Italy has some special regulations for Motorhome has anyone been stopped and fined.

  • Thread starter Thread starter DL42846
  • Start date Start date
D

DL42846

Deleted User
I'm thinking of doing a trip to Italy but if I want to be legal according to the Italian laws I would need to change my tires from C rated van Tyres to CP Camper tyres. And change my rear Bike rack warning sign from a plastic one to a metal one.
Has anyone ever been challenged on any of these and are there anymore that I should know about.
I'm reluctant to change my tyres as they are new and are four season tyres which I haven't been able to find in CP
 
Been to Italy twice, guilty of both offences. It's Italy, police not bothered. :)

But in hindsight I should have bought the aluminium sign, the plastic ones start to fade and disintegrate after a couple of years.
 
Last edited:
Ditto, been there several times and it strikes me as the last place they’d be worrying about stuff like that. The road surface is so bad in places that you wouldn’t want to be using your ‘best’ tyres anyway.
 
Last edited:
Going this year, no bike rack and got CP tyres. what else do i need to worry about?
 
scotzsue said:
Going this year, no bike rack and got CP tyres. what else do i need to worry about?
Click to expand...

Be careful on elevated autopista sections squeezed through the hills when joining another autopista, you’ll sometimes find there’s virtually no slip road whatsoever!

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
scotzsue said:
Going this year, no bike rack and got CP tyres. what else do i need to worry about?
Click to expand...
The Italian's.
I found they are always on the make with all sorts of scams. Things like People claiming to be parking attendants when parking is free.
 
Wow !!it's not only France then where there are scams, well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs. It is not the police etc one has to worry about on a day to day basis, as here in France, if there is no problem ..then there is no problem. But, if there is an accident then once can assume that the powers that be will investigate all is as should be. If not, ie "C" in place of "CP" then it may be down to you to justify the discrepancy, "you pays your money and takes your chance". What's that quote "do you feel lucky"?
 
Captain Pants said:
Be careful on elevated autopista sections squeezed through the hills when joining another autopista, you’ll sometimes find there’s virtually no slip road whatsoever!
Click to expand...
Bit like Smart Motorways in UK then,,BUSBY.
 
Makes you laugh really! Went to Italy recently, used a coach to visit a coastal town, it had bald tyres on the back & the driver spent most of the trip chatting on his mobile whilst driving way over the speed limit :rolleyes:
 
Spent many a winter in Italy without any problem. but don't forget your 'shades' rayburns sunglasses as it is the law to wear them at all times even at night. Drive like lunatics and either, depending on the weather, drive in the shade (summertime) in the sun (wintertime).
Not all Italians are corrupt but my mother believed all the nice Italians were over here...…….(the one country they did not want to revisit)

Have a ball I did :coolest:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Mikescuba said:
. And change my rear Bike rack warning sign from a plastic one to a metal one.
Click to expand...

I always smile at that one. When I looked for one the only maker was FIAMA. Now where are FIAMA based !

Expensive but it did last our whole MH career.
 
We did a trip to Italy, and my friend who came down from Germany , arrived , and didn't use any of the AutoPista's. After he got home he got a fine from them for unpaid use of the Autopista, and he asked them where, and they couldn't say , but didn't believe that he was in the country for 5 days and didn't use them.. the fine kept getting doubled because he wouldn't pay, and they couldn't produce evidence. He cant go back .

As a bike racer , its a place we avoid because of all the theft , and scamming. Anything that isn't bolted down walks away , and its just a PITA in general being there, from rental car issues, to hotels trying to charge double. I wont take my own vehicle there , unless I have no option.
 
scotzsue said:
Going this year, no bike rack and got CP tyres. what else do i need to worry about?
Click to expand...

We went in 2018 to visit family.

On the Autostrada / AutoPista if someone missed their exit they just reversed back - we saw this happen several times on the east coast. The cost of the tolls is also on the high side. there are several different types of toll booth, some you put your card in, then retrieve it, barrier up and off you go. Others you have to press the big red button. It can be difficult to know what to do when confronted with a strange machine with instructions in an unfamiliar language and someone behind who has his hand welded to his horn. Some pay booths are manned and some are automatic.

The fuel was expensive - but LPG is widely available. Many of the motorway services have facilities for motorhomes including tank dumping. I don't know if there is a charge as we didn't make use of it.

