UNITED KINGDOM - British couple wanting RV around your beautiful America

Please help us - Were a British couple ( [email protected] ) wanting RV around your beautiful America  . . . . .

I know you have probabably heard this all before - But upon retiring we  - Mr & Mrs Stephen are DESPERATE to RV across the 50 states of BEAUTIFUL America. We have our own 21ft motorhome here in the UK (Bedfordshire) we love going away whenever we get the chance - all in practice for our big American adventure.

We are not a 100% sure how to go about this mammoth task  - So far we know that we would need to purchase an RV (probably from Florida) and a toad - But how to go about this with regards to licences - post - Sorting out Visa's (not sure the best way to do this) - and from there we wouldnt really know what to do and in what order ???

PLEASE PLEASE could somebody help us  - I think we have to move out of America after 6 months over to Canada but are not sure for how long  - Before we can come back and get another 6 months on our Visa ???

PLEASE HELP US to live our dream ... Please feel free to email us with ideas, tips and hints ...

Kind regards
Annette & Sylvio Stephen
[email protected]
 

http://www.rvforum.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=435:fulltimeprep&catid=29:fulltiming&Itemid=45

Here is an article from our library to help out potential full timers with suggestions for items that should be attended to before becoming a full timer.

If you want to RV across all 50 states there will be two problems. Taking your RV to Hawaii is problematic and taking your RV to Alaska will take up several months of your one year. I believe you can only stay 6 months, but our grand leader is from the UK and he will be letting you know about that aspect.

If you only have 6 months seeing the other 48 states will also be problematic. That would be 8 states a month or less than 4 days per state. There are plenty of states in the east that you can see in a few days but out west we have National Parks that are bigger that some of our states. I would suggest you really cut your plans back. In six months you could do a nice job of seeing the western United States and then perhaps you could come back a different year and travel the eastern US. It would not be too expensive to store your RV here between trips.

Foreigners, especially from Europe always grossly underestimate just how big the US really is. Last January I drove my RV from Florida to Las Vegas, which is not even all the way across the country and it took me 8 days of 300 miles per day to get there. You drive 300 miles in one day in an RV and you will be too tired to do any sightseeing once you get there.

Another problem is the weather. You don't want to be in the north during the winter and you don't want to be in the south in the summer. Sub freezing weather or 100+ weather in an RV is no fun.

My suggestion is to visit the western US on your first visit. There is more than enough to do there on a six month visit. Get out a map of the US and draw a line north and south at the Rocky Mountains and plan on staying west of the Rockies. You will have a number of the most beautiful National Parks in the country to choose from: Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Grand Tetons, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Mount Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Saguaro, Joshua Tree, Channel Islands, Redwood and Mount Lassen to name a few. There are plenty of other attractions in the west, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Big Sur, Disneyland, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City to name a few more.

If you plan out a route then post your route here and we will help you make sure the weather will be favorable where ever you go.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP ... Bless your cotton socks - - - Thank you 

[edited to remove unnecessary quote]

Annette & Sylvio,

Tom S (Seilerbird) gives good advice on being realistic about how much of the US you can expect to see (and enjoy) in your time frame.

You'll also glean quite a bit of information by reading some of the posts on this Visitors to the USA message board. There have been numerous prior discussions on the things you're asking about.

As others have pointed out, the US is a very large country.  here  is a link to a section in our library that discusses lots of things about visiting America.  It should help with answering some of your questions; or it may create other questions.    And, as Tom mentions do a search using the above "Search" button and you'll discover quite a few prior discussions.

Also, just so you are aware, the staff has removed your duplicate postings.  That way you won't have answers scattered between various messages.  It keeps everything in one place, which makes it easier to follow.

Marsha~

Welcome.
You will need way more than 6 months to travel the US.  So make your plans to visit the US and then drop into Canada during the summer months.  Florida is not the only place to find bargains in motor homes.  Oregon is tax free, so there is no sales tax.  License fees are reasonable too.  There are other states, North Dakota for instance that are attractive for purchases.

THANK YOU 


[edited to remove unnecessary quotes]

Hello there again, please could you tell us how long would we need to leave the USA before we can come back again and perhaps gain another 6 months ???

Kind regards
Annette & Sylvio  :-\ :-\ :-\



[edited to remove unnecessary quotes]

Hi Annette and Sylvio, when replying to a message, there is no need to quote the entire message from the previous poster.  If you have a question/comment regarding a specific part of a previous post, it's ok to quote it.  Or if you have a question/comment about a short post, it's ok to quote it as well.

Otherwise, it just adds an way too much text to the entire post without adding value.  It makes it harder to read and also uses additional database storage.

