Categories for French toll charges

[Glenowen]

On our first ever expedition to France and wondering how they work out, at the toll booth, what vehicle category our motorhome is in. Just been charged €25 for a journey of only around 100 miles, so am assuming we got incorrectly charged as a HGV or similar.

How do they categorise you when you arrive at the automatic toll booth? Are there cameras which make a quick judgement on height or mini weighbridges at each exit point? I've read several articles on the internet and while they all explain the different classifications, I cannot find a single one that explains how and why the "Classe" automatically comes up at whatever, when paying.

In hindsight, we should have pressed the assistance button, but not easy to think about when you are a novice!

 

[Phill D]

If its your motorhome and its under 3.5t and less tham 3m high w will be class 2.

Also, it depends which motorway you were on as to the cost.

 

[Phill D]

PS the sensors usually measure the height.

 

[jongood]

In hindsight, we should have pressed the assistance button, but not easy to think about when you are a novice!

Definitely "c'est pas un camion"

Strictly speaking as said if you're over 3500kgs or over 3m tall you should pay classe 3, but as long as you re only on 4 wheels you can normally getvaway with classe 2

 

[VXman]

If its your motorhome and its under 3.5t and less tham 3m high w will be class 2.

Also, it depends which motorway you were on as to the cost.

But how do they know it's under 3.5. mines the same size as a 3.5 but is 4250. In practice it probably weights 3800.

I reckon it's done on height/and or length. Can't imagine there's a weighbridge on each booth.

French tolls can be very expensive. I remember driving a car to the south coast some years ago and it costing £150 or so.

Nowadays in the MH we take the non toll roads. Some are just like motorways, little traffic and more interesting. Takes a little more time but it's all part of the holiday.

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[Phill D]

There is no weight taken it is on height that sets the sensor.

 

[Jo662]

We are a 5 ton tag axle and pay class 2. On the odd occasion we have been classed as higher we press the button to speak to someone and tell them we are a campingcar , and every time they have lowered it to class 2.

 

[Phill D]

I have a tag that I use when we decide to use the motorway.
We use a mix depending on where we are and where we are going.
I agree the motorways can be expensive but I find them considerably less stressful than n roads and through the towns.
I think it is only more interesting if y are sat in the passenger seat. With the speed limit changing all the time enroute it is easy to get a ticket and requires quite a bit of focus on speed limits alone.

 

[Glenowen]

Thank you for your responses. It is interesting to know that there are sensors which judge the height. I will be on alert next time to press for assistance if the display shows higher than Class 2.

 

[iain26]

We are 3.2high and 4250Kg and we have only ever paid Class 2. Keep waiting for something else to come up so we can press the button but so far never been needed.
Tolls can be high in France, we estimated almost 200Euro from Spanish border to Calais last time we came back in a rush.

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[Sheddy]

As a 5 ton tag axle, but just under 3m height we normally get Class 2, if Class 3 comes up we do the "CamperCar" thing on the button and usually it gets reduced, however last time through France on the section North of Poitiers when I pushed the button there was a very sharp response in very good English " Six wheels class 3"

 

[JockandRita]

however last time through France on the section North of Poitiers when I pushed the button there was a very sharp response in very good English " Six wheels class 3"

Yep, we got caught out too Eddy at Poitiers Nord
They were adamant that we would pay Class 4, and I was adamant that we wouldn't. After some persuasion from a ranting Motorway Maintenance HGV driver, down the intercom in the next lane, (he was behind us at one stage ), they relented and let us go through as Class 2.............but made it very clear in French that it was an "exception", That was the only word I understood.
We've not been on a Peage since.

Motorway tolls: what category is my vehicle? | SANEF

Light, heavy or 2 wheels … each vehicle belongs to a specific class. There is a toll rate for each type of vehicle. Find on this page which category corresponds to your vehicle!

www.sanef.com

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Carpmart]

Just a thought, if you want to use the Peage and you are a larger vehicle than Class 2 allows, is it not reasonable you pay at the correct rate, painfully expensive as that is on occasion?

