UK Motorhome in USA

[JohnKing]

Hi All,

My wife Anna and I are shipping our UK motorhome to North America in February 25 for 10 months, with a plan to spend 6 months in the US and 3 months in Canada. We've researched extensively, and have been following a few UK couples on YouTube who've shared their experiences of their trips to the US.

We've downloaded lots of Apps, and are now considering which memberships we'll take out. We have a rough route, with a plan to reserve campsites in National and State Parks. Our route is ambitious, but not fixed, and covers cities and the great US outdoors. Our motorhome is a Burstner class B which we've owned for several years.

We've visited the US many times before on vacation and are now looking forward to spending the first year of our retirement experiencing your country for more than 2 weeks at a time!

This forum contains lots of useful information so I thought I become a member.

Regards,

John

[oldenavy]

Welcome! It sounds like a great way to kick off your retirement! I’ve been to the UK many times on business. It’s a beautiful place with wonderful people. I would love to get back there on holidays sometime.

Enjoy your journey!

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi John & Anna! Welcome to IRV2! We’re sure glad you joined the gang here!

What an exciting trip! Have fun and keep her between the ditches!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[Petro]

John & Anna;



We are glad you joined us. What an exciting adventure to travel the U.S and Canada. There is a wealth of RV info available to you here just by asking. Browse the forums that interest you and don't be afraid to ask questions as our members like to help hen they can.

Pose often when you start your journey here and share your RV adventures with us.. Enjoy the forums.

Don

[DarkSideJeep]

Originally Posted by JohnKing

Our motorhome is a Burstner class B which we've owned for several years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlRFKxOrbuk

Is your motorhome like this one? It looks really nice. I am surprised that the only difference between this and US motorhomes is the steering wheel on the right.

I hope you have an uneventful trip and be sure to take lots of photos.

Now for some advise, plan to stay south until late March while major highways like the Interstate system in the US do remain open year-round spring snowstorms often dump a great deal of snow, especially in the western states. Once you get through March you should be ok. Also remember we do drive on the wrong side of road here in the US and the traffic roundabouts go round anticlockwise.

[Skip426]

I imagine you've heard all about , the power supply voltage and furnace/cook top , fuel differences ; between the UK and North America.

Getting used to distances and driving times , will take a little while ; my uncle from the Channel Islands never did get uses to the time involved to drive around here in British Columbia .

Enjoy your adventure .
Post if you need help or advice.

[Souljourner]

Welcome! In your post you asked about memberships. I'm going to guess you're going to receive a multitude of answers, and you are sure to find people who love one membership organization, and others who abhor that same organization - often for the same reasons!

My number one favorite organization when I travel is called Harvest Hosts. Your yearly membership fee connects you with small businesses that provide a safe place to overnight, in exchange for a purchase from that business. The suggested purchase is $30 USD.

Many people who do NOT like Harvest Hosts complain about having to pay money to park in a parking lot. That has NOT been my experience at all! First of all, I'm choosing locations that provide a safe overnight that is NOT a parking lot. I've stayed in orchards, farms, maple farms, golf courses, breweries, animal sanctuaries, apiaries, and wineries, getting an overnight experience in nature that I would not get otherwise. Yes - there are locations where you'll be parking in a parking lot. But choose carefully and read the reviews, and you'll get some real "American" experiences.

I always choose locations that have a product that I'm interested in. My feelings are that I am supporting a small business, as they are supporting me. Some of my favorite camping experiences have been through Harvest Hosts, and I've met many wonderful business owners who are eager to share about their interests.

Harvest Hosts has another branch, also membership based, called Boondockers Welcome. Rather than staying with a small business, Boondockers Welcome puts you in touch with other people, mostly RVers, who are willing to provide a safe place to stay (oftentimes for more than one night) for no other compensation than a "Thank You." I tried Boondockers Welcome for a year, but discovered I preferred staying with a small business where I was under no obligation to socialize, rather than Boondockers Welcome, where I felt more of an obligation to interact with my host. I'm not antisocial - but sometimes I just want to chill after a long day on the road and not feel obligated to do anything more than make a small purchase.

My last suggestion, which is not membership based, is called Hip Camp. Think of it as "Airbnb for RVers." For a fee paid to the host, people are listing their properties as being available for camping, oftentimes with hookups. As an alternative to conventional campgrounds, I like camping in unusual places far away from crowds.

I've attached some photos from my Harvest Host experiences. A picture is worth a thousand words.

[JohnKing]

Thank you all so much for your warm welcome and advice. To cover some of the points, we're shipping to Baltimore in mid February, so plan to immediately drive south to Florida until the end of March, realising we'll be joining the US Snowbirds. We've tried to plan our route to be in the right part of the country for the most temperate weather, as with nearly all European motorhomes we don't have AC, other than when we're driving.

We're prepared for the differences in supply voltage, but as we have plenty of solar and use very little power, we don't normally need electricity hook up.

As for the distances, that is something we'll need to learn as we go. Looking at the distances in the US they seem daunting, but we're in no rush and want to take our time exploring and meeting people. If we only cover half our planned route, that's fine with us.

