Buying a U.S. Fifth Wheel for UK Import

[AACrosswell]

We are looking into what's involved to Buy a fifth wheel rig in the US or Canada travel for 2-3 months stateside and then export the rig over to the UK where we live.
We have owned caravans and motorhomes in the UK but we really want the American dream
Any advice on the following would be great
Buying in US or Canada
Insuring whilst travelling in US and Canada
Shipping
Importing into the UK
Registering the pick up in the UK

Many thanks
Adam & Anna

 

[Larry N.]

I can't help much with your question, but I do want to say welcome to the forum.

Over the years we've had folks from the UK, from Australia, and other places who have bought rigs in the U.S. for repeated visits, storing the rigs for the 6 months until they return to North America, and at least two of those are currently active here, so perhaps Jackie or Tony can provide some good thoughts for you.

You might note, too, that further down the main page there is a section on "Visitors To The US" which might have some useful information to you.

Hope things work out well for you.

 

[Tom]

We are looking into what's involved to Buy a fifth wheel rig in the US or Canada travel for 2-3 months stateside and then export the rig over to the UK where we live.
We have owned caravans and motorhomes in the UK but we really want the American dream
Any advice on the following would be great
Buying in US or Canada
Insuring whilst travelling in US and Canada
Shipping
Importing into the UK
Registering the pick up in the UK

Many thanks
Adam & Anna

We have several articles written by Brits who previously did what you're planning to do. Click the Resources link above, select Visitors To The USA, and select one of the relevant articles. Be sure to click Download after you select an article. One caveat - the articles are a little outdated, but they give you a good idea pf what's involved.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

As Tom suggested here is that link:
Visitors to the USA

 

[TonyL]

Hi Adam & Anna and welcome to the forum.
We are Brits and have owned a fifth wheel here in the UK for nearly 15 years.
We have also just sold our 34ft fifth wheel and F350 that we have owned and toured in the US since 2019, so probably have some useful insights.
First off, the UK isn't set up for anything American and you will need to adapt to what is available. One major UK club embraces them and lists fifth wheels along with caravans and motorhomes in their booking forms.
The other is far from friendly, and from our experience isn't interested in including them on their sites.
Secondly, bringing a fifth wheel from the US isn't straight forward. Road lighting will need modification, internal electrical systems will need either altering to our voltage, or you will need a permanent 240/120 volt transformer. Don't be tempted with the yellow units you see on construction sites, they're only rated for intermittent use.
Thirdly, Units built for the US market are quite a bit bigger than what you would comfortably want to tow here, and unless you have a commercial driving licence, you are limited to a gross weight of 7500kg in the UK.
Don't be tricked by any dealer that tries to tell you a 34ft fifth wheel is perfectly legal on a standard licence, they are lying!
Our unit in the US, whilst nowhere near the biggest available, was still 6500Kg before you tow it.
True, there are small units in the US that could be made suitable, but unless you're going to bring back a US truck with it's 10/12 MPG consumption, you'll need something that can be towed by a Navara or Ford ranger.
We have a 26ft and use the older D40 V6 which tows superbly.
Fourthly, Forget about touring the US for 2-3 months, that won't get you far in a state or 2, let alone the US. Also, when you try and import it privately, you will need to pay VAT. I think the last time I looked, you had to have owned it abroad for 6 or 12 months to avoid tax.
There are suitable fifth wheels already available in the UK that are road legal from dealers that are long established and honest, but the choice is quite limited.
Finally for now, you say you have experience with caravans and motorhomes, but towing a fifth wheel is quite a bit different than towing a caravan.
I can give you most of the advice about buying and insuring in the US, but I will warn that you will need deep pockets to insure a truck (around $1500 for 6 months) and about half that for a fifth wheel. There's only a couple of insurers that will cover foreign drivers.
If you want any further advice, don't be afraid to ask. We loved our time in the US and don't regret a single second or cent we spent there.
Best regards
Tony & Anne

 

[AACrosswell]

I can't help much with your question, but I do want to say welcome to the forum.

Over the years we've had folks from the UK, from Australia, and other places who have bought rigs in the U.S. for repeated visits, storing the rigs for the 6 months until they return to North America, and at least two of those are currently active here, so perhaps Jackie or Tony can provide some good thoughts for you.

You might note, too, that further down the main page there is a section on "Visitors To The US" which might have some useful information to you.

Hope things work out well for you.

