Forum Discussion

Gareth_Jones's avatar
Gareth_Jones
Explorer
Mar 06, 2013

Australian Travelling around the USA for 6 months

My wife and I are from Australia and are embarking on a 7 month grand tour of the USA this year :). I'd like to ask members for help / advice / experience on a couple of issues around registering the RV, insurance and using mail forwarding.

We intend to buy the RV in either CA, TX, or FL (in April) as this is where many of the used RV's are located. My current thinking is to register the RV in the State we buy it in for simplicity (even though some other states may have cheaper registration/insurance rates).

We won't have a residential/permanent address to use for the registration or insurance as we're travelling most of the time. Some of the mail forwarding services seem to suggest the address they provide can be used to register the vehicle and insure the vehicle, but I'm not sure if we are eligible to do so as foreigners. I saw in another forum where a foreign couple said the RV dealer they bought the RV from did this for them as they also had no US address.

Any advice you can give would be much appreciated - Thanks and regards, Gareth.

21 Replies

  • There are states like Nevada which have no sales tax. In California it is around 8%. Worth checking out beforehand. Lots of used RV's in the Las Vegas and Arizona area. You can also save on the DMV (department of motor vehicle) fees which vary greatly from state to state.

    In most states you can create a limited liability corporation or LLC that can own the vehicle and will provide a measure of protection in the event of an accident. Many states, including Nevada will do this for a low cost and everything can be done online.