Bringing my Mercedes Sprinter Van to America

Peter ... or anyone else who knows ...

Any ballpark figure on how much the transportation would cost?

I would just love to take our 1999 Chevy Roadtrek 200 Popular to Europe for a few months. I'm just a bit worried as to what would happen if we should have mechanical problems. Can gas powered V8 engines (or full sized Chevy vans) be easilly serviced in Europe?

Bill

Hi Bill,
the transportation costs are calculated by vehicle size. Length x width x height (including Antennas, A/C, etc.). From my side (Europe->USA-Eastcoast) I would have to pay 1.60 USD per cubicfoot. Plus fuel-surcharges, plus harbour-fees, plus transport-insurance.
Very immportant and very expensive is an insurance for your car in Europe, as your American insurance might not be valid here.

How many miles do you plan to travel? Gas prices in Western Europe are very high. I would calculate 8 Dollars per Gallon. (My Sprinter-based RV makes 20 mpg and more)

Peter

Hi everybody, I'm back :-)

(In the meantime, our gasprice is even above 8$ per gallon)

I spent 3 weeks at a testride with a rented class-C-motorhome in Britisch Columbia, Washington and Alberta. I will definitivly visit the USA in 2014 for 4 month.

What would be the right forum to discuss the best travel time? March-June, or Mai-August or July-October or ...? As you know, I don't have A/C on board and love night temperatures below 70°F :-)

Peter

Best travel time? Interestingly, in another forum I was responding in regard to my lack of use of my generator (11 hour in over 50,000 miles) and air conditioner.

"One of my favorite desires is to camp in the southwest in spring and fall when overnight temps drop. During the day we spend our time outdoors and even in 90F temperatures we have with the sliding door screen and back door screen comfort in dry heat by eliminating the enclosed heat buildup. So far we have run air conditioning but a few very short times mainly to drive out the humidity.

In the summer we camp the upper Midwest northwoods of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. There is little need for air conditioning.

In the Rocky Mountains we've camped in high wooded country. Again, the need for air conditioning is minimal.

We camped mostly in Texas for two months in March and April this year. We needed to run our air conditioning that whole time but once mainly because of the humidity buildup. That was for about two-three hours and that one time was with an electrical hookup.

We got as far as Key West, Florida in October two years ago. The whole month from Galveston, TX to Key West we never ran our air conditioner.

Last summer we went to Alaska, a 10 week trip. We did not run our air conditioner once.

We have gone as long as 5 straight days with no hookups in a Sierra Nevada Mountain National Forest in California and in Glacier National Park on one (CA) or two (Glacier) batteries with minimal or no daytime travel. In both instances we did run our generator to top off not more than an hour each day. Mainly it was to brew coffee or run the microwave.

Good planning is one key. Maybe 40 years of tent camping experience conditions one in how to behave in the wilderness. Obviously don't go to Arizona and Florida in the summer if you can help it."

More planning advice. Stay north and in the mountains in the summer. The north usually closes down about October 15 and the middle of September in the Rockies. Stay out of the Midwest in the spring. Go south to Arizona, Texas, to Florida in the winter. Spring and fall are good most of the time around the country.

BTW, I did see one German James Cook B van in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada last summer.

This could have been my fellow James Cook owner ynglingkiebitz.
He's been around at that time:

I think that without on-board air you will have a difficult time with heat in Baltimore or anywhere south. Of course, I assume you will be sleeping in your Sprinter. Based upon that, Halifax may be the better option. Good luck and welcome to Americta.

jjrai wrote:
... Baltimore or anywhere south ... Halifax may be the better option.

Hi jjrai,
I plan to travel the states for four months. Halifax and Baltimore are just two harbour options (entering/leaving the country). Brunswick GA would be a third option.

I guess, that we will drive 20.000 miles in that time. While driving, the A/C in our sprinter will work fine. My concerns are the night temperatures, as we don't have A/C then.

Regards
Peter

We did it.

Last year we travelled 22,500 miles in 5 months (150 miles/day)

Have a look at some of our photos here:

Appetizer - 5 minutes

The whole experience - 30 minutes
(including subtitles and maps)

Here is a map of our tour from Baltimore to Halifax

Enjoy
Peter

That looked like a great trip.