 

[JockandRita]

Just a thought, if you want to use the Peage and you are a larger vehicle than Class 2 allows, is it not reasonable you pay at the correct rate, painfully expensive as that is on occasion?

Whilst I get your drift Harvey, it is not right that a vehicle plated at 5.5 tonne with 3 x axles, should be charged the same rate as a 44 tonne Artic with 6 x or more axles. I am happy to pay a proportionate rate, but not be unfairly charged.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Carpmart]

Whilst I get your drift Harvey, it is not right that a vehicle plated at 5.5 tonne with 3 x axles, should be charged the same rate as a 44 tonne Artic with 6 x or more axles. I am happy to pay a proportionate rate, but not be unfairly charged.

Cheers,

Jock.

I understand your point too Jock…

I rolled up the motorways of France this spring (my choice to use the peage as it’s way more fuel efficient) and acknowledged that I’m in a class 3 vehicle and had to pay accordingly. Class 3 I thought was up to 7.5T, which is what I am.

The disparity I think you are highlighting is Class 4, which is not a ‘camping car’ related tariff, or shouldn’t be…

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[JockandRita]

The disparity I think you are highlighting is Class 4, which is not a ‘camping car’ related tariff, or shouldn’t be…

You are right Harvey, ie, shouldn't be, but if you take a look at the Sanef link (below) which I also posted earlier this morning, some Peage operators go by the weight (3.5t >) and 3 x or more axles, ie, Class 4. The only reference to a camping car is for Class 2, ie, 3.5t.

Motorway tolls: what category is my vehicle? | SANEF

Light, heavy or 2 wheels … each vehicle belongs to a specific class. There is a toll rate for each type of vehicle. Find on this page which category corresponds to your vehicle!

www.sanef.com

As posted above, I've not been on one since.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Widge]

But how do they know it's under 3.5. mines the same size as a 3.5 but is 4250. In practice it probably weights 3800.

I reckon it's done on height/and or length. Can't imagine there's a weighbridge on each booth.

French tolls can be very expensive. I remember driving a car to the south coast some years ago and it costing £150 or so.

Nowadays in the MH we take the non toll roads. Some are just like motorways, little traffic and more interesting. Takes a little more time but it's all part of the holiday.

I am not saying that there are weigh bridges on every toll booth, but it is quite plausible, until he retired a few years ago my brother worked for a uk company that had a relatively cheap system that could fairly accurately measure weight even down to seeing if each axle was correctly loaded at fairly high speeds, it was even better at low speeds it used pizo electric sensors buried in the road, something like a toll booth would be an ideal application.

The didn't sell to france becouse a french product was already available, also if you think about it, you cant go through most of the booths with a large vehicle, so you would only need to equip some of them.

 

[Reallyretired]

I would dispute that the peage is always more fuel efficient . I haven't been on one in current motorhome but previous A class 3L Rapido was less efficient at motorway speeds and much better on 90 kph roads. Peages can often be more mileage too.

 

[Carpmart]

I would dispute that the peage is always more fuel efficient . I haven't been on one in current motorhome but previous A class 3L Rapido was less efficient at motorway speeds and much better on 90 kph roads. Peages can often be more mileage too.

IMHO, with 7.3T of mass, running at constant velocity, at 85/86 Kph it’s as optimised as can be for my 3.0l Iveco…

 

[carolyn]

We often use the Peages and we only have a PVC. You drive along at a nice steady speed, you’re not forever changing gear to go round dozens of roundabouts at every small town or over loads of speed bumps. In villages you don’t have to worry about that ludicrous prioite a droite that still aplies on some side roads, it even makes our friends who’ve lived there 30 years nervous!

Obviously some take you miles out of your way, that’s just the same as in the UK, don’t use them, check your route first but overall I don’t reckon they’re not as costly as they first seem. Different of course if you start getting charged more than the usual rate like Sheddy and JockandRita . People go on about missing all the pretty French villages, to be honest after a while they all look much the same, dusty and empty. I’d much rather enjoy looking round them when I’m not worrying about 30mph speed limits, priorite a droite, cyclists and pedestrians.

