i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
to a 4.5 ton version,

on last years tour of europe, the bloke at the border point was trying to 
find out if the motorhome was over 3.5 tons, we blagged our way through it 
pretending to be 3.5 tons (had a weigh certificate from when the van was 
empty at 3.4 tons) and hence we were allowed to buy a standard 40 CHF 
vignette and have a brilliant time touring switzerland.

This year however we dont think we can blag our way through, this years tax 
disc has the revenue weight of 4.5 tons printed on it (last year is just had 
PHGV) and the bloke at the border was looking at our tax disc to see if it 
mentioned the weight.

Soooo, what's the proper procedure for taking a 4.5 ton motorhome on the 
swiss motorway network??

i imagine it's a pay per mile thing like the austrian go box, but what are 
the rates, or is there a vignette available for it being a motorhome?

i've searched the net for hours, found tons of pages on the feasability of 
hgv tolls, read that the swiss want to increase the hgv tolls by 50% this 
year, read that you have to pay the hgv rate if your vehicle is over 3.5 
tons and carries goods and so on.

i am grasping at that last bit hoping that the swiss have done what the 
austrians won't... i.e allow a cheaper rate for a heavy motorhome that's 
used to tour their country thus bringing money to them from the tourism, 
rather than a hgv that's just passing through, dosent contribute anything to 
the country, and it's not the driver that pays for the tolls out of his own 
pocket anyway.

I guess the answer to this Q will decide if we go back to switzerland again, 
been to austria when we were a 3.5 tonner, but never been back since we have 
to use the go box, and wont go back whilst we have to pay the same rates as 
a goods carrying vehicle.

Also, one last Q, i know that a caravan has to have it's own vignette for 
being towed on the motorways, and that a motorbike/scootr needs one if it 
uses the motorways,

but are they mean enough to make you get a vignette for a scooter on a 
motorhome back rack? the scoots wheels wont touch a motorways surface, but i 
just want to check (heck, we also have a dog trailer we tow behind the 
scooter, that travels ontop of the scooter's seat when on the motorhome 
rack, so if they want a vignette for the scooter, they'd want one for the 
trailer too :)

"Gazz"  wrote in message 
news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>to a 4.5 ton version,
>
> on last years tour of europe, the bloke at the border point was trying to 
> find out if the motorhome was over 3.5 tons, we blagged our way through it 
> pretending to be 3.5 tons (had a weigh certificate from when the van was 
> empty at 3.4 tons) and hence we were allowed to buy a standard 40 CHF 
> vignette and have a brilliant time touring switzerland.
>
> This year however we dont think we can blag our way through, this years 
> tax disc has the revenue weight of 4.5 tons printed on it (last year is 
> just had PHGV) and the bloke at the border was looking at our tax disc to 
> see if it mentioned the weight.
>
> Soooo, what's the proper procedure for taking a 4.5 ton motorhome on the 
> swiss motorway network??
>
> i imagine it's a pay per mile thing like the austrian go box, but what are 
> the rates, or is there a vignette available for it being a motorhome?
>
> i've searched the net for hours, found tons of pages on the feasability of 
> hgv tolls, read that the swiss want to increase the hgv tolls by 50% this 
> year, read that you have to pay the hgv rate if your vehicle is over 3.5 
> tons and carries goods and so on.
>
> i am grasping at that last bit hoping that the swiss have done what the 
> austrians won't... i.e allow a cheaper rate for a heavy motorhome that's 
> used to tour their country thus bringing money to them from the tourism, 
> rather than a hgv that's just passing through, dosent contribute anything 
> to the country, and it's not the driver that pays for the tolls out of his 
> own pocket anyway.
>
> I guess the answer to this Q will decide if we go back to switzerland 
> again, been to austria when we were a 3.5 tonner, but never been back 
> since we have to use the go box, and wont go back whilst we have to pay 
> the same rates as a goods carrying vehicle.
>
> Also, one last Q, i know that a caravan has to have it's own vignette for 
> being towed on the motorways, and that a motorbike/scootr needs one if it 
> uses the motorways,
>
> but are they mean enough to make you get a vignette for a scooter on a 
> motorhome back rack? the scoots wheels wont touch a motorways surface, but 
> i just want to check (heck, we also have a dog trailer we tow behind the 
> scooter, that travels ontop of the scooter's seat when on the motorhome 
> rack, so if they want a vignette for the scooter, they'd want one for the 
> trailer too :)
>
I can't fully vouch for this answer, but with a possibility of visiting 
Switzerland again this year, I've done some research on this subject myself.

