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Early planning re taking '96 300TDi 90 to the USA for a 'Grand Tour' in the next few years

CornishDefender

CornishDefender

In Second Gear
We have got to the stage where getting the MOT done on the 90 is more and more stressful....over the last 4 years a fair amount of welding has been necessary. We have therefore decided to changeover to a galvanised chassis, renew all the brake lines, sort out the steering box (has been leaking a while), and change the clutch.
As an aside we have always planned to go back the USA for an extended road trip once various milestones have been reached here - last trip we did there was 6 weeks on a couple of Harley D's - and we began to think it might be a bit of an idea to take our 90 over for the adventure, so to that end we are thinking what else would be a good idea to do to the 90 in preparation.
The engine has done 190,000 so we are thinking it would probably be a good idea to have that looked at - plus replace the transfer box as there seems to eb quite a bit of extra 'play' in the transmission.
Any pointers towards what we need to get sorted would be very helpful - initial research into transporting the Defender over and back looks relatively straight forward, but are there regulations (emissions etc) that need to be considered for a UK car temporarily over in the US?Canada for say a 12 month period?
Thanks in advance
 

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@Migz imported his to the US a while ago, so may have some idea of the hoops you could need to jump through..? Temporary imports may not be so stringent...

Depending where and when you go, you could be hitting a range of temperatures, so could be worth looking at some of the overlanding sites for advice on extreme temperature mods...

Mike at Britannica has imported vehicles into Canada in the past, so may be willing to give some advice...
 
There's a huge difference between taking a vehicle through a country and exporting it. Be sure to get the right regs. I drove round the States many years ago and I got the vehicle there. A RHD in the US is hard work and dangerous, general standard of driving is poor and they don't get a lot of foreign vehicles. Before you do anything see if you can get insurance, this turned out to be my biggest headache.
 
Eric Red said:
Hire one out there
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Why particularly? Our planned time of the trip is several months so hiring a vehicle for that time would be a huge cost, plus generally hiring negates the opportunity to cross borders.
robwlondon said:
There's a huge difference between taking a vehicle through a country and exporting it. Be sure to get the right regs. I drove round the States many years ago and I got the vehicle there. A RHD in the US is hard work and dangerous, general standard of driving is poor and they don't get a lot of foreign vehicles. Before you do anything see if you can get insurance, this turned out to be my biggest headache.
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Thanks for the heads up re insurance - will certainly look into it very early on in the planning.
 
America is still very "America centric". Americans don't travel abroad much (despite what you see in London..) and have few processes for dealing with "foreigners". OK I'm going back 30 years or more, but I had big difficulties getting a UK licence recognized and in some of the rural areas a passport was NOT accepted as ID! My advice is assume nothing and check what they recognize and require, despite all the high tech in some areas the US is like going back 20 years. Also they have no flexibility, its either go or no-go with no discussion.
 
robwlondon said:
America is still very "America centric". Americans don't travel abroad much (despite what you see in London..) and have few processes for dealing with "foreigners". OK I'm going back 30 years or more, but I had big difficulties getting a UK licence recognized and in some of the rural areas a passport was NOT accepted as ID! My advice is assume nothing and check what they recognize and require, despite all the high tech in some areas the US is like going back 20 years. Also they have no flexibility, its either go or no-go with no discussion.
Click to expand...
I was in the states when I was 18.. didn't get refused alcohol once as my driving license showed I was born in the 19th month according to them. Confusion and belligerence meant I just got served. Wierd date format, wierd accent, comes from a place they hadnt heard of.... uh yeah have a beer.
 
According to US Gov information we can temporarily import a vehicle to the USA without any issues re emissions/compliance etc as long as we get the vehicle out of the country within 12 months.
Need to pin down the insurance side of things though
 
Plenty of resources out there dedicated to international overland vehicle expeditions. Assuming you didnā€™t go, you have just missed the Adventure Overland Show at Stratford Racecourse but you will have the chance to go next year.

https://adventure-overland-show.com/

Although primarily used by motorcyclists, the HUBB has a wealth of info about the hoops that need to be jumped through for international vehicle travel as well as just about everything else to to with overland travel.


A long time since I had anything to do with them but carnets (which used to be issued by the RAC), effectively act as visas for temporarily importing vehicles to various countries. Not sure how this applies to the USofA but link below may help.


I assume you will need to sort out third party insurance locally but Clements will provide comprehensive insurance if you want it.

International Car Insurance

Are you an expat in need of international car insurance? Get affordable coverage that automatically adjusts in each country to meet local requirements. Get a quote today!
www.clements.com www.clements.com

Good luck and have fun! šŸ˜€
 
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