A check list for France ?

H

Hymer22

Joined
Jun 12, 2022
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MH
Hymer
Good evening just looking on the net to see what we need to take in the MH when travelling in France.
Go easy not been abroad in our MH yet this is our first venture :cool:


MH insurance and breakdown cover
Heath and travel insurance also take E1 11
Log Book
Green Card ?
International drivers permit apparently there are 3 types do I need one in France or Spain ?
Warning Triangle
GB sticker and angles morts x3 stickers
Hi Viz for each passenger
Breathalyzer do i need one ?
Headlight stickers
First aid kit
Snow chains do I really need these on board in the middle of summer ?

Can you advise what else is not on this list please ? Also clarify the question marks on my list please ?

Also been looking at speed limits on French roads for a 4500kg MH ?

Do you but toll passes are they worth it ? If so how do i go about purchasing one ?

Any tips when in France please let me know :unsure:(y)
 
UK sticker, not GB
Snow chains only certain times of the year
You don't need a breathalyser anymore
Dunno what an international drivers permit is, driving licence is needed.
I believe you also have to have spare bulbs for lights etc
 
E111 replaced by GHIC
No need for snow chains, breathalyser kit or international driving permit
 
I think the the international driving permit, whilst not essential is probably worth getting if you have an old paper driving licence as I do.
They're looked on as a bit of an oddity by johnny foriegner plod.
It only costs about £5 from your local post office.
 
If you have time DEFINITELY get a tag for the tolls. It makes it so much easier

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Have a read through this advice
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overs...nformation/compulsory-and-legal-requirements/

As for headlight stickers, we have headlight protectors with marked out areas to stick on the masks. Lots of advice not to stick beam benders to headlights directly. Also you will be one of the few Brits who bother to apply them. French police can stop you but they're not that interested in such minor offences, up to you.
 
Kups said:
Have a read through this advice
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overs...nformation/compulsory-and-legal-requirements/

As for headlight stickers, we have headlight protectors with marked out areas to stick on the masks. Lots of advice not to stick beam benders to headlights directly. Also you will be one of the few Brits who bother to apply them. French police can stop you but they're not that interested in such minor offences, up to you.
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Hi where did you get your headlight protectors from ? Cheers
 
MisterB said:
If you have time DEFINITELY get a tag for the tolls. It makes it so much easier
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Hi do you get these over there or can you buy them here ? Cheers

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I’m in France now and have been for ten days and been many times before…
I have….
No Beam stickers
no Breathalyzer
No uk sticker
No stickers of any sort
No tolls
No permits
No cards
No chains
If you want to see France don’t do tolls…

Why do people over complicate things….🤷🏼‍♂️

I’m a rebel…😊

And peeps, please don’t say I’m lucky I haven’t been nicked, I have the luck of a goldfish in a plastic bag at a fair ground…🥴😎
 
A first for us on this trip yesterday. A frenchman asked if we were from ukraine. (UK sticker). Many others have reported this.
You dont need breathalyser or international driving permit. You do need AHC for any dogs cats or ferrets.
 
Free of charges credit card - Halifax Clarity ?
Check that your cash card is also free of charges although very few cash Euros are needed these days .
Make sure your phone contact is free from roaming charges - it can be £2-3 per day.
Download Park4Night app to your smart phone (10€) to find all the Aires
 
Hymer22 If you do indeed have a Hymer you don’t need Headlight stickers, there is an adjustment on each light for LH side of road driving.
If you wear glasses you need a spare pair with you.
Spare vehicle light bulb set.
Yellow vests
Various water tap adapters, and a hose.
 
For my own peace of mind I have a copy of all our med and optical prescriptions.

I also like to have the MoHo dimensions readily available (taped to the sun visor).

My wife says I am anal.

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Hymer22 said:
Hi do you get these over there or can you buy them here ? Cheers
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www.emovis-tag.co.uk

Emovis Tag UK

Travel without stopping on European Motorways. Emovis Tag UK can provide UK customers with a tag for automatic payment of motorway tolls in France, Spain & Portugal.
www.emovis-tag.co.uk www.emovis-tag.co.uk

We don't use tolls a lot but they do save a lot of time for some sections. If you're into planning routes then use viamichelin as you can check to see alternative routes and cost.

We always use the Bolougne to Abbeyville toll and the Rouen to Caen toll roads.

I do agree partially with Just smiffy, you do see more of France, but sometimes toll roads avoid the constant stopping and starting at roundabout and other road calming measures that are springing up everywhere now as the French try to reduce road deaths.
 
Hymer22 said:
Good evening just looking on the net to see what we need to take in the MH when travelling in France.
Go easy not been abroad in our MH yet this is our first venture :cool:


MH insurance and breakdown cover
Heath and travel insurance also take E1 11
Log Book
Green Card ?
International drivers permit apparently there are 3 types do I need one in France or Spain ?
Warning Triangle
GB sticker and angles morts x3 stickers
Hi Viz for each passenger
Breathalyzer do i need one ?
Headlight stickers
First aid kit
Snow chains do I really need these on board in the middle of summer ?

Can you advise what else is not on this list please ? Also clarify the question marks on my list please ?

Also been looking at speed limits on French roads for a 4500kg MH ?

Do you but toll passes are they worth it ? If so how do i go about purchasing one ?

