tomboy99 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 HI all, I will be importing the new ducato, hymer, semiintegrated into uk in January, ish. Anyone know if the headlamps can be adjusted for uk spec, or do I need to get hold of new rhd ones. thanks Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomboy99 Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 this is the Fiat ducato x290 tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 They are not adjustable. You would need new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomboy99 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Ok how about this! Anyone know where i could borrow a set of headlamps for a day in january. Its just to import the van, as it will be going to its permanent home in Spain once registered, Happy to pay £150 ish, as opposed to buying new ones at £500 which will be no good to me. Rgds Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 would not stick on beam adjusters be any good ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomboy99 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 It does not appear so. Headlamps must be UK spec, apparently the are ok for MOT but not for the import bit. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 As you plan to import the motorhome to the UK and register it here initially, you’ll need to consider UK speedometer-related requirements as well as the headlamp-related ones. http://www.lockwoodinternational.co.uk/dials-for-imported-vehicles-c53.html I’m not sure if Lockwood (or any other company) can supply a suitable replacement dial/fascia for a 2015 Ducato X290 yet and the display for the X290 differs from that of the superseded X250. This was discussed here http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Advice-on-importing-/35949/ It would be wise to check with Lockwood what the current position is. Otherwise you might find that you will be forced to replace the complete instrument-cluster merely to obtain an MPH/KMH scale that meets the VCA definition and will pass an inspection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Is this a silly question but why not just drive it down to Spain and register if there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomboy99 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Got the speedo coming from lockwood. Easy to bodge the fog light. spain want 10% luxury import duty on new vehicle plus the vat. After 6 months i can reregister in spain without the luxury tax. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Yes you can, but I'd research doing so before you burn too many bridges. I understand from others that the process is highly bureaucratic, time consuming, and tends to be expensive. Unless you intend never again to set wheel in the UK, you may find it easier to keep the van UK registered taxed and insured, and to return it to UK for MoT testing as and when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomboy99 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 yep, after living here for 12 years i am pretty aware of their bureaucracy. It frustrates me no end. I do every thing in my power not to deal with them, Thank heavens for missuses. I have even gone so far to have l my car and bikes registered in Gibraltar. I take your point regarding the mot in the uk, I will have 3 years (is it?) before first MOT and may indeed not hurry to change over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 tomboy99 - 2014-10-20 2:40 PM Got the speedo coming from lockwood... Tom That’s useful information. I had noticed that Lockwood was advertising MPH to KM/H dials for 2015 X290s, but there was no indication on their website that a KM/H to MPH dial was now available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomboy99 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 He emailed me last week, apparently he has the template almost ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 So to clarify, if one buys a post 2015 Fiat abroad, do you have to change the headlights to use it in the UK or can they be used as is? Just wondering. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Hawcara - 2014-10-20 8:34 PM So to clarify, if one buys a post 2015 Fiat abroad, do you have to change the headlights to use it in the UK or can they be used as is? Just wondering. :-D Yep post or pre 2015 applies to any vehicle that has headlamps that do not have an adjustable dip beam. Beam converters are acceptable for an MOT but not to the VCA for registration. You don't have this problem with A Class vans as most use the Hella projector headlamps which are adjustable to straight dipping which is acceptable to the VCA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Thank you Lenny, seems slightly nuts that one would have to put new lights on to import. Suppose you would just keep the Rhd lenses on forever, even though with a Lhd vehicle. One would have thought the EU would legislate to make them adjustable for safety reasons on the same basis as daytime running lights. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I had both on the Hobby Van. I used the left dippers when in UK, and the right dippers when we went abroad. Very east to swap lamps on the Transit, and the alignment wasn't altered in the process. Maybe 15 mins to both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hawcara - 2014-10-20 10:10 PM Thank you Lenny, seems slightly nuts that one would have to put new lights on to import. Suppose you would just keep the Rhd lenses on forever, even though with a Lhd vehicle. One would have thought the EU would legislate to make them adjustable for safety reasons on the same basis as daytime running lights. :-D That would be a good idea. A switch on the dashboard to flick them over as you drove off the ferry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Brian Kirby - 2014-10-21 12:16 AM I had both on the Hobby Van. I used the left dippers when in UK, and the right dippers when we went abroad. Very east to swap lamps on the Transit, and the alignment wasn't