Towing UK caravan.

[Gyn_Paul]

While SD is up and about I thought I'd run this past him and wait for the fireworks !

I have a UK caravan sitting 5 hours way in dept 44. I desperately need it here to live in while we have the ground floor (therefore bathroom and kitchen) completely gutted. It will rest here for the remainder of its natural life, and then probably end up as a chicken shed like several otheres I've seen around here!

I am at my wit's end trying to find an English friend - with a UK-plated car + towbar - who would come with me  (not lend me the vehicle, noted from earlier thread! ) to collect it.

SD, - if I were to say, "Oh buggar it, I'll take the risk and tow it on the back of my French Scenic" given that I am the sort of unlucky person who would ALWAYS be the one who got stopped, what's the worst that could happen to me. ?

p

(not seriously planing to do it, you understand, just exploring all the options)

[Anton Redman]

You get pulled by the Gendarmes and as you do not speak French or have any documents with you spend the next 18 hours while they sort this out

You side swipe my Ferrari  and write off a priceless piece of Italien history

Unless you an find somebody to tow it with a UK reg car hire a flat bed and put it on that.

[Sunday Driver]

Code de la route Art R322-1: Using a vehicle/trailer on the road without a valid carte grise is a class 4 offence punishable by a 135€ fine, reduced to 90€ if paid within three days.

Cheaper than paying for it to be transported....[;-)]

 

[AnOther]

I'm aghast and truly shocked SD.............[:-))] [blink] [:D]

 

Gyn_Paul:

I know at least 3 people who would probably be only too happy to help you out.

Jeremy Clarkson

Richard Hammond.

James May.

All C/O The BBC

I doubt they would charge you either [6]

 

[PaulT]

Not saying you should break the law but..........

If you wish to purchase a number plate in England then you require the registration document plus additional pieces of identifaction. Now this is where the United Kingdom is so wonderful - if you wish to purchase a number plate from a Scottish company then, you do not need any of the identifiction items!

If you go on to ebay.co.uk you will find Scottish companies stating that you can order from them with no identifaction needed.

So, you could get a plate for the car that matches the one on the caravan and make out that you are a visitor.

However, this method or SDs could be a nightmare if you have an accident - what will the insurance company say.

Paul

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="P2"]

So, you could get a plate for the car that matches the one on the caravan and make out that you are a visitor.

[/quote]

Too expensive.

Using a false number plate means five years in prison, a 3,750€ fine, six points, a three year driving ban plus confiscation of the vehicle.....[:(]

 

[Iceni]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

Code de la route Art R322-1: Using a vehicle/trailer on the road without a valid carte grise is a class 4 offence punishable by a 135€ fine, reduced to 90€ if paid within three days.

Cheaper than paying for it to be transported....[;-)]

 

[/quote]

Pedant mode - there is no fine for using but there is for being caught using, therein lies a possible solution.

John

not

[Patf]

If the caravan has a numberplate which corresponds to the plate of a registered UK car, either here or in the UK, you could probably even get it added to your insurance for a limited time. We did this with a horsebox which we used for a month when moving house here, towed behind our french car. The plate is the same as our daughter's car in UK. Unless the regs for caravans are different from horseboxes. Even our Axa man was surprised at this. He rang head office to ask and they said ok.

[Sunday Driver]

All trailers/caravans/horseboxes, etc whose gross weight (PTAC) is over 500kg must have their own registration.  You cannot just tow one under the number plate of someone else's car which is located in another country.....

 

[Chancer]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

All trailers/caravans/horseboxes, etc whose gross weight (PTAC) is over 500kg must have their own registration.  You cannot just tow one under the number plate of someone else's car which is located in another country.....

 

[/quote]

Or ................ You could but you might just have to pay an amende of either 90 or 130 Euros[:)]

Personally for one necessary journey I would be far more at ease with that than the suggestion of changing my number plates and pretending that I was a tourist.

One day I will be faced with a similar situation after having brought out my cherished but as yet unrestored Lotus Elan on my UK legal trailer towed by my then UK registered car. I will either want to move it or take the trailer back to the UK to sell (no chance of registering it here I purpose built it using a 40 year old caravan chassis as a starting point) but my car is now french registered.

[powerdesal]

A couple of years ago, my daughter towed her UK reg plated caravan from Germany, using a German registered car. She obviously travelled across different countries and into UK. At no point was she queried about the mix of registations. I must add that it wasn't a deliberate ploy by her, she just didn't think about the registation plate issues due to other stress at the time.

[AnOther]

Not exactly your situation but for what it's worth about 3 month's ago I bought a LHD Belgian registered car in UK then drove it from UK to France towing my UK (i.e. non registered) 1700kg box trailer.

