Buying a RV for 6mths

[Tom]

OK thanks Mick. If it comes to mind later, please let me know - for the next time this comes up. You folks blazed the trail on the I-539.

I never fail to be amazed at how many potential visitors think that, just because they have a B1 or B2 stamped in their passport, they can stay here for as long as they like. I'll occasionally run across someone who thinks they can do it under the visa waiver program which, of course, has a maximum stay of 3 months with no extension privileges.

Had an intense discussion with an immigration lawyer a few months ago. Since I was paying him by the hour, I was determined to maximize the info I received for my $$$. It's a story for around the campfire, but he brought me up to speed on some interesting stuff.

I'm off for my daily diet of The Archers.

 

[Mick & Pat]

Tom, What really surprised us was after paying a small fortune and jumping through ALL the hoops the American Immigration asked ie having been interviewed the paper work we received along with the visas stated that having been granted a visa does NOT guarantee entry into the USA 

Mind you we have the first six seasons of the TV programme 24 ( 42 DVD discs) and having started watching through them for the second time I can understand why.

Mick

 

[Tom]

[quote author=Mick & Pat].... the visas stated that having been granted a visa does NOT guarantee entry into the USA[/quote]

Aye, as I always warn folks, the final decisions on whether you're allowed in, and for how long, are up to the agent at the port of entry. But the visa stamp is a prerequisite, and the 6 months maximum is a hard limit. No big surprises for me, since many of the rules were in place when I was traveling between the UK and the US in the 70's. That was long before the 'T' word was commonplace.

 

[yammers]

2 weeks to go!!! Ive even started to make films about the trip!!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXTtU54IxUw

 

[Tom]

LOL nice one.

 

[Mick & Pat]

2 weeks to go!!! Ive even started to make films about the trip!!! 

Paul and Annie,  Wow shall keep my front seats reserved for when its released, brill.

Now we started and still keep a blog, here is its location http://www.getjealous.com/mick1836

Now using Get Jealous costs ?0.00 for first 100 photos added to the blog for a year,then  there are upgrade stages to, Premium 500 photos ?15,Silver 1000 photos ?25, Gold Unlimited ?30 I am currently on Silver, my expiry date is 1oth June 2011 and renewal will cost me ?25, but an upgrade will only cost me a ?5 between renewal dates. You will see that as well as being able to add photographs, you can add movies.

I presume you will leave a lot of relatives and friends in the UK, well the advantage with a blog and in particular Get Jealous if you visit my opening page you will see in the left column you will see " Subscribe to our News" and under those words an empty  white box with "Enter your email adress:"above it, now if you do use this for a blog enter ALL your relatives and friends email addresses in that box and send them in and EVERY TIME you add or change anything to your blog an email is sent out to those relatives and friends, this saves you continually phoning home and folk's back home can see on the map exactly where you are.

Enough blog plugging, we also used Skype a lot to contact the UK in fact we used it a lot also in the States and Canada as most sites had good wi-fi.  Talking of Skype and my last but one message I still haven't received a PM or Skype contact invite so that we could chat rather than do all this blooming typing 

Hope the above helps and I here from you soon?

PS Just a thought, check out the RVf forum member UK-RV strangely enough  his name was PAUL and his wife was ANN-Marie they bought toured and shipped before we did, in fact we used a lot of information that Paul obtained and boy when it came to research Paul is your man, if you view his previous postings set several hours aside to read them. 

Mick & Pat

 

[Tom]

[quote author=Mick & Pat]..... his name was PAUL and his wife was ANN-Marie .... if you view his previous postings ... [/quote]

Aye, Paul Chatwin (UK-RV) blazed the trail on a lot of stuff. One caveat - he also holds the record for the greatest number of oopsies, as in "wish I hadn't done that". We have a special award here for such occasions - known as the HFWPOH award (Hit Forehead With Palm Of Hand) - and Paul earned a few of them  ;D

Here's one of Paul's classic HFWPOH moments.

 

[michaelmoore888]

Hi,
I am new to the forum as we are travelling to West Coast in June for 3 months on an esta visa(max 90 days), and plan on buying a used rv to tour in.

After reading numerous threads and posts, it has become apparent that I know next to nothing about the legal aspects of rv camping.

Like Comense' post, we will be buying in LA, then travelling through various states (arizona, nevada, idaho, washington oregon etc) and also hopefully in mexico and canada for a few days.
Do we need to have a permanent address to register the rv? Is insurance a legal requirement? and how would we get the rv smogged? taxed? etc.

