Getting a gate form Bretagne to Aude

[nomoss]

Our son (after a struggle) removed the RHS reinforced concrete pillar

supporting our standard 2m50 horrible steel two leaf Brico Depot type

gate, as both my wife and myself grazed a car against it by turning too

soon while watching for a gap in the main road traffic.

Our nice balayeur arranged for it to be carted away by someone from the Council.

That, after removing the pedestrian gate, left a gap of about 4m28, which now has a chain across it while I look for a solution.

I

hunted the net and Leboncoin for a suitable gate. Not much available,

but eventually I found a place in Bretagne which can make wooden field

type gates to measure, which I thought would look nice if painted blue

to match the house woodwork.

After some discussion we agreed the

best solution is two leafs, of 3m07 and 1m, allowing for the hinges, and

I asked them to quote me for these.

Almost a month later, after

several prods by email and 'phone, I eventually received a quote of 340€ for the

gate and 780€ for transport by semi-trailer, with unloading by a

suitable crane at my own expense.

The pallet for the gates would be

120x 307x20, and the weight 80 kg. I can't believe a company supplying

these things can't come up with a more competitive price for shipment,

so will shortly start looking for a more reasonable price on Loadup and

Shipley, but maybe someone here has a suggestion?

[dave21478]

Hire a van and get them yourself?

Watch the mileage charges on the van rental though.

[andyh4]

Three years since I was in logistics but a ball park 1000 - 1100km at 50c/km was the going rate for a full truck load back then, though diesel prices have fallen since.

Your gate will take up an uncomfortable amount of space on the bed of a truck. The width is just over half the width of a truck so you will effectively be taking the full width. Stacking things on top of your gate is probably something you would not welcome, and certainly not something that a professional company would do.

You could try these folk, who Ikea use (or at least used) widely.

http://www.guisnel.com/fr

or maybe these:

https://gls-group.eu/FR/fr/home

who are more white van deliveries from my experience, but might be able to offer something.

Edited to add, that the prices above also took into account the ability of the haulier to pick up a return delivery most of the time. If you and / or your gate supplier are in relatively remote locations then expect a premium.

[alittlebitfrench]

Ok, long time since I was in the logistics industry. But then again I was the chief of France.

A standard artic will take 30-33 euro pallets or 26 standard pallets.

On a standard trailer you have 13.5 'loading metres'.

Your pallet will take up 3.6 loading metres (9 euro pallet spaces) of that trailer. (well a bit less actually).

780 euros is a dedicated truck price. You don't want that, you need a groupage operator. Someone who will price you only for 3.6 ish loading metres.

In my day I think that would cost about 360 euros. I reckon it be about the same today. If the company has a couple of loads for your area then pro rata that is 1200 euros which seems a good days work for a truck.

So I reckon you should speak to Transports Jourdan (Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët) or XPO (formally Norbert Dentressangle) in Loscouët-sur-Meu and see what they can do. If they can't cover it themselves they should if they have any sense forward the job and take a percentage. In the good old days we had Minitel where you would put freight jobs out for tender.

If you tell them the job is not urgent then I reckon you will get a good price.

You have two problems, can an artic get up your street and do you have a fork lift ?

Your other choice is Fretbay. https://fretbay.com/fr/

[nomoss]

Thanks for the replies. I was mistaken, the supplier is in Seine Maririme, not Bretagne. Round trip 1900 km.

To hire a Renault Master or similar, with distance, fuel and

Autoroute charges, and at least one overnight stop, would cost about the same or more than the

price quoted, and I don't think that these days I could make the round trip in less than 2 days each way.

Now, getting on to logistics, if I was moving two 1m20 high wooden gates, 3m07 and 1m wide,

the heaviest weighing about 35 kg, I would use a van, load them upright, and get

someone to carry them with me.

On that basis, I think I'll post the load on Loadup, where I can specify exact details and discuss loading directly with the person whose quote I accept.

There are no problems of access to our house, we live on a

main road in a town, and the gate would be

unloaded at the roadside, by the entrance where it will be installed.

Thank you all again for helping me to think clearly.

 

 

 

[PaulT]

Isn't there a local carpenter who can make the gate for you?

[alittlebitfrench]

I think registering the load on 'loadup' is a futile exercise.

Given the rules regarding cabotage (Uk operator collecting France delivering France) I can't really see a situation that makes it worthwhile for someone to do the job.

You will need a UK haulier (community registered) to be empty in the area of Dept 76 who then wants go to the Aude with a load for 350 Euros. It is unlikely. Furthermore, they will need to be VAT registered in France to be able to operate. Even more unlikely.

If you want to go down the bidding route then 'Fretbay' is your best bet. Other than that find a haulier in 76 who goes down that way or to Spain or wherever who wants to tag your gates on the back.

[dave21478]

Arctic lorries and forklift trucks? What the hell are you lot talking about? Its a fuking garden gate not a tugboat engine.

Its 3 meters long and weighs under 80kgs. Thats within spec for the roofrack of an average hatchback.