altered in the process. Maybe 15 mins to both. Although it’s a simple matter to swap the headlamps of a Ford Transit Mk 7 (which Brian’s Hobby Van was built on), swapping the headlamps of a Transit Mk 6 (the base of my earlier Hobby T-600FC) is a major exercise. http://www.parkers.co.uk/vans/news-and-advice/2011/december/parkers-guide-to-the-ford-transit/ The majority of headlamps fitted to modern vehicles produce a dipped-beam pattern based on careful shaping of the reflector behind the bulb. This pattern is optimised for left-hand traffic (ie. for countries where vehicles are driven on the left side of the road) or right-hand traffic. It’s not possible to ‘convert’ the dipped-beam from one pattern to the alternative format. As Lenny says, some vehicles are fitted with ‘projector’ headlamps where a moving shutter/mirror behind a lens produces the dipped-beam pattern. This type of headlamp often has the capability (by moving a lever at the rear of the light-unit) to alter that pattern so that it won’t dazzle oncoming traffic when, say, a vehicle with UK-standard left-dipping lights is driven in a country (eg. France) that has right-hand traffic. The method used involves a shutter that masks part of the dipped-beam pattern (rather like sticking black-tape masks on the outside of non-projector headlights). My Skoda car has Hella projector lights that - when dipped - are poor and - when shuttered for use abroad - are awful, with much of the light output being lost. It’s quite likely that, if fitted to an A-class motohome where the light-unit would normally be much higher above the ground than when fitted to a car, my Skoda’s lights’ performance would be adequate even when in shuttered state. However, it would be unrealistic to expect a shuttered right-dipping projector headlamp (acceptable to the VCA for UK-registration of an imported vehicle) to be as effective as a left-dipping unit (projector type or not) designed specifically for the UK’s left-hand traffic conditions. It’s possible that ‘convertible’ factory-fitted headlamps can be specified for current-model Ford Transit Mk 8s or Mercedes Sprinters that should permit LHD non-A-class imported motorhomes on those bases to be legally UK-registered without swapping the headlamps. But (as has already been advised) that’s not an option with Citroen/Fiat/Peugeot X290s. (I vaguely recall reading, some years ago, that a luxury-car manufacturer was playing with the idea of a GPS-reliant system that would automatically alter the headlamps' dipped-beam pattern according to where the vehicle was being driven. It’s worth saying, perhaps, that altering my Skoda’s lights for driving abroad takes no more than 5 minutes, so the additional complexity of a dashboard-mounted control or automation probably would not be worthwhile.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Derek Uzzell - 2014-10-21 9:34 AM (I vaguely recall reading, some years ago, that a luxury-car manufacturer was playing with the idea of a GPS-reliant system that would automatically alter the headlamps' dipped-beam pattern according to where the vehicle was being driven. It’s worth saying, perhaps, that altering my Skoda’s lights for driving abroad takes no more than 5 minutes, so the additional complexity of a dashboard-mounted control or automation probably would not be worthwhile.) ...though, as more and more cars are fitted with auto headlights (which take but a second to switch on, and are an abomination), perhaps the manufacturer would see such an addition as being safety-related (automatically ensuring the correct pattern) rather than labour-saving. OTOH, I find auto wipers quite useful. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolina Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Hi Tom We're also importing a new LHD Ducato based motorhome from Germany, January 2015. :-D Obviously we're interested to know if you found a good solution to sourcing RHD headlamps. Can you give us an update? Regards, Dave and Carol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums, Carolina. tomboy99’s User Profile indicates that his last logon was 19 December. You could try sending Tom a PM message, but I believe he would need to logon to become aware of you having done so. Tom’s User Profile carries the following e-mail address tom@icomms.gi If you want a rapid update regarding the headlamps, trying to contact him direct by e-mail may be your best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolina Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Thanks Derek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I am a bit curious about this. The OP states he has been living in Spain for the last 12 years, so I guess is resident. Therefore he will have to re-register the vehicle in Spain after 6 months. So why not just register it there in the first place and pay the appropriate taxes, and be legal. If however, he is living in Spain and is not resident then I guess he is trying to avoid some form of taxes by registering it in the UK, but this seems a little bit risky. If he is 'commuting' every 6 months to avoid residency issues, then why not just get a UK version to start with. I assume he wants a LHD to use more easily in Spain and I guess bought in Germany at the lower prices. I also note he has registered his other vehicles in Gibraltar. My cynical mind suggests that doing so may make him even more a target for the Guardia Civil with the ongoing 'tensions'between Spain and the UK over the Rock. I maybe am not understanding the whole situation but it seems he may be going round the houses unneccesarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 As I understand it “Tom” lives in Spain and commutes to Gibraltar where he works for an IT company. He has explained earlier in this thread the reason for the convoluted route he plans to take to end up with the motorhome in Spain - essentially, the plan is designed to avoid paying Spain’s ‘luxury tax’ on imported new vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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