Caravan in France

[vab]

I have just spoken to the guy who is helping us with the regisration of our car and I mentioned the caravan. He said I would NOT be allowed to have an English caravan on French plates indefinately as it is not allowed because the door is on the wrong side. Is there anyone out there with an English van with French plates ? If so, were you given a time factor at all ?  It is getting so confusing but we had to bring our van with us as we lived in it for a few weeks and  we had plans to explore France in it next year.

[Frogslegs]

You are not allowed tow an english caravan on a french reg car full stop! I think this posting has been covered before many times. Hence why we picked up a bargain caravan but it's destined for use in the garden...its not going anywhere!

[Frederick]

My UK plated caravan is in the garden in the Vendee..... I cant even get it insured.......gave up trying ages ago.. It  will be brought back to the UK next spring ....UK caravans for use in France I decided were a no no ...If you plan to tour France with a French registered  car then I would consider getting  French registered caravan to hook onto it .....If you get insurance for it from a French company  ...please post who gave it to you......

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="vab"]I have just spoken to the guy who is helping us with the regisration of our car and I mentioned the caravan. He said I would NOT be allowed to have an English caravan on French plates indefinately as it is not allowed because the door is on the wrong side. Is there anyone out there with an English van with French plates ? If so, were you given a time factor at all ?  It is getting so confusing but we had to bring our van with us as we lived in it for a few weeks and  we had plans to explore France in it next year.[/quote]

Didn't SD cover this very recently? No, I can't be bothered to look, either.

Essentially, most (read all) caravans in France must be registered with their own registration number, carte gris & insurance. You cannot tow anything that should be registered but isn't, with a French car.

You can get a temporary carte gris for a UK caravan (1 month) if you intend to register it, to enable you to register it.

Registration or towing has nothing to do with the door.

 

[Eslier]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

As always, the key is to study the French code de la route for the definitive answer to towing a caravan behind a French registered car .

A caravan is classified as a trailer and the rules for trailers are quite straightforward:

Trailers with a PTAC (total authorised all-up weight of trailer and

payload) less than 500kg do not require separate registration and are

merely required to display a rear number plate showing the towing

vehicle's registration number. No type approval is required, but they

must comply with French traffic rules concerning weights, lights,

tyres, etc.

Trailers with a PTAC over 500kg require their own carte grise and

therefore need type approval.  They also need to display their own rear

registration number plate. Most, if not all, UK caravans will fall into

this category.

Trailers with a PTAC over 750kg additionally need to be braked.

Trailers under 750kg do not require brakes unless their PTAC exceeds

the unladen weight of the towing vehicle.

So, to summarise the specific rules which apply when bringing a UK caravan over to France with your French registered car:

If the caravan has a PTAC less than 500kg, then it is sufficient to

display the towing vehicle's French registration number on the rear. 

You have nothing more to do.

If the caravan has a PTAC greater than 500kg, then it needs it's own

registration.  That means that before you bring it over to France, you

must apply to your prefecture for a temporary "transit" carte grise and

display a temporary WW registration number on the rear of the caravan

before towing it here. The transit carte grise is valid for 15 days to

give you time to register your caravan. 

If your caravan does not have EU type approval, then  it

will require a separate gas system test followed by a DRIRE type

approval inspection  To allow for any potential delay in getting these

done, you can extend the time limit on your transit carte grise by

applying for a second carte grise which gives you an additional 15

days.  You may only have one extension.

Once the caravan is registered here, you fit it's own new registration number to the rear.  Simple...[:)]

 [/quote]

from http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/742287/ShowPost.aspx

[Benjamin]

[quote user="vab"]I have just spoken to the guy who is helping us with the regisration of our car and I mentioned the caravan. He said I would NOT be allowed to have an English caravan on French plates indefinately as it is not allowed because the door is on the wrong side. Is there anyone out there with an English van with French plates ? If so, were you given a time factor at all ?  It is getting so confusing but we had to bring our van with us as we lived in it for a few weeks and  we had plans to explore France in it next year.[/quote]

Another urban myth blown out of the window. I know who I'd believe.

Benjamin

[Sunday Driver]

I hope the guy who is helping you with the registration of your car isn't charging you for his advice![:(]

The only regulation concerning the position of the access door is for camping cars (ie, caravettes, motorhomes) where the door has to be on the kerbside. The position of the door on a caravan is immaterial. 

Importing and registering your van should be straightforward - if you do all the necessary preparation first!!

You must get the technical attestations from the caravan/chassis manufacturer before you do anything else.  The DRIRE will examine these to make sure the spec conforms with French safety standards.  When they call your van in for its SVA inspection, they'll want to be able to read the serial numbers on the axles , brakes and towing hitch to confirm they match the manufacturers numbers.  Make sure you've got the correct running lights and side reflectors (these depend upon the length of the van) - pop into your DRIRE or even your local caravan showroom with some digital photos of your van and ask them for advice. Get everything done before the SVA and you're unlikely to fail.

For the gas test, you'll need to have safety cut-off valves in all the gas lines to the appliances - a lot of UK manufacturers don't bother with these.  Book the van into your local caravan shop to have the modifications done.  Any UK three-pin sockets will need to be stripped out and replaced with French 2P+T sockets.  Narbonne Accessories do a full range of very neat caravan sockets.

Most people's problems stem from the fact that they turn up for these tests with a non-compliant van and then complain when the inspectors fail it.  Even worse, they sort out some of the points only, then get failed again.  It then becomes a battle of minds with the French officials who get p****d off with these stupid foreigners who can't understand what they're supposed to do....[;-)]

If you time all your pre-test running around so's everything can be completed whilst you've got your first 15 day temporary carte grise and registration plate, then when you're ready to do the Bureau Veritas and DRIRE inspections you just apply for your second carte grise to cover those two trips.

Piece of cake, really.....