bigvern1:
Do the Nationals in France instead of the peage then!
Bad idea. Firstly, The fuel consumption is usually higher, This outweighs the savings on the tolls and secondly, It takes 2-3 hours longer.
limeyphil:
bigvern1:
Do the Nationals in France instead of the peage then!Bad idea. Firstly, The fuel consumption is usually higher, This outweighs the savings on the tolls and secondly, It takes 2-3 hours longer.
Depends on how you drive, the RNs usually run from town to town, whereas the Autoroutes go through land that nobody wants, most Autoroutes have longer drags than the RNs and the mileage between two points is usually longer, which you well know, given your wealth of practical experience on the roads of Europe. (on the back of the bus going to Lorette de Mar 
)
Time wise the big roads win every time, but overall cost, six of one, half a dozen of the other, it all depends on the route in question 
limeyphil:
Bad idea. Firstly, The fuel consumption is usually higher, This outweighs the savings on the tolls and secondly, It takes 2-3 hours longer.
Yes, this is true, there was a time when driving on the National roads was cost-effective, but it hasn’t been for years. Cost of diesel, diversions back onto the Autoroute around villages with truck bans etc.
Germany/Austria is the cheapest route to anywhere east or south of Milan nowadays, although it’s a hateful way to go compared to dining at Routiers on the way to Mont Blanc and I would never personally quote on an Italy job which depended on going via ■■■■ land. 
limeyphil:
bigvern1:
Do the Nationals in France instead of the peage then!Bad idea. Firstly, The fuel consumption is usually higher, This outweighs the savings on the tolls and secondly, It takes 2-3 hours longer.
At a cost of about 20-25 cents a km depending on which company owns autoroute it was always RN for me when was od now employed so use autoroutes as always full weight tanker and im not paying bill
Harry Monk:
limeyphil:
Bad idea. Firstly, The fuel consumption is usually higher, This outweighs the savings on the tolls and secondly, It takes 2-3 hours longer.Yes, this is true, there was a time when driving on the National roads was cost-effective, but it hasn’t been for years. Cost of diesel, diversions back onto the Autoroute around villages with truck bans etc.
Germany/Austria is the cheapest route to anywhere east or south of Milan nowadays, although it’s a hateful way to go compared to dining at Routiers on the way to Mont Blanc and I would never personally quote on an Italy job which depended on going via ■■■■ land.
You mention diesel costs, in my experience fuel was always a lot cheaper along the RNs than it was on the Autoroutes, so there is a saving to be made there.
Like I said, depending on which Autoroute/RN alternative you take it could save money, it could cost money, there is no one size fits all answer, except that the old roads take longer.
That much I do know, the rest of it is not my area of expertise anymore, the last trip I did was in 2006 and too much has changed since then, although I did run the skinny roads from Rouen down to Bordeaux and went the old way down from Irun to Alicante
I’m with you on not quoting for any Italian trips though, not unless they were specialist loads, the same would apply to any job outside of the M25 really as I prefer to keep my funds in the bank rather than giving them to the fuel companies 
Most supermarkets in France have fuel pumps for trucks.Low prices.
I used AS24 fuel card as well.Automatic stations:AS.
I’m all for running nationals in spain but every time I use them in france, I beat myself up afterwards for the time and fuel lost. there are a few exceptions of course, like the n10 etc, but I believe they put those gazillion roundabouts everywhere just to mess with lorries running the nationals.
Swiss is cheapest route to Milan. 1 days vignette. Cheaper fuel in lux. And is shortest distance as well. German and Swiss road tolls work out cheaper than French tolls + the blanc.
Depends if the queue at the border isn’t too bad as well.
milodon:
I’m all for running nationals in spain but every time I use them in france, I beat myself up afterwards for the time and fuel lost. there are a few exceptions of course, like the n10 etc, but I believe they put those gazillion roundabouts everywhere just to mess with lorries running the nationals.
My thoughts too
You can get from say St Tropez to Calais without touching a toll for example but in one 4.5 shift alone once I lost count at 40 roundabouts iirc, dozens of lights and 50/40 kmh limits to slow for then burn juice back up to speed 
Diesel is a touch cheaper on the RNs but often not as readily accessible to trucks especially at night.
Generally the motorways in Spain ain’t worth the money except a few short blasts in certain places
Good free road from Valencia to Zaragoza.I turn off before Zgoza to save about 30 miles.Go on 101.
WhiteWhiteWhite:
Swiss is cheapest route to Milan. 1 days vignette. Cheaper fuel in lux. And is shortest distance as well. German and Swiss road tolls work out cheaper than French tolls + the blanc.
+1
WhiteWhiteWhite:
Swiss is cheapest route to Milan. 1 days vignette. Cheaper fuel in lux. And is shortest distance as well. German and Swiss road tolls work out cheaper than French tolls + the blanc.
So the cheapest (in order) is:
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy?
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy?
- France, mont blanc, Italy?
limeyphil:
WhiteWhiteWhite:
Swiss is cheapest route to Milan. 1 days vignette. Cheaper fuel in lux. And is shortest distance as well. German and Swiss road tolls work out cheaper than French tolls + the blanc.So the cheapest (in order) is:
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy?
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy?
- France, mont blanc, Italy?
In my opinion Yes !!
WhiteWhiteWhite:
limeyphil:
WhiteWhiteWhite:
Swiss is cheapest route to Milan. 1 days vignette. Cheaper fuel in lux. And is shortest distance as well. German and Swiss road tolls work out cheaper than French tolls + the blanc.So the cheapest (in order) is:
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy?
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy?
- France, mont blanc, Italy?
In my opinion Yes !!
Actually… For Milan I wouldn’t go via Austria. Ideal for Verona though.
WhiteWhiteWhite:
WhiteWhiteWhite:
limeyphil:
WhiteWhiteWhite:
Swiss is cheapest route to Milan. 1 days vignette. Cheaper fuel in lux. And is shortest distance as well. German and Swiss road tolls work out cheaper than French tolls + the blanc.So the cheapest (in order) is:
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy?
- Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy?
- France, mont blanc, Italy?
In my opinion Yes !!
Actually… For Milan I wouldn’t go via Austria. Ideal for Verona though.
Thanks for your replies. I’d never taken much notice of the cost of the French toll costs as i’ve used a tag for such a long time. I’ve known Swiss was the cheaper option years ago, But things change and back then you could be stuck at the border for hours.
It’s good to keep up to date.
When heading to Basel we always go Belgium, Lux, France.
Tolls on the A4 from Metz to Strasbourg are about €33 or €36 (can’t remember exactly) and it’s quicker.
On an average run from Zeebrugge, I can get down to the St Louis border in roughly 9 hours driving and park up another hours drive into Switzerland using that route.
(You need to keep a careful eye on the time and time your breaks to avoid rush hour traffic.)
If I go from Lux to Basel via Germany, it’s at least 30 minutes more driving time, which means I can’t park at the customs agent we use. I’m not sure about MAUT costs for this route, I’ve got an OBU fitted and don’t keep a record of it.
Can you buy a “transit” card like you can get for vans for Mont Blanc…?
I buy one for €170 which gives me 10 singles to use within 2 yrs,they also do a 20 single card which I think is about €140 
Azer:
Can you buy a “transit” card like you can get for vans for Mont Blanc…?
I buy one for €170 which gives me 10 singles to use within 2 yrs,they also do a 20 single card which I think is about €140
No, the best you can get is a return. But if you have a motis card or account, you get a single journey at the equivelant discount of a return.