"chief of logistics for the whole of France"

Actual LOL!

I need to send a Christmas card to my father in Scotland - maybe you could help me organise a Chinook to airlift it?

[alittlebitfrench]

@ davy wavy

If you read the first post Mr picky, someone talked about a crane to off load them ?? I just assumed they were heavy. I had wooden gates at my last house and they weighed about 100 kgs each.

I debate if two wooden gates actually weigh 80 kgs. But if they do (not sure how) then you are technically correct.

[woolybanana]

So, LBF, you were a lorry driver, then before becoming a house husband and sending your poor wife out to work. Pigalle is it?

[dave21478]

Its a 3m gate and a 1 m gate. Apparently "farm style" which to me suggests a 5-bar gate type of deal made out of beams or posts.

80kgs is the total pallet weight quoted by the company making them as stated in his opening post.

Whats even more insane is that apparently nobody local can make anything. It obviously depends on the chosen design but if its what I think it is, then there is a hundred euros worth of wood, coach bolts and hinges and an afternoons basic carpentry work for someone with a little skill and common sense.

[woolybanana]

Nah, couple of old pallets and a bit of rusty, barbed wire, much more in keeping with rural La Belle. Maybe add an old car or truck tyre for a bit of class.

[alittlebitfrench]

I just assumed the weight was a typo.

If they are those barn gate type things, then making them would have been a good idea I guess.

Have some Alu 'green' gates for sale that would span that distanceif anyone is interested. 4000 euros brand new.

@ Wooly

No, I was not a lorry driver although I did have an HGV 1. I was one of those boring office types. BTW, my little frog needs to work a little harder to keep up with me. Thanks for asking.

[Chancer]

2 people on a tandem could transport that, better still a pair of mobylettes [:)]

Another couple of lateral thinking options, I can get 3m lengths of materials in my Skoda Octavia and still close the tailgate, not to the width and thickness of a 5 bar gate although it would only need the tailgate open a tiny bit, it would definitely go in the Galaxies and Alhambras that I used for my business, I fitted and automated a lot of 5 bar gates, so collect it in a people carrier, they are gtting bigger every year, I am talking about a 20 year old model, a passenger will probably have to travel sat behind the driver.

 

Idea no 2. - Contact British gates and Timber at Ashford, they were my preffered supplier for 5 bar gates, really good people to deal with, hope it hasnt changed in the last 12 years, I know that they had customers in France and used their own delivery services and I reckon they will have contracts with transport companies further afield, as is often the case its cheaper to send stuff across the channel from the UK than within France, you will have a better choice of gate styles as well and know that you will be getting the best around, years of experience rather than maybe being the first that someone has made.

 

Good luck!

 

Dave, Artic lorries and cranes! - You made me laugh, my larger competitors used to think that way and it was finding simple solutions that gave me a competitive advantage and a good margin.

[mint]

Chancer's beaten me to it.  I was going to suggest a UK company.  Chance's Ashford company is conveniently near the Channel.

I was thinking of a largish company like Cannock Gates but they are a longer distance.

Even if the company would only send within the UK, there are transport companies with storage facilities and the gates could be sent to them and they'd bring them over.  If you are not rigid about delivery times, you could cut the cost of transport right down.

I have on a few occasions resorted to doing similar, simply because transport within France is too expensive or the products themselves are too expensive.

[alittlebitfrench]

Couple of points chancer..

- How exactly is it cheaper to send stuff across from the UK to France than sending stuff from France to France ? LOL

- Never seen a barn style gate in France. Apart from the British, do you really think there is a market for such gates ? The whole point of a gate is to keep people out and to add privacy. A barn gate does neither.

- Don't you have a roof rack on on your Octavia ???? I bet you have a terrible humide problem in your car in the morning using it as a van. The Octavia is a great car in the summer, not so much in the winter LOL

[dave21478]

- How exactly is it cheaper to send stuff across from the UK to France than sending stuff from France to France ? LOL

Because people in Uk are used to sending things overseas. I recently got a heavy wooden picknick table for a client sent from UK as it was cheaper than buying an inferior one in France.

- Never seen a barn style gate in France. Apart from the British, do you really think there is a market for such gates ? The whole point of a gate is to keep people out and to add privacy. A barn gate does neither.

I see them all the time.

Doesnt matter if there is a market for them or not, he will be able to get them made locally if thats what he wants. As I said before, its a GATE, not some complicated bit of electronics.

[dave21478]

I am still laughing at the chief of logistics for the whole of France thing....

Personally, I am the world -wide chief executive of logistics for my own company.

Todays tasks - I need to get a cheque from here to the tax office. I will sub-contract that job to LaPoste. I then need to deliver myself to the kitchen. I have checked the shipping forecast, the tides and the Maersk shipping timetables, but decided that the best routing would be to walk down the stairs. The return journey will be made heavily laden with two egg sandwiches. I have calculated the volumetric weight and decided that an Ikea plate should be sufficient.....Must remember to book a forklift for unloading once I get back to the livingroom.

