Where's a good claivoyant when you need one?

If they are anything like US made 5th wheelers, would suggest to avoid like the plague. Apart from general build quality, could be issues with wiring and gas installations.

There are good van builders in Australia - plenty of them - so why import possible problems?

I believe  company called enerytech in Bne import American Forest River vans and make them Australian compliant.  Don't know much more about them but you can check them out if you wish.

cheers,

jack

There's an Americal 5th wheeler in this park, and I'm sure it's plugged in as it arrived. The door is on the wrong side of course, but I'm not aware of any other problems.
It's got wind-outs and awning, and probably all the bells and whistles, but I haven't heard them.
I wouldn't be happy to buy something foreign not knowing the specifications of the essentials. Be careful.

Dougwe wrote:

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wendyv wrote:

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If they are anything like US made 5th wheelers, would suggest to avoid like the plague. Apart from general build quality, could be issues with wiring and gas installations.

There are good van builders in Australia - plenty of them - so why import possible problems?

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I agree, get one of the Aussie ones, the Avan CARAVAN's are very well finished in deed, I have the Avan camper and very happy with that for my needs.

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 You must have seen one of the better one's Doug.  Our neighbours have recently bought one and the finish sure leaves a lot to be desired.

Can they be insured? rocket n strop

My brother had an American-manufactured but altered to Aus specs 5th wheeler, in which they planned to "live the dream". Their dream turned into a nighmare, with so many things breaking down, and when he started fixing things himself as they were travelling, he found very poor standard of contruction. Subsequently they bought a house in which they felt safer and sold the "Dream" 5th wheeler at a big financial loss.

They might be cheaper but you get what you pay for.

I am currently in the process of getting my American RV converted to Aussie ADR's in California, By Aussie spec US caravans,

It has an Oshkosh chassis, 300 HP Caterpillar motor, 4 speed Allison Auto gear box, The early garbage trucks in OZ were these chassis, motors and gear boxes,

Converted to right hand drive, all wiring to OZ specs, all gas lies in copper to OZ specs, Left hand door fitted, Lights changed to OZ specs. Invertor changed to 240 volts and a 240 volt outside power plug,

Australia does not make any thing like it, the quality is far superior to any thing made here, and I have looked, I hate to say this, The Yanks make some thing better than us, And they do in RV's,

My 25 year old RV looks better than a half million dollar one built here,

I need an engineers certificate to verify the work done is up to standard,, I need a roadworthy, I need Rego,

Then I can drive it any where, I got my MR licence last week,

I bought my RV privately in Texas, The PO drove it to California, 1500 miles, with his car towed behind the RV, then drove his car home back to Texas, They call it a toad over there,

There are a few catches for the unwary in OZ, some of their RV's are 101 inches wide, cannot be registered in OZ, max width is 98 inches, the over hang at the back cannot be more than 3.7 metres or 60 % of the distance between the axles length,

Do not buy one that has been sitting in a caravan park for years, or a permanent lived in home, They will be stuffed mechanically from lack of use,

It will be here in 2 months time, And bloody cheap as well, It also has all the bells and whistles, which are all optional extra's here,

Good for you B2, I have looked at these as well, spoke to a guy in QLD who got one in from Aussie Spec. he was happy with it, he has already had an offer on it for double what it cost him !!

I believe that as part of the conversion process they put a left hand door in. The Foretravel is a good looking unit, have a look at what they are selling for on  

http://www.coachsales.com.au/OurStockMH.html                   they have one of yours there & you can see how much you save. I think for the few bits & pieces you need to do its a bargain.

Early this year we bought an American built caravan from Aussie Spec Caravans and are very happy with both the purchase and also their after sales service. Most of the conversion work was carried out in LA before shipping and a couple of required modifications were done in Australia.

It's true, they are about half the price of the Australian built vans and as another contributor wrote, we can't all afford to 'live the dream' at present Aussie prices. Our van is very well built and beautifully equipped. A step down converter converts electricity from 240 to 110 to run the fridge and air con. Hot water and heating runs on gas. It has a full bathroom as well. It came with lots of extras too including a roll out awning.We removed some cupboards to fit the left hand door, and put in steps underneath but that was straightforward. Gas conversion was simple. We just plug into electrical park connections in the normal way. It's nice having 2 doors, it gets great flow through breezes.

We drove to Brisbane and collected the van from Steve Holley [he's on the Aussie Spec website] who had collected it from the wharf for us for a very reasonable price. We can recommend Mike Morris of Aussie Spec Caravans and Steve to other prospective purchasers, as being honest, trustworthy and reliable in their dealings. I should add that we couldn't afford to travel to LA to choose a van - as well as buy one - so we told Mike Morris what our needs were and he scoured the auction site for us and chose the van that we bought based on photographs he emailed. There are many to choose from, new and second hand. Ours is 5 years old but in very good condition so it may only have been used for short holidays previously.

It's because of the strong value of the dollar plus the free trade agreement between Aussie and the USA governments that made this purchase possible for us and many others. I have seen older Aussie caravans advertised at prices that can't be too far off the price they were when new which was a long time ago. Maybe the gravy train has come to a halt, and perhaps it is about time? Check out the website for Aussie Spec Caravans and judge their stock quality and prices for yourselves.

-- Edited by enzed on Saturday 17th of November 2012 02:53:38 AM

Digressing slightly, does anyone know if anyone has imported any of those classic Airstream trailers. They date back to before WWII and are still being made.

Big Dave wrote:

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I believe that you can get airstreams brought in, new or older "classic" models. I have seen some photos on the Aussie Spec website of ones they have re-polished & sent over here for some celebs.

I do like them myself & the new ones are in a class of their own, extremely well built & very nicely appointed. They cost more, but then again they hold their value much better too.

You can actually get Aussie spec to source one for you so you can be assured it is the right width, length etc for Australian roads. They can be brought in & they can be registered & insured.

cheers

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 Mike Morris at Aussie US Spec Caravans has had an air stream for sale in the past. Check out the website and contact him if you want one. Mike could easily find what you want. You can fly to LA and inspect first or buy off photos and other information like we did. He will email photos of stock at upcoming auctions too. He doesn't sell RV's or caravans that don't meet Aussie specifications for width, axle length and height etc, so he does pre-select to ensure you can meet local regulations. Our van is a foot wider than most Aussie vans but it's still inside Aussie width regulations. It makes it very roomy inside. It's good to check layout to see where the left hand door will go as it's best to install it at normal floor level just like the other door. We also asked for a shorter van than most of those on his website at the time, and he found us a 21 footer which is perfect for us but still has everything we wanted. There are smaller ones available.

Aussie Spec US Caravans - Wholesale Dealer Centre

11 Jan 2012 AUSSIE SPEC US CARAVANS www.aussiespecuscaravans.com. QUALITY US CARAVANS, 5TH WHEEL CARAVANS AND TOYHAULERS ...

 

 

Hey Jim, Its ok to muse now & then. Have you ever looked at the Airstream motorhomes? They are impressive looking units as well, I think they would be a real head turner here in OZ.

Hi Neil n Ruth,
Yes there are changes. I actually do a lot of these. Its a small cost compared to the savings.
I am happy to give advice on what HAS to be done & what DOES NOT.