# Please have mercy and help a Newbie



## 104302 (May 6, 2007)

Hi There all you knowledgeable and worthy RVers
I am a complete and total Newbie and come seeking wisdom.
Baby number three has just arrived and we (myself, hubby and three kiddies under five (yipes!)) have now out-grown out folding camper
sooo...
we looked at getting a proper caravan
but...
the kind of size we'd like is only just pullable by our cars and I'm not sure I'd want to tow (or back) anything that big myself
sooo....
we started looking at motorhomes, hmmn, great, but expensive
then...
what about buying in America? A lot of things are the same in dollars as they are in pounds (hubby is American and paid in dollars, which makes it especially good right now).
He's going to the states in a few weeks, so if this turns out to be a good idea, that would be the time to do it, when he can get a feel before signing on any dotted lines

BUT

I ask the Wise Ones about the wisdom of this course.

(deep breath)

What about US electrics? Should one convert? Or just get a UK 240 strip put in (we have some 110v stuff)

I've heard that US RVs use propane tanks which you have to fill like petrol. Is this so? Can you get that stuff over hear, or does one convert to bottles?

I know there are issues with width (I'm trawling my way through the postings on this forum) I think 101" is the legal limit, is that right?

What about shipping? Anyone had experience of this?

Do you need a special licence to drive things this big (looking at a C or B+ class with a couple of slides, around 30')? (Oooh, I'm starting to salivate just thinking about it)

Are there other things I should concern my head with? = What don't I know that I should be panicing about?

Help me, please, and be rewarded with the knowledge that you may be helping some exceedingly cute kiddies on their way to a hundred happy holidays with an un-frazzled mother

Thanks in anticipation, O Founts of all Wisdom
(I grovel well I've had lots of practice!)

Fay


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Must admit you do grovel well   .
you will get answers too if you hang on as quite a few of the RV's are rving.
good luck

cabby


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## 103625 (Mar 28, 2007)

Hi Fay 
your right in thinking Rvs are cheaper to buy in the US but remember when you import it you pay.
initial purchase price of the Rv plus shipping around £2-3000 add together
on top of this figure 10% import duty add together plus 17% vat 
then cost of converting road lights and habitation electrics £2000 then you have to mot and register it with DVLA
your right about lpg tanks and yes it available over here
hope this isn't to confusing
worth in the end tho
good luck
Tony
BTW over 7 -1/2 tons gross vehicle weight you need a LGV licence


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## Superk (Aug 22, 2005)

A lot of questions - I'll get things started:
You will have to ay shipping and insurance costs then 10% duty and VAT at 17.5% on top of it all.
You will need to convert the electrics, throw away the TVs and other such equipment if you want to have UK plug in sockets
You may have to have the vehicle's lighting converted - varies by vehicle.
Costs vary for the above but think in terms of £1-3,000 depending what you have done.
You keep the propane tank - its more convenient than bottles - its LPG available at the petrol station you need to buy an adapter.
Width is 100.4 inches including external awnings - you may have to remove these to comply. There is a pre-approved list of vehicles otherwise it may get measured before you can register.
There are companies that will take care of the shipping - check on the internet RV shipping or such like.
If the Maximum Authorized Mass of the vehicle which is equivalent to the US GVWR (which will be shown in the vehicle) exceeds 16,500 lbs or 7.5 tonnes you need an LGV licence. Note it is not the weight of the vehicle empty but the load it can carry that counts.
Good Luck


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Importing*

Hi

Have a read of this...all about importing

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-13503-shipping.html

Russell


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## thewaltons (Aug 21, 2006)

Hi FairyFay

We imported our RV and it arrived a week ago. The conversion is being done over this week and we will have it delivered on Friday (all going well??).

This has been totally hassle free and we had a week in Florida to look for it and see St Augustine, Daytona, Cocoa Beach, Kennedy Space Centre .............. (any excuse for a holiday :wink: ) We used an agent who found several vehicles for us and arranged the shipping. Shipping company were fantastic and even delivered the vehicle for us at a small fee! We recon to have saved between 25 to 30% against dealer prices although private sales are generally cheaper than dealers.

