Until 2021/2022. Smart motorway upgrade.
APaul Critcher answers... Assuming that restrictions relating to the coronavirus pandemic are lifted, you can indeed take your caravan to the lovely island of Guernsey. Other restrictions do apply, though.
The towing unit cannot be wider than 2.31m (excluding mirrors/indicators) and cannot be longer in total than 12.19m. It must also be booked into Le Vaugrat registered campsite.
In addition, you will need to obtain a motorhome/caravan permit from the site operator, and you must ensure your windscreen sticker is attached and that you return to the campsite each night.
All caravans are limited to a maximum period of one month staying on the island.
The process for booking is as follows: first, contact the site to check availability and make a provisional booking. Then you’ll need to complete the booking with the ferry operator and confirm it with the campsite.
You’ll need two copies of your permit (one is for the ferry operator) and that all-important windscreen sticker.
For full guidance on visiting Guernsey, go to https://gov.gg/ motorhomescaravans.
SHOULD WE JOIN A TOURING CLUB?
QWe recently bought our very first caravan – a 2008 Swift four-berth - and we love it a lot! We’ve been staying at privately owned campsites so far, but we are considering joining one of the major clubs – could you please tell us the advantages of doing so?
David and Clare Peters
AClaudia Dowell replies… You can think of the two major clubs – the Camping and Caravanning Club (campingand caravanningclub.co.uk) and the Caravan and Motorhome Club (caravanclub.co.uk) – as rather like one-stop travel agents.
As well their websites, both have handbooks advertising a wide network of Club sites, certificated sites/locations and listed campsites in the UK. The sites are managed by the Clubs, to a consistently high standard.
CSS and CLS are privately owned, but are exclusive to members and only take five units at a time. They are often on working farms, or adjacent to pubs, fishing lakes or beaches, and you’re assured plenty of space. Listed sites are privately owned and recommended by the Clubs as being of a high standard.
Both Clubs also have listed sites abroad, and by booking through the Clubs, you can make savings on ferry crossings as well as pitch fees.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club offers low-cost Overseas Night Site Vouchers, while the Camping and Caravanning Club gives access to the low-season ACSI Camping Card.
Both also offer a range of accompanied/guided tours, which are perfect if you’re new to towing abroad, or if you’d like to join other like-minded
‘As well as their websites, both of the major Clubs have handbooks advertising a wide network of campsites’
caravanners on-site after visiting various locations.
You can also book insurance and breakdown recovery for your vehicles, and manoeuvring courses for you.
Just one of these Clubs has more than 700,000 members, and some people will take up membership of both to have the widest selection of sites.
HOW DO I PAY TOLLS DRIVING TO ITALY?
QFingers crossed (assuming that the travel restrictions are lifted at some point), we’re planning to drive down to Italy with our single-axle caravan later in the year, or possibly early next year.
Could you please tell me what I will need to do about tolls on the way there? I have taken a look online and found it all rather confusing!
David Todd
APaul Critcher answers... I’m not surprised – this is indeed rather complicated! However, if you go to www.auto strade.it, you’ll see it explains that the toll is calculated according to your vehicle’s height and number of axles, based on the classes you’ll find listed at https://bit.ly/2ycj4g3 (this link is in English).
You’re likely to come under class B (a total of three axles), but do use the link to double check this.
To calculate the amount due for payment, you will need to multiply the unit rate by the number of kilometres travelled (this should include kilometres for junctions, link roads and stretches before and after the toll plaza, which are built and managed by the road concessionaire).
To find the unit rate, go to https://bit.ly/2rbxjs4 and scroll about halfway down to see the link for the ‘ tabella di dettaglio’, which will show a table of prices for 2018 (2020 unit prices aren’t listed), which gives you a rough idea.
For a class B, the unit rate shown is 0,07401. Next, VAT at 22% should be added to the calculated amount, which is then rounded up or down to the closest 10 euro cents.
| JULY 2020
On toll roads operating Open Systems, where you do not take a ticket to establish where you enter the road or where you’re going, the calculation is based on an established distance, applying a lump sum approved by the awarding body (ANAS).
Fortunately, most of the toll roads have Closed Systems, in which you take a ticket on entering the road and return it on exiting, paying a toll on the basis of the route covered.
When it comes to making payments, this at least is simple. The white gates displaying cash symbols indicate cash only, the blue gates showing the ‘carte’ symbol are for credit cards, and the yellow gates with the Telepass symbol are reserved for Telepass customers.
HOW CAN I PROTECT MY BAILEY PAGEANT?
QI have not long taken ownership of a 2005 Bailey Pageant – it’s obviously been very well loved over the years, but I want to take care of it in the years we’re hoping to own it for! I was thinking of getting some sort of cover, but they seem costly. Would a plastic tarpaulin (well strapped down, of course) be a suitable way to protect it from the elements? Name withheld
ASarah Wakely replies... That wouldn’t really be any good I’m afraid – in fact, it could cause more harm than good, because a caravan cover needs to be breathable.
If it’s not, condensation could form underneath the cover because it can’t evaporate; that could lead to all sorts of damp problems inside if you’re not careful.
You don’t need to buy a new cover if money is tight – keep an eye out on ebay or other classified sites and you might well find one. Depending on which specific model Pageant you own, there are likely to be a few of them around!
‘Road tolls in Italy are calculated according to your vehicle’s height and number of axles’