After general and basic advice please my last trip abroad did not happen (Germany) However for the first time driving an arctic I will be going to Italy. I am travelling Hull To Zeebrugge on Thursday next week, meeting a colleague then have three days to get to Milan exhibition centre. My colleague has done it once before and is sure he went wrong last time. I am after advice please.
Having never done this before do I have to remove my card once on the ferry and put end country as Uk or can I leave it in all the time. What equiipment do I need to carry to comply with the law.
I have seen R Slickers thread and noted his number down.
it all depends on your chosen route, if its through the blanc tunnel you will need to register your truck (if its not been done already) for the emissions sticker and this is to be done at the BOTTOM of the hill or you will be turned around at the top and have to come all the way back down to do it. do you have a vin card for the Italian tolls, no, until I got one I used to take the ticket run the motorway and when you come off just keep putting the ticket through the machine and it will then give you a bill to be paid in 14 days easily done by your office with a credit card. I liked Italy although I never really made head or tail of the meal situation with anti pasti and the like. good luck and enjoy yourself
Driving in Italy is not a problem, the law requires headlights on in the day time.
The signs in rural areas do not make sense.
Truckstops are very rare and on motorway services the food is high quality with lots of choice.
Lavaza coffee is served everywhere,double expresso will keep you going.
There will be truck parking near your destination.
Remove valuables if leave the cab,such as fuel cards,passport and so on.
I never had a problem in Italy, the people are helpful and friendly,on the way down and up, you can park up in towns and cities with no problem.
I agree about the anti pasta starters, it is a mini meal before the the main meal which fills you up.
If you go via Aosta, there is a decent truckstop there.
If coming back through Mount Blanc towards France, stop at the checkpoint to get a ticket or they turn you around to get it, which is about 60 miles round trip.
Adr dangerous goods go via Frejus tunnel, and before arriving at the tunnel, you stop before at the French fire station to check the paperwork and lorry condition, sometimes they check for Adr kit on the lorry and Ppe kit.
A High visibility jacket/vest in case of breakdowns and stood in the road.
Two warning triangles for breakdown, one in front of the vehicle and one behind .
No need for snow chains, if it gets that bad , the police park the lorries.
Try and use toll roads to save fuel, the free national roads are slow with over hanging balconies on houses in bends in the road, the top of the trailer can do damage.
National roads are full of agricultural vehicles, slow car drivers, you get nowhere fast but have more choices to park up at a Taverna for a homemade pizza or pasta dish.
They are family owned and welcome you like a long lost relative.You could be there for hours talking and eating.
You may see Russian and Eastern European prostitutes on main roads and industrial estates, if engage in this, ensure tacho mode is on the correct mode, poa or other work, or bed.lol.
On the outskirts of Milan you can get the tube train to the city centre, it is cheap.
Head to Duemo where the cathedral is and main square.
At Autogrill, they have a happy hour or hours of free food and bar nibbles, as long as you buy a drink.
In the shopping mall nearby, there is a Formulae one shop, they sell real and fake car parts, from nose cones to steering wheels.
Milan gets terrible congestion,avoid rush hour if possible.
The scenery in Italy is very pleasant, pack the camera.
Darrenb:
After general and basic advice please my last trip abroad did not happen (Germany) However for the first time driving an arctic I will be going to Italy. I am travelling Hull To Zeebrugge on Thursday next week, meeting a colleague then have three days to get to Milan exhibition centre. My colleague has done it once before and is sure he went wrong last time. I am after advice please.
You might know most of this already, but just a few things I’ve thought of.
Vignette to cover the time you spend in Belgium, can be done online at ages.de or I’m sure others who use the route will tell you where you can get it from.
If you are using Mont Blanc, then as others have said you have to stop at the check point, it’s just past exit 21, plenty of signs, you drive round the back of the services and then round the checkpoint to the hut at the end and declare the euro rating of the truck. He’ll give you a disc with a number to stick in the window and a small ticket that proves you used the checkpoint, you hand this in when you pay at the tunnel entrance. You have to do the same on the Italian side going home, the checkpoint is just through the peage at Aosta then go over to the right, as you’ll have a sticker for you’re truck you’ll just need to get a checkpoint ticket for that one.
