# unmanned toll booth issues



## seanoo (Mar 31, 2007)

hi , twice in one day we were overcharged by different new unmanned toll booths in a trip along the ap7 so be aware and make sure you check the class for which you are being charged. we have a single axle,single wheel autotail scout and are class 1 and both times the booth put us in class 2 as a twin wheel. the result was an extra €5 on a €10 toll so quite a differance. it was sorted easily by the peage staff and they gave us the cash back so no problem there. just be warned!


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Are you certain of being class 1?Not sure of the Spanish rules on toll charges but I know that anything over 3 metre high on the French autoroutes is class 3.A lot of members on here(including me) :x have been caught out by having domes or top boxes fitted taking the overall height to above 3 metres.


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

"we have a single axle,single wheel autotail scout"

Class 2 motorhome, unless you're claiming to be a m/home version of a unicycle
tony


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## grasscutter (Oct 8, 2009)

I think you will find you are class 2. That is the rate we have always been charged on all routes down to spain.


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## seanoo (Mar 31, 2007)

ok we are class 2 and were charged class 3 then , whatever it was the machine showed us as a twin wheel and charged us extra. the only reason we knew was we had done the same trip many times and knew what the charge was. this happened twice in the same day at different booths


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## Qnapper (Jul 26, 2012)

We have lived in Spain now for over 6 years on and off ( now full time ) and have never in that 6 years used the tolls. Our Spanish friends refuse to use them period. The A7 roads are just as good and in many cases run alone side the AP7.

John


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## seanoo (Mar 31, 2007)

hi qnapper, i agree the national roads are good but they are not relaxing to drive. i dont mind for a short trip but i would rather pay on the toll roads than have a spanish truck driver 2 feet from my bumper because he wants me to go faster even though i'm doing the limit! regards sean


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## Qnapper (Jul 26, 2012)

Sean, I fully understand the "truckers" are at times a pain in the ass, however I use the break light until they get the hint. 

In the Spanish newspapers in December they were reporting a massive financial loss on the toll roads because of lack of support from the Spanish locals. In the current climate who can afford to travel every day on a toll road.

Enjoy Spain


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## seanoo (Mar 31, 2007)

hi qnapper , i read that in the local paper about the losses the toll road companies made , although that didnt stop them raising the toll prices last month . we saw each one had gone up by 20 or 30 cents on average. seems a bit silly to try and recoup your losses by raising the price , better to drop them a bit and get the people back on the toll roads . just my opinion regards sean


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*class 2*

Hi, The actual tarif is class II.

Driving along the N and Standard A roads is fine if you have the time.

But our MH is pretty big and when you get to towns and various other drivers, mopeds etc buzzing in and out everywhere, can be a nightmare.

TM


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

seanoo said:


> hi qnapper , i read that in the local paper about the losses the toll road companies made , although that didnt stop them raising the toll prices last month . we saw each one had gone up by 20 or 30 cents on average. seems a bit silly to try and recoup your losses by raising the price , better to drop them a bit and get the people back on the toll roads . just my opinion regards sean


Not many governments think like businessmen - that is why so many governments are in financial difficulties.

Of course governments, unlike businessmen, have a 'get out of jail free' card - the taxpayers' money :evil:

Geoff


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## ruthiebabe (Aug 16, 2005)

Hi

I warned about this in a thread in the summer

see the thread here:

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-127243-.html

Basically the manual operators all charge us as class 2 but the height sensors on auto barriers can come up with class 3 even if you are borderline on the height limit.

(must learn how to do that link thingy)

Consensus was to press the call button and say

"Camping Car, Class Deux s'il vous plait" or similar.

We have just returned from a month and it worked at all but one auto barrier and that was only because we didn't get a reply.

Chap probably out the back having a *** :wink:


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## Qnapper (Jul 26, 2012)

ruthiebabe said:


> Hi
> 
> I warned about this in a thread in the summer
> 
> ...


At the end of the day Might be best to go to a manned gate in the first place

"Camping Car, Class Deux s'il vous plait" will not work at Spanish toll gate! try Autocaravana, Clase Dos Por favor


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## ruthiebabe (Aug 16, 2005)

John, many of the french ones are all automatic now. But yes, if there's a choice go for a human!

I can't comment on Spain unfortunately, my thread was about France and I've not been to Spain lately.

Ruth


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## Qnapper (Jul 26, 2012)

ruthiebabe said:


> John, many of the french ones are all automatic now. But yes, if there's a choice go for a human!
> 
> I can't comment on Spain unfortunately, my thread was about France and I've not been to Spain lately.
> 
> Ruth


Ruth, we will take this into consideration in June when we travel up through France in June, if we need to use the tolls on our way to our 2 month UK visit.