We live in the port city of Plymouth on the south west coast of England which has regular ferries to France and Spain, which we often use to go skiing in the Alps in our motorhome and other trips throughout the year, even taking the ferry in our motorhome for weekends away, but western Europe is small compared to North America. Driving on the right side of the road is second nature for most Brits. I've always found driving in the US a pleasure.

As for memberships, Harvest Hosts is number 1 on our list. The whole concept appeals to us as we see it as a greatopportunity to support local businesses and meet people. I'll take a look at Hipcamp. The number of options for where to stay are incredible so we almost feel spoilt for choice. RV parks appear to be much more expensive than Europe, so we're hoping to minimise our use of them and use the other options available.

[DarkSideJeep]

Here is something no one has mentioned yet. What fuel does your RV use?

If gas the US sells various Ethanol blends E10, E15, and E85. The percentage represents the amount of Ethanol blended with a gas. You need to verify whether your vehicle can tolerate the Ethanol and at what %.

If you burn Diesel, the US sells #2 Diesel. Filling stations often sell Bio-Diesel blend ranging B5 to B20. It is still #2 Diesel but with 5% to 20% refined vegetable oil, mostly corn or soybean oil, blended in. You will need to follow the guidance in your owner's manual with regard to Bio-Diesel use.

[JohnKing]

Hi @Souljourner, forgot to mention how much your insight and experiences have reinforced our thoughts about Harvest Hosts, thank you for taking the time to share some fantastic photos of your experiences.

@DarkSide Jeep, thanks for the top tip on fuel. Our motorhome runs on diesel fuel, so I'll need to do a little more research on bio-diesel and our compatibility with it. Thank you.

Any more advice welcome!

I'll post a photo of our motorhome when I work out how to do it, but by US standards it's small at 21 feet long, but fairly standard in the UK and Europe. Many places where we live are single track 'lanes' with occasional passing places, so our motorhomes are sized appropriately. It makes driving a motorhome in Devon and Cornwall very interesting...

As with other travellers going both ways across the pond, our trip is more about absorbing US and Canadian culture and meeting people as it is about seeing the fantastic sights and breathtaking nature. We know the US is an incredibly friendly place where people have always been very kind and helpful to us.

We can't wait for our trip to start.

[Skip426]

Posting photos to the site can be a little confusing .

The instructions are detailed in the link below , the important thing is to resize before you post ( 1,000 pixels works best for me ) and wait till the attachment box says upload complete before closing the attachment box.


http://www.irv2.com/forums/f62/forum...ics-49134.html

[DarkSideJeep]

Originally Posted by Skip426

Posting photos to the site can be a little confusing .

The instructions are detailed in the link below , the important thing is to resize before you post ( 1,000 pixels works best for me ) and wait till the attachment box says upload complete before closing the attachment box.


http://www.irv2.com/forums/f62/forum...ics-49134.html

I do not think it is necessary to resize photos any longer. The upload process takes care of that. I have uploaded photos well over 3000k. However, it is still necessary to crop some Portrait oriented photos so they are wider than the vertical.

An example of what I mean is shown below. The photo on its side was a portrait (vertical) oriented but the upload process converted it to Landscape. The second photo was cropped to a square I.E. equal height and width. I think that a portrait photo will post correctly if the size is small enough.

[NXR]

Have you looked into the import process at all? I believe that when a non-US vehicle is imported it must meet all US emissions and safety regulations but I do not know how it works for vehicles not being registered or licensed in the US.

It would be bad if you pay to have it shipped over but Customs will not release it to you.

Ray

[Souljourner]

Originally Posted by JohnKing

Hi @Souljourner, forgot to mention how much your insight and experiences have reinforced our thoughts about Harvest Hosts, thank you for taking the time to share some fantastic photos of your experiences.

@DarkSide Jeep, thanks for the top tip on fuel. Our motorhome runs on diesel fuel, so I'll need to do a little more research on bio-diesel and our compatibility with it. Thank you.

Any more advice welcome!

I'll post a photo of our motorhome when I work out how to do it, but by US standards it's small at 21 feet long, but fairly standard in the UK and Europe. Many places where we live are single track 'lanes' with occasional passing places, so our motorhomes are sized appropriately. It makes driving a motorhome in Devon and Cornwall very interesting...

As with other travellers going both ways across the pond, our trip is more about absorbing US and Canadian culture and meeting people as it is about seeing the fantastic sights and breathtaking nature. We know the US is an incredibly friendly place where people have always been very kind and helpful to us.

We can't wait for our trip to start.

You are most welcome! Those photos really do capture what Harvest Hosts is all about. It’s not always ideal for those folks looking for a quick overnight close to the Interstate. For those people, a commercial stay like Cracker Barrel (a restaurant chain known to be friendly towards RVers, offering a safe and convenient place to park overnight in exchange for a meal. No membership required) is probably more convenient if one is only looking to “park and stay.” But if you’re willing to drive a short distance off the highway to immerse yourself in an American experience, I think you will enjoy what you find.

When I travel - a carefully chosen Harvest Host IS the destination and the experience. I think it’s an ideal way to meet your objective of experiencing the great diversity of American life.

Should you find yourself heading to the northeast, New York in particular, feel free to send me a private message. Who knows? I may do your trip in reverse one day!