Well, it seems that there are two companies ( prospective ) involved in re registration. Now theres one who Limey was gonna run for, and hes on his bike so to speak, not bothering with trailers, but merely wants to get there and back as fast as possible. This guy has everything in place ( well almost ) but he has managed to buy insurance, and he has already got drivers for this trip ( just 2 trucks to take care of )
The second firm, seems to be having trouble getting said insurance, now he has 5 trucks, and is intent on taking loaded trailers out there first ( which makes sense with regard to cost ) but i believe he has cash flow problems, otherwise, insurance can be bought by anyone, that seems to be the stumbling block, but i dont know, i have my thoughts, and also think maybe its an O licence issue as well, but i digress.
Of course there are other issues regarding drivers, now there are a few volunteers on T/N who want to go, those who want to give it a try if the price is right, but i dont think they realise how tough it is, to run to BG, in the winter, let alone with a tractor unit only, so lets try and give some indications. The first thing is the Euro vignette, which must be bought to get you through Benelux and on towards Germany, where you will then have to buy road tax top take you to your entry into Czech. Driving through the regular western part of the EU, isnt a problem, but once you start to drive through the old eastern bloc it becomes difficult, so really it depends on what part of Bulgaria you are heading for. I know where both companies concerned are heading for, so for starters Czech, and Slovakia are the first part of the winter weather, and snow chains are advised, there are tolls to pay too, as you get out of what used to be Czechoslovakia, Hungary is a doddle, with good snow clearing services to hand, but still cold, around minus 10/15. and road tolls also to pay. Onwards and Upwards we go to the Romanian border Road Tax to pay, and possibly ( disinfection ) ■■ exactly, so heading towards Russe, the border between Romania and Bulgaria ( if heading for Varna for eg )
The same can be said if you headed from Hungary through Serbia/Croatia, road taxes in all countries, and a green card for serbia ( have since heard that normal insurance cover for the EU is now acceptable )
Of course there are mountainous regions, and Bulgaria will not let you in unless you have snow chains, the vehicles themselves need to be protected, as the fuel is normally not man enough or the additive strong enough to stop waxing, but there are tips that will keep you running smoothly, such as when filling up, put a quarter of a tank of petrol in first, then top up with derv, and a good idea to carry a spare fuel filter, drain the air tanks, and the air driers, water traps top stop them freezing, and its always advisable to put meths or spirit down the airlines. The road conditions and the weather are not like the UK, its more like Scotland on a bad day, snow ploughs are very frequently seen, and ice can build up to a foot thick on most carriageways, so to drive a lift axle unit across takes a lot of care, so just a small insight as to what lies ahead for a driver with little experience.
Why on earth would you go through Czech or Slovak when shortest quick is Austria hungary and rumo or even boat from Ancona-Patras then drive Thesalonika
truckyboy:
when filling up, put a quarter of a tank of petrol in first, then top up with derv.
that is a really stupid thing to do on anything newer than euro 3. use a good additive and you’ll be fine (my experience running ukrainian, turkish, georgian and bulgarian fuel at up to -30, nevermind all the other places). I’ve had more problems with fuel from lux gelling up at around 0c. anyways, I last went through bulgaria in a lorry in 2008 but although the road was pretty rough in the winter months heading from russe to kapitan andreevo, nobody asked for any chains and no disinfection either, all in one happy family now aren’t we.
and is intent on taking loaded trailers out there first ( which makes sense with regard to cost )
I thought it was strange, that somebody can’t get any transit plates and the corresponding temporary insurance from wherever one is supposed to get them in the UK. I haven’t bought any vehicles from the UK but have bought plenty from Germany, you re-register the vehicle, get temporary tranist plates and temporary insurance, and head home with 0 problems. but this quote is just stupid beyond all belief - taking a loaded trailer from GB to bulgaria, with no O licence on the lorry? might not even bother with the insurance then and just leave it to rot wherever they first want to see the licence…
von max:
or even boat from Ancona-Patras then drive Thesalonika
That’s the way I went to Bulgaria, although it was a long time ago it does still seem like a sensible option.
no, it is definitely not a sensible option, more so as they are all heading towards the eastern part of bg, as they will be going through russe. if one absolutely feels the need to spend extra time and loads of extra money on an unnecessary ferry, one takes a ferry from either venice or ancona to igoumenitsa. and from the port he can call up the other guys already having a brew at the destination in bg and let them know he’ll be there too, in two days.
12 days there and back route Germany Austria Hungary Romania Bulgaria units only simples
When I took one to Varna last year we did it there and back in 6 days double manned.
- Harry, Ancona to Igouminesta is a nice route, but expensive for the 18 hr crossing, so thats left that out.
- Milodon, you may be right about the additive, i was quoting from a long time ago, when additive was as good as tap water
and if they actually make a decent one, then yes i agree, but i didnt know that 100L of petrol to 300Lof diesel would affect the euro engine, just asking ( explanation please ) with regards to transit plates, they are not available to uk trucks, what are available are Trade plates, and they are not easily available, you have to be a member of a trade organisation, to get them, and no ones gonna loan them. Yes i agree that Germany has a good system in place, whereby you can get transit plates for vehicles going to the UK, or the other way to Bulgaria, or wherever ( always willing to help their customers ) unlike the uk. I note some of your other points with regard to the route, Austria via Lux i believe would have been an option, but i was told that Austria wanted a GO BOXfitted to the vehicles, if you can pay on a one way basis, then i agree that Austria via Hungary, Serbia is the way, depending on where the trucks will end up, but Serbia to Sofia is good for Petrich ( Petric ) but not for Varna where Russe is the way, so i hope i have clarified a few points, and also thanks for everyones input, thats what T/N is for.
Next Problem is to try and get Insurance for the trucks, which is proving a pain, most want a years cover, and not just transit cover, but i am looking at alternatives.
Quarter tank of petrol, jesus thats suicidal ,BOOM,not in a modern injection system , we used kerosene or parafin 30 years ago.
I am a bit ■■■■■■ off, have been standing outside Heathrow Airport all week with a drum of disinfectant waiting for all the Bulgarian refugees. It said they were coming in the Daily Mail and I wanted to get my own back on them
Malc the plane broke down just after leaving Sofia, the Captain put 2000 gals of two star in to stop the jet fuel gelling up and it knocked out his catastrophic converter, the Wartburg fitters are on their way to fix it, but their horse has gone lame twenty klicks north of Plovdiv 
truckyboy:
I note some of your other points with regard to the route, Austria via Lux i believe would have been an option, but i was told that Austria wanted aGO BOXfitted to the vehicles, if you can pay on a one way basis, then i agree that Austria via Hungary, Serbia is the way, depending on where the trucks will end up,
An Austrian Go-Box is basically a large Dart tag. It doesn’t need fitting exactly.
It’s a small independent box that comes with velcro strips to fix it to your windscreen. It costs €5 to buy, which will be refunded when you return it to a sales point and it can be set up as pre pay or from an account as you drive through the toll gantries, eg a fuel card/DKV account. If you get it pre pay, it comes with a minimum amount of credit on it, I think it’s €50 and you get a box with €45 credit on it. If you know your exact route you might be able to set it up with the exact credit required for a one way, one off trip. I’m not sure how flexible the sales points are allowed to be. Once you’ve got one you can top it up as and when you want, as long as it remains in credit You can pre pay using a fuel card/DKV too.
There should be a link to their web site in the Euro Drivers Info Point, up in the stickies.
Getting the VRM changed on a go-box is easy peasy. It took the guy in the services all of 5 minutes to change the number plate details for me. No charge for this.