Problems Importing your RV into the UK

Update on Steve Hall's RV (BTW - he didnt used to live in Torrevieja Spain or now in Sweden) :-

He had his 28 foot 1996 Thor Chateau, 96 inch body on a Ford E350 chassis with 7.5 litre petrol engine class 'C' passed after taking off the Awnings and Door handle etc and taping over the holes. When he took it back for the DVLA re-test, he saw:-

QUOTE:

2 A class Georgie Boy diesel pushers were knocked back on length and width. They were big, prob 38 or 40 feet. The owners are appealling to Swansea the 2550mm rule may be only above 2.5metre height.

???

...the 2550mm rule may be only above 2.5metre height

Hi John,

Please explain the above - you've lost me on that one.

It's good to see that Steve got his coach thru - which centre was it he used ?

Thanks
Paul

??? Sorry Paul. That is exactly how Steve emailed it to me.? : He's in the Pyrenees at the moment. Perhaps it's altitude sickness?? ;D

Just noticed you asked which DVLA? Portsmouth DVLA.

Here's the secret to getting a motorhome registered with no hassle:

• Call DVLA HQ in Swansea and find the person making the decisions.
• Drive down the M4 and take him/her to lunch at the local Plough and Harrow in Llangafelach.
• Practice a little Welsh before you get there (e.g. "bore da" = good morning).
• Keep the beers coming before, during and after lunch.
• Only mention rugby in terms of the games Wales won.
• Don't call him Taff or Boyo.
• Don't complain that you now have to pay the Severn Bridge toll on the Welsh side.
• Ask for the special RV waiver certificate before leaving the Plough.
• Promise never to take your motorhome down the Gower peninsula or clog up the narrow roads.
• Don't forget to say "diolch yn fawr" (thank you very much).
• Take the certificate to your nearest DVLA centre.

I believe the DVLA centre that one would have to use is the one that 'covers' your address location, so the idea of everyone from around the UK visiting the Oxford DVLA centre which appears to pass Winnebago Tour and Vectra RVs without inspection is NOT possible.

Paul, I tried to PM you with this question but your PM 'bank' was full, In a previous posting you claim your Expedition is 99" wide......... so could the 102" that Fleetwood quote be the width measurement which includes the awning and slide-out toppers?........... If so I would be a very happy chappie ;D ;D ;D as the Expedition 38L is at the top of my list.

Tom

I think I would rather the RV failed it's registration than have to enter Wales? ;D ;D

Mick

Thanks for note about message box (Tom?, there are only 25 in my inbox, is that too many?, as I would rather save them)

"Technically", we wont have a home address when we return to the UK - we did buy two flats, but they are rented so we dont really have a home.

We use Ann-Maries parents address in Birmingham for mail etc, so it makes sense that Oxford is on the way from Southampton (docks) to Birmingham.

BTW, we just booked our return Transatlantic Cruise today - booked to leave Miami April 14th 2007 and land Southampton on April 28th. The RV will take 3 weeks from customs entry at Jacksonville to customs clearance at Southampton, so we will hire a villa or book motel for a week in Miami prior to trip - hopefully get off Cruise ship, walk across docks and climb into RV.

Then, because we are only allowed to ship with 1/4 tank of fuel, we will have to fill-up in the UK.? :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( (I think you get the message.? ;D)

Paul

Im trying to decide whether to have the awnings removed over here and carry them inside coach ready for inspection - at least I can watch the correct way of removing them, rather than rely on a UK mechanic to botch it.

UK-RV said:

Then, because we are only allowed to ship with 1/4 tank of fuel, we will have to fill-up in the UK.?

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You are lucky you will be the one taking it to Jacksonville. I had half a tank when I left it in Orlando. When it arrived in Southampton it was running on fresh air. It actually spluttered going up one of the bridges you have to go over to get out of town. Luckily there is a garage not too far away from there.?

.... there are only 25 in my inbox, is that too many?, as I would rather save them)

Click to expand...

25 is the limit Paul. That's why I post occasional reminders like this. If you need to keep the PMs, download/save them to your PC.

UK-RV said:

I think I would rather the RV failed it's registration than have to enter Wales

Click to expand...

