Taller Motorhomes
I was having a look at a couple of motorhome on the manufacturers website. I notice some were fractionally over 3 metres tall. In one case the height was 3.03 metres. I just wondered how those with such motorhomes managed on French Autoroutes with regard to tolls between class 2 and 3? Anyone aware of any tolerance in the height system? Wasn't sure whether to post this here or in overseas but thought it might be more relavant here.
David
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Will let you know ours is a fraction over with the Sprite Ariel on the roof. Could do with about 3.010
. Off in March for 3 - 4 months.Earlier in the year we used the ferry at Sandbanks. The guy looked a little suprised when I said 3.500kg and handed him the money. He then smiled and gave us a ticket. We must look big
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I know one has to allow for the chassis but given that a caravan's chassis is not dissimilar in function, i.e. wheels and suspension, I am surprised that motorhomes generally are so much taller. Internal heights are not dissimilar, so what are they doing with all that space under the floor?
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Double floor has insulation. They also run heating pipes, water pipes and cables they also fit storage boxes, grey waste and water tanks under the floor. I don't have to duck in the Laika like I had to in others. Normally the low floor only applies to the
back of the MH the cab floor is higher off the ground.0 -
so what are they doing with all that space under the floor?
water tanks, waste tanks, spare wheel, piping etc. My motorhome is 3.4 meters high and without fail I get clobbered Class 3 rates at every automatic booth. I suspect if there is any leeway it is not much.
peedee
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our Carthago, with a double floor is 2.89m tall.
the floor contains, heating, water tanks, electrics, storage boxes, etc....really useful and warm
the 3.03m tall MH that DK mentions, sounds like Autotrails...as ive noticed in the past that they built them to this height....why not 3m for toll reasons....? bonkers.....
oddly, their 'low line' and 'overcab' versions are exactly the same height
one has a bed, the other has no bed, a sunroof and some cupboards.....both 3.03m tall...
are toll calibrations accurate.....i dont really know, we are always 'classe deux'
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BB
Spot on about Autotrails, that is what got me thinking as there are so many around owners must encounter this problem or not as the case may be!!!
David
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. The new 2017 offerings from " Southdown Motor Homes" has just been published.The heights /lenghts/weights/etc are all there for perusing
,complete with relevant specifications .
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are toll calibrations accurate.....i dont really know, we are always 'classe deux'
Write your comments here...even with your weight BB (MH that is not you!!) or are tolls on axles and height only?
Edit: from the French autoroute site for Class 2
- Vehicle with overall height from 2 to 3 metres and GVW not exceeding 3.5 tonnes
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Michael, AFAIK the tolls are 'aware' of height, and possibly axles...not sure they can weigh vans, yet.
however, although we are plated at 4250kg, it would be possible (but hard work, lol) to come in at 3.5t....as would many with MTPLM of, say 3650kg.
so, its not the actual weight thats 'important' its the GVW/MTPLM.
weve only ever paid class two.
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I think it must be on height, I've only been charged Class 2, you'd have to loo hard to check the real weight (4250Kg) and I doubt they'd want to take the time and effort. In fact recently it's always been automatic booths I've gone through.
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AS BB says, his is a whisker under 2.9 and everything else seems to be 3M or plus. Even the Carthago is about 25cm taller than most caravans. I realse that some have underslung kit but I am somewhat puzzled by UK MHs as they would apperar to 'waste the space'
. Why not reduce the height?0 -
I wonder if the extra height is due to using the cab and chassis as supplied by the manufacturer where as some makes use an AlKo low profile chassis? What I did notice looking at one range with the greater height was that it had a level floor throughout
which is a plus to me.David
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The height of my motorhome could have definitely been reduce by a lower ceiling height. As is, it does make for plenty of cupboard space and nice lines to accommodate the overcab bed. I think pictures of the latest version indicate they are lower in height
but by how much I don't know. Adding a sat dome can easily push the height above 3 meters on many vans..peedee
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@CY...yes, we are about 25cm taller than a std caravan, but we have a double floor which accounts for 15cm plus the thickness of the second floor itself, and we run on 16" wheels rather than the 15" on a caravan.
with the water tanks, storage and other services between the floors, i wouldnt say our MH wasted space....quite the contrary, in fact, and as DK says the extra benefit is a fully level floor.
we run on a low line AL-KO chassis.
our underbed storage is deep enough to accommodate a hanging wardrobe (one of three) and at the rear theres enough space under to store bikes over a metre high.
so, the height (including the extra thermal benefits of the second floor) is really put to good use, definitely not wasted
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We have an Autotrail Apache 700SE which at its tallest point is 3m we drove up through Spain and in to France a couple of years ago and never had any issues at the tolls etc. On that trip though I did chat to a couple who also had an autotrail and said that
on a couple of occasions they had been charged HGV prices at the tolls0 -
BB, your extra height is obviously utilised. What I find puzzling is that the majority of UK designs don't appear to utlilise the extra height efficiently. Having looked round quite a few MH, the thing that strikes me is the height I climb to get into the
accomodation. What are they doing with all that space underneath. It's not all running gear and suspension. The extreme example for height is fifth wheelers. A different beast, I know, but they seem to have what is practically a cellar sized storage below
the accommodation floor level. Why do UK MH builders not use the space or reduce the height?0 -
the current version of our old Bolero is exactly the same height (2.89m) as our Carthago, but doesnt have a double floor and the interior standing room is similar...