From posts elsewhere, my latest understanding is that it may well be cheaper 
in many circumstances to be over 3.5t!

The standard vignette is an *annual* charge with no shorter period 
available, whereas over 3.5t there is a daily charge on the equivalent of 
commercial vehicle arrangements, and it is possible to buy a 10 day 'pass' 
for less than the cost of a vignette.

It was also implied that this could be filled in with 10 separate, 
non-contiguous validity dates, at time of travel, such that you didn't 
'consume' a day for days parked up on site.

Even, if this latter is not true, the implication is that purchase of two 
separate 10 day passes would not be prohibitive, and would cover most 
holiday stays in Switzerland.

Would that Austria were similar!

Others may have practical experience.

Bob

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"Gazz"  wrote in message 
news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>to a 4.5 ton version,
>
>snip

Following up my own post

See http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-11162.html for more real 
experience.

-- 
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Antispam measures in force - remove nobumf from address to reply
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Bob Douglas"  wrote in message 
news:f200is$hbs$1@aioe.org...
> "Gazz"  wrote in message 
> news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>>to a 4.5 ton version,
> From posts elsewhere, my latest understanding is that it may well be 
> cheaper in many circumstances to be over 3.5t!
>
> The standard vignette is an *annual* charge with no shorter period 
> available, whereas over 3.5t there is a daily charge on the equivalent of 
> commercial vehicle arrangements, and it is possible to buy a 10 day 'pass' 
> for less than the cost of a vignette.
>
> It was also implied that this could be filled in with 10 separate, 
> non-contiguous validity dates, at time of travel, such that you didn't 
> 'consume' a day for days parked up on site.
>
> Even, if this latter is not true, the implication is that purchase of two 
> separate 10 day passes would not be prohibitive, and would cover most 
> holiday stays in Switzerland.
>
> Would that Austria were similar!
>
> Others may have practical experience.

Cheers for that reply,

i guess the 10 seperate day form thingy would be fine for us then, would 
prolly need a couple of them tho, as we like to tour rather than go one 
place and stop (tho this trip we're going to try the stick in one place and 
pretend we're a caravan thing :)

we spent almost a month in switzerland last time, tho most of that was 
driving the mountian roads,

i guess we 'could' keep the form and pen handy for the passenger to fill in 
quickly if we get stoped.

So at least switzerland is back on our list of places to spend out money 
again, i just really wish austria would do something similar, i'm totaly 
against any kind of pay per mile thing, especialy if it dosent distinguish 
between a 44 ton truck full of assylum seekers/computers ziping through the 
country on a short cut, and a 4.5 ton motorhome that wants to see the place, 
and spend their money whilst there.

Hi,

Gazz schrieb:

> i guess the 10 seperate day form thingy would be fine for us then,
> would prolly need a couple of them tho,

you can either pay for (minimum 10) seperate days (valid one year, CHF
3.25 a day) or for one (or more) month (CHF 58.50).

It does not matter if you are driving or not, the tax is due every day
the car is within the borders of Switzerland.


> i guess we 'could' keep the form and pen handy for the passenger to
> fill in quickly if we get stoped.

I wouln't opt for this. If someone want to see your yesterday's entry,
you're looking old. Minimum penalty CHF 100.

Detailled informations you can find at www.zoll.ch in German, Italian
and French (link for English not active).


> i just really wish austria would do something similar,

Well, we could discuss road pricing at all.

> i'm totaly against any kind of pay per mile thing, especialy if it
> dosent distinguish between a 44 ton truck full of assylum
> seekers/computers ziping through the country on a short cut, and a
> 4.5 ton motorhome that wants to see the place, and spend their
> money whilst there.

This sentence made me think more than twice to answer at all... :-(

First of all, do you think only tourists have to pay? We have to pay,
too! Everyday, each direction.

And than, it's common but very wrong to compare a 4.5 ton camper with
a 44 ton truck.
44 tons need at least 4 axles, so this is simply a higher category
than a camper.


