Taking Lorry to France

[jaylottJohn]

I'm thinking of borrowing a friends horse lorry (7.5tonne 8.5m) to move all my stuff to France. Does anyone know how much it'll cost to take this on the ferry or a website which has a "lorry" option in the pricing.

Also does anyone know where I can find out how much the tolls would be.

Thanks

 

[Ron Avery]

Over 3.5 tonne, no matter who you use it will be treated as a a HGV lorry and will be very very expemsive 

By the way, you do have a HGV license don't you?

[Alcazar]

IIRC, up to 7.5t you don't need an LGV license?

Still very expensive though.

Alcazar

[andyh4]

If you are seriously thinking of going down this route, I suggest you approach the freight ferry companies rather than the traditional car ferry companies.  You will probably have to go direct since I do not imagine they have brochures like they do for cars.

 

P&O freight (Middlesbrough and Hull to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, Harwich to Holland and maybe Ostende/Zeebrugge)

Norfolklines (Dover Dunkerque)

 

I am sure there are more but the brain isn't functioning today

[IAN_S]

Just ring the various ferry operator's freight departments and ask them for the freight rate for your lorry length. They will give you a cost per metre for a standard type of vehicle.

[berger]

hi, if this helps, i brought a 7.5 ton lwb hire lorry over with brittany ferries freight, cost me over 600 pounds, this was during march this year, diesel is another big cost, i spent around 160 pounds return from south east england to s.w france and return. the fact that the lorry is probably free of cost is a plus a i paid hire fees aswell.still was cheaper than a firm though no matter what way you cut it.

and as long as your licence is before 1996 you do not need hgv, as 7.5 doesn't class as a hgv.

[boris]

icome back and forth to france in my lorry with norfolkline and they charge £15 per mtr freight and the tolls to creuse are just over 60 euro.s twice the price they charge for the car

[levisiteur]

I used a horsebox lorry (7.5t) about 2 yrs ago on Brittany Ferries (freight office) cost around 500 pounds one way inc.free meals and cabin inc.

Mine had living conversion and coverted for horses which considerably added to the tare weight!(did not take that into account).  Each load I mixed household tools and small machines. All freight is put on a weighbridge at the port!!

You might say my luck was in that day or everyone at the ports were very kind to me.

[Nick Trollope]

I have taken a 7.5T box Ports-St Malo on a few occasions. Never freight (too expensive), always as a car, booked via telephone. Causes a few raised eybrows at St Malo, but none at Portsmouth (which is suprising). Not much more (proportionately) than a car.

 

[IAN_S]

The rule of thumb used to be whether or not you are using the vehicle commercially, ie for gain. If you use a private horsebox for transporting your own household goods you should be able to go at the car rate with add ons for height maybe.

[Nick Trollope]

[quote]The rule of thumb used to be whether or not you are using the vehicle commercially, ie for gain. If you use a private horsebox for transporting your own household goods you should be able to go at the...[/quote]

Of course that's it... They did ask me what I was carrying, each time.

 

[jaylottJohn]

Thanks to everyone for all the advice here and by email.

We just returned having done the trip in the 8m long 3.3m high 7.5tonne horse lorry/van/motorhome thingy, all went very well for £68 return on Norfolk Line. They were fantastic, new boat, on time, great food, and no screaming kids !!!