Calais to Trieste then on to Greece. Advice on the 'East of Alps' route please

[FRANKP60]

Finally book ferry Venice to Patras return trip 13/5/14 to 16/6/14,not had the £ figure from credit card but what I worked out, its about £660.00 return ,camping on deck .This included fuel surcharge and over 60 passenger discount .If you want any more info PM ME .

 

 

[peejay]

Hi,

 

If it helps the 2014 Anek Brochure is available to download now...

 

http://web.anek.gr/anek_prod/pdf/Brochures/2014/flipbook/EN/index.html

 

The fuel surcharge for the Venice route is a hefty €20 per person per crossing and an even heftier €50 per camper per crossing so you will have to add that to the brochure price.

 

Have you considered using Minoan on the Trieste route? As mentioned, they don't do Camping on board anymore but they do offer 'All Inclusive Camping', which includes hook up for the van on deck and an inside cabin and main meal each for the price of deck passage. You can also have your dog in the cabin for an extra €25 each way..

 

http://www.minoan.gr/en/offers/all-inclusive-camping

 

No brochure available on Minoan route yet and can't find anything about fuel surcharges so far but no doubt they will publish them soon. You can also get a 20% discount with them if you are with ADAC or the AA.

 

 

Worth trying Superfast as well as they do Camping on board but they only go from Ancona. Fuel surcharges are less though at €15 per person and per vehicle per crossing.

 

http://www.superfast.com/adriatiki/en/for-passengers/fares-ancona-2014.html

 

Anek and Superfast operate jointly on the Ancona - Greece route but not sure if they share ships or if prices/surcharges differ by operator, you'd have to double check.

 

We've used all three main carriers in the past and recently Minoan have been the best value for us.

Their 'all inclusive camping' is a good deal imo unless there is a specific desire to stick to camping on board.

 

Pete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest JudgeMental]

I have a good bit of experience with demountables..May be more helpful to you if you state model and make of both truck and camper....also next time you visit a weighbridge, go without the trailer and weigh the back axle as this is the important measurement, not just that all up weight.

 

Haven't looked at these issues for some time but the only 3500Kg double cab that was available years ago (at least 7 years back) was the Nissan Navara, but the Portuguese import model (available in Germany as well)

 

I have had both double cab and king cab versions on Ford and Mitsubishi pick ups, the king cab a far better job as more stable and a bigger camper also....

 

we traveled Europe without any problems, never ever been on the polices radar. but we where also very careful with loading and weigh distribution so always legal anyway

 

Im still a member of the german demountable forum. and demountables relatively popular over there....may well be worth you time joining up, just post in English, dont be shy :)

 

http://www.wohnkabinen-magazin.de/forum

 

edit: would like to thank Pete for the ferry info above...very useful! :-D

[rubberrat]

Thanks for that .... Here's a pic. There is a UK demountable forum but I seem to be the only posting member. Not often I come across a current or past owner.

The reason I decided to research these things is after being on the Venice- Patras ferry in the past with a dozen or so German demountables... I took a close look - then the 'lightbulb moment' arrived...

 

Surprising as after some 30-odd campers/motorhomes I think I've finally hit on the 'perfect outfit' for us anyway as we tend to to the 'onward travel' thing that motorhomers do over the 'drive there and park it' thing that caravanners do.

But its nice to be able to dump the camper and use the truck alone if we hole up in one place overseas.

Camper has a very large fixed bed but the loo/shower may be too small for those that like full-on home from home on the road.

Comfy 5-seater truck with heaps of storage, and I use it as a daily drive when I slide the camper off 6 days a week.

 

4x4 is great for Greek tracks and if the truck goes bang or gets old, we can always get another truck!

 

Anyway, this is our Chevy/S.Karosser EC6. An odd pic as I was just moving the pod so the front legs are still in 'down' and the alloy roofrack that we carry the safari room on isn't fitted hence the odd gap above the cab.

 

 

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb295/rubbersurfinrat/SKarosserChevy1_zpsb1ca8208.jpg

 

I'll catch up on replies and PM's for the above very very useful ferry info when we get home after this weekend away.

 

 

Whats the trick for pics on this forum? usually a third party picture hoster like photobucket - but that doesn't seem to work here and I can't find any clues in FAQ or search?