We do have an Automatic but it’s the Fiat Comformatic which I do realise does the gear changinging for me before any bright spark corrects me! I do just as much driving as Nick. Sometimes on all those roundabouts I reckon I’d rather have a proper manual though especially when it’s busy.

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[eurajohn]

You are right Harvey, ie, shouldn't be, but if you take a look at the Sanef link (below) which I also posted earlier this morning, some Peage operators go by the weight (3.5t >) and 3 x or more axles, ie, Class 4. The only reference to a camping car is for Class 2, ie, 3.5t.

Motorway tolls: what category is my vehicle? | SANEF

Light, heavy or 2 wheels … each vehicle belongs to a specific class. There is a toll rate for each type of vehicle. Find on this page which category corresponds to your vehicle!

www.sanef.com

As posted above, I've not been on one since.

Cheers,

Jock.

If you interpret the information on the site you link to there is no actual reference to a camping car other than the picture.
If you then read the criteria for class 2, it is over 2 metres but under 3500 Kgs.
If you then look to class 3, over 3 metres, more than 3500 Kgs with no more than 2 axles.
However if you are over 3500 Kgs and over 3 metres with 3 or more axles you are then class 4.
The fact that you are a camping car does not automatically classify you as class 2!
If you then follow the link that page offers, https://www.sanef.com/sites/default/files/2019-01/ASFA_Classes_Véhicules_01-01-19.pdf it takes you to a more easily understandable description (in French) with pictures, there you will find that a sub 3 metre high motorhome will be class 2 and a greater than 3 metre high one will be class 3, leaving you to argue with a stroppy operator if you are over 3 metres and 3500Kgs with more than 2 axles.

 

[JockandRita]

However if you are over 3500 Kgs and over 3 metres with 3 or more axles you are then class 4.

And that's where the problem lay, ie, at the operator's wrong interpretation of the wording, as our Hymer was less than 3 x metres, but because it has 3 x axles, they wanted to charge Class 4.
I was having none of it, and even asked them to call the Gendarmes because I just knew they were wrong.

Had I been charged Class 3 from the start, I would have paid up there and then.
It was Rita who spotted that the tarrif on the screen had reduced to Class 2, after the irate Truck driver's rant to the control centre.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[EuroTrotters]

If you have a PVC that’s more than 3m, but still under 3,500 kg’s it’s ……no more than .. class 2 Spain, often 1

 

[Fdhadi]

When we had the Burstner A747 tag we were charged Class 4 on a few occasions. Did try the Camping Car class deux and 95% of the time it worked. I don’t recall ever being class 3.

 

[Pechris]

Hi, I am quite new to this and am a bit dim! What exactly is peades?
We are thinking of going to France later this year, will be out first time.

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[Carpmart]

Hi, I am quite new to this and am a bit dim! What exactly is peades?
We are thinking of going to France later this year, will be out first time.

Peage is the French ‘paid for’ motorway network. Other main roads are called Route Nationale or RN and are free but transit through towns villages and cities. You can be on a nice dual carriageway RN and suddenly find yourself in a 30km zone with loads of traffic calming infrastructure and even cobbled streets.

 

[Widge]

Hi, I am quite new to this and am a bit dim! What exactly is peades?
We are thinking of going to France later this year, will be out first time.

Not sure where you read peades, but i suspect it was a typo, a peage is a toll motorway.

 

[markhub]

I bought a tag years ago & for a few euros a year it pays for itself - smooth & straight through most tolls & I believe a slightly better charge rate (or at least it used to be) payment taken by Direct Debit - works best for me anyway

 

[Dorwyn]

I would dispute that the peage is always more fuel efficient . I haven't been on one in current motorhome but previous A class 3L Rapido was less efficient at motorway speeds and much better on 90 kph roads. Peages can often be more mileage too.

True. But you are allowed to drive slower. Too slow and you'll annoy the truckers though.

 

[Steve devon]

Our motorhome is 4.5 ton , we had a sat dome on the roof which took it over 3 metres and we were class 3. Took the dome off, now we are under : metres and are class 2 happy days

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