Calais weighbridge check

[jonclareVWGrand]

We arrived in Calais yesterday and got straight on the toll road towards Paris. Just after the toll booth the gendarmes were pulling over all small vans and campers / motorhomes for a weight check.

Process for those that passed was very simple - roll front then rear wheels onto the weigh bridge. Then they check the weight vs registration document (we were 100kg under thanks to only 20l of water and fuel tank at 1/4 - water was planned due to weight worries, fuel was an unplanned weight benefit due to planned refuel later that day). Then my licence was checked as van over 3.5t so I need (and have) C1 on my licence, then a friendly wave onwards. All sorted in about 3 minutes.

No idea what would have happened if we were overweight.

 

[fluff34567]

You wouldn't go any further , normally a tow truck to somewhere to dispose of your excess weight but you sort out the disposal .. plus a nice big fine

 

[B J G]

You wouldn't go any further , normally a tow truck to somewhere to dispose of your excess weight but you sort out the disposal .. plus a nice big fine

Not to forget the C1 driving category being checked. That would have more serious implications if not authorised to drive the vehicle.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Based on Will & Sarah’s recent video on the weight of their Sven this could be a significant problem for larger vans. It seems that there is very little leeway and means some hard choices about what to load the van with - I.e. awning or bikes? Not really ideal for a camping rig when you might need to take all your gear.

 

[Vagophile]

For years I had a Rapido downplated from 3.85 to 3.5 tonnes by the first owner. I have a C1 licence. I was stopped on an Austrian motorway at a check point where all vehicles passing through had earlier passed over an automatic weigh device in the motorway surface. Apparently there was some problem with the weight of the motorhome (communication was difficult), but all was resolved when I showed the log book with the revised weight (which they did take away to a roadside tent where they did some sort of computer check). I never did get to the bottom of it, but the "in road" weight measurement was news to me.
The motorhome weighed in at 3.6 tonnes without occupants when directed onto a weighbridge after coming off a ferry crossing the Danube from Romania to Bulgaria. (Bechet to Oriahovo).
Without realising it, we had chosen Easter Sunday to cross (we had no idea that was so) and we did think that the Romanian customs post was very quiet, indeed we had to go looking for someone to deal with the border formalities. The officer we found was very surprised to see us and told us that the regular ferry service was not operating because it was Easter Sunday, but he would see what he could do (one way ferry toll 80 Euros). After about ten minutes, he directed us through the barrier to the loading jetty "because the ferry is on the other side and the captain does not believe that there are passengers on Easter Sunday. He wants to see you; he thinks that we are playing a practical joke on him".
Reassured by our presence, we saw the ferry set off from the Bulgarian side and in the meantime, two more cars with non local tourists arrived to swell the numbers. Two cars and a motorhome on a ferry with a capacity for about fifty vehicles eventually arrived in Bulgaria where the whole of the border control staff were very merry indeed, to the point where the weighbridge number didn't seem significant. We were waved on our way with recomendations for points of interest in the village. Given that we were carrying 140 litres of water in a downplated van, we had been prepared to ditch it if neccessary.
All in all quite a memorable day.