Driving a private 7.5t to BG

Sounds like an adventure!

You do realise that you need a C P C for the tachograph because without this you can not drive a 7.5ton truck

johndaley352 wrote:

You do realise that you need a C P C for the tachograph because without this you can not drive a 7.5ton truck

He Said he has C1 for 3.5t not C.

So no tacho needed or other special requirements for vehicles up to 3.5t through Europe

Hi

I run my own Haulage company in UK

So heres the rules.

NO CPC OR TACHO REQUIRED. As you are moving your own personal belongings

Tips

Aim for covering max 4/500 miles in a day as it will tire you out chugging along at 56mph. Have a rest every 4:30hrs for an hour or so. Don't rush to get there. I would just drive through day light hours as you won't know the route and need to keep your wits about you.

If you have people in the cab with you that fall asleep before you get out your driveway send them on a plane. You will need your Co Driver to keep an eye on you also to make sure you're OK and fit to drive. Make sure you get at least 8 hours sleep/rest. No alcohol

plan your drive with stops and aim for 3 or even 4 days to get there.  Remember don't drive tired as 7.5 tonne will kill the people in the car in front.

Takes a lot longer to stop as it weight 4/5 times more than your car. Keep checking your mirrors especially kerb side. You are sat on top of the wheels so don't turn until you are at the corner not the front on the cab. If in doubt get your co Driver out to guide you through tight spots. Stick to main Motorways and highways. If your roads are dirt tracks there is a goof chance you will sink in it. Just because its rock hard for a car and you can jump up and down on it doesn't mean a 7.5 tones wont sink. If in doubt dig a screwdriver into the soil and see how deep the solid dirt is. Don't drive in verges with grass as theres a good chance you will sink.

Check your vehicle for any leaks and keep it topped up with the required fluids. Find out the oil it needs and go any buy 10 litres from Halfords as some older lorries drink it faster than diesel

Above all enjoy the experience and if your co driver is your “other half” get them out to help especially if its raining. It will cheer you up at least. Remember they are your co driver so they keep you fed and watered for the trip.

So basically take your time and enjoy it as if you “pile in and crash” the local authorities will do everything to blame you. I personally would keep a log of miles covered and rest times etc just in case

Steve,

Thank you so much for that. Brilliant advice. Yes, my other half's idea of co driving is that it's a mini cruise and wakes up with “Are we there yet?”

Looking at routes, I was hoping to go Newcastle ferry and across. Any experience or preferred routes you could recommend?

Thank you sir.

Look at your new home and its location in BG and work backwards to UK. Pick the best roads Motorways etc as that little cross country trip in the car might be no good for trucks.

Get a decent up to date Sat Nav that covers the area. Google maps is OK but if reception is “iffy”. Get the map book out. Take plenty of water.  Not just for you but the truck also. Toiletries and a cool Box is essential. Immodium is a must just in case lol. Get a little camping stove and a frying pan as a bacon sandwich half way up a mountain is a memory.   

Above all enjoy it.   

What are you doing with the truck? or is it a rental?  Have a word with Enterprise if you are renting as they used to do one way rental.

Oh and a big stick to prod the co driver every time they decide to read the story on the back of their eyelids.

I don't know this from direct experience, but I read that the roads in Serbia (the quickest route to the west side of Bg) are dire, winding mountain roads to get to the border. But for where your house is, you'd probably come via Romania anyway.
And great advice for anyone driving to Bg from Steve. Thank you!

I just drove through Romania from Szeged to the crossing at Vidin in my large van and that was quite the experience!

I crossed into Romania as it was getting dark so imagine my confusion as the motorways disappeared and became single carriageway through towns and villages, through mountains and alongside the river.

The route was full of HGVs, don't ask me how they managed the mountains because the one in front of me pulled over at what I soon came to realise was the trickiest section, to let us all pass.

I don't know if there's a better way in a large vehicle, but I was wary of straying out of Europe as that's what my insurance and breakdown covered me for. I did read that the roads were faster through Serbia, but not a good option with pets and lots of belongings. I might try that way on an empty run back, just for comparison.

Oh, good to know, Helen. I was thinking of the route via Ruse, which is nearer VT so maybe more convenient for Rob and Carolyn.

Steve310.    I can't thank you enough for your wisdom and insights ! I'd never thought about 1 way 🤔 ! What a great idea. I was just going to hire a truck for a fortnight and go from there.

Definitely looking at the flattest route. The biggest issue I've found is which ferry ports cater best for a 7.5t . I'm in mid wales, so every direction to a port is equidistant!

The hands on advice from all the replies has been phenomenal, thank you each and everyone.

No worries at all.

Look at Harwich Hook of Holland. I personally would just head to Bucharest and chuck a right to Bg.

