TheSamba.com :: View topic - Shipping a van to Europe (and maybe back)?

Tue Dec 27, 2016 7:58 pm

Are you able to keep the CA registration up to date because it's a diesel, and thus doesn't require annual smog inspections?

Tue Dec 27, 2016 8:13 pm

Zeitgeist 13 wrote: Are you able to keep the CA registration up to date because it's a diesel, and thus doesn't require annual smog inspections?
Biannual. Not to be pedantic. :wink: And you're probably right.

crazyvwvanman wrote: Mostly a stock van, a zillion miles on it making a zillion memories. Don't be afraid to take these old things out there.
I love this. Safe travels in 2017.

Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:10 pm

Its still a stock wbx and registered as such. I thought I would have a problem renewing without a smog test but the DMV has a procedure for this. You simply have to sign a statement that the vehicle is unavailable to be tested and explain why. I ran into another California vehicle owner over there who told me about this and so that is what I did.

Mark

Zeitgeist 13 wrote: Are you able to keep the CA registration up to date because it's a diesel, and thus doesn't require annual smog inspections?

Tue Jan 03, 2017 6:59 pm

Hi Mark,

We are planning on the exact same thing. I've figured the shipping but still working on the storage part..

As for storage on the other side of the pound, how did you work this out?

Tue Jan 03, 2017 9:52 pm

erste wrote: Zeitgeist 13 wrote: Are you able to keep the CA registration up to date because it's a diesel, and thus doesn't require annual smog inspections?
Biannual. Not to be pedantic. :wink: And you're probably right.

Though if we wish to be pedantic -- unless the inspection is twice a year, perhaps you mean biennial.

Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:45 am

Ahwahnee wrote: erste wrote: Zeitgeist 13 wrote: Are you able to keep the CA registration up to date because it's a diesel, and thus doesn't require annual smog inspections?
Biannual. Not to be pedantic. :wink: And you're probably right.

Though if we wish to be pedantic -- unless the inspection is twice a year, perhaps you mean biennial.

lol - I've been in california for two and a half biennials and still get it wrong :oops: thanks for correcting me :D

Thu Jan 05, 2017 1:40 pm

Jess, Rob and little Henly at https://heretodayvanagontomorrow.com shipped their van to Tilbury docks in London from BC. Jess may be a good resource for anyone who is seriously considering doing the same thing.

The Docks are under an hour from CampervanCulture.com HQ so when their van arrived they picked it up and drove right on over. We took them out free camping locally and did some gentle off road driving on their first night and they were buzzing. All of you are welcome to do the same if you ever ship over to the island.

https://heretodayvanagontomorrow.com/2015/12/28/brilliant/

Jed

Thu Jan 05, 2017 2:46 pm

It's great that you did this!! It's on my bucket list..

Fri Jan 06, 2017 10:35 am

That is a good question as vehicle storage was something we struggled with also before we went and along the way we asked people. Near the end of our first trip we spoke with someone at a campground who suggested Amsterdam. It turns out that a little south of the airport there are several large places that store vehicles for tourists. Many of the customers are from the UK, storing camping trailers and small RVs, etc. We chose a well organized place that stores them indoors and which seemed to have good security.

Amsterdam works out pretty well since you can fly there easily from just about anywhere in the world. It is also an interesting city to visit and only a days drive from Paris, Berlin, etc. There is a large nice campground in the same area as the storage businesses. A city bus regularly runs by the campground and goes to and from the airport. A light rail train provides service to the city center.

Mark

si2t3m wrote: Hi Mark,
We are planning on the exact same thing. I've figured the shipping but still working on the storage part..

As for storage on the other side of the pound, how did you work this out?

Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:43 pm

Thanks for the info!!!

Can't get easier than that! Camping, storage, even the bus nearby to get you to the airport!

crazyvwvanman wrote: That is a good question as vehicle storage was something we struggled with also before we went and along the way we asked people. Near the end of our first trip we spoke with someone at a campground who suggested Amsterdam. It turns out that a little south of the airport there are several large places that store vehicles for tourists. Many of the customers are from the UK, storing camping trailers and small RVs, etc. We chose a well organized place that stores them indoors and which seemed to have good security.

Amsterdam works out pretty well since you can fly there easily from just about anywhere in the world. It is also an interesting city to visit and only a days drive from Paris, Berlin, etc. There is a large nice campground in the same area as the storage businesses. A city bus regularly runs by the campground and goes to and from the airport. A light rail train provides service to the city center.

Mark

si2t3m wrote: Hi Mark,
We are planning on the exact same thing. I've figured the shipping but still working on the storage part..

As for storage on the other side of the pound, how did you work this out?

Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:32 pm

Do you have a name for the storage business? Cost? Security?

It's my plan to build a van to send over and there happens to be a direct flight from SLC to Amsterdam!

Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:50 pm

one way and sell it someplace in Europe to help fund (refund) the trip is my retirement plan. have the van in the back shed and all the Turbo Diesel bits. TD because of price of fuels in Europe.

Looks like this may be the campground near the Airport
https://www.campingamsterdam.com/en/

and the closest storage to it looks like

https://www.google.com/maps/search/storage/@52.3133497,4.8021101,13z/data=!3m1!4b1

http://www.shurgard.nl/opslagruimte-in-Nederland/Amsterdam/Amstelveen

Fri Jan 06, 2017 6:11 pm

Yes that is the campground.
https://www.campingamsterdam.com/en/

No those storage places aren't for vehicles. When vehicles are involved, stalling is the term for it.

