French Motorway Toll Classification

[Ginny1]

Last year travelling down to Spain we used the French motorways. There was a discrepancy in whether we were charged as a Classe 2 or Classe 3. Obviously there is quite a difference in cost. On my return I wrote to Vinci with the receipts and they did refund me .

Our motorhome is 3.5t, 3m high (plus satellite), 7.5m length, single axle. We always just go through the automatic ticket bay.

Has anyone had this problem? Is there a way to avoid this?

[Derek Uzzell]

If a vehicle’s ‘basic’ height is less than 3 metres but reaches or exceeds 3 metres as a result of things being attached to the vehicle’s roof, whether or not the increased height ‘counts’ depends on exactly what those things are.

 

This link is to a French-language leaflet describing the autoroute vehicle classification system.

 

http://www.autoroutes.fr/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/ASFA%20CLASSE%20VEHICULE%20BD.pdf

 

On the right of the leaflet is a section headed "Les Critères” that relates to vehicle height and includes a “Remarques” (Notes) section.

 

This says

 

"Things that DO NOT affect the total-height calculation

- Loads carried on the roof or on a trailer.

- Accessories such as antennas, roof-boxes or roof racks, rotating lights, taxi signs, satellite aerials, rooflights, solar panels.

 

Things that DO affect the total-height calculation

- Additions to the basic vehicle, such as truck sleeping pods, air-conditioners, refrigeration units."

 

So if your motorhome’s height is LESS THAN 3 metres without taking its roof-mounted sat-dish/dome into account, it should be charged the Classe 2 tariff.

 

One forum member (Patricia, who owned a property in France) had the same problem as you, with roof-mounted sat-TV equipment pushing her motorhome’s height beyond the 3-metres threshold and, as a consequence, sometimes being charged the Classe 3 tariff at autoroute unmanned toll booths. She said that (usually) she could do as you did and obtain a refund by contacting the autoroute operator

 

A human toll-booth operator, clued up on the small print of the autoroute vehicle-classification system, may be able to identify items mounted on a motorhome's roof and decide whether or not they change the vehicle's Class from 2 to 3, but a height-sensing system of an unmanned/automated toll-booth won’t.

[laimeduck]

Yes - this works both ways.

My Benimar is 3850Kg but 2.8 metres high with nothing on the roof so when I do use autoroutes I am charged at the Class 2 rate. Which of course suits me fine. I don't use them a lot however only to get around large towns/cities.

[StuartO]

Derek Uzzell - 2018-02-03 5:52 AM  .....  but a height-sensing system of an unmanned/automated toll-booth won’t.

I read somewhere that if you find the automatic toll machine is charging you Class 3 (it gives the Classe on the display) you can press the talk button and keep saying "camping car class deux" until the person on the other end overrides the mechanism and changes it to charge Classe 2.

Not had to do it myself because we are just under 3m high anyway.

[Ginny1]

Thanks to you all.

[Derek Uzzell]

StuartO - 2018-02-02 3:39 PM

Derek Uzzell - 2018-02-03 5:52 AM  .....  but a height-sensing system of an unmanned/automated toll-booth won’t.

I read somewhere that if you find the automatic toll machine is charging you Class 3 (it gives the Classe on the display) you can press the talk button and keep saying "camping car class deux" until the person on the other end overrides the mechanism and changes it to charge Classe 2.

Not had to do it myself because we are just under 3m high anyway.

Pressing the toll-booth Help button was mentioned in this 2013 threadhttp://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Autoroute-Charges/32283/The ploy is well known to UK motorcaravanners, as this 2016 MHFacts discussion showshttp://forums.motorhomefacts.com/130-france-touring/196401-french-motorway-tolls-vehicle-height.html(Interesting that an owner of an Auto-Trail Arapaho (height 3.07m, weight hugely over 3500kg, 3 axles) had - for 3 years - managed to obtain the Classe 2 tariff instead of the ‘correct’ Class 4 tariff.)

[StuartO]

Yes, now that you mention it I think it was someone who was trying the cheat the system!  But isn't the OP entitled to Class 2, it being only a satellite aerial system that takes him above it?

[Derek Uzzell]

The OP said "Our motorhome is 3.5t, 3m high (plus satellite)” and in my posting of 2 February 2018 2:52 PM above I said "If a vehicle’s ‘basic’ height is less than 3 metres but reaches or exceeds 3 metres as a result of things being attached to the vehicle’s roof...”

 

It’s not crystal-clear in English-language guidance documents what the exact height-limit is, but this Vinci webpage

 

https://www.vinci-autoroutes.com/fr/classes-vehicules

 

confirms that the Classe 2 upper height-limit is not 3-metres, but LESS-than-3-metres

 

“Hauteur totale supérieure à 2 mètres et inférieure à 3 mètres...”

