Now I'm retired the missus wants to travel a bit (around NZ). We don't like the ex English caravans mainly because of knowing 4 different families who bought modern, ex English and have had nothing but trouble, mainly with rain water leaks. 2 of these had major rotting of the internal wooden frame. They must have come into NZ like this as none of these 'vans has been in NZ for very long (2 were new imports straight from the dealer). It seems that the English 'vans are built a wee bit too light. So, I'm thinking maybe ex USA for a 'van. Anyone here imported one from USA? Can I do it, or is there some weird Govt. Legislation that will stop me? Who do I contact in the US to do this? Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks.
gettinggrey,
Oct 28, 10:19pm
Should mention that I do realise there will be some electricals to sort out (120v to 240v), but nothing too hard I would think.
monaro17,
Oct 28, 10:31pm
you are spot on with the English vans being too lightly built.
I would try and get an importer to bring one in from the USA for you- it may save you a lot of heartache. But otherwise I'm not 100% sure but I doubt there is too many hoops to jump through.
I trust you have a vehicle with a very high tow rating? and you may also require a heavy vehicle grading on your licence.
gettinggrey,
Oct 28, 10:46pm
Thanks monaro17. I'm fairly safe with Class 5 licence (retired tanker driver), and a Prado as the tow wagon (I've upgraded the cooling system a tad too).
monaro17,
Oct 28, 10:53pm
Perfect then! -correct me if I am mistaken but the tow rating of the Prado is 2500kg, many USA caravans are at least that heavy even before you load them up so depending on what size you are looking for the Prado may be a bit light.
please excuse me if I am telling you how to suck eggs
Just to throw more into the mix, have you considered a near new or new Australian or New Zealand made caravan? I have a Leisureline and cannot speak highly enough of how well it suits NZ conditions. The big windows to enjoy the view, they ride and tow very well and are made to suit our conditions. And you can view and choose the caravan you want without the gamble and wait for one to arrive from the US.
2get1,
Oct 28, 11:15pm
most caravans are to wide to fit inside a shipping container so have to go on whats known as a flat rack. And theyre bloody expensive and usually top stowed on a container ship and as such open to the elements. I have a mate in USA and as such the USA side of it was easy. Was looking at a small by US standards 5th wheel camper 23ft but the freight was going to be around the $10K mark. Theyre cheap as chips over there but the freight is the killer. Since I need to tow a trailer aswell I ended up getting a retired rental campervan. But if you don't need to tow and want good towing etc I recon a 5th wheel is better than traditional caravan. But you would need to buy a ute aswell
muzz67,
Oct 29, 12:35am
Looked at US vans too,, wasn't impressed by the build quality. Had lots of 'shiny' bits that caught the eye, but when you looked at the external finish they had just as many likely spots for leaks.
mrcat1,
Oct 29, 12:40am
Be very careful of the width of them, I know of caravans here from the US and they cant go on our roads, they are too wide and by not much either. Why not look at vans out of Aussie? The ones I have seen over there are very well made usually to take the rough roads over there.
johotech,
Oct 29, 12:40am
What about Aussie ones? Built tough aren't they?
gettinggrey,
Oct 29, 12:44am
OK, thanks guys. Much appreciate your input. I will look at the Aussie ones now. I just figured that they would be the same type of thing as here, but obviously not. I'll check out those Leisurelines too. Cheers, and thanks.
Maybe you should have a look at Youtube and see what they do with them and what is available out of aussie. Check out these guys, they go some hardcase places towing caravans, https://youtu.be/9Ty1SEgwsgc
lookoutas,
Oct 29, 1:15am
You might find the Yankee doors are on the right side too.
Its too wide to go on NZ roads by 7.81cm. As I said the US caravans can be too wide to go on NZ roads, your not going to get a overwidth permit for a caravan.
mm12345,
Oct 29, 1:45am
Empty weight is also 3T - so getting up there. Airstream make other models with 8' width. There are a few of them in NZ. I doubt you'd pick up a "cheapie" worth bringing back to NZ though. Last time I looked, old Airstreams had very high asking prices on Ebay, vintage '60s vans around the US$100k mark.
muzz67,
Oct 29, 1:28pm
You're comparing a Cadillac to a Corolla.
mm12345,
Oct 29, 4:45pm
I don't like caravans - yet I wouldn't mind an Airstream. Not sure if I've been sucked in by the retro cool thing about how they look. Watched one of those UK home renovation shows on TV a while back, where some dude wanted a luxury man-cave in the back-yard but couldn't get building consent. An Airstream dropped in by large crane solved that problem.
angelab,
Oct 29, 8:19pm
I heard that some of the wiring on Yank caravans is not to our spec so it may require a rewire, not just faceplates and plugs changed out as well. Not easy to pull new wiring thru caravan cavities so walls would need stripped. Are there gas lines and cas the same as our LPG or will all jets etc need replaced. ? One more vote here for kiwi or Aust built.
woody1946,
Oct 29, 9:06pm
Be careful with US vans if they need alterations as as they are all imperial measurements.Things like shower trays. plumbing fittings etc are not compatible with our products
budgel,
Oct 30, 12:42am
Does the fact that the access is on our drivers side affect things much?
morrisjvan,
Oct 30, 4:16am
um , how about a N.Z caravan?
captaink,
Oct 30, 4:20am
No the access on our drivers side is seldom a hassle, I've had a few out of Canada, (less duty) older ones seldom seemed to have a 90' finish on any corner but being picky, great with big slide outs for internal space, ok to tow but not relaxing on some of our roads, electrical regs have been relaxed not the major they used to be but fridge, microwave etc are all 110v. Best way is buy two to fill the flatlpack, sell one off either converted or as landed and you will have a cheap van. the only reason I would be looking at one is for decent sized slide outs. Like anything with holes cut in it for windows and vents etc be it Pommie, Leisureline , Jayco they can leak but framed models easy to fix.
nzjay,
Oct 31, 2:57am
. aren't they left hand drive?
2get1,
Oct 31, 2:59am
umm no the topic is caravans lol theyre not any hand drive, you tow them :)
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