I arranged insurance through my French (English) broker and he told me to put the car number on the trailer but stressed that this was a strictly one off arrangement and once the trailer was safely in France I should not use it again until it was properly registered. He emailed me a certificate of insurance showing both car and trailer.

Obviously there was no way I was going to get a genuine Belgian number plate in UK so I simply went to a car accessory shop, bought a white stick-on backing plate and the relevant digits in black and made up my own which looked exactly what it. I encountered one or 2 police cars along the way in France but they took not the slightest notice.

As he pointed out, there has to be a little flexibility in the system otherwise nobody could ever import a trailer/caravan/motorhome or WHY. I've PM'd his details to you, give him a call, he won't BS you. I think if you can prove that you've made the effort to do it as legally as possible rather than just taking the chance you'd be very unlucky to get into trouble.

Powerdesal:

What you mean of course is that she got away with it [;-)]

 

[PaulT]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"][quote user="P2"]

So, you could get a plate for the car that matches the one on the caravan and make out that you are a visitor.

[/quote]

Too expensive.

Using a false number plate means five years in prison, a 3,750€ fine, six points, a three year driving ban plus confiscation of the vehicle.....[:(]

 

[/quote]

That is a little painful.

I suppose the other option is to do what some in the UK do to avoid speed camera fines - cover the plate in mud so that it cannot be read.

Paul

[Sunday Driver]

Any more interesting suggestions before I tell you the official (legal) way to do this........[;-)]

 

[Bob T]

From this thread, and otheres about UK registered cars, it seems obvious that French insurance agents will tell you anything to  get a bit of trade. The crunch will come when there is a problem as I doubt if the Police will accept that the insurance agent is a legal advisor. As has been said before, people will look for a way around the law even if it is illegal.

[Bugsy]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

Any more interesting suggestions before I tell you the official (legal) way to do this........[;-)]

 

[/quote]

Is it ?

Stick a great big satellite dish on the roof, mounted upright and facing the wind. No police will bother you then......[Www]

[Purple Crazy]

May be able to help out have PM'd you

[Sunday Driver]

The code de la route recognises that people may need to temporarily use unregistered vehicles on the road, eg imported cars where the plates/seals have been retained by the original foreign authorites - and unregistered trailers/caravans.....[;-)]

Accordingly, you may obtain a provisional carte grise with a WW registration number that is valid for fifteen days - enough time to collect the caravan and deliver it to your property.

Just apply to your prefecture - fill in the usual demande de certificat d'immatriculation form and hand it in together with proof of ownership of the caravan, passport and proof of address.  The fee is the base rate applicable for 1CV - 32€.  Carte grise issued, get a new plate made up and you're off...

 

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

The code de la route recognises that people may need to temporarily use unregistered vehicles on the road, eg imported cars where the plates/seals have been retained by the original foreign authorites - and unregistered trailers/caravans.....[;-)]

Accordingly, you may obtain a provisional carte grise with a WW registration number that is valid for fifteen days - enough time to collect the caravan and deliver it to your property.

Just apply to your prefecture - fill in the usual demande de certificat d'immatriculation form and hand it in together with proof of ownership of the caravan, passport and proof of address.  The fee is the base rate applicable for 1CV - 32€.  Carte grise issued, get a new plate made up and you're off...

 

[/quote]

SD: You are an absolute STAR !!!!

Go'bless ya gov'nr !!

p

[AnOther]

Would I be correct in thinking that a temporary WW registration is a "one off" ?

Not an issue for the OP but could be if anyone were thinking of using it to bring a caravan/trailer over for future reregistration and didn't get on with the job within the 15 days.

[Gyn_Paul]

SD - have PM'd you

p

EDIT. actually, it doesn't seem to want to PM, so I've emailed you.

p

[rockstitch]

I have enquired at the prefecture in Perigueux and also in Cahors for a temp carte Gris for my caravan so that I can Legally take it to DRIER for inspection and neither office ever heard of this. I would be most grateful if you could you please send me more information as to how you came by this information as getting my caravan through the French registration system is fast becoming a total nightmare. Kind Regards Sam.

[Sunday Driver]

The basis of the certificat provisoire d'immatriculation (carte grise WW) is set out in the Arrêté du 9 février 2009 relatif aux modalités d’immatriculation des véhicules, published in the Official Journal on 11 February 2009.  The relevant section can be found in Chapitre 4,  Article 8.

Note, one of the changes to the previous arrangements is that the carte grise WW is now valid for one month (renewable for one month) rather than just the 15 days as previously.

Here's a [url=http://www.nord.pref.gouv.fr/page.php?P=data%2Fdemarches%2Fcarte_grise%2Fcarte_provisoire_ww%2F]prefecture website[/url] which explains the procedure for obtaining one.