full of cement and shovels you’ll prob be ok.

whats it registered as? my vw t5 swb kombi is registered as a ‘diesel car’ and therefore pays the same tolls/fees as a diesel car.

if you’re driving it round as a vehicle registered as a van still then i hope you’re sticking to the lower commercial vehicle speed limits 😉

Always used Norfolk Lines with my T5 SWB and then Vito. Never been a problem even with bikes on the back. They always charged me the car rate as both vans were just a nats under 5m in length (both were kombis). Did find it a bit hit and miss on the tolls though.

Just to close this thread with actual data..

The T5 (LWB low roof, 6 seats and forward rear windows) was booked onto DFDS ferry as a High-Car using a 10% discount code (which only worked with cars anyway) and came in at about £110 return. Cheapest quote for a private van or a small camper was nearer £180. There was no issue whatsoever at the terminal and all went smoothly. On the French Autoroutes it passed every toll as a class 1 (under 3.5 Tn and less than 2 metres high) so a bonus result there too.

It even gets across the severn Bridge at car prices

Facts ruin threads
Boo!

i just crossed from calais to dover with DFDS, my t5 shuttle LWB went as a car, I selected <2.35 x 6m. No probs

also I get charged class 1 on the tolls…. in Italy it varies between 1&2 depending what the machines or attendants decide.