[alittlebitfrench]

Am I making you feel insecure Dave ?

At least I don't call myself a builder which is pretty much standard behaviour on French forums. LOL

So Dave Sugar, you sourced a top quality, better made and cheaper 'Picnic table' from the UK and had it exclusively delivered for one of your 'Clients' in France. LOL. Was this nail bitting transaction made from your office in La Defense ? Or was it on Ebay ?

[dave21478]

Your trolling gets weaker as time goes on. Time to retire, I would suggest.

Insecure? very, very far from it.

I dont call myself a builder either. Never have done, never will do.

It doesnt matter if the table was sourced direct, via ebay, amazon, or ordered via smoke signals, the point was a clear example to your query of transport costs.

Poor old nomoss has had his topic derailed far enough, I think.

[nomoss]

Here is a link showing the type of gate [url]http://www.kestryan.com/produit/portail-pin-breeding/[/url] . I couldn’t find another manufacturer in France.

 

I

deliberately didn’t comment on the supplier’s idea of shipping a couple of

quite small wooden gates on a pallet, and using a crane to load them flat on a

semi. I was tempted to post this on Dave’s moaning thread. Anyway, I’ll try to respond to

all the comments in one long post.

 

I

hesitate to get anything made to order by someone not used to making the item

required. I’ve been faced too many times by a smiling artisan proudly showing

me a total travesty of what I wanted, in spite of my having provided proper

dimensioned drawings and other details. People just tend to make their

interpretation of what the customer wants, regardless of clear instructions.

They always want money up front for special orders, and getting it back is near

impossible, as argument depends on subjective views.

 

Our

local menuisier couldn’t even make a picture frame from mouldings we supplied.

He cut the mitres with the moulding flat on its angled side instead of flat on

the back side. We have dragged a hideous huge custom made Berber carpet from

house to house since 1970, as it won’t wear out and is a reminder not to pay for anything we haven’t seen. It’s been to Borneo, UK, and France, must be one of

the World’s best travelled carpets.

 

Lbf,

I have not found Loadup to be a futile exercise. I have used them several

times, with total satisfaction. Most recently to take a VW engine (100 kg) to

London and bring back a reconditioned one. Cost £350. It was a part load between UK and Spain each time.

 

The

weight was not a typo, unless the supplier is daft enough to only give the

weight of an empty pallet. Their email said “La palette pour la barrière

120x 307x20 - 80kg”

I thought farm gates would be OK, as our front garden looks

like a field. I have not found another French supplier, thought maybe someone horsey on here would know.

 

I

have an Audi A4 Avant with roof bars but no rack, which I would have to buy,

and my VW T25 camper is still waiting for me to fit its new engine. Either one

would use around 400€ in petrol and tolls, plus a couple of overnight hotels.

 

Chancer,

thanks, I’ll try the Ashford company. Their price may be better, and any

carrier I find is likely to be UK based.

 

Albf,

You ask “How exactly is it cheaper to send stuff across from the UK to

France than sending stuff from France to France ? LOL”. Answer: "It just is"

In addition to what dave already wrote, you obviously don’t

speak from experience. I have done the first many times, after carefully

comparing total cost. I am currently awaiting a shipment of fresh groceries

from UK  – not Marmite and Bisto, but

bacon, gammon, sausages, and some sweets - NOT disgusting Haribo travesties -

which are all not only better, but also cheaper than what I can find here.

 

I must stop now. Qualifying is starting soon.

Dave. Less of this "old" please. I'm only just 78[:D]

 

 

[PaulT]

Send Dave your address and he will pop down and make them for you :)

Nothing complicated in what you want so save some money and get recommendations of someone local.

PS don't sort this out too quickly enjoying being amused by Dave.

[alittlebitfrench]

@ Nomoss

A UK registered haulier can only pick up in France and deliver in France under very specific circumstances. It is called 'cabotage'. You will have to look it up. If they do it is like everything else that Brits do in France 'a bit naughty'. If the douane catches them, you will be less a gate.

Secondly, if you can send two pallets from Birmingham to Aude cheaper than sending two pallets of anything from Rouen to Aude I will eat my hat. I know it can't be done so I still have a hat to wear tomorrow. Which is good because it is getting colder.

@ Dave

You have given me a good idea. I am going to buy a picnic table from Le Bon Coin for 30 Euros. Plenty of them. I will take it back to the UK and paint it in a Farrow and Ball idiot colour. I will create a website called 'artyfartypicnictables.co.uk' and sell back to some half wit in Eymet for 400 euros because it comes from the UK and its better quality. I will send it direct by a UK courier (because they are cheaper and better quality and more expensive) along with their eggs, bacon and cornflakes. I will charge extra for their food (which of course they can buy locally) but it is better quality because it comes from Asda.

Sod the planet, I just want to make money.

Cool.

Now excuse me, I am going to watch the live feed of the qualifying because I don't have UK TV.

[woolybanana]

albf, you are an idiot sometimes.

[dave21478]

"sometimes"