Just returned from first jauny abroad with dogs (1 Viewer)

rav4girly

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Aug 26, 2009
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Hi All, Well, we survived our first trip to France in our motorhome. Although we have driven abroad before in the car we were a little anxious about taking the motorhome for the first time as we had heard stories of the sat nav leading you off down unsuitable routes etc. As we disembarked at Le Havre we headed off towards Pont du Normandie in busy two lane traffic. The sat nav told us to keep left which we duly did until suddenly we heard a crash on the roof and found ourselves heading for the underpass which we were clearly to tall for.:Eeek: We hadn't been in the Country for 10 minutes. I jumped out and signalled to all who followed to back up whilst apologising patheticly. I have to say I didn't see one person roll their eyes or growl at us, but plenty having a good laugh.:Blush: I don't think we'll be bothering doing more than a weekend in the van from now on unless the weather is gorgeous because it's no fun with two wet dogs and wet coats hanging around.
 

theresa

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you are not the first one to go on the under pass at le havre , or try to i should say , a lady friend of ours did the same , so dont feel bad about it , and at least now you know :Doh: about it :Blush::Blush::Blush:
 

talby

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I hope you have done no serious damage to your van. I expect your roof hit the warning hanging over the road.

You were not to know but there is an escape from that lane a bit further on.

Don't let it put you off.

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dellwood33

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Apr 25, 2009
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So what did you damage on the Van's roof ? We are going via the tunnel for the summer, so hopefully no low bridges ::bigsmile:

How did you find the dog situation with regards to vets etc ? :Smile:
 
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rav4girly

rav4girly

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I was totally stressing over the vets as we were moving around and I didn't know where we would be at the time they needed seeing (no less than 24 hours or more than 48 hours before you turn up at the port to leave). We ended up in Granville on the Friday afternoon and went into town to book the vet for the next afternoon. It all went smoothly and French officials at the port are so polite and friendly. They had to fill in some paperwork for the dogs at the french end which took a little while and then they sent us on our way. When we arrived in UK I was expecting that they would check the dogs microchips or whatever but no, they just checked the passports and waved us through. They never even looked at the dogs.
 

motorhomer

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We have taken our dog several times. There are lots of vets, no problem finding them, but the charges are increasingly a rip off. The first time we were charged €25 (which then was about £18). Second time €35, but last time it was €50 - which was very near £50. We were only in the vets for 5 minutes. They have realised that brits on there way home have little alternative.

So don't worry about finding one but watch the charges!

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motorvating

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Hi All, Well, we survived our first trip to France in our motorhome. Although we have driven abroad before in the car we were a little anxious about taking the motorhome for the first time as we had heard stories of the sat nav leading you off down unsuitable routes etc. As we disembarked at Le Havre we headed off towards Pont du Normandie in busy two lane traffic. The sat nav told us to keep left which we duly did until suddenly we heard a crash on the roof and found ourselves heading for the underpass which we were clearly to tall for.:Eeek: We hadn't been in the Country for 10 minutes. I jumped out and signalled to all who followed to back up whilst apologising patheticly. I have to say I didn't see one person roll their eyes or growl at us, but plenty having a good laugh.:Blush: I don't think we'll be bothering doing more than a weekend in the van from now on unless the weather is gorgeous because it's no fun with two wet dogs and wet coats hanging around.

Sorry to hear of your mishap, but hey we all have had them. Our first trip to France ended in us lossing our awning because we left it out in wind and rain lol.

Your Sat Nav won't take you down unsuitable roads if you follow the instructions and keep the software up to date. It is user error that is the problem, not the Sat Nav. If your Sat Nav does not allow you to put height, width and length of your vehicle, I wold seriousley consider investing in one that does, they are well worth the money and will save you much money by avoiding hitting the roof on low bridges ect.

As for the wet coats I suggest you take a trip to your local outdoor persuits shop like Go Outdoor and buy a couple of mountain walking jackets that will dry out very quickly, and they will take less storage up. We both have one made of some space age technology that will dry out in 10 minutes in a ventilated area.
 

geoff1947

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May 20, 2008
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There for the grace of God etc

Last February we headed to Spain Via La Harve and VERY nearly went down the underpass. We were saved by a British truckiee flashing his lights and leaving a big space for me to slip quickly into but nervy or what!! My sympathies go to you.
Many years ago when we had a small van I drove into the barrier outside of a Tesco I didn't even know they existed then but one soon learns to look out for these thing. You are not the first by any means!!
I hope it hasn't put you off travelling. Good luck for the future:thumb:

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