Any tips when in France please let me know :unsure:(y)
Click to expand...
You might need this too:

French 'clean air' stickers (Crit'Air vignettes)​

 
Although you don’t need a toll tag or a euros debit card such as Revolut or Starling, they are handy and of course this will be your first trip of many.
We find using some toll roads improves the journey when travelling to and from the tunnel/port and we need a nice smooth bit of road after the rigours of the M25/M20.
With the vast majority of business in France set up for card payment especially since covid, having a fee free payment card is a must. We set our euros up in Revolut before we left home and found the card and the app brilliant.
I have been using an ATMB tag for years and have just change to Frulli on their recent offer.
We also take a paper map (Michelin) to add to the usual Google maps and garmin satnav. A good place to get is Dash4it, there is a bit of discount if you are a CAMC member. The michelin maps have places of interest, a star rating against town names and also scenic routes marked so I often deviate a bit if I see an alternative green line against the road.

Dash4it

www.caravanclub.co.uk www.caravanclub.co.uk
Try and use coordinates when setting your satnav as place names are repeated all over France and it is all to easy to set the wrong one.

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Riverbankannie said:
We also take a paper map (Michelin) to add to the usual Google maps and garmin satnav. A good place to get is Dash4it, there is a bit of discount if you are a CAMC member. The michelin maps have places of interest, a star rating against town names and also scenic routes marked so I often deviate a bit if I see an alternative green line against the road.

Dash4it

www.caravanclub.co.uk www.caravanclub.co.uk
Click to expand...
which books would you recommend, i am considering either the France 23 or the Europe 23 - leaning more towards the Europe 23 as we would like to visit a few more countries later this year and next year. Thanks
 
MisterB said:
We always use the Bolougne to Abbeyville toll
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Out of interest, how much is this one ? If we ever go this way again, (using Newhaven now) that slow road is quite boring now.
Probably done it 20+ times
 
MisterB said:
which books would you recommend, i am considering either the France 23 or the Europe 23 - leaning more towards the Europe 23 as we would like to visit a few more countries later this year and next year. Thanks
Click to expand...
Spiral bound and bigger the better
Always get individual countries atlas's
Best if you can get a tourist version with nice visits and roads underlined
 
Hymer22 said:
Good evening just looking on the net to see what we need to take in the MH when travelling in France.
Go easy not been abroad in our MH yet this is our first venture :cool:


MH insurance and breakdown cover
Heath and travel insurance also take E1 11
Log Book
Green Card ?
International drivers permit apparently there are 3 types do I need one in France or Spain ?
Warning Triangle
GB sticker and angles morts x3 stickers
Hi Viz for each passenger
Breathalyzer do i need one ?
Headlight stickers
First aid kit
Snow chains do I really need these on board in the middle of summer ?

Can you advise what else is not on this list please ? Also clarify the question marks on my list please ?

Also been looking at speed limits on French roads for a 4500kg MH ?

Do you but toll passes are they worth it ? If so how do i go about purchasing one ?

Any tips when in France please let me know :unsure:(y)
Click to expand...
One thing to remember - the safety equipment (hi-viz/warning triangle) need to be immediately accessible. I can't find the link now but I am sure I read of someone getting grief from the French police because they had to dig through the garage to find said items.

Depending where in France you are going, a Crit-air sticker is a cheap investment to avoid a €60 fine. Plenty of info about CritAir on this forum.

Yes, a toll tag saves all kinds of hassle - you could do worse than purchase an Emovi tag (again, plenty of info on this forum about tag options . . ) - one advantage is that the tag is not linked to your vehicle so you can use it in any car, moho etc. or even lend it to friends and family.

Most insurances have green card as standard but worth checking with yours.

Both the RAC and AA have quite comprehensive (free) advice for driving abroad and whatever you read on this forum, it's worth doing a bit of research on their sites too.
 
Only thing I need in France is to know the nearest border exit out 😂😂

I do believe you need hi viz vest for all occupants, I carry 2 in the van as well as spare bulbs and a warning triangle although my van came with a nifty orange flashing beacon thing.

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This sticker is also a legal requirement en France....

400x300.jpg


I made that up :)

Pete
 
MisterB said:
which books would you recommend, i am considering either the France 23 or the Europe 23 - leaning more towards the Europe 23 as we would like to visit a few more countries later this year and next year. Thanks
Click to expand...
We have both the Europe, which was fine when in Spain and Germany, and and a very well thumbed and used A3 Michelin France - possibly not for everyone but we like the scale. We tend to mark out an intended route with a highlighter pen and then I can see routes used before and maybe take it again or choose another and also see the green scenic routes.
Husband is a paper only chap and will not even look at google maps even if I just pass him the ipad with google’s choice of routes. Every now and then he says “show me where we are on the map” !
 
Copy of Insurance and MOT.
Change Sat nav to kms and use as speedometer.
Have you thought about gas?
Calor not available in France
Basic phrase book.
Angle Mort stickers. I apply with tape then remove until next time.
Assume you are a lorry for speed limits.
Thé N roads can be 80 or 90 kms ph.
80 km is just 50mph!
Villages can be 30k, 18mph.
Give way to right can apply even for a minor road joining😱
Don't be tempted to rush about, take your time. Stop frequently and enjoy.
 
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For France I like to have both the Mitchelin Atlas and the AA Atlas - the latter is great for route planning because it is very easy to distinguish between toll and free autoroutes. (I know it is possible to see the info on the Michelin maps, but it is not as distinctive or clear IMHO).

Use the sat-nav for most navigation, but still like to have real maps on board also. :giggle:

We are happy to use toll roads when appropriate, but it's handy to judge in advance which option to choose.

On another item - Breakdown and repatriation cover for the motorhome - essential in my book. :giggle:

Have a great adventure for your first MH trip to France. (y)

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