I live in the US (Mobile, AL) and have been trying to get to Europe for years and I think it may happen next year. I just turned 65 and will most likely be traveling alone.

I've never been out of the US or Canada and as you can imagine I have some questions and concerns.

Is there a site that helps people like myself tour Europe in a motorcaravan on a limited budget? I'll need help buying a used motorcaravan (about 8000 Euros) and finding inexpensive places to stay.

Other concerns are languages, safety, what country do I license in, and insurance.

I can leave the motorcaravan at a friends house in England each winter.

BTW, I'm not new to RV's. I've been traveling the US each summer for many years.

Thanks,

Dennis

"Dennis"  wrote in
news:nuydnQY7mOWJ3RzVnZ2dnUVZ_vzinZ2d@comcast.com: 

> Is there a site that helps people like myself tour Europe in a
> motorcaravan on a limited budget? I'll need help buying a used
> motorcaravan (about 8000 Euros) and finding inexpensive places to
> stay. 
> 
> Other concerns are languages, safety, what country do I license in,
> and insurance. 
> 
> I can leave the motorcaravan at a friends house in England each
> winter. 

Some sites that might help are :

http://www.magbaztravels.com/ , which is a personal travel blog that 
contains a lot of info about various countries and also goes through 
some of the hassle about insurance etc.

There is also a group on UK and European full-timing at 
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/motorhome-living/ (.) If you join and 
search the archives, you'll find threads started by other non-Europeans 
who've gone through the mill.

Three UK auto mart sites are:
    	http://www.caravanfinder.co.uk/
    	http://www.caravantrader.co.uk/
    	http://www.autoexposure.co.uk/
The first two list both private and trade sales, the latter offers an 
on-line shop window to the motor trade, so deals with trade sales only.

http://www.mobile.do/ is Germany's biggest on-line auto mart. 
motorcaravans tend to be cheaper, but more basic in Germany. You can 
also buy basic insurance and short-term, export registration. 
http://www.ukmotorhomes.net/germany.shtml is one account of someone 
buying in Germany and importing to UK.

Wherever you buy, you need to look carefully because motorhomes over 
here hold their value for a lot longer than they do in the States and 
8,000 Euro (about 6,350 GBP) won't get you much.

Whichever country you license your motorhome in, you'll probably need a 
residential address. Europe is so accommodating as to let you use a 
mailbox service (like Sioux Falls or the Escapees back home). Since 
you'll leave the motorcaravan In England each winter, I suspect it will 
be easier to register it there with your friends' permission using their 
address. AFAICT, you don't need to be a European citizen to register the 
vehicle, you just need a bricks 'n sticks residential address at which 
the authorities can contact you.

That said, you might struggle a little with insurance. A lot of insurers 
don't like IDPs and every insurer I've asked for a quote has asked how 
long I've held a full, UK driving license fairly early in the 
proceedings. Also, the insurers I've managed to get quotes from for 
proposed full-timing have insisted that the contact address I use for 
them must be the same address that on my driving license. If your 
license is says Mobile, AL I guess you won't be able to meet that 
condition.

WRT your driver's license, http://tinyurl.com/2h6hlp should redirect to 
the UK Government page on the subject. I assume that you don't intend 
staying in UK for more than 12 months, so you should be OK for 
motorhomes that have a MAM (GVWR) of no more than 3,500 kg (7,716 lb). 
In practice, that includes most European coachbuilts and panel van 
conversions. However, you won't be able to drive larger than that unless 
it's registered outside UK and you drove it into the country.

HTH,

Geoff

I wrote:

>  Europe is so accommodating as to let you use a 
> mailbox service

Argh! That'll teach me to read before sending. I meant, "Europe is _not_ so 
accommodating as to let you use a mailbox service."

Geoff (turning and walking slowly from the console)

On 19 Jul, 02:14, "Dennis"  wrote:
> I live in the US (Mobile, AL) and have been trying to get to Europe for years and I think it may happen next year. I just turned 65 and will most likely be traveling alone.
>
> I've never been out of the US or Canada and as you can imagine I have some questions and concerns.
>
> Is there a site that helps people like myself tour Europe in a motorcaravan on a limited budget? I'll need help buying a used motorcaravan (about 8000 Euros) and finding inexpensive places to stay.
>
> Other concerns are languages, safety, what country do I license in, and insurance.
>
> I can leave the motorcaravan at a friends house in England each winter.
>
> BTW, I'm not new to RV's. I've been traveling the US each summer for many years.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dennis

Hello Dennis,
That was a very thorough reply by Geoff.  I can't think of anything to
add at the moment.

A couple of other sources for advice that I might suggest are
Motorhome Fun - www.motorhomefun.co.uk - which is free to join.
Motorhome Facts - www.motorhomefacts.com - which needs a fee to join.
I expect there will be lots of people there who will have suggestions
for you.

There are plenty of other forum groups around as well which the chaps
on the above mentioned may well point you towards.

Good luck with your planning.