 

So if the OP’s motorhome (whatever make, model and age it is !!!) is 2.99m high and has a satellite dish/dome on its roof, it should be treated as Classe 2. But if the motorhome is 3.0m high, it should be treated as Classe 3 and the fact that it has a roof-mounted satellite dish/dome becomes irrelevant.

 

The autoroute vehicle classification system is artificial and there’s no logical reason why a rigid 3.0m limit should not have been set originally with no ‘things on the roof’ loopholes. Then, if toll-booth height-sensing equipment should register an over-3.0m figure, the vehicle could not be in Classe 2. But the Classe system is what it is, and as it stands there will always be potential Classe 2/Classe 3 problems for motorhomes having an around-3.0m height.

 

 

 

 

[monique.hubrechtsgm]

Very interesting. I think for a garage roof etc every mm counts Like a std garage door height of two mtrs high in which some vans can pass. But in this case it should clarified how they measure. The eurochunnel has the same on min height of 1.85 mtrs. But skiboxes and bikes must be specified. The second deck is two times this height. Depended of their corridoor doors. But again problems for motorhomes classifications

[monique.hubrechtsgm]

This is what liefkenshoekenstunnel said in belgium crossig the schelde river north of ant werp. It includes every thing what is on top above 3 mtr. between 10 am 8 pm it is cheaper. At day 22 euro. against 3.5 euro for a car or a van under 3mtr. If paid in cash 3 euro extra. I think the dartford crossing near london is cheaper.

[Derek Uzzell]

Dartford Crossing charges here

 

https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge/charges-fines

[teccer1234]

for years we had been using the Milau bridge and only charged around 9-10 euros each way until 4 years ago when we went down we got charged 32 euros when I asked why the operator asked for our log book and said we were over 3,5 tonnes (we are 4.5T, hymer 694b ), on the way back 6 months later we were charged 10 euros so the following year we tried it again, on the way down 10,+ euros but this time on the return we were charged 34 euros so never again,

we now got via Rouen = Vierzon - Limoges - Toulouse - Narbonne, we found that it takes the same amount of time with more free motorways so saving a load of dosh plus no more up and down over the Massif Central which was using a lot more fuel

[Billggski]

The old road under the Millau bridge is windy but quite scenic, and sometimes we stay by river and walk into town. A nice break and no tolls!

[aandy]

teccer1234 - 2018-08-20 7:05 PM

 

for years we had been using the Milau bridge and only charged around 9-10 euros each way until 4 years ago when we went down we got charged 32 euros when I asked why the operator asked for our log book and said we were over 3,5 tonnes (we are 4.5T, hymer 694b ), on the way back 6 months later we were charged 10 euros so the following year we tried it again, on the way down 10,+ euros but this time on the return we were charged 34 euros so never again,

we now got via Rouen = Vierzon - Limoges - Toulouse - Narbonne, we found that it takes the same amount of time with more free motorways so saving a load of dosh plus no more up and down over the Massif Central which was using a lot more fuel

 

Surely, you won't use more fuel going 'up and down' if you start and finish at the same altitude (unless. of course, you also cover a greater distance). The increase in consumption on the uphill bits should be compensated for by the decrease on the downhill bits.

[phalange]

My van is 4.5t and a tag and i've only ever been charged class 2 :-D

[Wasnt Me]

I'm pretty sure you are not allowed a tag for a vehicle over 3.5 ton.

 

Therefore when you pass through it assumes you are class 2.

 

We borrow my Dad's tag every year and it saves us a fortune.

 

We did have a problem this year where it didn't work and it said class 3 on the booth. My wife pressed the button and they let us through.

 

 

[Billggski]

I lend my tag to my son, but I make sure he pays the tolls when he gets back!

They can be used on any vehicle, but linked to one bank account.

[Derek Uzzell]

teccer1234 - 2018-08-20 7:05 PM

 

for years we had been using the Milau bridge and only charged around 9-10 euros each way until 4 years ago when we went down we got charged 32 euros when I asked why the operator asked for our log book and said we were over 3,5 tonnes (we are 4.5T, hymer 694b ), on the way back 6 months later we were charged 10 euros so the following year we tried it again, on the way down 10,+ euros but this time on the return we were charged 34 euros so never again,

we now got via Rouen = Vierzon - Limoges - Toulouse - Narbonne, we found that it takes the same amount of time with more free motorways so saving a load of dosh plus no more up and down over the Massif Central which was using a lot more fuel

 

The vehicle categories relating to vehicles using French autoroutes are shown here

 

http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/vehicle-classification.htm

 

It should be plain that any motorhome with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of more than 3500kg should be in Category 3 or, if the vehicle has more than two axles, in Category 4. (This has always been the case as far as I’m aware.)

 

The 2018 tarifs for crossing the Millau Viaduct are shown here

 

https://www.leviaducdemillau.com/sites/default/files/pdf_depliants_tarifs_2018.pdf

 

You haven’t said how old your Hymer is, but earlier B694 models certainly had a tandem rear-axle configuration. As - when you weren’t being incorrectly charged the Category 2 tarif - you seem to have been charged the Category 4 tarif, I assume your Hymer has two rear axles.

