UK car with French caravan

[vi]

We have a UK car and a French matriculated caravan with its own numberplate. The insurance company in France know that we are towing with a UK car and the dealer told us he had checked with the Prefecture about this combination. However I am wondering about using this combination in countries other than France, do you think it would be advisable to simply attach our car's numberplate to the caravan rather than keep the French number visible.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Vi

 

[Rod_5041370]

Are you full time resident in France? If so you will need to get your UK car into the French sytem and French registered within 3 months in which case you need to keep the French registration on the caravan.

If you have a holiday home in France where you wish to base the caravan and will be using a UK registered car to tour, then plate the caravan with your UK number.

As a holiday home owner I have kept my caravan in France permanently for 6 years on my UK plate.

 

[Lutz]

In France, as in many Continental countries, the trailer/caravan is treated completely separately from the car, both tax and insurancewise. In those cases, the caravan will never have the same number plate as the car. Whether the car is UK registered and the caravan French or both French is therefore immaterial. You will see different national plates quite often on HGV's and their semitrailers. The combination UK plate on the car and French plate on the caravan is therefore quite OK. There is no need to replace the French number plate on the caravan with your UK one. Just make sure you have all the necessary documentation with you at all times.

 

[Lutz]

In France, as in many Continental countries, the trailer/caravan is treated completely separately from the car, both tax and insurancewise. In those cases, the caravan will never have the same number plate as the car. Whether the car is UK registered and the caravan French or both French is therefore immaterial. You will see different national plates quite often on HGV's and their semitrailers. The combination UK plate on the car and French plate on the caravan is therefore quite OK. There is no need to replace the French number plate on the caravan with your UK one. Just make sure you have all the necessary documentation with you at all times.

ps: Your situation is exactly the opposite of the one I posted under Question Re Caravan Rental further down under the 'General' topics in this forum.

 

[Damian]

As far as I am aware, the law in the UK regarding trailers, caravans and anything being towed is that the towed vehicle MUST show the same Number Plate as the towing vehicle.

In circumstances where a numberplate falls off the towed vehicle, it is perfectly acceptable to use the rear towing vehicle plate as a temporary measure until a replacement can be obtained, remembering of course, to replace the car plate when the trailer, whatever it is, is removed from the hitch.

 

[Lutz]

If Vi is towing the caravan outside the UK, the laws of the respective country apply. When I take my caravan to the UK it does not have the same number plate as the car, either.

 

[vi]

ps: Your situation is exactly the opposite of the one I posted under Question Re Caravan Rental further down under the 'General' topics in this forum.

I saw this Lutz..it was what prompted me to ask my question.

 

[vi]

Thanks everone,

We are not resident in France but will keep the caravan in France. I was concerned that when we travel in mainland Europe outside France that there may be difficulties with having a UK registered car and a French registered van. It sounds from what you say that this will be ok, except perhaps in the UK. I think we won't take the caravan there, but you never know! We shall carry a spare UK plate, just in case of problems,

Vi

 

[Lutz]

In theory, you should be alright in the UK as well. In fact, the caravan would be insured third party twice, once together with the UK registered car and then as a French registered vehicle as well (after all, insurance coverage is the main concern). However, you would probably avoid a lot of unnecessary questions if you were stopped by the police if you have UK plates on it while on this side of the Channel.

 

[JamesFrance]

Yes this really depends on where you insure the caravan. The main requirement for French insurance is to cover civil responsibility, which is similar to public liability, so you need a carte grise similar to that for a car, giving a registration number based on your department of residence.

If you could arrange UK based insurance for your caravan based in France, you would then come under the British system whereby the caravan shows the car number. This could well be difficult of course, as they do not like to insure foreign based vehicles, although boats do not seem to be a problem.

 

[vi]

We have the caravan insured with a French company and we have a carte grise, which we had to have in order to get the insurance. Insurance is the main point but I was also concerned that if we were stopped by the police in any country then everything would be in order.

There seem to be so many different regulations in dofferent countries.....you would thing the EU would get its act together.

thanks again

Vi

 

[Lutz]

As long as caravans have be registered in their own right in some countries but not in others, I'm afraid we'll have to live with such complications.