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First time towing in France

Nov 11, 2009
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Hi, whilst I have driven in Europe I have never towed in France and would welcome any tips from those experienced members.
There so much to know that I would buy the Caravan and Motorhome Club touring guide of France. It gives so much information we found the guide invaluable even when we were experienced. It also contains details of a lot of sites too including municipals. Non members can buy one for small extra fee.

My main advice would be to use good caravan and car recovery service in case anything goes pear shaped. We used CMHC Red Pennant for vehicles and travel insurance as it is a one stop shop with an excellent reputation.

Enjoy your venture




 
Last edited:
Dec 31, 2025
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There so much to know that I would buy the Caravan and Motorhome Club touring guide of France. It gives so much information we found the guide invaluable even when we were experienced. It also contains details of a lot of sites too including municipals. Non members can buy one for small extra fee.

My main advice would be to use good caravan and car recovery service in case anything goes pear shaped. We used CMHC Red Pennant for vehicles and travel insurance as it is a one stop shop with an excellent reputation.

Enjoy your venture




Thank you
 
Nov 11, 2009
25,631
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For the record, they are now the CAMC - not the CMHC.
Thanks always nice to receive a public correction from members. I’m sure other members that have recently used CMHC will be so grateful. I look forward to future long technical postings on the UK telecommunications systems and why our mobiles don’t work too well in many areas we visit.
 
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Nov 6, 2005
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For the record, they are now the CAMC - not the CMHC.
Abbreviations are unofficial - officially it's "The Caravan and Motorhome Club" - also known as and trading as the Caravan Club - so abbreviate to whatever floats your boat, it's still CC for me!

Edit - I got it the wrong way round.

According to their own website - Caravan and Motorhome Club is a trading name of The Caravan Club Limited, registered in England and Wales no. 00646027
 
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Apr 23, 2024
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one thing to watch are the sign that state "radar for your safety and protection" (or something similar) are actually warnings for a speed camera ahead!! and a lot of petrol stations are fully automatic and some in the smaller villages are a bit difficult to get a caravan in. The roads are a lot smoother.Enjoy the trip
 
Nov 11, 2009
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French police have the right to stop you and require a breath test. I was stopped on a quiet rural back road around 0930 one time. All very polite and efficient. Clearly looking for alcohol carry over from previous evenings.
 
Apr 19, 2023
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We took our motorhome to France and Luxembourg 2 years ago. The roads are quieter. If you do drive from France to Luxembourg through Belgium the road is atrocious, more pot holes than the moon!

How are you crossing the channel? We used the tunnel with the motorhome. Now we have the caravan my wife, who tows, isn't prepared to tow a long caravan and tow car onto the shuttle. Unfortunately she gets very sea sick so the ferry isn't an option. Good luck with your trip.
 
Nov 11, 2009
25,631
9,394
50,935
We took our motorhome to France and Luxembourg 2 years ago. The roads are quieter. If you do drive from France to Luxembourg through Belgium the road is atrocious, more pot holes than the moon!

How are you crossing the channel? We used the tunnel with the motorhome. Now we have the caravan my wife, who tows, isn't prepared to tow a long caravan and tow car onto the shuttle. Unfortunately she gets very sea sick so the ferry isn't an option. Good luck with your trip.
I had similar concerns to your wife when we first used Le Shuttle with a 7.5m caravan. But it is made so easy to load from the platform into the carriage. In fact easier than many manoeuvres that are required in normal driving or getting onto a site. If you wife is confident enough to tow the caravan she wouldn’t have any difficulty on the shuttle.
 

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