Well its that time again looking to plan my summer holiday for next year camping in Normandy
I have been looking at the Ferry service from Portsmouth to Cherbourg now on the online booking service it is asking for the height of the car now I have a VW Passat Estate the height is 1517M without a roof box. Now I'm hoping to buy a roof box in the Jan sale save some money I hope. What will the total height be when the roof box has been fitted to the car, if its over 1.83m then the cost of the ferry will increase by £60.00
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The ferries may charge extra for a roof box. On another forum there was a thread about the same topic, and someone (with a caravan) was going to be charged extra for the roof box, so unscrewed the connections, and put the roof box inside his caravan! Just what my OH would have done in the circumstances!
Don't risk it unless you've booked it is my advice.
However, if you're prepared to use the shorter crossings then you could get a return crossing for less than the extra charge for your roofbox. We've paid £58.00 return, for car and caravan with Norfolk Lines.
I have an Octavia Estate (1468mm high) and a basic roofbox - I think it's a CarRite brand, one of the more bulky looking ones that was £99 from Halfords.
We had the same dilemma last year, when attached to the roof rails it was about 30mm higher than the 1.85m height limit.
Fully loaded we reckoned it would be just under and we 'might' get away with it. In the end I didn't want to risk it and paid the extra £60. Would have been well under with one of the more streamlined Thule boxes, though.
------------- Johnny Hamster
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We have A Volvo V70, which is 1,481 mm high and a wide, "flattish" top box, which brings us pretty much exactly to 1.83. We've never been charged extra for the top box on a ferry and it skims juuust under the height checker for the Tunnel. The car is, of course, fully laden to the point of insanity (which probably helps)
Depending on make of rack and box the height will vary.I have a Passat Sport with Thule bars and a Halfords box, total height 1.95m approx. Never thought of booking in at less than the 1.83 threshold but may be worth a try if it saves £60!!!
Quote: Originally posted by dickturpin+kids on 21/12/2010
Depending on make of rack and box the height will vary.I have a Passat Sport with Thule bars and a Halfords box, total height 1.95m approx. Never thought of booking in at less than the 1.83 threshold but may be worth a try if it saves £60!!!
On Eurotunnel it quotes :-
We allocate space in the single deck carriage for cars higher than 1.85 metres and coaches and caravans. The carriages are twice as high as the double deck carriages so there is ample room. There is no extra charge so feel free to bring bicycles, roof boxes etc. Just inform us when booking. Please note, the max weight laden for a van on our Passenger service is 3.5 tonnes.
Hope that helps.
Andy
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I always book my Berlingo in as 'car with roofbox or bikes' on the tunnel. It will just go in the low one with the aerial fairly flat but you seem to get on & off quicker in the high section & it costs no more.
Friends were stopped at Portsmouth 2 years ago due to their roofbox taking them over the height limit. They were made to wait but managed to squeeze on in the end at no extra cost but had that not been the case they could have been in for a long wait (this was early July). It's a gamble......
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Topic: Ferry Advice Height of Car with roof box
