The Grey Nomads Forum

Importing Fifth wheelers from usa

BillM said
04:10 PM Jun 7, 2017

Hi All,

im thinking of going to the states for a holiday, and while there check out what's available in the smaller fifth wheelers. I realize there is a lot of work to do to get the thing back here, along with the certification to Aust standards when it arrives.

Have any of you knowledgeable people ever done this and can give me a ball park idea of what's involved. Please don't frighten me !!

cheers

BillM

macka17 said
05:31 PM Jun 7, 2017

I.
I got family there and Canada.
Rubber roofs. Old fashioned Int. 110v wiring. doors on wrong side.
Susp probably not compliant.

I think a AUS one will be much better for your money.

Now a Chevvy dual rears twin cab.

THAT's a different kettle of fish. THEY are tugs worth having.
2500's too. Same donk\transm.

Yuglamron said
06:50 PM Jun 7, 2017

If I recall coorectly there was big bunfight when the Govt wanted to ban the importing of US RV's Etc. They backed off after a huge backlash from existing owners.

I think from memory you can import them and install a stepdown 240 Volt to 110 Volt transformer and that's OK

The big drawback was you could not sell them on without having the wiring upgraded and the 110 volt appliances replaced by 240 Volt Australian compliant appliances.

One thing that was never addressed were 12 Volt DC appliances, whether US or Australian sourced.

-- Edited by Yuglamron on Wednesday 7th of June 2017 06:55:56 PM

-- Edited by Webmaster on Wednesday 7th of June 2017 07:54:04 PM

montie said
08:02 PM Jun 7, 2017

My advice......don't!

Montie

BillM said
08:09 PM Jun 7, 2017

Hi All,

it seems that Collyn Rivers must be on the outer on this forum. When I revisited this post after reading about a reference to an article he wrote about importing fifth wheelers, I find that the reference to his article has been deleted. For the record his article addressed all the concerns I had(and a lot more) and I found it very informative. Why it was given the flick I do not know.

cheers

BillM

Webmaster said
08:53 PM Jun 7, 2017

Hi Bill,
The links to Collyn Rivers' material was deleted because approximately a year ago, Collyn wrote to me to ask that all references to him and his materials be removed from this forum. This was at his request ... so I was assuming that he still does not want links to his publications/books published here.

-- Edited by Webmaster on Wednesday 7th of June 2017 08:54:29 PM

macka17 said
11:20 PM Jun 7, 2017

The biggest problem with ALL of those US and Canadian units,
Apart from prev mentioned.
Is the fact that the door is on wrong side.

Stopping in traffic. You'll always getting in\out,
into the traffic flow.

They on the right.
Can be awkward in Aust van parks too.
where the slabs are situated to be on our door side. LEFT.

Aus-Kiwi said
11:39 PM Jun 7, 2017

Depends on the purchase price ? How much you can do here yourself ( ??) to make it right !

BillM said
09:14 AM Jun 8, 2017

That's fine, if Collyn doesn't want his stuff printed here so be it. It's a shame because he probably knows more about caravanning type stuff than anyone. The article I looked at re importing anything from the states has enlightened many areas that I hadn't even considered and without access to it I would still be floundering around wasting my time.

cheers

BillM

Aus-Kiwi said
10:09 AM Jun 8, 2017

I looked at buying a 5th wheeler . I didn't buy one "here". They seemed hard to sell "at the time". . I like the idea though . More than happy with motorhome . If they are 100k here . You would need to purchase one in US for about 20k . By the time you pay freight and changing things . Converting from 110v to 240v shouldn't be too hard . Change inverter . Change power points . Modern up dated protective aperatus . In US there's car like wrecking yards with all sorts of RV. Some are not that old . The 5th wheelers I looked at here from US the importer had used it there and bought it back . I guess hoping to get better sale ?

PeterD said
02:57 PM Jun 8, 2017

BillM wrote:
Hi All,
it seems that Collyn Rivers must be on the outer on this forum. When I revisited this post after reading about a reference to an article he wrote about importing fifth wheelers, I find that the reference to his article has been deleted. For the record his article addressed all the concerns I had(and a lot more) and I found it very informative. Why it was given the flick I do not know.
cheers
BillM

Send me a PM and I will direct you to his articles.

BillM said
05:08 PM Jun 8, 2017

Thanks Peter,

I was able to read his article before it was pulled from the forum, and a lot of it was thought provocing, mainly about the legalities of on selling after I was over it. It had to do with the wiring mainly. If the 110v cabling was deemed undersized for a 240v rating, it would be near impossible to pull new cabling through the very thin cavities between the outer and inner skins. Replacing wall mounted fixings such as power points and switches would be no problem but if the authorities won't wear the cabling it would be a nightmare. Indeed somewhere in Collyns article it referred to destroying the rig after my own use as a legal way of disposing of it, as it would most probably never pass a legal inspection after my original use. Yeh, I'll bet ! Also the articulation of the US tow hitches in many cases does not provide sideways compensation due to the flatness of US roads as against the high camber and narrowness of many of the Aust roads. As the good ones over there are mainly fibreglassed bodies this may cause cracking around the front of the body. Sure an Aussie hitch might fix this but I wonder what damage might be inbuilt from construction as in a second hand unit.

All in all it has given me serious doubts about the whole idea. I will still have a look around while over there but at this stage of my life I don't need a major construction problem before I go touring. Thanks for your kind offer re accessing some of Collyns stuff. Cheers BillM

Aus-Kiwi said
06:08 PM Jun 8, 2017

Going higher voltage I would have thought the lower voltage size wire ok . Unless the insulation side is inferior ? In any case it's an issue ? I know with importing a car you need a certificate to afloat at the final jetty . With out it they can charge you storage till you do ., Best if you do is to go through an importer that does it all for you .

PeterD said
09:03 PM Jun 8, 2017

Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Going higher voltage I would have thought the lower voltage size wire ok . Unless the insulation side is inferior ? In any case it's an issue

There is also the problem of the colour coding (or is it color coding.) That can lead people to thinking they are working on extra low voltage wiring and cut into 240 V wiring. The Yankies wiring code for 110 V is different to the Oz and European codes.