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Topic: Autoroute Dunkerque to Frejus 2018

Francais

21/7/2018 at 1:51pm
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For those interested, I have been online to check my autoroute spend for this years trip to Frejus.

We go Dunkerque and down the Eastern route, this year the sat nav put us on the A46 round Lyon, instead of straight through the middle, sat nav decides this based on traffic conditions to give the fastest route at the time, and did the same comming back.
Cost's include the £1.50 monthly cost for using the Tag.

We used the APRR Tag going in June which has worked out at £86.92 and we then switched to the Bip & Go (SANEF) Tag for the July return trip, which came to £84.52 so nothing between the two, and most stretches were the exact same cost.

That makes the total cost for getting to Frejus and back £171 for Class 1 car with Trailer and RoofBox.

Conversion cost was based on £ = 1.124€ using Halifax Clarity card.

APRR spend due for payment at the end of August.

Bip & Go spend due for payment at the end of September.

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Val A

21/7/2018 at 4:24pm
Location: West - North Yorkshire
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In June our friends with a motorhome did a similar trip but allmost toll-free except for the first section to St Quentin. They stayed on a pub carpark nesr Dover before their morning crossing. They had overnight stops at Lac d'Orient near Troyes, and then nearBollene, and then continued on to Provence. With a Classe 2 or even 3 motorhome their toll costs would have been well over £250 and they decided to try off-toll. It wss their first trip in the motorhome and apart from battery problems they had a great holiday, spending five days with us in the Ardeche.

With the additional costs of fuel, and for people on a budget and in less of a hurry it may make sense to check out timings for a toll-free alternative, to see if it might make a realistic allternative.

Francais

21/7/2018 at 7:14pm
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Yep, Val problem for us is time, so the autoroute's are a means to an end, the cost is quite insignificant.

Also with the recent speed restrictions on the RN roads, which I am all in favour of have added to the burden for those who need to get accross France quickly.

Also I am told that many more round abouts have been introduced, so getting through towns is now also slower.

The autoroute's are a dream to drive along compared to our motorways here in the UK, in fact they were exceptionally quiet this year, probably because we went well outside the main holiday season.

bulldogmick

23/7/2018 at 6:38am
Location: Wollongong NSW Australia
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Quote: Originally posted by Francais on 21/7/2018
Yep, Val problem for us is time, so the autoroute's are a means to an end, the cost is quite insignificant.

Also with the recent speed restrictions on the RN roads, which I am all in favour of have added to the burden for those who need to get accross France quickly.

Also I am told that many more round abouts have been introduced, so getting through towns is now also slower.

The autoroute's are a dream to drive along compared to our motorways here in the UK, in fact they were exceptionally quiet this year, probably because we went well outside the main holiday season.

Hi Francis you wouldn't know if i drove the same route in a camper what the cost would be. Mick

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SGThomas

23/7/2018 at 7:05am
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A campervan is likely to be Classe 2 so about 60% dearer

We have started to use motorways more often simply for health reasons. Arthritis and osteoporosis make gear changing quite a trial for my chauffeuse, so reducing the speed humps, roundabouts and differences in speed limits, make the journey easier.

Apart from the time and comfort bonus, there is an appreciable fuel economy in using the autoroutes, which offsets a bit of the cost.

Our caravan is classe 1 as it is under 2 metres tall.

Francais

23/7/2018 at 7:14am
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Well all I know is that it would be more, or the same if you were in somthing like a VW Transporter type camper, I am thinking VW California etc.

What I noticed the most was the severe drop in MPG for the one year old VW Golf 1.6 TDi Mk 7 that I was driving.

Normally I get 55 MPG of real world driving at home, with work I clock up around 2,500 miles each month.

For the trip to France though the car had a RoofBox, and I was towing a half ton trailer which also had a RoofBox.

I was getting 35 MPG on a good day, OK I expected a drop in MPG, but back in 2015 when I was driving an almost new Mk6 model of the same car I was getting 45 MPG.

Of course going at 81mph is never going to be good for fuel consumption.

A double whammy for this year was that the cost of diesel was up by 60% compared to 2015, mostly due to the drop in the value of £ against the € and by the French jacking up diesel prices by 20%.
I have not done the math yet, but I guess my increase on diesel spend, compared to 2015, is going to be around 80%!

Val A

23/7/2018 at 8:23am
Location: West - North Yorkshire
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Yes, currently the cheapest.diesel around here is €1.389. On the autoroutes it's a much higher price so If you fill up in an autoroute service station it may cost nearer €1.70. So It makes sense to fill up when off the autoroute, when going cross-country or when overnighting. Cars and bigger caravans are Classe 2, as are most motorhomes, but some bigger and three axle.motorhomes are Classe 3 which will be even more expensive. You can check what category your vehicle is on autoroutes.fr.

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Claydoncamper

23/7/2018 at 8:27am
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Given VW’s recent problems, Francais, maybe the more recent MPG was a truer readout than one your 2015 model was giving?

SGThomas

23/7/2018 at 9:08am
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In our wanderings, towing 1150kg of loaded caravan, we used to achieve around 36mpg. The last trip around Spain (down to Denia) and back through France, using motorways, we averaged 40.2mpg.

On the overall journey of just over 2,000 miles, fuel saving was about 6 gallons or about 27 litres ( €38)

Granturismo

23/7/2018 at 11:01am
Location: Bury Lancs
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A 1.6 diesel will be working pretty hard at 80mph with a half ton trailer and 2 roof boxes. I've had a couple of Passats - a 1.6tdi and now a 2.0 tdi - and the fuel economy is almost identical over the long term.

Interestingly though, the 2.0 is noticeably more economical than the 1.6 when the car's fully loaded plus roofbox, presumably a more powerful engine takes the extra load in its stride a bit better.

Post last edited on 23/07/2018 11:06:31

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Francais

23/7/2018 at 8:38pm
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Yep Val, I have always avoided motorway service stations for filling up with diesel, both here in the uk and France.

I always go for the cheapest supermarket diesel, and despite all the urban myths of it being rubbish diesel, I have never had a problem in the 30 years that I have been driving diesels.

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