Brits touring USA

[Vanessa]

Good day,

We are Brits hoping to travel to the USA when everything is opened up.  We want to buy a rv and travel for a couple of years.

Can anyone help us please with the basics, registering the vehicle, insurances etc

Will be very grateful for any help

Thank you

[sandsys]

Welcome to a very helpful group. Kirk will be along soon to help you with all he learned from others doing this.

Linda Sand

[Vanessa]

Thank you..

[Kirk W]

8 minutes ago, sandsys said:

Kirk will be along soon

Welcome to the Escapee forums! Linda was right, as I believe that she is probably thinking of a page on my website that was written by a couple from UK who did exactly what you plan to do. The page was last updated in 2012 but most of the information is still valid. In that same section is a page written by BruceT who is still active on the forums and who traveled the US by RV from Australia. His also is worth your time to read. After you read through the two articles, do not hesitate to return and ask any questions that you may have and we will be happy to help in any way that we are able.

[Twotoes]

You must establish an address to register your RV. If you haven’t already done so, join the Escapees RV Club and use their mail forwarding service to establish a domicle in TX, FL, or SD. Then you can register and insure you vehicle. 

[bigjim]

First you have to pledge to practice driving on the correct side of the road.😁 Welcome aboard the Escapees site.  It will be helpful.

I volunteered at a national park campground that was near Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC. A lot of people shipped their rvs to the port of Baltimore. They would usually stay few days with us when their rv came in and when they got ready to leave they would stay  with us while  waiting for the boat that they were shipping it back on. Most of these were small rvs like camper vans.  I expect you will be looking for something larger

[packnrat]

i say do the escapees but go to south dakota to buy and set up your domicile, tax thing. pulse you only have to prove a  one night in state to get everything needed.

but where ever you do this once done you will not have to return for your two-three year stay.

just watch out for the crazy American drivers, some think the whole rd is there's.

but have fun and enjoy your time here.

[sandsys]

2 hours ago, packnrat said:

just watch out for the crazy American drivers, some think the whole rd is there's.

 

And we drive in any lane we want--none of this keep right except when passing stuff.

Linda

[packnrat]

as a commercial driver here in ca, on the job and off i see many driving on the wrong side of the rd. even at speed on the freeway.

and sad some come to a very abrupt stop. cars do not fair well when meeting a semi in this way.

just last week on the only passing lane going westbound on hwy 12 from san andreas down to valley springs. a person wanted to go much faster than everybody else, so they got into the east bound lane to pass everyone.

there was a slow truck in the rt lane and a number of cars passing in the lt lane. all good no problems.  then this fool crossed into the east bound lane at high speed. just had to get there faster.

i see so many that just can not keep in the correct lane to begin with, many headons, and sideswipes in this area. and this is just on my personal time. have even seen a number of people driving the wrong way on hwy 99.

[Kirk W]

On 5/10/2021 at 10:46 PM, sandsys said:

And we drive in any lane we want--none of this keep right except when passing stuff.

And who needs capital letters or punctuation?

[sandsys]

6 hours ago, Kirk W said:

And who needs capital letters or punctuation?

Sorry you didn't understand that I was making fun of us. After traveling by car in the Netherlands and seeing how well keep right unless passing works, I don't know why we don't do that.

[usbusin]

Very few obey the rule.  Common courtesy says keep right except when passing. 

[bruce t]

Hey guys. We Australians and Brits, and almost half the rest of the worlds population, have the steering wheel on the right side. Not the wrong side. 😀

My advice is to join SKPs. Get an address. You are required to get your insurance before you register. (Here in Australia registration includes the compulsory insurance. But in the USA you have to buy the compulsory insurance separately. Not sure how it works in the UK.). I'm not a fan of the Dakota route but each to their own. SKP and a Livingston address ain't too hard.

Remember your visa requirements and limits. You may have to return home every 6 months.

[packnrat]

i only put in south dakota due to there lower taxes. at last i knew of it was only 4%sales tax, and reg and insurance are way cheaper than most of the USA.  and that you only need one over night to qualify.

but yes it is cold there most of the year.

and of the half of the worlds population you listed,  they do not even drive at all. and/or there country just has little to no laws about driving. at least thats what every video i have seen shows. i would hate to drive a $80,K pu, pulling a $100,K fifthwheel there.

[bruce t]

packnrat we always get 'sensitive' when folks talk about which side of the road to drive on. When you look at Australia and the UK it doesn't seem like a lot of folks drive on the 'correct' side of the road. 🙂 But 2 of biggest populations in the world are right. Or is that left? India and Indonesia. Much of Africa. Then you throw in SE Asia such as Malaysia and then New Zealand and Japan etc it all adds up to a lot of folks saying "they drive on the wrong side of the road in the USA".

But all jokes aside. It's not really an issue. As long as you keep the centre line on the driver side.

 

[sandsys]

11 hours ago, bruce t said:

keep the centre line on the driver side.

That's an excellent tip! Even I can remember that.

Linda

[bruce t]

For all our years in the USA and 200000+ miles of driving I only ever made one oops moment. I made a left turn only to have a nice polite semi driver smiling at me. Oops. Bounce bounce over the centre strip and all was well.

The strange thing is that back in Australia I had more trouble adjusting to driving on the left.

Over all road signage in the USA is excellent. Your road/highway numbering system is excellent. Odd numbers north and south. Even numbers east and west. Drivers are polite and very aware of their surroundings. It's a country born and bred for driving.

[packnrat]

i will try to remember that one (keep the yellow line on the drivers side) 

i had sorta hosted some auseys ( is that a correct wording?) here a number of years back. and was asked a question that answer would have been perfect.

[JimK]

The original issue was about buying an RV for extended use and then reselling that same RV and returning home.  A great many foreign visits do this even for relatively short trips.  It can be way cheaper to buy and sell as opposed to the high rental costs.

Some RV rental companies, such as Cruise America, handle the logistics and make this easy for a foreign visitor.  You might pay a bit more but the logistics will be easy for both buying and reselling.

[Second Chance]

58 minutes ago, JimK said:

The original issue was about buying an RV for extended use and then reselling that same RV and returning home.  A great many foreign visits do this even for relatively short trips.  It can be way cheaper to buy and sell as opposed to the high rental costs.

Some RV rental companies, such as Cruise America, handle the logistics and make this easy for a foreign visitor.  You might pay a bit more but the logistics will be easy for both buying and reselling.

Our daughter and her family flew to California from Maryland and rented a Cruise America class C in April. It may have just been that particular franchise (Sacramento), but they had a horrible experience with the RV. It was dumpster filthy. When they showered, the water ran across the floor and out the main door. The city water fill fitting was cracked and sprayed all over the place and the stinky slinky had cracks in it and leaked. The brakes were very soft and the steering very loose (our son-in-law is a commercial pilot and quite capable of assessing these things).The owner of the franchise couldn't have cared less and was extremely ugly and rude. 

Rob