Buying RV from UK or Australia and Importing to USA

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Dara

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Long Island, NY
Has anyone imported an RV into the US?  I was just checking out the Bailey Pegasus Caravan/https://youtu.be/m4YrKIjvYX4 travel trailer.  I love all the windows. So bright inside.  I can't seem to find a comparable one made here in the US.  Unless someone else can think of a US made one with super cool windows, please advise.  Other than that, i'm sure it's a few thousand to import.
 
I have no experience of the rv scene in the USA. Booked our first 6 months camping adventure starting 30 April.

But have plenty of experience of outback Australia having travelled over 150.000 km mainly off the bitumen and as a Kiwi have seen more of Australia than the average Australian.
The caravan as shown on the Youtube clip would not last 5 minutes if one wanted to see the real Australia.

As for the USA, I would think that if you stay mainly on the seal as appears to be the case when I watch all the You tube footage, why not stick with a home made unit rather than an import. Support the local economy and have better back up service, surely.

cheers, Case
 
The first obstacle would be to find out if it can meet the US emissions and safety standards or be modified to do so. It won't be a cheap process by any means...
 
in addition to emissions and safety, there would also be the issue of converting the electrical system (UK = 240V/50Hz, US = 120V/60Hz), and UK TVs won't work on the US TV system.
 
Another big issue is likely to be the hitch I think the UK uses a very different connector than the common US ball hitch system and I am not sure it meets US regulations.  You also would likely have to replace side markers and turn signal lights to meet us trailer lighting requirements which are fairly specific.  Beyond that there may be other issues with weight ratings.
 
I know for a fact if you bring it into California you will have to bring it up to California emissions standards and that won't be easy.

The only vehicles I know in California that don't meet those standards are Volkswagens. 
 
We have purchased a TT in the US and are considering bringing it to the UK.

A company in the UK who sell our brand of trailer here and in the US told us they would do conversion here and if my memory serves me right they quoted ?2000. This may be a bit pricier than in US or getting a  non rv dealer to do it.

We reckoned around $2000 to ship back to UK plus import duty, but a quick look on a UK website show's between ?2500 - ?3500 to ship to Australia.  Here is a link to a different website that shows costs to ship a car as an example:

http://www.autoshippers.co.uk/AutoShipping_USA.htm

We are thinking about touring Europe in the future and as they drive on the same side as the US, our set up should be ok. But in the UK I believe all the facilities will be on the wrong side. Door, drains etc. This may not be a big problem for you but something to think about, if the door is on the opposite side from your picnic table you will have to walk all the way around your trailer and I could see that getting old pretty quickly, but I'm sure lots of people do it.

You would also need to check braking system as I believe there are different requirements between UK and US.

I think you could potentially spend quite a lot to get something from the UK. If you spend a wee bit more time researching you may find something similar in US for less money.  That trailer does look lovely though  ;D

I'd you'd like me to make any phone calls on your behalf drop me a message.

Good luck in your search.

 
Arch Hoagland said:
I know for a fact if you bring it into California you will have to bring it up to California emissions standards and that won't be easy.

The only vehicles I know in California that don't meet those standards are Volkswagens.

Not sure that a trailer would need to pass an emissions test.
 
jackiemac said:
Not sure that a trailer would need to pass an emissions test.


Good catch Jackie. Several of us missed that  :-[
 
Did you notice that the door is on the opposite side of what we call normal?

They drive on the other side of the road and so their CURB side is opposite ours, which is on the right side.

 

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