If you would like the phone number/email of the agent we used and any more info let me know and I will PM you.

Anita


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## 100251 (Jul 28, 2006)

*Heave mercy and help*

What has been said is correct plus;
1. The total weight gross (ie fully loaded) is less than 7.25 tonnes, you can drive on UK car driver licence (C1) as someone here had said.

2. I understand to avoid the import taxes etc ( approx 28% of value)
your husband should buy it in the States, keep it there for six months then import it as private vehicle.

Good luck
Skywriter 3


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## 103625 (Mar 28, 2007)

Hi Skywriter
I think its 12 months ownership in the US before you can import it tax free
could be wrong tho
Tony


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## 98452 (Apr 2, 2006)

I imported mine and had a holiday out there with it.

It can be extremely stressful though especially waiting for the DVLA inspection at present.

I lost some bits out of mine and the genny had 30 hours put on it en route.

Still pleased overall though :wink: 

Good luck either way you go :wink: :wink:


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi Fay
You sound as though you are thinking properly, not panicking :lol: :lol:
From the situation you are in I would think that importing from the USA is a definite possibility for you, there are considerable savings to be made and as your hubby is an American he is already half way there in the process I would think.... 
The most important things for you to know are that there is a list of approved and illegal RVs HERE go to the page bottom and click the link to the actual list.
The max width allowed is 2.55 metres (100.4 inches) and absolutely no more. This includes everything except mirrors and lights. Awnings can be removed to get it measured (if neccessary) and it is up to you whether you put them back on, but if you do you will technically then be overwidth :roll: :roll: 
If you are going C or B Class it is doubtful that you will be overlength (39+ feet) so you should be OK there.
Weight, as said before, can be an issue depending upon your drivers license. A car license in the UK allows you to drive up to 7500 Kgs (7.5 tons) provided you passed before 1997 otherwise it is restricted to 3500 Kgs. It is possible to upgrade your license but you will need to factor the cost into the purchase price for your budget.
You will have a choice of front engined diesel or petrol. It seems to me that the newer Ford 6.8 litre V10 Triton will give similar fuel mileage to a diesel, I would expect 14 - 16 MPG but this is a guess and hopefully someone can advise with more accuracy. The big advantage of the petrol over the diesel is that you can have it LPG converted if you intend to do truck loads of miles, otherwise in my opinion it is not a cost efficient conversion.... Loads of threads on here about this.....
Parts and servicing is fairly simple so don't be afraid of that, we have a couple of good people on MHF, LC1962 at Stateside and damondunc at Star Spangled Spanner. There are many others but these guys are members here so we like to keep it in the family :lol: 
The best start off for you is to invest £10 in getting a membership to MHF so that you can ask all your questions as they come up, as a non subscriber you will have very limited access to the forum, so dig deep :lol: :lol: :lol: you will get it back many times over :lol: 
I hope this has been helpful and please carry on asking away.....


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## 104302 (May 6, 2007)

*Thanks, you wonderful people!*

You wonderful people!
Thank you all for taking the time and trouble to help this poor, benighted soul.
Thanks to your advice I am now clutching in my sweaty (yuk) mitt a list of the approved and unapproved American Revs, the possession of which has narrowed our choice to more sensible proportions.

There is one piece of confusion over the width of one model we fancy - but I'll start a new topic for that.

Thanks for the advice on lights - I'd not thought of those.

Regarding import duty and VAT, DH (darling Hubby) is a US citizen and pays US taxes not UK, and so is probably exempt (military perk!). I'll get him to check on that, but the saving on purchase price still covers that anyway.

Thanks also for the advice on licenses, and the pre-97 rule - that clears up a mystery.

I'm most impressed with the mileage for the Ford Triton, not that we're intending to do much mileage anyway, mostly drive and stay. Is that generally held to be a good engine, or are they all much of a mushiness?

Thanks also for the shipping links. I'll be following those up. We're hoping to be up and running for the school hols - is that too ambitions? (DH leaves for the States in a fortnight and we would expect to purchase then)

There are many models of RV not on the DVLA list. Is this because no-on has tried to import one so they've never been check out? Does anyone know how long it takes to get one inspected? (see above comment on school hols)

Anita - yes please, I'd like the contact for your agent - what are you having converted on yours? Did the shipping company collect the RV from the dealer or did you have to take it to the port?

