Molly Coddle

Have any of you regulars done this? Or know anything about the costs etc...?

We have a motorhome which has just gone up for sale but me and the hubby are now wondering if we could afford to send it over to Australia.

Initially we just didn't think we could afford the costs of sending it (at the time we had a quick gander into the process on the internet) but my dad was speaking to a bloke last night and this guy reckons you can put them into a container, for around 4k, ish? It's 21 ft long, would it fit in one? Do they have special containers for this kind of thing? I'm sure they will be additional costs on top of that too, tax, etc...?



I'd absolutely love to be able to take our camper with us. If anyone has any advice or is in the know about this kind of thing please share.


Thanks.

paulry

21 feet? That's a motor home surely? I understand it's possible to get vehicles shipped here on a roll-on, roll-off basis. Hopefully someone whose done it before will be able to help you with that.

This is one company that I plucked from the internet:
Autoshippers UK car shipping by sea, container, roll on roll off.

You probably also need to do costs analysis: How much does your camper cost there versus how much it would cost here.

Good luck with it

louie

We were looking to do this, but after speaking to someone who works for the company we were planning to buy from (so who had an interest in us buying!) who had spent some time motorhoming in Oz, decided against as he basically said that European vans would get shaken to bits on Australian roads. So we're going to buy a van built for Aussie conditions when we get there.

louie

Oh and if it is European rather than British, it's a non starter as the habitation door needs to be on the left.

Molly Coddle

The roll on roll off which you mention is 10k,approx, which we don't have spare, unfortunately.

We have been advised off two people to take it with us in a container, but we aren't sure if we can fit it in a container, it's 9 ft high. ( I think ) this is what I need to check out. If it will fit in a container or not.

Also money is a factor, we could do with the cash from the sale of it really.
I suppose we could just manage on our savings, to fund the move, but things would be pretty tight for a while. We have all these things to put into consideration. However we have also been told that if we ever come to sell it that it will be worth around the 70k mark in Australian dollars. That's a hell of lot more than what it's worth here which is 17k GBP, so I suppose it's worth taking it if we can, just for that fact alone.

Cheers for the link Paul.

By the way isn't a motorhome and a camper the same thing?

Hope you find a good one.

It's British not European and built extremely well, which is good news. Thanks for that info.

ozzieeagle

Campers in Aus, are usually what they call the transit and smaller type Kombie vans... Weekenders in other words., People actually live in larger Motor homes here for quite lengthy periods of time... sometimes years.. Yours as a 21' sounds like a motor home to me... does it have an internal shower and toilet is probably the proving point.

There are also all terrain Motor homes and black strip Motor homes... meaning on and off road. Yours would almost certainly be a black strip, as indeed are the majority of Motor homes in Aus. You'd need fully independant suspension and specialist chassis and underfloor armour for offroad in Aus.... By off road that means dirt roads.... You aint seen them yet When you do you'll realise, that you very very likely wouldnt take your "camper" a long distance on one. It's the corrugation, dust and small rocks that kills..... There are 10,000's of kilometeres of dirt road in Aus.

Edit one last point, the majority of people that use motor homes dont go off road, or if they do, only for short distances in national parks etc etc, so if you brought yours along, it would be ok for the Majority of people.

Molly Coddle

Ahh right. I understand now. It's a Swift Bel Air, not sure if you have heard of them or not. It has a bathroom at the back with a shower cubical, basin and toilet. I could live in it quite easily, i'd love to actually, just traveling from place to place, it would be great.

You are right about it being no good for the Aussie dusty roads, it's too big for that and without a doubt it would need upgrading underneath, but on normal to slightly rough roads it drives fine.


Hmm. It sounds like it might be a lot of hassle and money to convert. I haven't totally given up on the idea of taking her yet though. Just need to find the cost of it all and then take it from there.

Thanks for the info Ozzie.

paulry

I can understand why you'd love to bring it along, I did a search and it looks like a nice vehicle. How much could you get for it if you sold it in the UK?

Molly Coddle

Bottom end 16K top end 18k

It's not looking like we are going to be able to afford to take it. Hubby has looked into it in more depth and there are all sorts of taxes and add ons that would need to be paid. All in all it adds up to a hefty sum that we just don't have spare at the moment. Nevermind.



Plan B ............Share yours.....

ozzieeagle

They definitely look the part thats for sure, as a decent black road vehicle.

I think after all said and done, they could end up being somewhere between 20 to 50K AUD cheaper landed all expenses paid. Thats based on the equivelent 2004 Aus vehicle in VGC to excellent costing about 90-120K

The diesel/LPG versions are damn interesting how can that work, I never thought that was possible. ? Although here, running costs are generally secondary to things like Solar equipped and chassis and suspension etc. The idea being you dont really want to drive any more than 4 hours a day to have a decent holiday/lifestyle. The Grey nomads sites reckon if your driving more than 20 hours in a week your doing it wrong. Seems like the average is around half of that. So even if fuel consumption is a major issue in the UK on these types of vehicle, it's not so much here for the reasons stated above... Creating a market for different needs and wants.

Molly Coddle

I know, it would be hell of a lot cheaper to bring it Ozzie, rather than buy a similar model over there. It's frustrating to know this and at the same time not have the funds to take it with us. I'm gutted really but there's not much we can do. I'm still grasping at straws on this at the moment though.



I don't know about the diesel/LPG version, I think ours is just diesel, not sure to be honest. As for driving no more than 4 hours at a time, I'm not too sure about that either, We have been lost in the middle of nowhere many times and just had to drive and drive until we came to civilisation. Lol! it's been an experience I know that much.
By the way, the solar panels have been great, supplying power for the fridge- freezer, TV, radio, lights etc.. Wild camping is possible in these things, we haven't always had to hook up to a power supply. Which has been a life saver at times.

Red_V_Roger

Sell it and buy something here. We had such a nightmare just changing the registration on our campervan that had been in NSW for 21 years when we moved to Queensland earlier this year. Even the compliance rules are not the same between our own States, never mind imports!

Apparently Queenslanders are all fat and the bolts that go through the floor in the bench seat that forms the bed in the back have to be larger than they are in NSW.

Just one of the bazar rules you'll be faced with in trying to get it to comply with Australian rules that are their solely to protect the inflated prices of local manufacturers from imports.

Red_V_Roger

By the way ... here is what we did in-between moving States www.travelsroundoz.com | A Lap of the Map

paulry

Hey Molly, It looks like you'll be best to sell it and focus on your move. You'll get something else this side

Molly Coddle

Rules and regs huh? You've gotta love em'!

I had a good read of your link, looks like you had a great time and what an experience. I don't think I've ever spoken to anyone who has done all the way around Oz before. I have to ask, which bit did you like the best? ( couldn't find the conclusion ).

I have to say, you and the wife are sooooo organised. There's no way my husband would have bought spare parts etc.. We'd just set off and hope for the best....

Yeah it's looking that way.