caroline Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Can someone please advise me of how they moved some belongings to France, if they did it themselves ?I am toying between ideas: whether to buy a small French van and take it from London to the DordogneWhether to hire a van drive it there and leave it at a nearby city - not have to do a return driveWhether to pay someone else to do thisI am just taking useful things, like sewing machine, clothes, loudspeakers - not furnitureI need to be there by end of August, so - there will be tourist traffic on some routesThank you, I appreciate all replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevinmc Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 One way hire doesn't work very well as most hire companies are franchisees who own their own pool of vehicles and you end up paying a premium for someone to drive it back for them.I invested in a small people carrier, a Zafira in my case, which fits a duel purpose. It's amazing what you can get in them and if you add a roof box....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Guerriere Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Over the years we have tried a number of alterntives shifting stuff between UK and France and vice versa (occasionally the depot de vente throws up stuff worth bringing back to UK). We have virtually always had a large estate car (ovlov, renault and more recently saab). Many modern estate cars are not very good at taking rectangular objects due to excess "styling" at the back end...Our worst effort was in the early days when we purchased an elderly Transit, did a number of furniture moves which ended up with a long run Calais to Normandy, with the aforementioned *** Transit expiring terminally on the Caen Peripherique (with of course a van-load of furniture), thus requiring an instant van hire and offloading. Van hire man didn't want to accept a UK driving license because it didn't have a photograph .... very close to a nervous breakdown. Aaaaaaaagh !Moral: if you buy a van make sure it's a good 'un. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 If you dont have sufficient space in the car, why not buy a trailer, it will come in very handy in France, great for bulky stuff.[IMG]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h17/powerdesal/France2005003.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosub Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 A good suggestion to buy a trailer, but be aware, if you don't want to register it in France then buy one with a PTAC of 500kg or less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 [quote user="caroline"] I am just taking useful things, like sewing machine, clothes, loudspeakers - not furnitureI need to be there by end of August, so - there will be tourist traffic on some routes [/quote]We used a UK company who accept part loads; these companies usually offer reasonable rates for moving stuff on their regular runs to France or through France down to Spain as it keeps their costs down if they travel with a full van each trip. But then our situation was just a one off; a trailer is a good idea if you already have a tow-bar fitted to your car and you need to make several trips over a period of time.Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Given that most Brits in France are in a rural environment and are, to some extent or another, involved in restoration works, a trailer will be a great advantage irrespective of the number of cross channel trips envisaged. Ours has never re-crossed to UK, but is regularly used for all sorts of things. Most often for trips to the dechetterie.A tow bar is an advantage and can be reasonably cheap to be fitted (professionally) in UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroline Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 HelloI am not sure how to send a private message, so sorry if this appears in the general listing, but please could you let me know which companies might do a part loadthank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 We used this company in 2005 and they were excellent, but don't know re current situation.Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosub Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 "I am not sure how to send a private message, so sorry if this appears in the general listing, but please could you let me know which companies might do a part load thank you"There are lot of companies that do part loads to and from France have a look at this site.http://www.partloads.biz/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearly Retired (I am now) Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 It seems the poster wants to do it all in the one trip. That's a shame because the items all seem do-able by car, but unfortunately not all at one go. If it helps we took a loaded estate car, with roof bars, from SE England to Charente Maritime maybe 20 times (and are still doing it!) - visitors just don't believe we did it all ourselves, but it's amazing what you can get on / in a car if you try. We took a washing machine, tumble dryer, huge wooden cabinets, chests of drawers, microwave oven and a triple extending ladder. Of course tables and beds that dismantle are handy. I got a strange look from a gendarme once when I had most of a double bed on the roof, but phew.....that was it....just a strange look and nothing else.We once bought a bargain set of a huge hardwood table and chairs for the patio, but we couldn't get it in / on the car once we had bought it though. Ten minutes with a screwdriver soon sorted that out. I confess it was more like two hours with no instruction book to reassemble it. We thought and calculated long and hard about buying a van, renting one and so on, but the numbers just didn't add up. Given our time all over again I know what I'd definitely do in your position.......grit my teeth and pay someone to fit a tow bar. Then I'd go out and buy a trailer on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I agree with everyone who has said "buy a trailer". Much cheaper, loads of room and it will always come in handy when you are living over here. In fact, you will wonder why you never had one before ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 We did our own with the help of one of these:[img]http://www.bcpartridge.co.uk/gfx/wessex3.gif[/img]Grossly underestimated the number of trips though, guessed about 4 or 5 but ended up nearer double that but it still tied in with a gradual move whilst waiting for our house sale in UK to go through.Still got it here in France and will get round to registering it soon, should be fun [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Ernie, your new caravan is a vast improvement on the old one [:P] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 You musn't say that, Cat. He got very vexed when I called his caravan a Gypsy wagon on wheels. Actually, I think those Gypsy caravans are lovely, so quaint-looking and go so well clippity-clop pulled by a couple of horses. But, there you go, some people have no romance in their souls and go all uppity when you are trying to pay them a compliment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 We did a Gypsy Caravan holiday with a group of friends in S Ireland a few years ago and very romantic it was, or so the ladies told me.Frankly I found it a bit boring and bl00dy hard work tending to the horses and getting the cantankerous beasts to go where I wanted them to but good egg that I am I played the part. Plenty of good pubs along the way helped enormously [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroline Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thank you for your messages - lots of useful advice. I can see the appeal of taking it bit by bit - and I am not expecting to move everything all at once, it's not exactly a one-way move at this stage. I'd love to take a horse, but will probably go for the trailer idea if possible. Good to hear everyone's experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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