Width of French motorway toll lanes

[Mike_5065754]

Hi all,
please can anyone tell me the lane width for the Franch motorway toll booths approach to ticket machines? I have travelled in France for a number of years using conventional width caravans i.e. 7' 6" width without any issues. However having bought an Adria Astella Rio Grande last August ( width 2.48 mtrs or 8' wide ) I can't ever remember seeing any signs showing max width allowance.
Thnaks, Mike

 

[RayS]

I can't be definative, but I think you should be ok. I have had both front doors open at the same time when stopped and there seemed to be room round the edges to walk by. I can only suggest getting the outfit lined up straight with the lane and not to come at it from an angle then keep as close to your side as you can using the extension mirrors. I'm assuming your co-pilot will attend to the paying part.

The superwide caravans are nearly all of continental origin so asume this has been thought of.

I might also set my towing mirrors so the tips were wider than the caravan and then approach very slowly. If you found the mirrors touching you could stop before any serious damage occurred

 

[Gafferbill]

Mike.....in all those years you spent driving on French Auto routes......did you not notice the trucks?
What width do you think they are?

 

[RogerL]

I might also set my towing mirrors so the tips were wider than the caravan and then approach very slowly. If you found the mirrors touching you could stop before any serious damage occurred

When towing mirrors are fitted correctly they'll always project beyond the width of the caravan - so if they go through the caravan will - I do miss the old days of wing-mounted towing mirrors as they were much easier to line up for narrow gaps.

 

[ValA.]

The problem is the deep kerbs - which make the lane narrow at the bottom - but are sometimes high enough to hit the caravan bottom particularly if it's low. If you use the truck lane, and it's automatic, you may also be charged the wrong 'band' if you use the truck lane. Our caravan is 2.3 metres and it's sometimes difficult to get it lined up correctly - though we've been lucky and never actually hit the kerbs. I'm not sure of the definitive answer. Perhaps when we find a quiet peage booth on our way home we may pop out and measure it!

 

[Gafferbill]

The payment by cash or credit card toll booth lanes on French Autoroutes that do not have a height restriction, are suitable for trucks that do not have a TelePeage sender unit and need to pay.
Therefore they must be suitable for 8 feet wide caravans

 

[Gordon1val]

Hi, we had a few stops in French tolls on route to Italy and returning, you will be ok for width but we found it safer to stop the car and caravan just short of the barrier and I got out and paid tolls myself ( I was driving ) as some of the safety barriers and kerbs are very high on exiting and you need to be very close for your passenger to pay so I adopted the be safe policy and had no issues or tooting from vehicles behind me, regards Gordon.

 

[Lutz]

I'll never forget an incident that I saw many years ago in the days when the old immigration booths betwen European countries were still standing but had not yet been removed. Someone towing a boat trailer and travelling from France into Belgium forgot that his trailer was wider than the car. You can imagine what happened when the axle of the trailer caught the booth. The car was in Belgium, but without the trailer, the trailer remained in France and the boat, on its own, jammed up at an angle next to the booth, neither in one country nor the other.
It was a very funny sight, though probably not quite as funny to the family involved.

 

[Gafferbill]

.......it is a dangerous old job manning a toll booth and the booths are normally made Truck proof as much as possible.
It is not a good idea to hit any part of this protection with a car or caravan.

 

[Raywood]

Lutz, Thats another reason to fit extending mirrors, If they fit through the trailer should.

 

[RayS]

Just back from 6 weeks in France and used the autorioutes quite a lot as it was SWMBOs introduction to towing. More and more tollgates are now unmanned. Those to the left are usually wider than those in the centre of the approach and accept card/cash payment as well as telepayage. The machines will show the Class and single axle caravans should be Class 2. Occaisionally you may see a message to the effect 'wait while your class is determined' for a few seconds while the cameras do their work.

It's usually pretty easy but I'm going to have another look at the Telepeage thing before going again - may be worth the little extra as we normally do two trips a year. Would be interested to hear from anyone who has used it and how it worked out.

 

[Gafferbill]

Those to the left are usually wider than those in the centre of the approach and accept card/cash payment as well as telepayage.

......do you mean those to the right?

 

[RayS]

Many apologies, i did mean those to the right - it's the hang over from reversal after 6 weeks and 2500 miles.

(Although many of the Telepeage only lanes are to the right