The SS (Superstrada) roads are like our "A" roads and most were of reasonable standard. The local roads would make a cart track look good. The road to our relatives was a local road and half of it had subsided down the mountain (I kid you not) so single track with hairpin bends and two way traffic up and down the mountain, one just hopes the brakes on the oncoming vehicle are good as there is nowhere to go except over the edge). We left by a different route even though our relative said the bends would be too tight for the motorhome as he needed to back up a couple of times even in the car - they weren't very tight and we had loads of room to get round the corners as long as we took it slow and as wide as possible. We got lots of smiles and waves as we went through the villages - and we stopped a couple of times for (un)necessary supplies at local shops.

The Italian people were lovely, kind and helpful IF you attempted to communicate in Italian and were polite and willing to laugh at yourself.

However I never felt entirely comfortable when we were there - probably because of the family situation. We were glad to cross back into Switzerland and even happier to get back into France.

I did like Tivoli and we had a night on a free sosta there and we had a couple of nights in Florence which was a tourist trap and very very expensive. Looking back we should have stayed longer in Tivoli. I'm glad we saw Florence (we did the bus tour and it poured with rain) but I would not go back. The night in Rimini was noisy and it's not a place I would return to.
 
Thanks Mikescuba Captain Pants and Puddleduck
We have been once before in the motorhome and also on the BMW.
Went to Tuscany and Rome in the van and lake Como on the bike. Habe to say didn't find the drivers any worse than some of the road rage you see in the uk but things may have changed.
This time we are heading for Garda with some friends who have never been, we have a few times on package holidays and love the area. will be touring about though.
Currently thinking of how to get there avoiding switzerland and Austria, because of charges for over 3.5 sensible suggestions welcome, we should have about 6 weeks, going sometime after easter. Weighing up time and cost of driving to dover or getting the local, expensive ferry.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
scotzsue said:
Thanks Mikescuba Captain Pants and Puddleduck
We have been once before in the motorhome and also on the BMW.
Went to Tuscany and Rome in the van and lake Como on the bike. Habe to say didn't find the drivers any worse than some of the road rage you see in the uk but things may have changed.
This time we are heading for Garda with some friends who have never been, we have a few times on package holidays and love the area. will be touring about though.
Currently thinking of how to get there avoiding switzerland and Austria, because of charges for over 3.5 sensible suggestions welcome, we should have about 6 weeks, going sometime after easter. Weighing up time and cost of driving to dover or getting the local, expensive ferry.
Click to expand...

Via France, Col de Lauteret, bit twisty and a narrowish tunnel, car and motorhome OK, truck or coach and motorhome a problem but straight so can see what's coming and 7.5t weight limit.

We did it in the 5'er a few years ago.
 
scotzsue said:
Thanks Mikescuba Captain Pants and Puddleduck
We have been once before in the motorhome and also on the BMW.
Went to Tuscany and Rome in the van and lake Como on the bike. Habe to say didn't find the drivers any worse than some of the road rage you see in the uk but things may have changed.
This time we are heading for Garda with some friends who have never been, we have a few times on package holidays and love the area. will be touring about though.
Currently thinking of how to get there avoiding switzerland and Austria, because of charges for over 3.5 sensible suggestions welcome, we should have about 6 weeks, going sometime after easter. Weighing up time and cost of driving to dover or getting the local, expensive ferry.
Click to expand...
Tend to agree about driving style, generally no better or worse than France, Spain etc where they can be fairly mad. However, I have observed the reversing up a motorway manoeuvre when an exit has been missed - only once and several years ago now. Some road surfaces are very poor though, result of under investment in a country with a basket case economy. As for crime, I’ve experienced no problems. I feel much safer in Italy than Spain which, in my experience, has more than it’s fair share of lowlife.
 
matamoros said:
Via France, Col de Lauteret, bit twisty and a narrowish tunnel, car and motorhome OK, truck or coach and motorhome a problem but straight so can see what's coming and 7.5t weight limit.

We did it in the 5'er a few years ago.
Click to expand...