Serbia has lots of high places. Nice scenery but maybe a bit “Squeaky bum time” for a Novice driver. They also don't drive like they do here lol. Keep your eyes open and the co-driver is another set of eye as trust me some of the things you will see will amaze you.

Just let everyone know how you get on. Tell the co-driver to keep a journal and take photos as its all part of the new life.

Oh and remember they drive on the wrong side of the road lol. However, after a few days you'll get used to it. Watch out for day 3 or 4 though as I tend to find you're used to driving on the other side by then and don't worry anymore. Then the next day because you're not thinking drive on the right. You just jump in and set off on the left. i've done it loads of times. Think think think and look left right left right left right at junctions. Co-Driver clear left etc etc. Co-Driver Watch out for push bikes sneaking up your inside. Co-Driver is it clear to overtake as you can't see if its a Right hand drive. So Co-Driver this, Co-Driver that. Keep them occupied. Plus its a different world sat up high and you'll see things so far ahead. Just remember braking distance and don't ry and nip into that gap as they're not the fastest of vehicles. If someone nips in front of you drop back so you can stop in time.

Maybe hire one for the day and go and drive around the Rhonda Valley in one. Give you some insight into what you'll experience as its a long way when you think “sod this” after 5 miles.

Do you really need a 7.5 tonner? You must have a LOT of stuff!! We did our move with a regular Luton, which is pretty easy to drive.

The Serbia route is loads better than Romania. It's direct, it's mostly motorway... and then the Bulgaria section to Sofia is good (well, it is when they're not doing the huge roadworks) too. But... the big downside is it's non-EU, which generally isn't an issue for your insurance, but does mean border queues and customs checks.

I think, officially, second-hand personal effects / house contents are not a problem, But I think many prefer to avoid it just because of the potential for trouble.

You can't avoid this, as you want to get your stuff moved. But @Steve310 makes an excellent point: it's a right old plod getting a van across 1,700 miles! You may not think you're a fast driver, but lots of us will happily cruise 80-90 mph (and significantly higher on German autobahns) in a car on European motorways. So to swap that for a big ol' van loaded down with stuff, it's surprisingly different. :-)

More great replies !

Gwynj, we currently live in a 9 bedroomed old vicarage and I've a load of tools in the garage including 2 workbenches, table saw, compound saw, gardening power tools and a large tool chest....plus my big gas barbie and a pizza oven.

I was tempted to just use a Luton and do 2 trips but space them apart and use a storage locker. It'd make it easier for eurotunnel and a damn sight cheaper. But then, just 1 trip is a nice neat all in 1 package too.
It's all an adventure and even at this point, I'm meeting others and getting wiser....what more can I ask for !!?

I couldn't actually find anywhere to hire a large vehicle to drive through Europe hence why we ended up buying our van. I would have preferred to hire a Luton and get more across in the one trip!

So if anyone finds a company doing that please let me know?

I kept around 70mph or thereabouts so no flying along the autobahns for me. It took me three days from leaving home in Wales to arriving at my house near Harmanli. I was on my own so I stopped for 40 winks in the afternoons - it was still very warm and tiring -  and then for a proper sleep around 11pm-midnight.

I'd imagine it wouldn't take me that much longer in a Luton so it would be beneficial to be able to carry more.

Have a fab journey. An adventure in the making. The 7.5 ton truck advice you have received will be useful given by our experienced ex pat drivers.  All very helpful. I just wanted to let you know the route we took due to the ups and downs of Covid restrictions. At the time Germany had closed it's borders. We opted to go from Newhaven to Dieppe, drove through France, popped into Switzerland for a free pcr test and certificate with our GHIC card and then through Mont Blanc tunnel, through Italy to visit Rimini and the nearby ferry at Ancora to Igoumenitsa in Greece. It is possible to book camping on board and we discovered that too late and had difficulty finding somewhere comfortable to sleep. Cabins were not available due to Covid restrictions at the time. We booked a small hotel in the hills above Parga at Anthousa with room to park our Mitsubishi, leaving the caravan parked on a “lay-by” further up the hill. We were told it was safe there. I guess so as it seemed everybody in Anthouses knew everything and everybody. So friendly. This is where we had to buy a new radiator which the hotel owner arranged with his mechanic brother in law on Friday night upon our arrival, the new radiator arrived on Saturday morning and the mechanic had it fitted by mid day Saturday. We then set off a few days later after enjoying the local culture and restaurants  headed towards the Bulgarian border. We wanted to visit Sofia and Plovdiv as we had not travelled that way before. We broke down again near Yambol. Thank goodness for European Insurance breakdown cover, that wasn't without a little more excitement. What an adventure.  Try to keep a diary, photos, videos of your experiences. Enjoy whichever route you choose. All the best. 😉

Cancelled comment as it was irelevant. Enjoy your trip

johndaley352 wrote:

You do realise that you need a C P C for the tachograph because without this you can not drive a 7.5ton truck

No; Driver CPC is not required when driving a 7.5t class of vehicle for private use.  Also, Driver CPC has no link to the vehicle tachograph, it's a Driver card that is required for that (you get them from DVLA); that said, if you're driving a 7.5t for personal use, even though the vehicle may have a tachograph fitted, there is no requirement to use it.  In general, the requirement to do these things are directly related to usage, if it's for private use (like moving your household goods), then the rules mentioned don't apply.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Latest update

So, after trawling for days looking for a company that could hire for European usage AND the times we wanted it for, we decided to get a company in to do the job as we were having no luck at all.

