Tough decision - what to do with Snomad?

[sassthathoopie]

I have a bit of a quandary that I would really appreciate some help with as I have no experience with American vehicles in Europe. For the last 3 years my missus and I have been living and working in the US. In 2012 I bought a 2007 Ford F350 6.0 diesel fitted with an XPCamper.

I managed to wangle registering it in my name in South Dakota. We then lived in it for 6 months; driving off road in Death Valley and the southern Utah national parks, followed by a winter chasing snow in the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas. It was an epic trip and we became very attached to the truck and the camper.




We're now keen to head back to Europe and we're trying to decide whether to
1)Import both truck and camper to UK and keep them
2)Sell both truck and camper in the US
3)Import just the camper, and put it on a suitable European vehicle. Eg Flatbed 4x4 Sprinter, Toyota Dyna 4x4 etc
4) Import both, sell the truck in Europe, and put the camper on something else.

During the buying process I was advised that there is a strong market for US trucks in Switzerland. IS this right?

So questions are;

How hard will it be maintaining this truck in the UK/Europe?
If I'm going to sell would I do better in the US or Europe?

[sassthathoopie]

Is there a good UK/European forum for big American trucks?

[sassthathoopie]

Still doing my reading but it's possible we may avoid import duty because we have been out of the EU so long. Shipping costs should be less than you'd think as it was specifically built to fit in a shipping container (just!)

Are there any specialist mechanics/importers/distributors I could speak to? Haven't found any yet with a google search

[sassthathoopie]

GVW is 5039kg. This is one of the reasons for keeping it. Many of the European options have smaller less powerful engines and will be working much harder carrying the weight of a camper with a 75gal water tank.

[sassthathoopie]

Crafty_ said:

Depends where you will be in the UK, but:

Importer: http://www.kingstown-shipping.co.uk/
Parts: http://www.usautomotive.co.uk/
Service: http://www.northamericanmotorco.com/

Although more dedicated to classic or premium cars you may find some support here: http://www.motorvatinusa.org.uk/intro.html

There is also a magazine called American Car World that you might find more resources in.

Thanks Crafty!

[sassthathoopie]

Roo said:

I need to have a read through the IVA manual tomorrow, but at that GVW it would need to be tested as M1 passenger car. One of the stipulations of that is the percentage of bed length of the overall length of the vehicle. Can't remember if it's 45 or 50 %. Either way that bed looks too long. The other problem is too few seats for a passenger car.

Rear arches and tail lights also look like they won't pass. That's why we can't bring chassis cabs in anymore as they're not a complete vehicle.

However, if it was built over ten years ago that becomes irrelevant as it would be exempt from IVA. You just need to try and work out its MOT class and get it tested accordingly.

This looks like a serious concern. Bed length is 2.51m, overall length is approx 6m. So bed length is 42%. It's a single cab with three abreast seating and a column mounted auto shift. It's a 2007 so still some way away from IVA exemption.

Would be keen to hear your interpretation of the manual

[sassthathoopie]

GVW is 5039kg. Currently have it insured as a custom motorhome in the US.