French roads are really good, Italian ones aren’t bad but a bit busier and Italian driving is a bit more erratic. The scenery is stunning.
If you stop at an Italian services go to the till pay for your coffee, panini, 5ltrs olive oil, bag of rice, bargain basement toy and cd of the Pope first and then take you ticket to the coffee bar and get the coffee.
If the Exhibition centre is Mico Milan Congressi? you need to find out what entrance you need to be at, the place is pretty big and can handle more than one event at a time. You also can’t leave your truck parked there once you’ve unloaded, they sent us directions to a secure park on the outskirts of Milan with contact details. I can email them to you if you send me a PM with your email.
If you have time off, Milan is an great city, if for nothing else than people watching, some great bars and restaurants there aswell. Loads of designer clothes shops, not my thing, but our PR girl was with us. We also had a trip to Como, very cheap on the train, more cafes, more designer shops and a trip on the boat taxi that the locals use like buses.
Darrenb:
Having never done this before do I have to remove my card once on the ferry and put end country as Uk or can I leave it in all the time.
I’m assuming you have a digital tacho, so don’t remove your card on the ferry, once you park, put it on break and go through the to entry driver 1, end country, select UK. when you begin again go through the menu to entry driver 1, begin country, B.
Do the same for the beginning and end of each shift for the whole trip, but obviously put the correct country code in.
Darrenb:
What equiipment do I need to carry to comply with the law.
Darrenb:
I have seen R Slickers thread and noted his number down.
Cheers in advance.
He’s a good man helped me a lot, might be worth sending him a PM, not sure how old that number is.
Hire a car and tour the Italian lakes, George Clooney has a mansion on one of the lakes.
The Police leave foreign trucks alone but don’t take the urine and attract unwanted attention.
toby1234abc:
Hire a car and tour the Italian lakes, George Clooney has a mansion on one of the lakes.
The Police leave foreign trucks alone but don’t take the urine and attract unwanted attention.
Why spend so much, we got the train to Lake Como, only a few quid and easy enough to work out, especially when some friendly Italian saw us looking at the ticket machine and came over and showed us what to do.
Darrenb:
Thanks for all the advice. Should I remove my card each day for the change in countries i will be visiting.
If you’re the only person who is going to move your truck during the trip then leave the card in for the entire period.
at the end of each shift, go into menu, entry/driver1/end country/(select country)
at the start of each shift into menu again, entry/driver1/begin country/(select country)
If you have a weekly rest during this time just do the same for the beginning and end period of the weekend rest.
Darrenb:
Thanks for all the advice. Should I remove my card each day for the change in countries i will be visiting.
If you’re the only person who is going to move your truck during the trip then leave the card in for the entire period.
at the end of each shift, go into menu, entry/driver1/end country/(select country)
at the start of each shift into menu again, entry/driver1/begin country/(select country)
If you have a weekly rest during this time just do the same for the beginning and end period of the weekend rest.
It will only be me driving the truck. Was unaware you could go into the menu while card was in to change country.
Darrenb:
Thanks for all the advice. Should I remove my card each day for the change in countries i will be visiting.
If you’re the only person who is going to move your truck during the trip then leave the card in for the entire period.
at the end of each shift, go into menu, entry/driver1/end country/(select country)
at the start of each shift into menu again, entry/driver1/begin country/(select country)
If you have a weekly rest during this time just do the same for the beginning and end period of the weekend rest.
It will only be me driving the truck. Was unaware you could go into the menu while card was in to change country.
Yep I do it all the time when away, the card had been in for 2 weeks when I was stopped in Spain last year for a tacho check and had no problems.
As Bald Bloke said the foreign authorities prefer it as it shows a continuous record.
Plambert:
Make sure you know which exhibition centre you need. There are 3 in Milan. It’s a pretty straight forward run. Sit back and enjoy.
We also had a trip to Como, very cheap on the train, more cafes, more designer shops and a trip on the boat taxi that the locals use like buses.