 

It’s a common misconception in the UK motorcaravanning community that there’s a special autoroute ‘camping-car’ category, and that every motorhome irrespective of its height, weight or number of axles should be charged the Category 2 tarif. It ain’t so...

 

As the majority of French-registered motorhomes have a GVW that does not exceed 3500kg and only have two axles, it’s not that unusual for UK motorcaravanners to be charged the Category 2 rate despite their motorhome’s specification placing it in Category 3 or 4. But if your Hymer has 3 axles and a GVW of 4500kg, it definitely qualifies for the Category 4 tarif on any French toll-autoroute and, when you were charged the Category 2 tarif for so long, you just had a run of very good luck.

[david lloyd]

Wasn't Me - 2018-08-20 8:59 PM

 

I'm pretty sure you are not allowed a tag for a vehicle over 3.5 ton.

 

Therefore when you pass through it assumes you are class 2.

 

We borrow my Dad's tag every year and it saves us a fortune.

 

We did have a problem this year where it didn't work and it said class 3 on the booth. My wife pressed the button and they let us through.

 

 

That's interesting. I recently enquired of Sanef tolling to see if I could get a tag for my Hymer B544 - 3850kgs - but was told they do not sell tags for vehicles over 3500kgs and was referred to their partner company who did. However, they are really for commercial operators and cost a fortune they have no facility to cater for private individuals such as a motorhome owner.

 

So using a tag and simply driving through is appealing but I'm cautious now with the advent of 'Weighing in Motion' becoming ever more widespread. Not sure where the French are with this but I know it has increased in this country and I would have thought a prime location for such technology would be the toll gates.

 

David

[Derek Uzzell]

Except the autoroute tarif weight-related factor is not based on what a vehicle actually weighs when it’s being driven, but on the vehicle’s GVW.

 

So a motorhome with a GVW of 3500kg (autoroute Category 2) could weigh, say, 3700kg when being driven (overloaded), while a motorhome with a GVW of, say, 3850kg (autoroute Category 3) could weigh 3450kg when being driven. In neither case would the vehicle’s autoroute Category (or tarif) be affected.

[Billggski]

The problem is usually height, which they measure at the toll booth. As we are marginally over 3 metres high sometimes we get classe 3 coming uo so have to press the help button and argue the toss. Only refused once.

[Wasnt Me]

Our is over 3500kg and is just over 3 metres and only the once has it been flagged for Class 3.

 

I assume when you have a tag it just charges you Class 2 as they don't work for Class 3.

 

Either way its cheaper and considering how expensive France is now, it helps.

[Derek Uzzell]

Wasn't Me - 2018-08-21 10:25 AM

 

...Either way its cheaper and considering how expensive France is now, it helps.

 

As my wife insists on carrying out a large supermarket shop in France just before we head home, I asked her about pricing relative to the UK. She said that, provided that one buys cannily and exploits promotional offers (which she does at home) it’s financially worthwhile.

 

As I’ve said before, we lunch daily (except on weekends) and, on our last trip, the most expensive meal (2 people including wine) was around £33. That was at a poshish restaurant and the more usual cost does not exceed £25. It’s most unlikely we could do better back home for equivalent meals.

 

Obviously you can spend a lot motorcaravanning in France if you choose to stay on hyper-expensive campsites or dine at Michelin-starred restaurants, but - just as one does not HAVE to buy a Rolex watch for accurate time-keeping - you don’t HAVE to spend excessively in France if you take a modicum of care not to.

[Wasnt Me]

Derek Uzzell - 2018-08-21 11:05 AM

 

Wasn't Me - 2018-08-21 10:25 AM

 

...Either way its cheaper and considering how expensive France is now, it helps.

 

As my wife insists on carrying out a large supermarket shop in France just before we head home, I asked her about pricing relative to the UK. She said that, provided that one buys cannily and exploits promotional offers (which she does at home) it’s financially worthwhile.

 

As I’ve said before, we lunch daily (except on weekends) and, on our last trip, the most expensive meal (2 people including wine) was around £33. That was at a poshish restaurant and the more usual cost does not exceed £25. It’s most unlikely we could do better back home for equivalent meals.

 

Obviously you can spend a lot motorcaravanning in France if you choose to stay on hyper-expensive campsites or dine at Michelin-starred restaurants, but - just as one does not HAVE to buy a Rolex watch for accurate time-keeping - you don’t HAVE to spend excessively in France if you take a modicum of care not to.

 

Thanks for the tip I will give this advice to my wife, for when she does the shopping *-)

[Billggski]

......by the way, the sanef tag isn't cheaper. You pay the same tolls plus an initial fee. It's just the convenience and the fact that my wife doesn't have to swear and cuss because she can't reach the card slot.