hi all looking for the best route. two artic’s each grossing twenty tonnes. did a google one route drop’s you there on the east side of
zaragoza but it look’ s very mountainous .or the pampolona route which is 100 mile’s longer.
any help will be appreciated
From Bordeaux you can head to Mont de Marsan then to Pau.
Pau to Huesca to Zaragoza to Lleida or take the 240 to Barbastro to Lleida a short cut.
The Pyrenees mountain range is passable for tru.And a scenic route.
The other route is Bordeaux to Irun to Pamplona to Tudela to Lleida.
Keep all the paper work 100% valid going through the Basque area of Spain.
No photocopies of truck documents.
From St Malo the toll roads save fuel and time.
They have weight limits to keep pushing trucks to take the toll road.
From St Malo you shoul make Castets truck stop South of Bordeaux on one shift from the ferry.
Numerous Rouitiers in the forest road from Bordeaux to the border.
From Irun take the national 121 to Sunbilla to Pamplona.All the trucks go that way.
Free parking in the hotels in Spain with a set price drivers menu or menu daily.Parking on the industrial estates around Zaragoza is no problem.Enjoy the hospitality and good food.
If take the Pau to Huesca route,the mountain pass you take is called Somport.A tunnel.
Take lots of cash for the toll roads as some do not accept foreign bank cards.
In France the peages or toll booths are unmanned and take cash if the card plays up.
Do not take the toll road from Irun to Vitoria to Logrono as that is a long way round but the sat nav will direct that way.
If see a building with “Club”.It is full of ladies wearing a bikini or underwear only.
Not a disco.
Cheap decent grub over there and maybe sunny and snow in the mountains.28 days of tacho records or an attestation activity letter or pay 3000 euros fine.
I’d go with the pamplona route this time of year. it’s a very nice and scenic route through pau but the climb up to the border is terribly narrow and I wouldn’t want to try it with any snow around. if I was heading to pau from zaragoza then yes, I’d take the chance but not in your circumstances. the extra 100 miles is not a detour considering the longer route is a motorway and the on the alternate route it’s two quite narrow lanes from pau to huesca.
google maps also shows the option of another border crossing where you turn right from the a64 at lannemezan and head straight towards lleida but iirc that was signposted as 7.5t from the motorway.
toby and milodon great info,pampolona it is then. many thanks.
The 121 from Irun to Pamplona is a decent run with glacier rivers,rolling green meadows and pastures.
New tunnels and dual bits.
As you come past Sunbilla,parking at the fuel station.Cafe is shut there now.But on the left side of the road or north bound is a decent restaurant but not cheap.
Any National road in France and Spain has ample parking for camions and pesados.
There is a truck stop outside Zaragoza,a BP.Last time i was there the standard had dropped…It was good years ago.
Big shopping mall outside Zaragoza.Loads of parking and places to eat.
You need to wear a hiviz when broken down stood in the road.And two warning triangles to be placed in front and behind any sized vehicle.
If wear glasses,you need to take spare ones or get a fine in Spain.
A tractor unit weighs about 7 tons a trailer about 9 tons but you are gross at 20 tons.Light load then?
Just to add another point with changing the tacho with the different areas in Spain.
Going through the tacho menu for the area codes.
Only Spain does this.
If not sure of the area,ask a driver or it is on the road signs.
Around the Tudela area,that is Navara.
toby1234abc:
A tractor unit weighs about 7 tons a trailer about 9 tons but you are gross at 20 tons.Light load then?
yes toby it’s a exhibition for jaguar (stand’s .screen’s chair’s etc).
I guess a three ton load?The fuel saving should be good.
If the job is not a rush,the free nationals in France can be used to save the motorway tolls.
The standard of food on offer at the motorway stops is very high.
Lots of choice.
The supermarkets have good restaurants with space to park.
For that weight i would go over Somport tunnel via Pau to Huesca.
The snow is cleared by local council lorries and passable.
Snow chains are not needed.
toby ffs you really don’t know when to shut up do you 
the op has two trucks that need to go from place a to place b, efficiently. it is a nice route to take a caravan during summer, not a lorry in the winter. the fact that you haven’t sat on your arse for days waiting for the snow to be cleared and a mountain pass opened shows that your memories of doing euro work are ancient. and more so, it is highly unlikely that the road will be closed or snow chains (ever even seen any?) needed on the pau-huesca route, but it’s just a really crappy way to go with even minimal snow, as it is bloody NARROW, bendy and not really meant for international traffic. the clue being you don’t really see any thereabouts. is looking for the most unreasonable route ever the reason why you haven’t done europe in eons?
first day, drive to castets, second day, arrive in huesca in the early afternoon. easy as pie. but as you don’t have a full two days of driving to lleida from st. malo, toby can suggest some extracurricular activities, such as visiting the ■■■■ submarine base at lorient, way off the route but it’s really interesting. and don’t forget to visit dijon, they have great mustard. and so on.
Whatever.Enjoy your pint.No need to get your knickers in a twist with sarcastic comments.
Why would i have to shut up,just because you say.
How do you know i was driving in Europe last week?.Do you know that for a fact or just guessing.?
You have never driven over Somport.
I loaded from a cake factory at Heusca,in winter the road was no problem.
It is not Mount Everest.
It is the Pyrenees.
Seeing you decided to pick my post to bits,i will oblige to do the same to your post.
Why drive to Huesca from Castets.
The Op was asking on two routes to Lleida.
Now you are saying drive over the Pyrenees from Castets to Huesca.Why do that?
If the Op is going Castets,he continues to Pamplona,Tudela to Lleida.
Now you are talking a load of hog wash.
toby1234abc:
You have never driven over Somport.
I loaded from a cake factory at Heusca,in winter the road was no problem.
It is not Mount Everest.
It is the Pyrenees.
oh yes, I have. it was a year and a half ago though, not when maggie was shutting down coal mines.
do you mean Huesca? like I said I’d go through if it was necessary, not to enjoy the scenic route when I have places to go. enjoy the med(s) 
Are you sure we are on about the same road for Pau to Huesca.
On the French side it is a few villages in the valley.
Nothing dramatic there.
I think the Op should deviate via Paris to see the highlights there.Moulin Rouge dancers doing the Can Can or why not visit Morocco on the way home? 
You went over Somport in August 2012.That is the summer,not winter.Bit of clue there.You would not need your snow chains then would you.
You have never gone over the Pyrenees in Winter.
They have to keep the road open for the milk tankers and other service vehicles.
by all means, take the scenic route: Google Maps
I’ll be trotting along somewhere else though…
Ok.You win.