French toll charges for a 35 mm raised T6 campervan

[Jandy61]

Hello
Do you think a raised van 35 mm could get away with paying the class one rate on French toll routes?
, iv read roof boxes, bikes etc still pay the lower rate, but I’d probably not have anything up on the roof, obviously I know it will restrict going under physical car park barriers etc
I haven’t raised the van yet..
Cheers

 

[Lambeth Cali]

I thought it did some measurement when you pull up of the bonnet height. So not the roof. I’m not sure where I read that though.

 

[Jandy61]

I thought it did some measurement when you pull up of the bonnet height. So not the roof. I’m not sure where I read that though.

Yes,,I’m not sure how it works, maybe registration number linked to the vehicle type
Cheers

 

[andyinluton]

No it’s the roof they measure, it’s the M6 toll that measures the hight at the front axle.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

Hello
Do you think a raised van 35 mm could get away with paying the class one rate on French toll routes?
, iv read roof boxes, bikes etc still pay the lower rate, but I’d probably not have anything up on the roof, obviously I know it will restrict going under physical car park barriers etc
I haven’t raised the van yet..
Cheers

From the Emovis website. The tag company

Emovis Tag UK

Travel without stopping on European Motorways. Emovis Tag UK can provide UK customers with a tag for automatic payment of motorway tolls in France, Spain & Portugal.

www.emovis-tag.co.uk

“If you are a Class 1 vehicle and have a roof load such as a roof box or bicycle that takes your overall height over 2m, you will still be charged as a Class 1 vehicle. There is equipment (laser and 3D imaging) in the Liber-t lanes that can distinguish between 'Class 1 + roofload' and Class 2 vehicles. You should be charged at Class 1 rate.”

 

[andyinluton]

You should be charged at Class 1 rate.”

That is incorrect, the OP is saying they are raising the van so the van itself is over 2m which would make it class 2

If they were putting on a roof rack that made it over 2m then that would still be class 1

Have you actually measured the hight?
- when it came to lowering although you can get -30mm springs what difference in hight they made depended on which springs you had originally & the result was different at the back compared to the front.
If you are changing to +35mm springs that might not increase the hight by 35mm, then assume you are going to be fully loaded? you may still be under 2m

 

[Lambeth Cali]

We’ve had various different charges on UK roads. Often overcharged going into Wales previously. But I’m pretty certain in France it’s been ok and correct. I think it is a height measurement as implied by Emovis. Not a registration thing.
I think you’re right to worry you may be exceeding the height.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

That is incorrect, the OP is saying they are raising the van so the van itself is over 2m which would make it class 2

If they were putting on a roof rack that made it over 2m then that would still be class 1

Have you actually measured the hight?
- when it came to lowering although you can get -30mm springs what difference in hight they made depended on which springs you had originally & the result was different at the back compared to the front.
If you are changing to +35mm springs that might not increase the hight by 35mm, then assume you are going to be fully loaded? you may still be under 2m

Yours may well be the case. The quoted text I posted suggest that should the OP be using Emovis for their tag provider, if any, then that company would refund any difference paid through their system on proof of the vehicle type, if they were charged as Class 2.

Fwiw. Sanef are quite clear. 2m is their maximum for Category 1 vehicles. Category 2 coats around 50% more than category 1

 

[Kemper-van]

The measurements are not 100% accurate. We drove a ford nugget with toll badge on the motorways recently, and half of the registrations were Class 1 (<2m) and the other half were Class 2 (>2m).
Note: Ford Nugget is 2m06 according to technical sheet and when parked next to a non-raised/lowered California it is visibly higher.

It’s a bit a lottery, in my opinion… Assume the worst and most of the time it’ll be lower.

 

[Skewif]

Mine is +35mm front and +50mm rear and hight is a few cm over 2m. Have been through hundreds of French tolls and never had a problem. I normally go for the 30kmh <2m lane and never touched the chains. If using a tag and the odd toll charges you for over 2m you can phone them up and they'll change it.

 

[Jandy61]

Mine is +35mm front and +50mm rear and hight is a few cm over 2m. Have been through hundreds of French tolls and never had a problem. I normally go for the 30kmh <2m lane and never touched the chains. If using a tag and the odd toll charges you for over 2m you can phone them up and they'll change it.

That’s great info, thanks for all the reply’s, it might be that I intentionally have a bike on a tailgate rack and use that as a cause of exceeding the 2 m, oh and I do like cycling..
Iv only been though the tolls in a car so far so just working out potential cost issues