however, in all MH, they have to carry the fresh and waste water tanks somewhere. while many continentals (with no double floor) will site the fresh tank inside the van under a seat (for netter winterisation) they will still probably have the waste tank
underslung.the Bolero, and many other UK vans will have both tanks outside and slung underneath the floor.
with these tanks being (say) 15-20cm deep, and the internal floor being built above them, this will raise the height of the MH compared to a caravan which has no tanks to carry.
so, the bolero would be similar to our van, except we have a second (lower) floor enclosing the area where the tanks are.
the internal floor will be roughly the same height as ours, but could be nearly 20cm higher than a caravan which has no tanks to accommdate.
possibly.....
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Ah, perhaps I've got to the bottom, or is that the top, of it.
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Having just swapped an Elddis MH for an Autotrail and being 6'2" tall I am enjoying the extra height inside of our "low profile", which BB correctly states is the same height as the "overcab". We find the massive cupboards in the "bulge" to be very useful giving us virtually unlimited storage compared to the previous van....
The height relative to toll booth charges is not an issue to us as we have few plans to take it abroad........the O/H prefers a "proper" holiday if we are going abroad !! (read- posh hotel, flying there etc etc....!)
So I guess it all depends what use you intend to make of your van....
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the above is certainly true, in Tintent's case....
however many do take their vans abroad (and still manage to have proper holidays when there in them, and aboard boats and jets.....
) and it
should have been common sense for a company like Autotrail to build their van height at 2.99m or 3.00m rather than the seemingly random 3.03m.....a change of 3cm would have made virtually no difference to the usability of the van.to have ignored this fairly important dimension or not to have been aware of it, might possibly be a little UK short sightedness, as it will certainly influence a fair degree of (non stay at home) UK purchasers.
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BB, your extra height is obviously utilised. What I find puzzling is that the majority of UK designs don't appear to utlilise the extra height efficiently. Having looked round quite a few MH, the thing that strikes me is the height I climb to get into the
accomodation. What are they doing with all that space underneath. It's not all running gear and suspension. The extreme example for height is fifth wheelers. A different beast, I know, but they seem to have what is practically a cellar sized storage below
the accommodation floor level. Why do UK MH builders not use the space or reduce the height?Cyber we have a Bailey its very low profile, no additional step required to get into van as the step has been lowered and once in the whole of the habitation floor is level. Not fully sure but I think its one of the lowest profiles on the UK market. The
inside has plenty of head room even for a 6ft person.0 -
an extreme example of use of a storage double floor is a passenger coach that can take many suitcases in the void...
however, the flipside is the number of steps it takes to climb up to the seating floor....
a typical Liner van like a Concorde might have six or seven steps up to the habitation area, but will have great full width storage between the floors.
underslung tanks might preclude this type of arrangement but may well lead to a very low floor, with easy access.
the downside might be the low level of the tanks means drainage outlets also low to the ground and therefore drainage into a container might be tricky.
however, its all horses for courses and these differences are just some of the things we buyers weigh up during the purchase process....
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I have a tall van, about 3.2m with aerial. Toll booths have a button you can press if you've a problem. State that you have a 'camping car' Classe 2, and they'll reduce the toll which has appeared to that rate. Pay and proceed. [I imagine they can check security cameras to see you.]
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I dont think they were thinking about the idiosyncracies of the French Autoroute tolling system when they designed Autotrails. Why should they ? We dont have such systems in the UK, and are not likely to, thank goodness.
Using my Savannah never caused me any hassles, If you use your motorhome mainly on the Continent, far better to get one designed for that purpose, with the habitation door on the Continental side.Plus all the other design features better suited to Continental touring.
I think if Autotrail were to change to Alko chassis instead of using the standard Sevel chassis, a few vital inches would be gained, and take them under this French 3metre limit. Plus make them handle a bit better, Cart springs and solid rubber bump stops as part of the suspension, do not make for a smooth ride ! And as stated above, waste a lot of space under the bodywork.
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There are more than one height of Alko chassis, i used to have an Autocruise Starburst, which was on a Super Low Alko chassis, no wasted space under that van, it had an internal water tank too. I dont think Autoroute Tolling even comes on Autotrails radar, and why would it ?
As for Knaus, well they are designed for Continental touring arent they. Door on Continental side, fixed tables, beds in the sky, no oven or oven in the sky also and of course Autoroute tolling in the purchasing conversation, as it would be.
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Well, Ray, AT is part of the very large Continental Trigano group which should know a thing or two about rules like these.....
anyway, its a pretty sweeping statement to suggest that if you buy an AT you wouldn't go abroad....
however, savvy customers might think the reverse and suggest that an AT isnt for them if they venture across the water, and that would knock sales.
i certainly wouldnt buy one if i thought there was the slightest chance i was going to pay significantly more on toll roads. i dont use them much, but do from time to time, and Class 2 is as much as im prepared to pay.
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