John

"JayDee"  wrote in message 
news:1dbc3e50-c433-49fe-92c4-70357e4c8337@x35g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> On 19 Jul, 02:14, "Dennis"  wrote:
>> I live in the US (Mobile, AL) and have been trying to get to Europe for 
>> years and I think it may happen next year. I just turned 65 and will most 
>> likely be traveling alone.
>>
>> I've never been out of the US or Canada and as you can imagine I have 
>> some questions and concerns.
>>
>> Is there a site that helps people like myself tour Europe in a 
>> motorcaravan on a limited budget? I'll need help buying a used 
>> motorcaravan (about 8000 Euros) and finding inexpensive places to stay.
>>
>> Other concerns are languages, safety, what country do I license in, and 
>> insurance.
>>
>> I can leave the motorcaravan at a friends house in England each winter.
>>
>> BTW, I'm not new to RV's. I've been traveling the US each summer for many 
>> years.
>
> Hello Dennis,
> That was a very thorough reply by Geoff.  I can't think of anything to
> add at the moment.
>
I can only add that the Irish Republic has a number of advantages for 
registering a motorcaravanm low road tax, no roadworthyness test and at 
least 2 brokers that specialise in low cost specific insurance; That said I 
am a resident and have no idea how they deal with non EEC citizens.


-- 
Chris, (on tour)
Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.
Schopenhauer

"Cerumen"  wrote in
news:g5ti0c$lu4$1@registered.motzarella.org: 

> I can only add that the Irish Republic has a number of advantages for 
> registering a motorcaravanm low road tax, no roadworthyness test and
> at least 2 brokers that specialise in low cost specific insurance;
> That said I am a resident and have no idea how they deal with non EEC
> citizens. 

IIRC Eire levies a huge vehicle registration tax if the motorhome you 
register there wasn't already on the Eire register and you can't 
demonstrate that you've continuously owned the vehicle for 12 months. I'm 
not an expert on this, so perhaps someone from Eire can confirm or deny. 
However, if I've got this right, you'll need to factor in the VRT when 
calculating your budget.

Also, can you confirm there's no roadworthiness test? One website that 
specialises in importing from UK to Eire says that one is required if your 
vehicle is over four years old. You'll need to pay vehicle excise duty 
(currently 185 GBP a year) in UK and also repatriate the vehicle to UK at 
least once a year for the MOT test (safety inspection).

HTH,

Geoff

Thank you everyone. I joined the Yahoo group and I think it will be a big help.

Dennis

  "Dennis"  wrote in message news:nuydnQY7mOWJ3RzVnZ2dnUVZ_vzinZ2d@comcast.com...
  I live in the US (Mobile, AL) and have been trying to get to Europe for years and I think it may happen next year. I just turned 65 and will most likely be traveling alone.

  I've never been out of the US or Canada and as you can imagine I have some questions and concerns.

  Is there a site that helps people like myself tour Europe in a motorcaravan on a limited budget? I'll need help buying a used motorcaravan (about 8000 Euros) and finding inexpensive places to stay.

  Other concerns are languages, safety, what country do I license in, and insurance.

  I can leave the motorcaravan at a friends house in England each winter.

  BTW, I'm not new to RV's. I've been traveling the US each summer for many years.

  Thanks,

  Dennis

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:14:47 -0500, "Dennis"  wrote:


>I live in the US (Mobile, AL) and have been trying to get to Europe for years and I think it may happen next year. I just turned 65 and will most likely be traveling alone.
>
>I've never been out of the US or Canada and as you can imagine I have some questions and concerns.
>
>Is there a site that helps people like myself tour Europe in a motorcaravan on a limited budget?
I doubt so specifically but each country has lots of sites about its
touring.

> I'll need help buying a used motorcaravan (about 8000 Euros) and finding inexpensive places to stay.
Well with respect to you comments below about language I would buy in
the UK. You could probably get a better bargain in Germany but it
could present some problems for you, 
I'd go for something like a VW T4 or later, parts are easily available
and relatively cheap.
>
>Other concerns are languages, safety, what country do I license in, and insurance.
Safety? Ive been touring widely for years and never had a problem. Pay
attention to where you stop especially if wild camping. Many countries
dont allow wild camping and you could be moved on. However France is a
dream for motorcaravanner
You licence it in the country you buy it in. You can then Tour the EU
without a problem.
Insurance could be a problem but if youcan use your friends address it
should make it easier
>
>I can leave the motorcaravan at a friends house in England each winter.
>
>BTW, I'm not new to RV's. I've been traveling the US each summer for many years.

They arent RV's. They are motorcaravans.

>Thanks,
>
>Dennis
>
>

"Geoff Lane" <geoff@nospam.invalid> wrote in message 
news:Xns9AE0DBEE41936geoffnospam097akdsh@138.199.67.64...
> "Cerumen"  wrote in
> news:g5ti0c$lu4$1@registered.motzarella.org:
>
>> I can only add that the Irish Republic has a number of advantages for
>> registering a motorcaravanm low road tax, no roadworthyness test and
>> at least 2 brokers that specialise in low cost specific insurance;
>> That said I am a resident and have no idea how they deal with non EEC
>> citizens.
>
> IIRC Eire levies a huge vehicle registration tax if the motorhome you
> register there wasn't already on the Eire register and you can't
> demonstrate that you've continuously owned the vehicle for 12 months. I'm
> not an expert on this, so perhaps someone from Eire can confirm or deny.
> However, if I've got this right, you'll need to factor in the VRT when
> calculating your budget.
>
> Also, can you confirm there's no roadworthiness test? One website that
> specialises in importing from UK to Eire says that one is required if your
> vehicle is over four years old. You'll need to pay vehicle excise duty
> (currently 185 GBP a year) in UK and also repatriate the vehicle to UK at
> least once a year for the MOT test (safety inspection).
>
I imported mine from Germany, it was at the time quite old and VRT was 400 
euro, I had not owned it for 12 months. I can confirm that motorhomes are 
excluded from MOT test requirement but all other vehicles require one every 
two years after reaching 4 years of age.


-- 
Chris, (on tour)
Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.
Schopenhauer