[Guest JudgeMental]

the american trucks tend to have smaller payloads, whereas most European have 1 ton (900Kg) not a clue regards the capacity of your truck....... An empty 6L is 650 Kg? but as it hangs out the back the rear axle suffers from the fulcrum effect of this. As I said earlier I manged to run within weight limits with the same 6L camper. I even considered going back to one last year but wife said no way! and she is right, a panel van a much more practical and comfortable vehicle with lots of storage and we can carry our bikes...but I did love my demountables! :D

 

The German forum a real useful resource and they are friendly....The Minoen crossing from Trieste looks the best deal, I priced it up for July out - August return and it was around £550 I think

[rubberrat]

Trieste it is then!

 

My Chevy truck is an American market SUV but similar to European Isuzu so has a typical Euro 1100kg payload.

 

Although there is a fulcrum effect the loading is (just) in front of the rear axle. Yes, EC6 is 650kg empty but 90% of our kit is in the rear of the truck pushing weight distribution forwards. We have sold off all our sturdy heavy motorhoming kit and replaced everything with lightweight variants.

 

I can see why your wife would prefer a 'proper' motorhome or PVC, particularly for better UK lounging and a bigger loo, but we tend to be 'live outdoors' folk so the snug lounge doesn't bother us.

 

 

Bikes? there is a fix, If I could load pics on here I'd show you a folding bike rack similar to the 'swing away' spare wheel carriers, but they are very expensive and also it's weight on the back which I avoid.

So - folding bikes for us stowed again in the truck!

[Guest JudgeMental]

that is what we used to do...folding bikes, 3 in camper and my sons small bike on roof rack :-D we just found that once the kids turned into teenagers it was a bit to tight. would be interested in that rack, I will PM you my email address if you dont mind. I just enjoy full size E bikes and ride all the time, so for us it was time to move on. I did rejoin the German forum last year as I was considering another go with a bigger camper on a king cab as we dont need the double cab now...But thery remain a niche product for good reason as they offer very poor space & value for money, as a decent rig costs way more then a camper van...

 

and to be honest even with air suspension handling on roundabouts not so great..can get across Europe far faster and in more comfort with a panel van. fuel consumption with camper on truck was also eye watering!

 

all the best Eddie

[rubberrat]

Thanks Eddie... Apologies for late reply, away over the weekend.

Yes, feel free to PM me for an email address.- I have just looked in my Demountable pic folder, but I seem to have deleted it, it was a unit I was interested in at the time when it was for sale.

I managed to trace a copy on the demountable forum, although the resolution might be a little poor.

 

Here's a link to my PB

 

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb295/rubbersurfinrat/_12_zps2397e75e.jpg

 

[rubberrat]

Thanks Eddie... Apologies for late reply, away over the weekend.

Yes, feel free to PM me for an email address.- I have just looked in my Demountable pic folder, but I seem to have deleted it, it was a unit I was interested in at the time when it was for sale.

I managed to trace a copy on the demountable forum, although the resolution might be a little poor.

 

Here's a link to my PB

 

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb295/rubbersurfinrat/_12_zps2397e75e.jpg

 

 

I certainly agree about using a demountable for more than two would be a squeeze, plenty of room day and night for two, but once the 'downstairs' bed is made up and occupied it makes access to the overcab bed almost impossible.

Strictly a two-berth for us and anyone else unless desperate.

 

But for us - it's perfect - we had a PVC before this (Trigano Tribute) and hated the way the bed filled the centre. But as you say, the drive was better.

 

We have a classic aircooled VW camper too so used to small spaces!

 

 

 

[Guest JudgeMental]

Hi Mark, found an old low quality shot of my rig back in 2005 on road back from Lapland :-D

 

[rubberrat]

Nice pic Eddie. I'll add one of mine when I next load the demountable on. The only one I have looks a bit odd as it was a temporary fit to shift it. I'm re-block paving my drive. Won't be in a rush to do that job ever again!

 

Yours is almost identical other than extra roofrack on mine.

 

Just out of interest, do you recall what pressure you ran your air suspension at, and what tyre pressures on the rears?

I'm still experimenting with mine and so far found 70psi in the bags and 50psi in the tyres is good, but keen to hear from others,

 

I've enjoyed trawling that German forum - not easy going as I only understand a bit of technical German from working there, but have no understanding of German grammar so it's a case of picking out things I understand (about 5%)

 

Thanks again - Mark

 

 

[Guest JudgeMental]

I dont think I blew them up that much...cant remember to be honest. just experiment

 

if you view german forum through google chrome it will automatically translate it. Or just copy the url into google translate and open in translated window, and it will be in english..some things translate far more understandably than others. but when posting make sure you turn back to german version, and just post in english. or else it can auto translate and get confusing for the germans as appears as gobbledygook (most at understand english even if they answer in german)

[Guest JudgeMental]

Mark, you have a PM