Roland
(Austria, Go-Box user)

"Gazz"  wrote in message 
news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>to a 4.5 ton version,
>
> on last years tour of europe, the bloke at the border point was trying to 
> find out if the motorhome was over 3.5 tons, we blagged our way through it 
> pretending to be 3.5 tons (had a weigh certificate from when the van was 
> empty at 3.4 tons) and hence we were allowed to buy a standard 40 CHF 
> vignette and have a brilliant time touring switzerland.
>
> This year however we dont think we can blag our way through, this years 
> tax disc has the revenue weight of 4.5 tons printed on it (last year is 
> just had PHGV) and the bloke at the border was looking at our tax disc to 
> see if it mentioned the weight.
>
> Soooo, what's the proper procedure for taking a 4.5 ton motorhome on the 
> swiss motorway network??
>
> i imagine it's a pay per mile thing like the austrian go box, but what are 
> the rates, or is there a vignette available for it being a motorhome?
>
> i've searched the net for hours, found tons of pages on the feasability of 
> hgv tolls, read that the swiss want to increase the hgv tolls by 50% this 
> year, read that you have to pay the hgv rate if your vehicle is over 3.5 
> tons and carries goods and so on.
>
> i am grasping at that last bit hoping that the swiss have done what the 
> austrians won't... i.e allow a cheaper rate for a heavy motorhome that's 
> used to tour their country thus bringing money to them from the tourism, 
> rather than a hgv that's just passing through, dosent contribute anything 
> to the country, and it's not the driver that pays for the tolls out of his 
> own pocket anyway.
>
> I guess the answer to this Q will decide if we go back to switzerland 
> again, been to austria when we were a 3.5 tonner, but never been back 
> since we have to use the go box, and wont go back whilst we have to pay 
> the same rates as a goods carrying vehicle.
>
> Also, one last Q, i know that a caravan has to have it's own vignette for 
> being towed on the motorways, and that a motorbike/scootr needs one if it 
> uses the motorways,
>
> but are they mean enough to make you get a vignette for a scooter on a 
> motorhome back rack? the scoots wheels wont touch a motorways surface, but 
> i just want to check (heck, we also have a dog trailer we tow behind the 
> scooter, that travels ontop of the scooter's seat when on the motorhome 
> rack, so if they want a vignette for the scooter, they'd want one for the 
> trailer too :)
>
I can't fully vouch for this answer, but with a possibility of visiting 
Switzerland again this year, I've done some research on this subject myself.

From posts elsewhere, my latest understanding is that it may well be cheaper 
in many circumstances to be over 3.5t!

The standard vignette is an *annual* charge with no shorter period 
available, whereas over 3.5t there is a daily charge on the equivalent of 
commercial vehicle arrangements, and it is possible to buy a 10 day 'pass' 
for less than the cost of a vignette.

It was also implied that this could be filled in with 10 separate, 
non-contiguous validity dates, at time of travel, such that you didn't 
'consume' a day for days parked up on site.

Even, if this latter is not true, the implication is that purchase of two 
separate 10 day passes would not be prohibitive, and would cover most 
holiday stays in Switzerland.

Would that Austria were similar!

Others may have practical experience.

Bob

-- 
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Antispam measures in force - remove nobumf from address to reply
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Gazz"  wrote in message 
news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>to a 4.5 ton version,
>
>snip

Following up my own post

See http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-11162.html for more real 
experience.

-- 
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Antispam measures in force - remove nobumf from address to reply
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Bob Douglas"  wrote in message 
news:f200is$hbs$1@aioe.org...
> "Gazz"  wrote in message 
> news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>>to a 4.5 ton version,
> From posts elsewhere, my latest understanding is that it may well be 
> cheaper in many circumstances to be over 3.5t!
>
> The standard vignette is an *annual* charge with no shorter period 
> available, whereas over 3.5t there is a daily charge on the equivalent of 
> commercial vehicle arrangements, and it is possible to buy a 10 day 'pass' 
> for less than the cost of a vignette.
>
> It was also implied that this could be filled in with 10 separate, 
> non-contiguous validity dates, at time of travel, such that you didn't 
> 'consume' a day for days parked up on site.
>
> Even, if this latter is not true, the implication is that purchase of two 
> separate 10 day passes would not be prohibitive, and would cover most 
> holiday stays in Switzerland.
>
> Would that Austria were similar!
>
> Others may have practical experience.

