[Closed] Driving to France with a caravan

Been as far as Provence (Avignon/Nimes area). It's a long drive at a sensible towing speed of about 60mph, but french autoroutes are much better for towing even if most are two lane only. The tolls are not extornionate either.

We've always broken the journey to Provence into 3 days, home (merseyside) to Calais, Calais to Langres (north western France midway between channel ports & destination), final day to Provence. Got to say if we were to head to the riviera we'd probably add another day to the trip down & back, making potentially 8 days travel. If you live on the south coast you're luckier as you don't have to waste a day travelling to get the ferry.

Things to consider, timing of trip, there are certain weekends when most of France & specifically Paris start holidays, these result in mega congestion & heading south on the autoroute du soleil the tunnels under Lyon get stupidly congested to the point where the authorities run an alternating type system to mean vehicles pass through without having to stop. Having said that taking the airport route misses these tunnels and saves time.

Don't forget to factor in your fuel costs, I've done the trip to Provence a couple of times in an old Nissan Terrano (think 18-20 mpg towing) so keep the fuel costs real & admit what your car actually does.

I'd do it in 2-3 days - it's only 700 or so miles. The key is making a stop over somewhere nice, I'd imagine and having a few hours, or even a day or two in a different place.

Thinking Eurotunnel - £100 each way.

Ford Ranger does 30mpg (if I was driving on motorways at 60mph, it would do 35mpg), so thinking 20-25mpg towing.

Langres is a decent stop over for a couple of reasons, it is fairly central, and the town & site isn't too far off the autoroute network.

Did it loads of times as a kid. It's easy enough, just takes time. Just remember the ferry companies rip you off for a 'van, but on the other hand you can stay at aires on the motorway for free.

Not done the coastal route and can't see why you'd need to, the interior of France is great place to drive through and see. I have driven down to the Costa Brava a few times going the A20 toll road, over nighting around Limoge. I normally do a steady 65-70mph all the way, not as tiresome and doesn't attract the police who don't target Brits just idiots treating the roads as race track.
Take your time and enjoy the country since the journey there is part of the holiday experience too.

Done the south coast, the Alps and the west coast with a trailer tent.. Not the same I know, but a really good country 😀

When I have finished saving for a caravan, I will take it for a trip or two, and watch the fuel consumption / average speed drop like a stone 😯

Not bought a van yet, but seriously thinking about it over the next few weeks. Have a stinking great 4x4 to tow it with.

Going on a job at the end of Feb for 6-8 weeks, that will cost me around £1500 in digs. Probably spent upwards of £3k on digs last year, so spending around 4 grand on a van is a bit of a no-brainer.

Can get a nice 4 berth, 20ft, twin axled 1998 Bailey, with full bathroom, cooker & aircon for that sort of money.

TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR - Member
Not bought a van yet, but seriously thinking about it over the next few weeks. Have a stinking great 4x4 to tow it with.
Going on a job at the end of Feb for 6-8 weeks, that will cost me around £1500 in digs. Probably spent upwards of £3k on digs last year, so spending around 4 grand on a van is a bit of a no-brainer.
Can get a nice 4 berth, 20ft, twin axled 1998 Bailey, with full bathroom, cooker & aircon for that sort of money.
POSTED 7 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Just a note, if you passed your test after '97 you can't just tow anything, with anything.

Baileys are great vans though.

If you passed after 1997 you can tow a caravan with a car or probably a truck.

It's just that the total weight of both can't be more than 3500kg that's all, IIRC. And you want to take into account the MTPLM I think.. Maximum technical permissable laden weight ie the 'van fully loaded.

Not that simple molgrips 🙁

Its 3500kg car + 750kg trailer, meaning a max train weight of 4250kg.
Or a combination of car and trailer which does not exceed 3500kg, and the max weight of the trailer is less than the unladen weight of the car.

It doesn't matter if the car and trailer is empty, they use the maximum weights from the cars vin plate and trailers chassis plate.

So on a post '97 license;
A 3500kg transit can only pull a 750kg trailer, even though the vehicle can normally tow 2250kg.
A Mondeo with an unladen weight of 1400kg and a max weight of 1800kg can tow a 1400kg trailer, even though its capable of towing an 1800kg trailer.

I think the Mondeo example is one of the combinations that gives the highest towing weight. I don't think any twin axle caravans would be towable by a post 97 license holder, and almost certainly not behind a big 4x4.

Lets hope he has an older license 🙂 Also, the OP had better get some reversing practise in as a heavy twin axle van is very difficult to move by hand, you normally have to crank the jockey wheel right up so the front axle clears the ground and even then its hard. I have a 1400kg empty horse trailer and its a bugger to push even a few feet, so I just got very good at getting the towball right under the hitch 🙂 I leave the hitch a few mm too low and use the mirrors to line up (I tow with a van) and then feel for the click as the hitch rides over the towball.