Thank you everyone for some brilliant insights. Nettie605 - what an amazing journey you had, I'd of loved to emulate that!!

I cannot recommend expat couriers highly enough ... Mike Fider is an absolute gem!

Hi mate

just to let you know and Steve 310, I have a VWLT46 and the ASFINAG in Austria gave me a fine of 3800euro for the wrong Vinette and demanded I get a blue box installed as the Gross Weight is 4800kg and the charge is 20 cents per km in Austria (Bastards) when i arrived home i down plated the van to a 3.5 to avoid that shit, but the EU have plans to charge all UK vehicle in the future, also be aware Hungary will not let you drive on sundays in a 7.5.....

Its not easy now

Ouch.

Be aware your insurance might not cover you for Serbia if you come that route, it is much better road wise but the tolls are heavy and the police look for UK plates ! ! !

And Serbian customs can be ... at best difficult.

"And Serbian customs can be ... at best difficult."

Last time I came through, they were having a work-to-rule of some such thing, so there was a massive queue, and it took over 3 hours to get to the front of the line.

I had my car, and a couple of boxes of stuff I'd collected  at my parents' house. The car was fine, the suitcase was fine, and the boxes of bits were fine. But I'd bought a couple of cheap netbooks on Amazon (like 150 euros apiece or so), and hadn't even thought to unpack them.

Serbian customs made a huge song and dance about them, even when I showed them the Amazon invoice to confirm they were near-worthless. And flashed my Bulgarian residence to show they would be passing through Serbia in a couple of hours. They wouldn't let me pay to import them as I didn't have the correct paperwork for importation. So they insisted I had to pay for one of their guys to accompany the goods (and me/car) through Serbia and verify they left the country. But they wanted 500 euros for this "service".

After the long wait, it was pretty painful to turn round, leave Serbia, and drive back to the Romania turn-off, and then go the long/slow way round.

To add insult to injury, this put me way late, driving through Romania in the dark... and my satnav chose a "short cut" just before Vidin... which got me lost in the middle of nowhere... before taking me across some rickety old bridge over the Danube. Which turned out to be Serbia (Negotin) again! Of course, these border guys didn't care what I had in the car, so they let me into Serbia anyway (it's only 10km to Bulgaria at this point).

Hi Gwyn
                You have me thinking, laughing a little too (I'm sorry) I've had an idea . What about Dover-Calais- through to Italy and down the east coast to the ferry at Brindis over to Greece (£167) then up to Bulgaria? I once thought I was a member of this planet.

I haven't done that one, but I'm sure it's doable. Slow, but scenic. Plenty of good food on the way too.

I agree, thanks Gwyn

Steven Wilkinson wrote:

Hi Gwyn
                You have me thinking, laughing a little too (I'm sorry) I've had an idea . What about Dover-Calais- through to Italy and down the east coast to the ferry at Brindis over to Greece (£167) then up to Bulgaria? I once thought I was a member of this planet.

Steven my aunt and uncle do something similar, they get a ferry at the top of Italy, I want to say Ancona?? To Thessaloniki then drive up through Greece into BG, their place is on the east coast. They like to take their time over the journey too.

Then my friends at work were bored one day when I was planning the trip and France was Amber plus and to be avoided. So they had me going a ferry to Spain, Bilbao say, drive to the other coast, Barcelona, and ferry hopping through the med 😂 again slow and pricey but definitely scenic!

I once used to clear UK government cargoes into mainland Europe.  One day I got a call to go to Esbjerg (Denmark) and clear a Landrover Safari and trailer that was arriving on the ferry; its ultimate destination was Udine in Italy!

Not so many courier companies in the 70's, so the only solution was to drive the damn thing from Denmark, through Germany, into France (it was a military vehicle and wouldn't be allowed through Austria or Switzerland), across to Mt Blanc, then across Italy.  Anyone who has ever owned a Series 2 petrol Landrover will know that fuel economy was not one of its strong points, so we called into Bremerhaven and borrowed a load of jerrycans from the US Forces. 

A day (or fortnight) in the life of a soldier before the EU.

The Series 2 Landrover was fun in small doses. It would certainly not be my first choice for a continental road-trip with a trailer. :-)