Any solutions/responses are greatly appreciated.
Michael

 

[Tom]

Hi Michael,

Just curious why you went the visa waiver (ESTA) route? It shouldn't affect what you plan to do, or the answers to your questions, but it does limit your options should you enjoy the trip so much that you'd like to stay longer.

 

[michaelmoore888]

Due to job commitments, 3 months is the longest we can get away. and the esta was the cheapest visa for the 90 days.

It will be a budget trip and renting a newer rv would be much more expensive than buying(and selling again) an older rv (between 1985-1990) (cost around $5000) that will hopefully do the job.

We have seen a lot of RVs on Craigs list but some of them are not smogged ot taxed. Would you know of any other websites/dealers that sell around the LA area?

 

[Tom]

Ah yes, ESTA does save a few quid (and time), and jobs do tend to get in the way of having fun.

Here's a list of RV dealers in Southern California. I can't speak for the accuracy of the list or the reputation of the dealers, but I see several well-known names that have dealerships in other places.

I'd think that, with the limited time, you might have some difficulty selling before you have to return home.

 

[Mick & Pat]

Michael, What size RV would you be requiring or for how many persons?

Here is one company who rent RV's in the USA & Canada, not knowing your exact dates, number of berths required start / finish locations it was impossible for me to work out a rental price for you, but be prepared to hang onto your hat and don't forget to add to whatever figure you get add cost of fuel, camping fees, food, attraction admission fees.

http://www.cruiseamerica.com/

Your UK car driving licence will cover you to even the largest RV this company offers and no doubt insurance is included in the fee.

Hope this helps a little?

Mick

 

[michaelmoore888]

Thanks for the speedy suggestions.

Mick, I had originally intended on renting for the 3 months (from mid june to mid sept) as it seems an easier option, but have realised its more feasible to buy and hopefully sell again.
The cruise america site was quoting $10 000 for the duration.
At least with an rv purchase, you may get some of the money back at the end.

I will take note of a few of those dealers you suggested Tom, thanks. And perhaps suggesting a buy back option to whoever we purchase from? what do you think?

We only need a 2 berth, and looking at rvs around 20" to 25".
Any advice on campsites in US?
Do you need to book in advance? Does it cost more for bigger RVs per night?

 

[taraanddave]

Hello...

I have read the attached posts with interest as my husband and I arrive in LA in May for a 6-9 month trip around the National Parks of Western US and Alaska...if all goes well at the embassy - appointment booked...!!

We intend on buying a MH in the LA area (having seen a few on the internet that look pretty good), registering it at my brothers' address in LA, and possibly insuring it through www.sunriseworldwide.com - a company that specialises in insuring foreign nationals particularly those from the Services and diplomats (although we are neither!)...

We originally intended on bringing our MH over from the UK but the costs started to get very expensive so we decided to buy instead...

We understand that our B2 visa (if granted) will be for 6 months max and we plan to travel down into Central America when we have to leave the USA...or it may be that we apply for an extension depending on how our trip is going...

A couple of questions for any on the forum from the LA area -
We would like to get the MH we choose inspected by an independent mechanic - any recommendations?
I have read about selling a MH on commission...anyone have any comments on how good a system this is?  We thought at the end of the trip that we might put the MH on sale via a dealer on commission if we could not sell it straight away - that way we could leave to get back to the UK without having to flog the MH for a fraction of its value...will dealers do this for anyone?

Anyway - we are really looking forward to coming out...we have just spent a year driving around Europe and Morocco in our MH as part of our 2 year career break and are raring to get to the States...

Look forward to hearing from anyone with any advice..

Tara

 

[yammers]

Hello all

Well who would have thought that time would have flew past so quick... and after a fantastic 7 mths driving around america our family road trip is now approaching the end and we are starting to look at the horrible prospect of having to part company with our RV and put it up for sale!!

It has been a fantastic experience and the Duck (RV) has done great.

If anyone is interested in a quality 25ft Class C RV with low miles then please feel free to contact us. We are currently in Lake Tahoe and heading north to Yellowstone before heading back to Seattle. We should be back around late September.

The RV details can be found on Craigslist:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/rvs/2615952148.html

There is also a lot more information on our website:
http://www.familyroadtrip.org/RoadTripUSA/The_Duck.html

Alternatively, feel free to email us directly at [email protected]

Thank you for everyone who has provided advice over the past year or so and helped in making our trip great.

Thanks Paul

 

[Tom]

Glad to hear you had a good time Paul. Good luck with the sale of the RV. We have a Private for-sale area here on the forum, and you're welcome to post an ad there (free).