This is the place we use. Everyone there speaks english and they are very friendly. They also do rentals, service, and sales of camping trailers (caravans) and some small RVs.

http://www.sheltercaravanstalling.nl/

http://www.sheltercaravanstalling.nl/stalling.html

Mark

Fri Jan 06, 2017 8:14 pm

I am so into this! I have to decide whether to build a second bus here, high top via NAHT, ship it over, or buy a hightop over there and work on it then tour.... Hmmmm... :D

Sun Jan 22, 2017 12:05 pm

dobryan wrote: I am so into this! I have to decide whether to build a second bus here, high top via NAHT, ship it over, or buy a hightop over there and work on it then tour.... Hmmmm... :D

That's were I was. I think I have decided to buy one there... Yes it would be nice to go through a van here and then send it over, but for the price of shipping, that will cover all to half a decent van over there.

I think my plan now is get one and send it to a shop to check out the major mechanicals with the vehicle and make sure it's ready to go on the trip. Then I can do a lot of the other maintenance myself.

Currently I'm looking at a syncro westfalia hightop. I figure if it's not what we want, just ship it to USA and list on ebay, take the over inflated earnings from that one, and buy more flight tickets to go buy a better van and still have money left over for the trip!

I'll be storing in Amsterdam too, it looks to be less than $300 a year. I'm still figuring out the registration process, but I do have an address in Germany I can register at until it's 30 years old and I can do vintage plates from Utah.

Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:39 pm

I started considering a European tour and found this:

http://ro-ro.internationalshippingusa.com/Home.aspx

Seems affordable for just the freight fee.

Sat Mar 18, 2017 9:27 pm

Corwyn wrote: I started considering a European tour and found this:

http://ro-ro.internationalshippingusa.com/Home.aspx

Seems affordable for just the freight fee.

RoRo is definitely the cheaper way to go but probably not the best method for a camper. They don't allow any personal or additional items inside the van. I'm currently working on a van to ship to Europe. When it ships it will be packed with all the stuff I want like tool kit, pots, pans, dishes, camp chiars, spare parts, etc etc,

Yes I know it's not the 3rd world and you can buy anything you need but I already have all gear that will be going.

Wed Sep 05, 2018 8:03 pm

After 4 spring/summer Europe trips in it I brought our Westy back home. We shipped RORO both ways with plenty of camping gear, tools, parts etc inside. It merely needs to be out of plain sight and secured such that it won't move around from the motion of the ocean. It isn't against the law, the shipping companies just don't want to have you claim stuff turned up missing.

Over the 4 annual trips I camped in it for a total of about 36 weeks, staying at roughly 100 different campgrounds across 15 countries. I drove about 23,000 miles. In addition to my wife, various family members and friends came over at times and traveled in the van with me. It was a great experience all around. No big issues on the road. Our Calif plates got plenty of attention and lots of friendly questions, nothing negative.

We never expected to use it there as much as we did and we certainly saved a ton of money over what it would have cost to rent any camping vehicle for that amount of time. Once it is over there the more you use it the more you save, so we kept going back for more.

My biggest regret is not doing it years sooner.

Anyone thinking about European travel should consider camping along the way. It is very well set up and easy to do. I would even rent a car and tent camp and/or cabin camp. Most camps have a few simple cabins, trailers, or sturdy tents available for not much more than a campsite would be. This is how a lot of younger people over there do it. No need for them to own a bunch of gear to store the rest of the time. Just a few items in a small car and off you go.

Air travel to Europe is possible for a lot less than most people think. You need to pick your dates but you can go for under $500 round trip, on nonstop flights and the newest planes, for much of the year.

Mark

Syncrozilla wrote:
RoRo is definitely the cheaper way to go but probably not the best method for a camper. They don't allow any personal or additional items inside the van. I'm currently working on a van to ship to Europe. When it ships it will be packed with all the stuff I want like tool kit, pots, pans, dishes, camp chiars, spare parts, etc etc,

Yes I know it's not the 3rd world and you can buy anything you need but I already have all gear that will be going.

Thu Sep 06, 2018 7:41 am

Mark, Glad it went really well. I hope to follow in your footsteps (and others like Steve P.) next summer and on... :D

Sat Sep 08, 2018 4:35 pm

I would like to echo Mark's comments about travel in Europe. I have had an 84 Westy in Europe for the last four years. It is probably coming back (RORO from Antwerp to Baltimore) next summer. We have put 20,000+ European miles on this van and have enjoyed the experience.
I've been traveling in Europe since 1968 when a Viet Nam experience got me an assignment to West Germany. I've done motorcycle (1960's BMW) camping, train and plane trips, car rental travel, and a number of Westy camping experiences throughout Europe over the years. Since 68, I've spent something more than five years in Europe. Also during that time I've driven over 450,000 miles in VW vans throughout North America and Europe, so, I obviously like traveling in a camping van. However, for most people I would not recommend a van for travel in Europe.

It is really quite easy for we Yanks to experience Europe. For most US workers with limited vacation time, the best method of travel (as Mark suggested) would be to rent a car and camp.
Fly into Amsterdam, rent a cheap car, drive a bit more than an hour east to a huge camping/caravanning (trailer) outlet, buy some inexpensive camping gear and hit the road.
Camping in Europe is well established, inexpensive, and pleasant. It is a good way to meet fellow travelers and experience the countryside. All cities have adjacent campgrounds that allow one to use public transit and avoid all the traffic hassles.

Europe is fun to experience!!!!!!!

I had the privilege and pleasure of camping near Mark for a few days in April. We both happened to be in the same campground near Amsterdam. (The tulip fields were especially beautiful this spring) It was exceptional to pull my South Dakota registered van near to his Calif. registered vehicle, We had good conversations about European travel and had independently come to similar conclusions about our experiences.

If any of you are thinking of a Europe trip, just do it! It is not hard. If I can help with info, contact me.

Steve