Fifth Wheels with left side or rear door
G'day Mates, I'm Rod Williams from Brisbane, Australia. I was wondering if anyone knows any of the RV Manufacturers or any RV Makes or models that are built with either left side or rear entry doors? ...
Forum Discussion
Hi Rod
I have just about finished my research and the conclusion I am coming to is that it is marginally cheaper to buy a vehicle in the US and ship it home for conversion, based on figures I could get off the net:
The price of an Australian 2014 Silverado 3500HD 4WD LTZ Crew Cab with high end diesel and Alison box was around $152,000 registered and on road - I know the price of used cars varies so I tried to get an "average" price from the limited number of adverts available. On top of this I would need to have a hitch mechanism fitted in Australia as most I have seen on the net do not have one fitted
By comparison. if I was to buy in the US and pay taxes, etc I can pick a similar one up, use it for 1-2 years and then bring it back and have it converted (including air brake fitment, shipping, customs, GST and local transport) for about AUD$130,000. I have tried to be conservative with the data so I do not have any surprises
The final kicker was the loss on sale I would make in the US if I had to sell the US vehicle before leaving and then buy a another in Australia. I allowed for a drop in value of 10% for the time I am in the US (about AUD$7,000) - I think I am being conservative given I would more than likely have to sell to a US dealer and not privately as time would be against me.
This came to about a $27,000 savings of importing over selling the US vehicle and buying another in Australia
The other benefit of the "bring it home" approach is I should be able to get exactly what I want in the US - its a far bigger market than back home.
Of course with a smaller trailer then the option of the equivalent in a 2500 Sliverado (can use a car licence where the larger vehicle requires medium rigid licence in Australia) - the savings were about $15,000 for that option which did surprise me - the main difference was that there seemed to be much cheaper 2500's in Australia whereas in the US the prices seemed much closer.
The only thing I was unsure about is whether the US hitch in the Silverado would be acceptable in Australia (I understand the trailer coupling is not) - I intended to buy the best I could in the US. I have left that price of a new hitch out of both options to be conservative.
I realise you were initially not interested in bringing a tow vehicle back home but I thought you may like the information.
It is also an opportunity for others to voice their perspective which may open ideas I did not think of and that would be very handy
Paul
I have just about finished my research and the conclusion I am coming to is that it is marginally cheaper to buy a vehicle in the US and ship it home for conversion, based on figures I could get off the net:
The price of an Australian 2014 Silverado 3500HD 4WD LTZ Crew Cab with high end diesel and Alison box was around $152,000 registered and on road - I know the price of used cars varies so I tried to get an "average" price from the limited number of adverts available. On top of this I would need to have a hitch mechanism fitted in Australia as most I have seen on the net do not have one fitted
By comparison. if I was to buy in the US and pay taxes, etc I can pick a similar one up, use it for 1-2 years and then bring it back and have it converted (including air brake fitment, shipping, customs, GST and local transport) for about AUD$130,000. I have tried to be conservative with the data so I do not have any surprises
The final kicker was the loss on sale I would make in the US if I had to sell the US vehicle before leaving and then buy a another in Australia. I allowed for a drop in value of 10% for the time I am in the US (about AUD$7,000) - I think I am being conservative given I would more than likely have to sell to a US dealer and not privately as time would be against me.
This came to about a $27,000 savings of importing over selling the US vehicle and buying another in Australia
The other benefit of the "bring it home" approach is I should be able to get exactly what I want in the US - its a far bigger market than back home.
Of course with a smaller trailer then the option of the equivalent in a 2500 Sliverado (can use a car licence where the larger vehicle requires medium rigid licence in Australia) - the savings were about $15,000 for that option which did surprise me - the main difference was that there seemed to be much cheaper 2500's in Australia whereas in the US the prices seemed much closer.
The only thing I was unsure about is whether the US hitch in the Silverado would be acceptable in Australia (I understand the trailer coupling is not) - I intended to buy the best I could in the US. I have left that price of a new hitch out of both options to be conservative.
I realise you were initially not interested in bringing a tow vehicle back home but I thought you may like the information.
It is also an opportunity for others to voice their perspective which may open ideas I did not think of and that would be very handy
Paul
