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Taking a 7.5 tonne lorry thru the tunnel


Gabe

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Hi, we did our own removals but used Brittany Ferries in the days when they weren't rip off merchants! Worth getting in touch with eurotunnel .. BUT we were going to use them once in a van and were quoted £500 for a return journey (approx. 4 years ago), I queried this because the van wasn't over height or particularly large .. their response ... your are commercial therefore you pay the high price. So furious, vowed never to use them again....

Have you thought about using Transmanche - Newhaven - Dieppe, primarily a freight carrier ...

Good luck

Steph

www.pwb53.com

 

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Hi, I did a very basic list for customs ... chainsaw, power tools, a motorbike that sort of thing, but I didn't go into full detail, the list would have been like a manuscript! I did it in English and a column in French. We were stopped and I showed them the list, but told them it was a personal removal. They didn't look in the back of the lorry and let us go on our way ... he found it fairly amusing!

But .. on our return (the lorry was hired and had to be returned to the UK) they went through the lorry with a fine tooth comb, dogs etc .. couldn't believe we were returning to the UK with nothing .. not even a single bottle of wine! No doubt thought we were smuggling immigrants ..

Steph

www.pwb53.com

 

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Hi Gabe!

Sorry for not replying sooner - this retirement business is soooooo time-consuming!

Customs took absolutely no interest at all in the lorry or us - nor did Tranmanche in the fact that we were 1.5 tonnes overweight!

And no, we didn't have a list of items, either.

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Never looked into it myself but a friend regularly travelled with discovery and large trailer....freight with the tunnel and paid very little..The reason being that freight keep the tunnel going through the non touristy times of year and the tunnel know they can't charge a fortune or the truckers/freight companies will go elsewhere
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This was one of my gripes with eurotunnel .. a discovery was higher than the van we were using at the time, but no it didn't matter we were classed as commercial .. so obviously the moral of the story is to use a large 4x4 and not a van .. one word of caution too, a friend of mine went over to Belguim using eurotunnel in a 4x4 pick up, he went over empty to collect an engine, put the engine on the open bed of the truck and didn't cover it up .. came back to check in for his return trip .. nope, he couldn't return on his day ticket because he was now classed as commercial due to the engine .. !  Had to pay an extra £200 otherwise they wouldn't let him travel.
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Hi Gabe, sorry bit slow on posting but I drove a 7.5 tonne lorry using the tunnel with all worldly possessions on board. Lorry was x-rayed at Eurotunnel England, a bit unusual as we were taken to one side and the lorry was conveyed through a warehouse where it was x-rayed. (no problems but took 20mins). Lorries travel on the commercial train with other truckers. You do not stay with vehicle but go to a seperate drivers carriage where you are supplied with food etc if required. Only problem I had was that I missed the duty free shop for the fags etc. on the way back it's not like the car side where they herd you into the shop. It cost about £290 2 years ago but I reckon I saved £5000 on the qoute from the removal company. Any more info required just e-mail me.

regards

dc

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