Thanks,
Marc...

THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR ALL YOUR HELP  - WE NEED AS MUCH HELP AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE HA! HA!

[quote author=rvamerica]... could you tell us how long would we need to leave the USA before we can come back again and perhaps gain another 6 months ??? [/quote]

There is no defined minimum period. Theoretically, you could leave and come back the same day. Most folks take the opportunity to see some of Canada, while others stay out for a couple of weeks.

One caveat - we've had one report of a British couple who crossed into Canada and re-entered the USA to re-start the clock and, when they did that a second time, they were refused entry. The key is not to appear to be trying to get around the 6 months rule, which is one reason people stay in Canada for a few weeks.

Another couple reported asking for 8 months instead of 6 when they arrived at the airport, and they were granted the 8 months stay.

Others have reported filing a form I-539 for an extension of stay while still in the US.

You'll find various discussions of each of the above if you browse this Visitors To The USA message board, along with links to the official rules.

Thank You Tom,
We would be looking at touring Canada as well, we were not sure if there is a time limit on leaving and then  re-entering again ??? - Next question  - How long could you tour Canada for -  is there a time limit there also???

Regards Annette

Tom said:

There is no defined minimum period. Theoretically, you could leave and come back the same day. Most folks take the opportunity to see some of Canada, while others stay out for a couple of weeks.

One caveat - we've had one report of a British couple who crossed into Canada and re-entered the USA to re-start the clock and, when they did that a second time, they were refused entry. The key is not to appear to be trying to get around the 6 months rule, which is one reason people stay in Canada for a few weeks.

Another couple reported asking for 8 months instead of 6 when they arrived at the airport, and they were granted the 8 months stay.

Others have reported filing a form I-539 for an extension of stay while still in the US.

You'll find various discussions of each of the above if you browse this Visitors To The USA message board, along with links to the official rules.

Click to expand...

[quote author=rvamerica]How long could you tour Canada for -  is there a time limit there also???[/quote]

I don't really know Annette, but maybe someone else will jump in with the information. (It might be in one of the other posts here.)

As far as touring Canada you should remember there are two seasons in Canada, July and winter. If you tour the western US then you could slip up into Canada and tour the 6 Canadian Rockies National Parks. Banff, Glacier, Yoho, Jasper, Mount Revelstoke, and Kootenay. I have heard great reviews of them and they are all very close together. You could fit them all in during July.

I can't say for Canada, I've been here for as long as I can remember . 

Probably best to check with Canada Border Services Agency: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/noncan-eng.html, they will have the final say anyway on how long you can stay regardless of what any of us might say here.

seilerbird said:

As far as touring Canada you should remember there are two seasons in Canada, July and winter.

Click to expand...

Last time I checked, we had 4 seasons .  Summer is really longer than just July, these recent years, August has been nicer than July, at least on the East Coast.  From May to September, you can be guaranteed to not have any temperatures below freezing.  Winter will reach some places quicker than others. 

I would think Fall would be a nice time to be in a National Park with all the colours of the foliage, but you need a rig with a working furnace at night.

Immigration Canada (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp) says the following:

Visitor Status

Visitor Status is given to you by the BSO at the port of entry when he or she grants entry to Canada. The BSO will determine the length of your stay (usually up to 6 months) and record a validity date indicating the duration of your visit. The BSO will also note any special terms or conditions of your stay.

Click to expand...

BSO=Border Service Officer

Marc - I haven't been to Canada in 40 years. I am just repeated what I have heard from countless Canadians.

Tom - Well, I covered the last 41 years and 10 months for you .

It's all relative anyway.  Our fall and spring is certainly colder than anywhere in the winter in the southern States.  Again, that's dependant on the region.  If you're in Labrador or North West Territories, it will be a lot colder sooner.  If you're in Toronto or Vancouver, it will be different.

I have seen leaving Gander, Newfoundland by plane in early June and they sprayed de-icer on the plane before take off, only to have to switch to shorts and t-shirt once we landed in New Brunswick.

If you want to come to Canada to enjoy beaches and summer activities, definitely stick to July and early August.  But if you want beaches, there are places other than Canada to visit.  My friends in Parlee Beach and Cavendish Beach won't like me, they do have very nice beaches, but it's not the Caribbean.

The reason I made the two seasons remark is because vacation time is precious and it would be a drag for someone to plan a lengthy RV vacation in Canada and spend most of it inside the motorhome. I certainly don't want to offend the Canadians but I have heard that remark from a lot of Canadian citizens. I am planning on visiting Canada in a few years and weather is the biggest problem in planning the trip.