Cheers for that reply,

i guess the 10 seperate day form thingy would be fine for us then, would 
prolly need a couple of them tho, as we like to tour rather than go one 
place and stop (tho this trip we're going to try the stick in one place and 
pretend we're a caravan thing :)

we spent almost a month in switzerland last time, tho most of that was 
driving the mountian roads,

i guess we 'could' keep the form and pen handy for the passenger to fill in 
quickly if we get stoped.

So at least switzerland is back on our list of places to spend out money 
again, i just really wish austria would do something similar, i'm totaly 
against any kind of pay per mile thing, especialy if it dosent distinguish 
between a 44 ton truck full of assylum seekers/computers ziping through the 
country on a short cut, and a 4.5 ton motorhome that wants to see the place, 
and spend their money whilst there.

Hi,

Gazz schrieb:

> i guess the 10 seperate day form thingy would be fine for us then,
> would prolly need a couple of them tho,

you can either pay for (minimum 10) seperate days (valid one year, CHF
3.25 a day) or for one (or more) month (CHF 58.50).

It does not matter if you are driving or not, the tax is due every day
the car is within the borders of Switzerland.


> i guess we 'could' keep the form and pen handy for the passenger to
> fill in quickly if we get stoped.

I wouln't opt for this. If someone want to see your yesterday's entry,
you're looking old. Minimum penalty CHF 100.

Detailled informations you can find at www.zoll.ch in German, Italian
and French (link for English not active).


> i just really wish austria would do something similar,

Well, we could discuss road pricing at all.

> i'm totaly against any kind of pay per mile thing, especialy if it
> dosent distinguish between a 44 ton truck full of assylum
> seekers/computers ziping through the country on a short cut, and a
> 4.5 ton motorhome that wants to see the place, and spend their
> money whilst there.

This sentence made me think more than twice to answer at all... :-(

First of all, do you think only tourists have to pay? We have to pay,
too! Everyday, each direction.

And than, it's common but very wrong to compare a 4.5 ton camper with
a 44 ton truck.
44 tons need at least 4 axles, so this is simply a higher category
than a camper.


Roland
(Austria, Go-Box user)

"Roland Messerschmidt" <nospam@rfc2606.invalid> wrote in message 
news:5ahqm4F2opdfrU1@mid.individual.net...
> Hi,
>
> Gazz schrieb:
>
>> i guess the 10 seperate day form thingy would be fine for us then,
>> would prolly need a couple of them tho,
>
> you can either pay for (minimum 10) seperate days (valid one year, CHF
> 3.25 a day) or for one (or more) month (CHF 58.50).
>
> It does not matter if you are driving or not, the tax is due every day
> the car is within the borders of Switzerland.

Don't get that bit, if the tax is due every day the vehicle is in 
switzerland, then how come if i was under 3.5 tons i only needed the 
vignette if i was driving on motorways?

The border guards last time even advised me of an alternative free route to 
where i was heading so i could avoid the need for a vignette,

Gazz schrieb:

> Don't get that bit, if the tax is due every day the vehicle is in
> switzerland, then how come if i was under 3.5 tons i only needed the
> vignette if i was driving on motorways?

Well, taxes are not always logical... ;-)

There is a big difference between below and avove 3,5 tons.

> The border guards last time even advised me of an alternative free
> route to where i was heading so i could avoid the need for a
> vignette,

Yes, below 3,5 tons you have only to pay for the use of the motorways 
(vignette), above 3,5 ton you have to pay a "heavy traffic tax" for 
the whole time the car is in Switzerland.

Sorry, I didn't made the tax laws.. ;-)


