What happens if your motorhome exceeds 7 meters in length? (1 Viewer)

[Chris]

Who remembers 26' 9" or was it 26' 6"

I thought it was 23' 9".

He repeated it often enough to become ingrained in my memory

 

[eddie]

I thought it was 23' 9".

He repeated it often enough to become ingrained in my memory

He's dead now!

 

[Chris]

He's dead now!

Is he really?

That's a shame

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[WillH]

Eurotunnel don't even ask you the length of the motorhome

I said Ferry companies. Eurotunnel carriages are a different beast, they work by numbers. On a ferry you work by lane metres and the number of lanes.

 

[peterc10]

I said Ferry companies. Eurotunnel carriages are a different beast, they work by numbers. On a ferry you work by lane metres and the number of lanes.

But they shouldn't be different - they have the same limit in length of carriages, as the ferries have with length of lanes. If they can make it work can't see why the ferries can't.

 

[lesleyjean]

R.I.P.

SlobberdobberBob

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[ceejayt]

Very occasionally we have been refused a booking at 9m. We rarely stay on CC sites but their booking system often rejects 9m. Yet, if you turn up, the warden will generally put you on.

Next month I wanted to stay at Crystal Palace but rejected in line (even though we have stayed there before). Staying instead at Chertsey with no fuss over length.

 

[Anthony496]

What happens if your motorhome exceeds 7 meters in length?

They don't suddenly explode that's for sure!
Ours is over 7m, never had a problem because of it.

Ours is over 7m and I can concur after checking out the window that it hasn't exploded yet either... Which is good news

 

[eddie]

Is he really?

That's a shame

He was gassed

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[big map]

He was gassed

by the dog?

 

[Phillybarbour]

Ours is 9m and never had an issue, it's more about what you are comfortable driving. Big van can't go everywhere but as said by others the big van allows us to carry both bikes and a Honda scooter with 1000kg payload.

 

[alfandM]

It isn't what you have its how you use it,it's each and every ones choice, large or small regards AlfandM.

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[Dave and Ginny]

We're still on our first 6m van but as our time using it each year increases we are now considering a change, probably to a larger van. But I know it will come with some disadvantages such as the increased ferry or tunnel costs not to mention tolls. I more concern myself with some of those tight European aires and campsites that I've squeezed into!
Another consideration is that over 7 metres is likely to take us over 3.5 ton if we want a decent payload. This will now restrict routes where this is the maximum weight limit, again mostly France and Spain.
As we approach spending more than half our year in our van we would like some extra space but I fear it will come with some drawbacks.

 

[Bailey58]

Yes it was 26'9", poor Bob he got some stick over that. I hope he is still with us, was Ezzie the dog's name?

 

[WillH]

But they shouldn't be different - they have the same limit in length of carriages, as the ferries have with length of lanes. If they can make it work can't see why the ferries can't.

Work out the maths. Eurotunnel carriages are never full when carrying larger vehicles, on a ferry we would park up within 6 inches for a lane length of 150m.

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[peterc10]

Work out the maths. Eurotunnel carriages are never full when carrying larger vehicles, on a ferry we would park up within 6 inches for a lane length of 150m.

Not my experience with the tunnel. The carriages are separated by fire doors that have to be closed, but they squeeze as many in as they can per carriage - they drive you up to about 6" of the door or vehicle in front, and if they can they will squeeze a last one in - gain I have seen 6" between them and the door. But, of course, this layout with frequent doors means that there is sometimes a large gap between the last vehicle in the carriage and the door, if the following vehicle is too large to fit. But the maths are still the same, i.e. on average larger vehicles take up more space in both, and in many respects the ferries are better able to cope with a mixture of large and small as they have more flexibility. So why do they charge by the metre when the tunnel doesn't I wonder - probably because they can get away with it.

Its another reason by the way why it is very difficult to compare ferry and tunnel fares - because the answer will be different depending upon the length of your vehicle. I suspect shorter motorhomes are always going to be cheaper on the ferry.

 

[WillH]

Exactly, the tunnel has more gaps. As you say they'll squeeze a last one in if they can, if they can't they are left with a big space. The ferries make use of these gaps though it is not an exact science. Our sales and marketing people would show us the figures that a particular ferry had say 750 lane/metres, then ask us why we couldn't pre-book the lanes as such. The answer is that vehicles come in all lengths and don't fit. As for profit, I worked for them for 20 years and we had a profit share scheme, only paid out once in that time.

I'll state it again, a lot of people under declare their length, some underdeclare their height! Really good that one, seen a couple of TV aerials knocked off as the driver 'didn't think the aerial counted'. The steel deckhead didn't mind, paint not even scratched.

 

[BobtheBass]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I can conclude that 7m is certainly NOT a defined length to be avoided for any known reason! My mh is 7.39m so I was considering chopping just over a foot off the back.......

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[ianandkath]

mine is 10.1 metres and as the booking forms for the ferry only let you go to 10metres, then yes i had to lie about lenth.
as most say on here ,its width and hieght that are the problem

 

[NeilB]

I prefer to be at 6m as with scooter/bike rack with box above my Hymer 584 I squeeze in at 6.5 metres and therefore dont have much problem parking especially in supermarkets if I go to the back of the sites

 

[Reallyretired]

Mine is 7.6m and has been all over, including mountain tracks with grass growing up the middle. Parking in carparks/supermarkets, just let the overhang go over a bit of grass at the edges.

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[PeteH]

American R-V`s have an issue with Length. 32ft is actually close to 33!!!. Because they measure the BODY length!!.