Much appreciated thanks Larry

 

[AACrosswell]

Hi Adam & Anna and welcome to the forum.
We are Brits and have owned a fifth wheel here in the UK for nearly 15 years.
We have also just sold our 34ft fifth wheel and F350 that we have owned and toured in the US since 2019, so probably have some useful insights.
First off, the UK isn't set up for anything American and you will need to adapt to what is available. One major UK club embraces them and lists fifth wheels along with caravans and motorhomes in their booking forms.
The other is far from friendly, and from our experience isn't interested in including them on their sites.
Secondly, bringing a fifth wheel from the US isn't straight forward. Road lighting will need modification, internal electrical systems will need either altering to our voltage, or you will need a permanent 240/120 volt transformer. Don't be tempted with the yellow units you see on construction sites, they're only rated for intermittent use.
Thirdly, Units built for the US market are quite a bit bigger than what you would comfortably want to tow here, and unless you have a commercial driving licence, you are limited to a gross weight of 7500kg in the UK.
Don't be tricked by any dealer that tries to tell you a 34ft fifth wheel is perfectly legal on a standard licence, they are lying!
Our unit in the US, whilst nowhere near the biggest available, was still 6500Kg before you tow it.
True, there are small units in the US that could be made suitable, but unless you're going to bring back a US truck with it's 10/12 MPG consumption, you'll need something that can be towed by a Navara or Ford ranger.
We have a 26ft and use the older D40 V6 which tows superbly.
Fourthly, Forget about touring the US for 2-3 months, that won't get you far in a state or 2, let alone the US. Also, when you try and import it privately, you will need to pay VAT. I think the last time I looked, you had to have owned it abroad for 6 or 12 months to avoid tax.
There are suitable fifth wheels already available in the UK that are road legal from dealers that are long established and honest, but the choice is quite limited.
Finally for now, you say you have experience with caravans and motorhomes, but towing a fifth wheel is quite a bit different than towing a caravan.
I can give you most of the advice about buying and insuring in the US, but I will warn that you will need deep pockets to insure a truck (around $1500 for 6 months) and about half that for a fifth wheel. There's only a couple of insurers that will cover foreign drivers.
If you want any further advice, don't be afraid to ask. We loved our time in the US and don't regret a single second or cent we spent there.
Best regards
Tony & Anne

Hi Tony & Anne,
Thank you for your detailed response.
There is some very useful information there that I will digest as much as possible.
I should have clarified that we plan to purchase a truck too most likely an F250. I have a full HGV license and have driven heavy haulage rigs for many years so the size of the outfit does not concern me. I totally understand about the not so friendly UK club that doesn't like larger RV's in their gang and tbh we have tried to avoid those site anyway in the past
I will look into the VAT situation as I will be putting it through our company as it will be used as a mobile office and site accommodation unit but I just need to check some things first.
Finally unfortunately due to work commitments we can only spend a maximum of 2 months away from mid August until mid Oct so when I said travelling I meant as basically purchase the truck get turntable, brakes, electrics sorted collect the trailer and have a few short trips getting closer to the port of shipping basically and a shakedown and get the feel for it prior to preparing for shipment.
For sure there is a lot to take and organise but I'm sure slowly and surely we will get there.
Once again thanks for the info and I'm sure I will be racking your brains again soon

 

[TonyL]

Ah, more meat on the bone!
Sorry, I didn't realise you are a professional driver, so the towing will be down pat. I've known someone in the UK with no tow experience buy a fifth wheel here, and that didn't go too well!
I have no personal experience with importing to the UK, but a friend did import an Airstream motorhome an sucessfully converted and registered it.
Being in the south, his came in through Southampton, the two we bought were from a company just outside Edinburgh who shipped via Liverpool. The dealer where we bought our fifth wheel in the US, also had experience with shipping fifth wheel trailers to Europe for use as holiday homes in Spain. I'm sure there are several dealers who do the same, but we bought from Genuine RV in Nacogdouches in Texas. They have since been bought out but still trade.
With regards to buying in the US, nearly all states charge sales tax on both new and second hand fifth wheels and pickups. I do not know if it is possible to reclaim that when you export, but I expect our government will want their share of any refund
There are legal ways that you, as a non resident alien, ( their description of any foreigner) can avoid sales tax, and the rate charged varies by state, so the potential saving can be significant. You haven't mentioned wether you are considering new or second hand, some truck dealers will not sell to you if it is being exported, but i don't see their logic.
We used Progressive insurance for the time we were in the US. Be aware that the cost varies by state, and we saved nearly 50 percent by buying the insurance in the state we registered (Montana) compared to Texas.

 

[Jackiemac]

We saw a company importing from the US at the Caravan and Camping exhibition. It may be cheaper than buying out there and shipping home then doing any mandatory changes. There are several on eBay UK too.

Be aware that the year shown is the year after manufacture. Try to avoid those made during COVID as there were lots of issues with many of these.

You'll need to check import regulations and shipping costs.

You'd need to do price comparisons to see what would work best.


Here's an example

Luxury American RV, Motorhome & Fifth Wheel Sales - Majestic RV Luxury American RV, Motorhome & Fifth Wheel Sales - Majestic RV