Regarding electrickery conversions, would it be feasible to leave it half-and half (Yank/UK)? We have and have easy access to a lot of US voltage stuff, or would it be too confusing to have 12v 110v and 240v? Or could one just stick a big transformer between the 240v hook-up and the 110v outlets? That might be a stupid question - forgive me, I don't know. Could one have some UK sockets installed and leave some US?

Now, about the LPG - am I right in gathering from what people have said that LPG is the same as propane? DH says that LPG is what Yanks use for outdoor cooking, same as we use Camping Gaz - is that the same stuff as one can put in some cars?

So does that mean that one can fill up with gas for cooking at a petrol station? Coo! This is all new to me

Goodness me - lots of stuff!

-Small children needing attention, must dash

Thank you all again for your help - I've now joined as a 'proper' member (does that mean I was improper before?)

Hopefully We'll be at the Newbury Show on Saturday - perhaps I'll see some of you there (that would be nice to put faces to names) - I'll be the one in pink with lots of small children round my ankles

Fay


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi Fay and welcome as a "proper" member..... Shame we do like "imprpoper" folks :lol: :lol: 
DVLA list is only for the RV's that have been tested, ie someone has imported one and it has been scrutinised, so it is not exhaustive obviously.
LPG, yes it is the same as is used for camping etc, it is just a cheaper (less tax) form of fuel and it is common to have vehicles converted to run on LPG. The conversion costs are quiet steep and unless you do lots of miles then it is not really viable unless you are into saving the planet singlehandedly :lol: The Triton engine seems far and away better from a fuel mileage point of view, the Vortec (Chevy) seems to be 25-30% worse. I think both engines are very good but for my money I would have the Triton.
Shipping should only take 3-4 weeks if you are lucky so getting it here in time for the school holidays should be feasible, especially if you buy one that is on the "approved" list, the DVLA will not want to inspect it and that will save some time (and a lot of anquish..........).
Regarding electrikery... If I were you I would have a step down transformer installed to drop the 230 volts mains shore supply down to 110 volts and leave your electrical installation as it is. If you have acces to the 110 volt appliances then you are good to go. Remember that the fridge, aircon and microwave are all 110 volts anyway so at least half your circuits will need to be fed through a step down shore power transformer anyhow. You could get a couple of 230 volt sockets installed when you have the transformer fitted so that you have access to 230 volts. Don't forget that the TV('s) and VCR/dvd will not work over here, they use a different system than we do so are just scrap here. If you are going to replace them to provide soothing entertainment for the kids then you may want to consider having a 230 volt socket fitted for those items because buying regular domestic (230 volt) TVs etc is considerably cheaper unless you go for 12 volt DC versions (which will cost a lot more) but give flexibility of using from the battery.
Personally I would fit a step down transformer and aslo install a couple of 230 volt sockets fed directly from the transformer, and I would fit an inverter to give 230 volts from the batteries, now you have it all covered except the generator.... This will need to have a step up transformer installed and a split circuit so that it can power the 110 volt circuits (as standard) and also have a take off to feed the 230 volt stuff that you have installed. Sorry if this sounds scary... it isn't and should be very easy for a competant electrician to do for you.
I have a request...... Please can you ask smaller questions in future as my fingers are starting to bleed :lol: :lol: :lol: 

Hope this helps

Keith

Ps where are you based?


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## LC1962 (Oct 6, 2005)

Hi Fay

There are a great many RVs not on "the list", as you say, they have not been checked.

Yes, it is possible to have your internal electrics half and half, it makes for a less expensive conversion and you don't have to mess about with the generator - leave it pumping 110v and use your USA appliances. In fact you can simply use a step down for the hook-up connection and leave the internals all on 110. Its an option we give all our customers, especially if you don't want to spoil the internal look of the vehicle with ugly UK socket boxes sticking out all over the place :wink: 

We will be at Newbury, Stateside Tuning - stand 145, pop along and have a chat!

Happy hunting!
Linda


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