I'm not great on twisty roads with drops. will have a look on google earth. Might have to top up the hypnotherapy :giggle:
 
scotzsue said:
Thanks Mikescuba Captain Pants and Puddleduck
We have been once before in the motorhome and also on the BMW.
Went to Tuscany and Rome in the van and lake Como on the bike. Habe to say didn't find the drivers any worse than some of the road rage you see in the uk but things may have changed.
This time we are heading for Garda with some friends who have never been, we have a few times on package holidays and love the area. will be touring about though.
Currently thinking of how to get there avoiding switzerland and Austria, because of charges for over 3.5 sensible suggestions welcome, we should have about 6 weeks, going sometime after easter. Weighing up time and cost of driving to dover or getting the local, expensive ferry.
Click to expand...
Why avoid Switzerland for over 3.5t you can just get a 10 day vignette at the border for chf25/GBP20 and for Austria if you stay off the motorways you do not need a go-box.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
PhilG said:
and its just a PITA in general being there, . I wont take my own vehicle there , unless I have no option.
Click to expand...

SIR, if there is only one country I'm allowed to go to it has to be Italy. The place is awsome. They create Ferrari, Ducati. They worship speed. Rossi is Italian. The country is a feast for the eyes and stomach.
 
orridge said:
Why avoid Switzerland for over 3.5t you can just get a 10 day vignette at the border for chf25/GBP20 and for Austria if you stay off the motorways you do not need a go-box.
Click to expand...
well we will be there for longer than 10 days, Italy that is, and according to go maut it is not possible to get to Italy without using a motorway or dual carriageway where it seems although not charged you do need a go box, info from go-maut although i may have misunderstood the reply.
 
scotzsue said:
well we will be there for longer than 10 days, Italy that is, and according to go maut it is not possible to get to Italy without using a motorway or dual carriageway where it seems although not charged you do need a go box, info from go-maut although i may have misunderstood the reply.
Click to expand...
Sorry I should clarify the Swiss pass is valid for any 10 days in a 12 month period (that you are in Switzerland you just write in the days you use it so, for example, you could take a week going through Switzerland on the way down and still have 3 days on the way back. The route would be via Basel and Lucerne down to Como

For Austria you can definitely avoid the motorways (set Sat nav to avoid toll roads) we came back from Lake Garda used the Italian toll roads (very cheap) E22/A45 to Brenner and then used old toll road to Innsbruck and up into Germany.
 
scotzsue said:
well we will be there for longer than 10 days, Italy that is, and according to go maut it is not possible to get to Italy without using a motorway or dual carriageway where it seems although not charged you do need a go box, info from go-maut although i may have misunderstood the reply.
Click to expand...
It's 10 day in a 12 month period .
We go via Austria and don't use the toll roads. Easy route without and hariy bits is via the Furn & Brenna passes.
 
Thanks folk. I can be a numpty at times, will have a look when i find my map. might even have a go at plottting it on tom or google maps.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I wouldn't worry about the tyres, the fiamma market boards can be purchased in Italy, ? fiamma being Italian. ?
The police are not to bad, ? as everyone seems to speed and take very little notice of signs, saying that we did see a tuk tuk stopped and paperwork checked and breathalysed in florence and he had customers on board. ?
I think the thing to watch out for is their driving technique and the scooters that surround you every time you stop, ? if in doubt just keep tooting your horn. ? Bob.
 
scotzsue you can get to Italy from France either using the Val Cenis pass or via Briancon and Montgeneve to name but 2. Just be careful of you timing as both passes can/are closed over winter. We have been over both in our 4.25 tonne motorhome.

This is an example of sites that you can find with road information.

Infotrafic - Suivez l'état du trafic routier en temps réel

Information routière en temps réel
www.infotrafic.com www.infotrafic.com
 
Have been informed I am being a wimp, have a real fear of heights and my good hypnotherapist has retired. will just need to source another, as the session i had lasted almost 8 years. Don't anyone suggest closing my eyes as I am usually driving :LOL:
 
hilldweller said:
SIR, if there is only one country I'm allowed to go to it has to be Italy. The place is awsome. They create Ferrari, Ducati. They worship speed. Rossi is Italian. The country is a feast for the eyes and stomach.
Click to expand...

I have to admit, the stuff we did with the bikes was awesome. We rode at a track that had a motel across the road , and as we trust nobody, we kept the bikes in the room.. the last but one day i rode off track off the last session, out of the gate, across the road and into the motel, they opened the gate , and i rode round and straight into the room.. have it on Go Pro somewhere..

I cant argue against you .. maybe as long as you go , and expect to be shafted, it isnt so bad.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top