Roland

"Gazz"  wrote in message 
news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>to a 4.5 ton version,
>
> on last years tour of europe, the bloke at the border point was trying to 
> find out if the motorhome was over 3.5 tons, we blagged our way through it 
> pretending to be 3.5 tons (had a weigh certificate from when the van was 
> empty at 3.4 tons) and hence we were allowed to buy a standard 40 CHF 
> vignette and have a brilliant time touring switzerland.
>
> This year however we dont think we can blag our way through, this years 
> tax disc has the revenue weight of 4.5 tons printed on it (last year is 
> just had PHGV) and the bloke at the border was looking at our tax disc to 
> see if it mentioned the weight.
>
> Soooo, what's the proper procedure for taking a 4.5 ton motorhome on the 
> swiss motorway network??
>
> i imagine it's a pay per mile thing like the austrian go box, but what are 
> the rates, or is there a vignette available for it being a motorhome?
>
> i've searched the net for hours, found tons of pages on the feasability of 
> hgv tolls, read that the swiss want to increase the hgv tolls by 50% this 
> year, read that you have to pay the hgv rate if your vehicle is over 3.5 
> tons and carries goods and so on.
>
> i am grasping at that last bit hoping that the swiss have done what the 
> austrians won't... i.e allow a cheaper rate for a heavy motorhome that's 
> used to tour their country thus bringing money to them from the tourism, 
> rather than a hgv that's just passing through, dosent contribute anything 
> to the country, and it's not the driver that pays for the tolls out of his 
> own pocket anyway.
>
> I guess the answer to this Q will decide if we go back to switzerland 
> again, been to austria when we were a 3.5 tonner, but never been back 
> since we have to use the go box, and wont go back whilst we have to pay 
> the same rates as a goods carrying vehicle.
>
> Also, one last Q, i know that a caravan has to have it's own vignette for 
> being towed on the motorways, and that a motorbike/scootr needs one if it 
> uses the motorways,
>
> but are they mean enough to make you get a vignette for a scooter on a 
> motorhome back rack? the scoots wheels wont touch a motorways surface, but 
> i just want to check (heck, we also have a dog trailer we tow behind the 
> scooter, that travels ontop of the scooter's seat when on the motorhome 
> rack, so if they want a vignette for the scooter, they'd want one for the 
> trailer too :)
>
I can't fully vouch for this answer, but with a possibility of visiting 
Switzerland again this year, I've done some research on this subject myself.

From posts elsewhere, my latest understanding is that it may well be cheaper 
in many circumstances to be over 3.5t!

The standard vignette is an *annual* charge with no shorter period 
available, whereas over 3.5t there is a daily charge on the equivalent of 
commercial vehicle arrangements, and it is possible to buy a 10 day 'pass' 
for less than the cost of a vignette.

It was also implied that this could be filled in with 10 separate, 
non-contiguous validity dates, at time of travel, such that you didn't 
'consume' a day for days parked up on site.

Even, if this latter is not true, the implication is that purchase of two 
separate 10 day passes would not be prohibitive, and would cover most 
holiday stays in Switzerland.

Would that Austria were similar!

Others may have practical experience.

Bob

-- 
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Antispam measures in force - remove nobumf from address to reply
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Gazz"  wrote in message 
news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>to a 4.5 ton version,
>
>snip

Following up my own post

See http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-11162.html for more real 
experience.

-- 
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Antispam measures in force - remove nobumf from address to reply
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Bob Douglas"  wrote in message 
news:f200is$hbs$1@aioe.org...
> "Gazz"  wrote in message 
> news:15WdnQqlsMps497bnZ2dnUVZ8tyqnZ2d@pipex.net...
>>i really love switzerland, but last year we uprated our chassis from a 3.5 
>>to a 4.5 ton version,
> From posts elsewhere, my latest understanding is that it may well be 
> cheaper in many circumstances to be over 3.5t!
>
> The standard vignette is an *annual* charge with no shorter period 
> available, whereas over 3.5t there is a daily charge on the equivalent of 
> commercial vehicle arrangements, and it is possible to buy a 10 day 'pass' 
> for less than the cost of a vignette.
>
> It was also implied that this could be filled in with 10 separate, 
> non-contiguous validity dates, at time of travel, such that you didn't 
> 'consume' a day for days parked up on site.
>
> Even, if this latter is not true, the implication is that purchase of two 
> separate 10 day passes would not be prohibitive, and would cover most 
> holiday stays in Switzerland.
>
> Would that Austria were similar!
>
> Others may have practical experience.

Cheers for that reply,

i guess the 10 seperate day form thingy would be fine for us then, would 
prolly need a couple of them tho, as we like to tour rather than go one 
place and stop (tho this trip we're going to try the stick in one place and 
pretend we're a caravan thing :)

we spent almost a month in switzerland last time, tho most of that was 
driving the mountian roads,

i guess we 'could' keep the form and pen handy for the passenger to fill in 
quickly if we get stoped.

So at least switzerland is back on our list of places to spend out money 
again, i just really wish austria would do something similar, i'm totaly 
against any kind of pay per mile thing, especialy if it dosent distinguish 
between a 44 ton truck full of assylum seekers/computers ziping through the 
country on a short cut, and a 4.5 ton motorhome that wants to see the place, 
and spend their money whilst there.

