Preparing RV for trip to Europe
We are planning a trip to Europe and are hoping to ship our truck (2008 Dodge RAM 3500) + truck camper (2014 Livin Lite Camplite 8.6c) from the US to Europe. Ideally, we'll be there for a few years t...
Forum Discussion
Correct, especially western Europe is rather small compared to the US and Canada. Our truck averages 12 MPG but it should only take a few full tanks to make the circle from Belgium down into Portugal/Spain and up through Poland into Scandinavia and back down (of course seeing as much as possible along the circle). I grew up in Belgium and have traveled extensively in Europe before moving to the US. Additionally, my wife (who is from South Korea and we met in Texas where she studied) and I have taken a few vacations to see my family in Belgium and have done road trips around Europe (rental car and hotels). We've visited many of the highlights (Italy, London, Paris, Swiss Alps, south France, etc.) so we'll be able to skip those on our RV trip. Well, I won't be skipping the Alps as they are my favorite destination in Europe.
For some reason, I want to drive to Mongolia. Perhaps it's because of the "Long way around" documentary ...
All of my family & friends (with the exception of my wife) are in Belgium and my uncle recently moved to Bulgaria so the support base is good.
Now we are looking to travel by RV for a much longer time. Still debating whether it's a good idea to ship our RV or buy something local. Surprisingly, prices between these 2 are similar. Shipping our RV costs about $3K each way but buying an RV in Europe comes with high taxes (VAT) as well as losing money on the sale at the end of our trip.
Since it's very possible to drive from Europe into Asia and even Africa (either through the Middle East or through Spain -> Morocco), we want to include those parts in our road trip.
Our current setup (Dodge RAM 4X4) proved fine in Mexico and Central America. Yes, the dually is wide driving into towns which we experienced in Central America when visiting colonial towns. We lost a hub cap due to narrow roads. I wouldn't say however that a dually makes the trip impossible; just a little harder but perhaps not worth going through the trouble (and money loss) of selling our truck to buy a single rear wheel.
Certain routes into Asia and Africa will definitely be easier in a true overland vehicle (Unimog, MAN, ...) but those tend to be (very) expensive, although there are several for sale on mobile.de for 'reasonable' prices (in the range of 30-40K EUROs).
Our house battery and fresh water tank size allow us to boondock for 4-5 days straight, plus we have a Yamaha 2000W generator. We are definitely interested in upgrading to 2 or 3 batteries and possibly solar but we have to calculate our electrical needs before we make a decision on how much to purchase.
The only headaches currently seem to be the 220V -> 110V as well as the propane connectors.
For some reason, I want to drive to Mongolia. Perhaps it's because of the "Long way around" documentary ...
All of my family & friends (with the exception of my wife) are in Belgium and my uncle recently moved to Bulgaria so the support base is good.
Now we are looking to travel by RV for a much longer time. Still debating whether it's a good idea to ship our RV or buy something local. Surprisingly, prices between these 2 are similar. Shipping our RV costs about $3K each way but buying an RV in Europe comes with high taxes (VAT) as well as losing money on the sale at the end of our trip.
Since it's very possible to drive from Europe into Asia and even Africa (either through the Middle East or through Spain -> Morocco), we want to include those parts in our road trip.
Our current setup (Dodge RAM 4X4) proved fine in Mexico and Central America. Yes, the dually is wide driving into towns which we experienced in Central America when visiting colonial towns. We lost a hub cap due to narrow roads. I wouldn't say however that a dually makes the trip impossible; just a little harder but perhaps not worth going through the trouble (and money loss) of selling our truck to buy a single rear wheel.
Certain routes into Asia and Africa will definitely be easier in a true overland vehicle (Unimog, MAN, ...) but those tend to be (very) expensive, although there are several for sale on mobile.de for 'reasonable' prices (in the range of 30-40K EUROs).
Our house battery and fresh water tank size allow us to boondock for 4-5 days straight, plus we have a Yamaha 2000W generator. We are definitely interested in upgrading to 2 or 3 batteries and possibly solar but we have to calculate our electrical needs before we make a decision on how much to purchase.
The only headaches currently seem to be the 220V -> 110V as well as the propane connectors.