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

Well my MH is 2.75M High and 6.5M long < 3.5 Tonne and I have only ever been charged as Class 1 in Spain the same as for a car and I travel back and forward to Spain 3 or 4 times a year in it .
For all those people who say they never use toll roads as they are too expensive, if you are in Spain try the new AP1 section between the A8 coast road and Vitoria Gastiez. I defy anyone to say it is a waste of money as not only does it cut out a lot of journey time it is a marvel of engineering comprising of more tunnels than open road the longest being over 3Km long.


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## Qnapper (Jul 26, 2012)

BrianJP said:


> Well my MH is 2.75M High and 6.5M long < 3.5 Tonne and I have only ever been charged as Class 1 in Spain the same as for a car and I travel back and forward to Spain 3 or 4 times a year in it .
> For all those people who say they never use toll roads as they are too expensive, if you are in Spain try the new AP1 section between the A8 coast road and Vitoria Gastiez. I defy anyone to say it is a waste of money as not only does it cut out a lot of journey time it is a marvel of engineering comprising of more tunnels than open road the longest being over 3Km long.


Brian, at no stage have I said "a waste of money" and would not, however I fully agree with the Spanish people that it is money that they could spend else were here in Spain in light of the current climate. The boycott by Spanish people is prove that the current road system works ( which it does and in some cases better the the motorways in the UK ).

If people like yourself and many others want to use them, thats fair enough, but next time your on them count the number of cars using them. This may not be the same in France and else were as I can only talk about Spain. I did notice that whilst in Portugal that the same thing is happening in that the local people and lorry drivers are avoiding them also.......


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

Qnapper said:


> BrianJP said:
> 
> 
> > Well my MH is 2.75M High and 6.5M long < 3.5 Tonne and I have only ever been charged as Class 1 in Spain the same as for a car and I travel back and forward to Spain 3 or 4 times a year in it .
> ...


Firstly if you never use the toll roads how do you actually know how many Spanish drivers are using them ?
As you will know the toll road network in Spain is small compared to say France and was fiercly resisted at its onset by Spaniards whereas in France it was largely embraced as the way forward for road transport.
I will say that out of the toll roads I use regularly in Spain ,some are very quiet whereas others notably the A8 and the AP1 are very busy with mostly Spanish vehicles.
I was under the impression that the Auotpistas in Spain were financed privately and not from the public purse.
Also you and others are saying that the Spanish national road network is good. Well if that is the case it is only because vast sums of money have been spent in recent years on uprgrading them. Again the roads affected that I use would be the A1 and the A4 where up to maybe 400 miles have been improved and resurfaced in the past few years . Presumably the Spainish are happy about the financing of this as they drive on them for free !


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## seanoo (Mar 31, 2007)

BrianJP said:


> Well my MH is 2.75M High and 6.5M long < 3.5 Tonne and I have only ever been charged as Class 1 in spain


 i was sure i was class 1 as well but i was told that i wasnt and that i was class 2, only one way to find out FIIIGHT !!


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

WE have only ever been charge class 1 in Spain even though we have a tag axle van. Same as cars.

Andy


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## Qnapper (Jul 26, 2012)

BrianJP said:


> Qnapper said:
> 
> 
> > BrianJP said:
> ...


Firstly as I clearly stated had you read the post fully in most cases the toll roads run parallel to the normal roads so it easy to see the traffic using it. 
If you read as I do each day the Spanish newspapers there is clear evidence that the Spanish people are not using them, however I did not state that EVERY Spaniard was avoiding them totally! I have also stated that I could not comment on France having not used the tolls there ( but I may do at some stage ), however again as I stated before I fully understand why people use them.
The economic crisis in Spain also affects companies operate toll motorways in Spain. Several companies have already gone bankrupt, therefore meaning that local government are having to "plug" the gap. Toll motorways in Spain, which over the past five years, has lost 30 percent of its users and is getting worse. Two companies behind the operation of the country's toll motorways, has filed for bankruptcy, and three are expected to follow. 
At the end of the day you drive your vehicle in your way on the roads you wish to use and I do the same. I'm sure others reading this will also be doing the same.


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## Techno100 (May 8, 2010)

Anyone been on the toll road past Bilbao and through that HUGE long tunnel to France? about a £1 last year awesome!!! All the way along I was saying to the wife this is going to cost a packet :evil: What a nice surprise at the end :thumbup:


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

Qnapper said:


> BrianJP said:
> 
> 
> > Qnapper said:
> ...


Oh dear I obviously touched a nerve ! Sorry.
I also spend much of the year in Spain and read the papers and suspect that the reason many Spanish are not using toll roads is just down to cost because of the recession not because they dont want to.
Anyway I'm glad that if as you say you and so many Spanish drivers are avoiding the toll roads. It leaves more room for me to use them and makes them even safer than the National roads. Keep it up . Lol


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