valaspden Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 We would like to tour in the USA in a motorhome. We have heard that people have shipped their own motorhome to the USA from England. We have an Autotrail Cheyenne on a Mercedes Sprinter. Has anyone any experience of this, cost, import permits, insurance etc. Can we travel with the vehicle or do we have to fly?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messerschmitt owner Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 you can take the van to the US for a maximum of one year on a tourist permit - after that van must be exported or scrapped. you can't normally go on the roll on roll off ferry with the van but if you really want to sail, why not take an ocean voyage on the Queen Mary 2 on her regular 6 day transatlantic trips. Take a generator with you - that way you won't have to worry about wild camping and/or thye dreaded 110v electrics. The Sprinter is sold in the USA but rebadged so should be no problems with spares, servicing etc there. It'll be more expensive to take van to USA (about £1200) than return (£800-1000). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 There was a very interesting article in MMM Feb/March I think, on taking your own van over to USA. If you only intend to tour for say a month,then obviously it would pay to rent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmitdb Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 Greetings, Last year whilst staying on a french municipal I got talking to a german motorcaravaner. (He spoke good english) His son had emigrated to the good old etc. and in order to visit him, the old man had transported his Hymer (Fiat chassis" You know what that stands for "Fix It Again Tony" A german with a sense of humour, wow!) I cant remember the port but I have a feeling it was Bremerhaven. Apparently there is a regular freight route between there and I believe Pittsburg. If you go to a local large library it is possible that they will have a copy of a publication that lists all the regular freighter routes throughout the world. If they don't have a copy ask at a local further education college that does travel and tourism night classes. They will have a copy or last throw, try a travel agent, especially one that specialises in cruises because many of the freighters carry a small no. of passengers.(At very large fares!!!) The fare for the Hymer was in the region of 3000 euros. I hope the above is of some use to you. I do know that in the Parks, the Hymer literally stopped the traffic as no one had seen one before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valaspden Posted May 15, 2007 Author Share Posted May 15, 2007 many thanks to those who replied to our request, they were useful. We will certainly read our MMM again but if anyone has any specific shipping firm they have used or know of anyone who does ship motorhomes we would be grateful for their name. Val. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messerschmitt owner Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Val you want to find a good shipper of motor vehicles - there are many advertising in the back of the classic car press and they are used to transporting many more expensive vehicles than your van. Basically, you will go through an agent who will do all the hard work of organising things. Favourite ports of departure from UK are bristol, Felixstowe, Liverpool and Southampton. Don't bother with where you land in the States - just go for the cheapest port (which has an international airport with cheapish flights close by). They do vary - and of course, return trip should be 30-50% cheaper than outward journey as the Americans export less than they import and ships leave emptier. Do remember not to leave anything of value in the 'van'. You can buy much of what you need in the USA when you get there. But do remember a generator if you want to cope with your van's 240v electrics in the big U. Get an inverter there for any 110v kit you may end up buying. You will also have to pressure wash the van underneath before you go so that it is spotless when entering the States. Campbell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avignon Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 The Germans we meet over here seem to all use one of these 2 services: http://www.seabridge-tours.de/ (seems to be a full-service company - they used to have a page in English, but I can't find it anymore) http://www.seabrdge.com/services/carshipping.asp (this is a freight forwarder in Baltimore seemingly unconnected with the German company with the similar name). BTW, it would be a hoot to see an ocean freighter making its way to Pittsburgh... shades of Fitzcarraldo! :-) I've shipped the other way - twice to Rotterdam & this next time to Bremerhaven, but my vehicles fit into a container. I met a Canadian couple in Mexico at Xmas who had shipped their Class C RV to Europe a few years ago on a freighter & booked passage on the freighter as well. They said it was by far the most expensive option. (They also wrote a series of articles detailing this trip for RV Gazette, a Canadian RV magazine). I did a bit of websearching n the freighter option last month and didn't pursue it - apparently the skeds can be erratic and there are fewer freighters doing this since 9/11. Frank in Toronto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennet Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Picked up your comments on shipping a motorhome to the USA. this is something we have thought of doing and the Queen Mary option looks very appealing. do you know if this is still possible? We would like to go for about 6 months. We have a 7.25m Motorhome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Most ship from Holland/Germany. lots of stuff on this if you use forum "search" facility Lets see if this link works http://tinyurl.com/bqg67sw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Might be a good idea to ask the people who import RV's......Spinney come to mind. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brit_Stops Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Only a tad off piste - if you don't know these already, they might be worth a look at when you are finally Stateside: www.harvesthosts.com The are the American equivalent of France Passion (and us), offering free stopovers at vineyards and farms. We ourselves fancy visiting Slab City and Quartzsite over there. Just google them for more info. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennet Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 thanks to all who replied to my post. I will be following up some of the leads. Something else we are considering is buying over there, leaving the RV there, and then using it for tours of the States. Anybody done this? Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 jennet - 2012-07-04 2:32 PM thanks to all who replied to my post. I will be following up some of the leads. Something else we are considering is buying over there, leaving the RV there, and then using it for tours of the States. Anybody done this? Jen not personally but this is very common. the dealer you buy from can store for you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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