For that, I've just reduced your PM limit to 5  ;D

If you need to keep the PMs, download/save them to your PC.

Click to expand...

Tom, Are you talking of copy & paste here or is there another way to download / save a PM to the computer?



Paul, You didn't answer the question in my last post about your 99" width measurement??

Mick,

There are several ways to do it, e.g.:

• Copy & paste into a text editor and save.
• Copy & paste into an email to yourself.
• Save page as ...

Probably more ways.

Sorry Mick

I must have got carried away.

Fleetwood do state 102" and I did measure it at 99".

Of course, it could measure different whichever way the chassis happens to be bending and twisting that particular day.? ;D - I THINK that I was joking.

The extra 3" would allow for the over-slide awnings on the drivers side of the coach (which happen to have rivets holding them in place) but wouldnt take into account the width of the large awnings on passenger side too (but they have screw fixings? ).

Paul

UK-RV said:

at least I can watch the correct way of removing them, rather than rely on a UK mechanic to botch it.

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You appear to have the same confidence in our Specialist mechanics as I do.  ;D

John

I have the same level of confidence in the ones over here too !

But, at least the guys over here will be used to adding/removing these awnings and I can watch what/how they are doing - they're gonna love having me peeking over their shoulders.  ;D

At least if I remove the awnings over here, it is something less to get torn-off/damaged when I have to hand the coach over to 3rd parties for the shipping - assuming they don't steal the thing out of the coach of course.



BTW John,

Are you towing anything over there ?

We obviously have base plates, tow bar, electrics, safety cables, aux brake, brakeaway switch etc in the US, but what do you do in the UK ?

We have a Fiesta stored with parents and don't fancy having to drive it behind the RV whenever we move.

Thanks
Paul

UK-RV said:

At least if I remove the awnings over here, it is something less to get torn-off/damaged when I have to hand the coach over to 3rd parties for the shipping - assuming they don't steal the thing out of the coach of course.


BTW John,

Are you towing anything over there ?

We obviously have base plates, tow bar, electrics, safety cables, aux brake, brakeaway switch etc in the US, but what do you do in the UK ?

We have a Fiesta stored with parents and don't fancy having to drive it behind the RV whenever we move.

Thanks
Paul

Click to expand...

Not sure how it will apply to your situation but I have exported aircraft to the UK and if any parts were not attached to the plane they were treated as spares for duty purposes.

UK-RV said:

Are you towing anything over there ?

We obviously have base plates, tow bar, electrics, safety cables, aux brake, brakeaway switch etc in the US, but what do you do in the UK ?

We have a Fiesta stored with parents and don't fancy having to drive it behind the RV whenever we move.

Click to expand...

We use Bikes Paul and always have done. We will continue to do so while ever our legs carry on working.? ;D We even bought another 2 bikes from Walmart to use on the Tour. They fitted nicely under the bed when it came to shipping.? Also bought a ladder bike rack from Camping World. Nothing was stolen from our RV. Apart from the clock which was facing the entrance door.? ??? Who would want to steal something as basic as that?? ???

....treated as spares for duty purposes.

Thanks Jeff,

Does that mean they were treated less favourably ie more expensive to import ?

I would hope that the UK Customs could see that the 20 foot wide awning matched the 20 foot wide 'holes' in the side of the RV - at least they should be able to match the door handle with the door handle 'holes'.

If only these things were easy ?:

Paul

UK-RV said:

....treated as spares for duty purposes.

Thanks Jeff,

Does that mean they were treated less favourably ie more expensive to import ?

I would hope that the UK Customs could see that the 20 foot wide awning matched the 20 foot wide 'holes' in the side of the RV - at least they should be able to match the door handle with the door handle 'holes'.

If only these things were easy  :

Paul

Click to expand...

Usually the spares were added value while a used aircraft had a fixed value regardless what was installed. Again, I don't know if your status would mean they were taxed or not, although my experience has been when in doubt Customs ALWAYS does.

8) When our Newmar was shipped over. Our friend asked if we minded him putting some parts for a Bounder inside? I said no. He marked them as Warranty parts (which they were). No extra duties were paid.