Moot point, as I have an old licence.

I can reverse a trailer too, so not an issue.

Biggest issue will be whether I can turn round a 12.5mtr articulated vehicle (7.5mtr van & 5mtr 4x4) on our cul-de-sac. Won't be storing it here, but would want to bring it down occassionally.

Spooky is completely correct on the towing weights. If you're lucky enough to be less than about 30 (assuming you passed your test at 17), you need to take an extra test. Given that older people can just hook up a 7-8m long trailer and tow with no experience, I suspect it's probably a good idea anyway (or at least go on a towing course).

We've towed a lot to the Vendee (never further South), and although much of it's pretty flat, there are some really nice gems hidden there, and even some MTB rides if you want to take bikes (as we do). The beaches are lovely, but it's the Atlantic, so don't expect to do lots of snorkelling. Bodyboarding and surfing is the thing to do. We tend to go Portsmouth-St Malo and Caen-Portsmouth to take advantage of night sailings both ways. Autoroutes are free down to the Vendee from St Malo and Caen until you get South of Nantes.

We tend to stay slightly away from the coast so it's much quieter. Buy the IGN map in the supermarket and stay away from main roads.

Paul

Edit: see you've replied in the licence. You could get a motor mover, which makes the whole manoeuvring thing much easier.

Edit#2: Only 4-5 hours from St Malo to Vendee, bit longer Caen to Vendee.

molgrips - Member
Did it loads of times as a kid. It's easy enough, just takes time. Just remember the ferry companies rip you off for a 'van, but on the other hand you can stay at aires on the motorway for free.

Worth getting camping and caravan club membership for this reason alone. Not done it myself but my parents went to France last year with a caravan and there membership (30 ish per year) saved them well over £100 on there crossing (Long crossing to Cheabourg). Really worth it. I can't remember the exact figure but it was well over £100 saved.

Motor movers are expensive, but you'd be surprised at how easy it is to turn a van around by hand once you've un-hitched it. If it's flat, it's a piece of cake. If it's a twin axle, use the jockey wheel to jack the front two wheels off the ground.

Huge vans aren't necessarily the best. Bit awkward to handle at times.

Oh and when buying second hand vans, pay attention to the tyres. People will always say 'oh they're fine, loads of tread left' but caravan tyres never wear down like car tyres to so there's always tread. What happens is they deteriorate with age. Anything over five years and they'll start to delaminate, break up and er, explode. There's a way of checking the date of manufacture from the numbers on the sidewall, look it up online.

I'm with molgrips on the tyres, on motorhomes particularly its common to see them driving around on the original 15yr old tyres!

There was a thread on another forum where someone complained that they'd shredded a tyre on the way down through France, had it replaced, then on the way back, the tread separated from the other tyre, taking out the wheel arch and a big chuck of the floor causing considerable damage.

Once he was advised how to check the age of his tyres realised his mistake and got the front ones changed pronto 🙂

Liking the look of this for a shade over 4 grand. '98 Bailey Senator California. Awning & van cover included.

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We're taking ours over to Euro Disney this summer, then probably the coast. That's a big van if your new to towing. Twins are reckoned to be more stable though. Ours is 04' Challenger, weighs 1500kg. Use a TDi Galaxy to tow. Prefer it to the Sorrento, does about 26-30 towing. Even so, the thought of fueling it for a trip to the south gives me the shakes...

I am new to towing anything large, although I've driven and reversed with trailers before, including 7.5t tippers with cable trailers.

I've also driven 10t Ford Cargo and Iveco flatbeds (yes, even on a car licence - they were cherry pickers and you can drive these for street lighting only, don't ask me why).

So, although a 20 something foot caravan will be something different again, I think I'll cope. I've found bigger trailers are far easier to reverse than small trailers too - HGV drivers will probably concur (although I wouldn't fancy trying to reverse a 40t artic).

Wow, got to admire the taggers. Grey y fronts and tartan thermos to be expected, but uberidiot? Grow a pair of balls and say it in the thread, or don't bother.

Wow! The above pictures of the caravan are just wonderfull( both exterior and interior)! It must be great experience to drive through the French coast in a caravan...hoping to hire one for myself someday :roll:. How much ferry companies charge for a caravan(average)?

When I checked ferry prices to come to Germany a couple of weeks ago it was something like 35 quid for a car and 150 ish for a caravan.

I've towed mine 5 mile (if that) got it on a seasonal pitch. Think we need some practice at touring before taking on a trip to France.

Looks in nice condition, and includes the bits you need. As always, it's damp that kills a caravan, so make sure it's been checked recently (or get it checked).

I find towing more relaxing than driving solo. Automatic car, cruise control set to 60mph and just sit and steer (especially in France). Just remember to steer wide round corners.

Just bought one of these - spent a bit more than I wanted, but got it cheaper than most I've seen

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