Hi,

Gazz schrieb:

> i guess the 10 seperate day form thingy would be fine for us then,
> would prolly need a couple of them tho,

you can either pay for (minimum 10) seperate days (valid one year, CHF
3.25 a day) or for one (or more) month (CHF 58.50).

It does not matter if you are driving or not, the tax is due every day
the car is within the borders of Switzerland.


> i guess we 'could' keep the form and pen handy for the passenger to
> fill in quickly if we get stoped.

I wouln't opt for this. If someone want to see your yesterday's entry,
you're looking old. Minimum penalty CHF 100.

Detailled informations you can find at www.zoll.ch in German, Italian
and French (link for English not active).


> i just really wish austria would do something similar,

Well, we could discuss road pricing at all.

> i'm totaly against any kind of pay per mile thing, especialy if it
> dosent distinguish between a 44 ton truck full of assylum
> seekers/computers ziping through the country on a short cut, and a
> 4.5 ton motorhome that wants to see the place, and spend their
> money whilst there.

This sentence made me think more than twice to answer at all... :-(

First of all, do you think only tourists have to pay? We have to pay,
too! Everyday, each direction.

And than, it's common but very wrong to compare a 4.5 ton camper with
a 44 ton truck.
44 tons need at least 4 axles, so this is simply a higher category
than a camper.


Roland
(Austria, Go-Box user)

"Roland Messerschmidt" <nospam@rfc2606.invalid> wrote in message 
news:5ahqm4F2opdfrU1@mid.individual.net...
> Hi,
>
> Gazz schrieb:
>
>> i guess the 10 seperate day form thingy would be fine for us then,
>> would prolly need a couple of them tho,
>
> you can either pay for (minimum 10) seperate days (valid one year, CHF
> 3.25 a day) or for one (or more) month (CHF 58.50).
>
> It does not matter if you are driving or not, the tax is due every day
> the car is within the borders of Switzerland.

Don't get that bit, if the tax is due every day the vehicle is in 
switzerland, then how come if i was under 3.5 tons i only needed the 
vignette if i was driving on motorways?

The border guards last time even advised me of an alternative free route to 
where i was heading so i could avoid the need for a vignette,

Gazz schrieb:

> Don't get that bit, if the tax is due every day the vehicle is in
> switzerland, then how come if i was under 3.5 tons i only needed the
> vignette if i was driving on motorways?

Well, taxes are not always logical... ;-)

There is a big difference between below and avove 3,5 tons.

> The border guards last time even advised me of an alternative free
> route to where i was heading so i could avoid the need for a
> vignette,

Yes, below 3,5 tons you have only to pay for the use of the motorways 
(vignette), above 3,5 ton you have to pay a "heavy traffic tax" for 
the whole time the car is in Switzerland.

Sorry, I didn't made the tax laws.. ;-)


Roland

"Roland Messerschmidt" <nospam@rfc2606.invalid> wrote in message 
news:5aj7voF2phitdU1@mid.individual.net...
>
> Gazz schrieb:
>
>> Don't get that bit, if the tax is due every day the vehicle is in
>> switzerland, then how come if i was under 3.5 tons i only needed the
>> vignette if i was driving on motorways?
>
> Well, taxes are not always logical... ;-)
>

What happens with foreign drivers over here in the UK??  We probably have 
more foreign drivers than UK born ones.

Its probably a bit daft asking someone living in Austria but I really have 
no idea.  I've just done a google search and couldnt find anything obvious. 
If we dont already have such a vignette or over 3.5 ton scheme we should 
have. At the moment it seems we are paying through the nose for everyone 
else to use our roads!!!!

They are planning to wack up the levy on petrol, the idea being anyone 
buying petrol is paying effective road tax (well thats the official line but 
I doubt any of it will actually be used for road maintenance etc).

They are going to almost quadruple road tax for normal size vehicles and 
worse for larger engines. We have several cars, hubby being a rustaholic. 
The classics over 25 yrs are admittedly tax exempt but anything else isnt. 
When you take into account there is only 1 driver so only 1 car on the road 
at a time we are already paying many times over. This is also the point with 
motorhomes - most people travelling in the motorhome have left the other 
vehicle at home in the garage. Perhaps we should be able to claim exemption 
for the time out of the country?

