Shipping vehicle from US to Europe

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rtexpeditions

Rank V
Launch Member

Advocate II

2,315
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
First Name
Randall
Last Name
Treloyn
Member #

5615

Ham/GMRS Callsign
VK7VWK
Hi,

We shipped our rig the other way 5 years ago. From Hamburg to Baltimore and back from Baltimore to Hamburg. We shipped RoRo. All supereasy. On the way back there was a small theft. A few pieces of clothing, tire repair kit and a multitool were gone. Silly, but easy to get over. Otherwise, as I said, everything super easy. Would do so again at any time.

Freight rates between Europe and North America are sensationally low. Currently 49 Euro/ 58 USD per cubic meter of space for RoRo. Plus a few port and handling charges and a variable fuel surcharge. It works simply and well. We have two well-known providers here in Germany who also take care of a lot of the handling. We booked at


and it was perfect!

There is also another one where I have heard good experiences from other overlanders, it is:


We got some quotes for shipping in a container at that time also. Was much more expensive.

If you do decide to go with RoRo, I can give you some advice and share some more experiences.

Cheers
Bjoern
RE RORO and theft. I'm wondering the cost of taking all the loose stuff (tools, parts) as excess baggage when I fly to the destination would be less than the difference between the container and RORO. It might make customs clearance easier too as it is accompanied.
Randall
 

rtexpeditions

Rank V
Launch Member

Advocate II

2,315
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
First Name
Randall
Last Name
Treloyn
Member #

5615

Ham/GMRS Callsign
VK7VWK
Malta has also left-hand traffic.

I can still remember that on the ferries from continental Europe to the British Island these stickers were sold for masking the headlights because of left-hand traffic. I haven't seen them for a long time. But you can still get them from the automobile clubs like the ADAC. So no big deal.
My van has a dashboard menu item to change the headlights from left to right, so easy.
 
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Alanymarce

Rank IV

Trail Mechanic III

1,392
Colombia
My van has a dashboard menu item to change the headlights from left to right, so easy.
Great idea! I need to check whether we have that.

Having said that, In recent years when we've travelled in RHD countries with our LHD vehicle (and vice versa) we haven't changed anything - we did a test against a wall and it seemed that there wasn't much lateral illumination anyway. I drove my LHD vehicle from Canada in the UK for several years and didn't change the lights. In 2019 in Australia we drove around for nine months in our LHD vehicle without changing the lights and didn't receive any flashing from motorists coming the other way. I guess as a rule we don't drive at night, however we do do this in more populated areas and there was no evidence of a problem. I don't think the offset is as much as it used to be.

I too recall sticking the "correctors" onto my lights years ago,