:o(

"Hilary"  wrote in message 
news:f225gp$jib$1$830fa79d@news.demon.co.uk...
>
> "Roland Messerschmidt" <nospam@rfc2606.invalid> wrote in message 
> news:5aj7voF2phitdU1@mid.individual.net...
>>
>> Gazz schrieb:
>>
>>> Don't get that bit, if the tax is due every day the vehicle is in
>>> switzerland, then how come if i was under 3.5 tons i only needed the
>>> vignette if i was driving on motorways?
>>
>> Well, taxes are not always logical... ;-)
>>
>
> What happens with foreign drivers over here in the UK??  We probably have 
> more foreign drivers than UK born ones.

Hmmm, so maybe i'd better dig out that spare log book i got when dvla 
screwed up when i registered it (never got the first one they sent out, 
applied for another, that got lost in their admin system they said, finaly 
got the third one, 7 months later the 2nd one arrived... and it says it's a 
3.5 tonner)
So short of the border guards putting it on a weigh bridge, i may just 
forget about faffing about with the heavy vehicle tax thing, and go as a 
light vehicle with the vignette.

For what happens to forigners coming to england... bugger all, they dont pay 
owt for using our roads, and the big trucks are all fitted with thousand 
plus litre fuel tanks so they don't have to buy any of our expensive fuel 
either,

I remember the eddie stobart firm  were going to move base to belgium for 
that reason a while back, not sure if they ever did, the depot down the road 
from me (oakham turn off on the A1) closed down not long after they said 
they'd move abroad if uk fuel and tax prices kept on rising.

One thing that annoys me tho... our town is being over run by polish and 
latvian/lithuanian cars, (they come here for  a better life, yet all the 
cars are recent models, not the old skoda's, yugo's and trabants youd expect 
from people after a better life :)

But none of them have UK tax discs on them, they dont have to for the first 
6 months of bringing the vehicle in to the uk, but there's some i've seen 
around town for over 2 years that still arent registered in the uk, so 
they're not taxed, and hence dont have mot's on them, wonder if they even 
have insurance,

And plod can't do bugger all about it, unless they have a record of when the 
vehicle came into the uk, the drivers just say they've been here for a few 
weeks, and thus have months left untill they have to register and tax them,
also any speeding tickets they get, nowt happens about them, as they either 
get ignored as they are a forigner, or the fine gets sent to their old 
address in the old eastern country they left.


Back to the origional Q about swiss tax, i'm happy to buy a vignette type 
thing to pay for using the motorway network, as it is good, a bit like the 
french autoroutes, if i use them i will pay, i don't unless i really have 
to, but it's the option i like,

The heavy vehicle tax seems to be based on axles, making it fair?? not fair 
to the 3 axled hobby motorhome driver then is it?
When i uprated my van's chassis, i had the option of adding a tag axle, but 
didn't just for that reason, extra tolls on almost all euro roads compared 
to a vehicle with 2 axles, exactly the same size and weight, now that is not 
fair at all (the 3 axle motorhomes have single rear wheels, giving it 6 road 
wheels, my 2 axle motorhome has twin rear wheels, still 6 wheels wearing the 
road out, but i'll get charged less just because of the configuration)

anyhoo, may just avoid switzerland this year, will do west and south of 
france, then head back through central france, come home for the day 
required to get another 90 days recovery and insurance allowance, then go 
back out and go round the eastern side of Germany and into poland maybe.

This is my last big trip before my circumstances change, so i'm making the 
most of it.

Whilst perusing Usenet on Fri, 11 May 2007 18:00:56 +0100, I read
these words from "Gazz"  :
>"Hilary"  wrote in message 
>> "Roland Messerschmidt" <nospam@rfc2606.invalid> wrote
<snip>
>
>I remember the eddie stobart firm  were going to move base to
>belgium for that reason a while back, not sure if they ever did,

They have a big depot at Lokeren, Belgium.
Just along from a tyre depot I tend to use.

-- jjj

"Josiah Jenkins"  wrote in message 
news:iuo943p5v2qa7onfsjjj2j83kea69gn7hg@4ax.com...
> Whilst perusing Usenet on Fri, 11 May 2007 18:00:56 +0100, I read
> these words from "Gazz"  :
>>"Hilary"  wrote in message
>>> "Roland Messerschmidt" <nospam@rfc2606.invalid> wrote
> <snip>
>>
>>I remember the eddie stobart firm  were going to move base to
>>belgium for that reason a while back, not sure if they ever did,
>

They still have a base just outside Carlisle.

:o)