Arizona to france

[valeriaaz]

Hello,

I have a 1963 Airstream Globetrotter (19 foot), that I am thinking of shipping from Arizona to France (in the area of Paris).

I am wondering about the costs & procedures of such a shipping, maybe someone could suggest names of shipping companies?

And I have another concern: electricity is 220 in France, so is there a way to use a transformer in the trailer once there, or should the electricity be converted on the trailer itself (is it even possible?)

Valerie

[norsea]

Originally Posted by valeriaaz

Hello,

I have a 1963 Airstream Globetrotter (19 foot), that I am thinking of shipping from Arizona to France (in the area of Paris).

I am wondering about the costs & procedures of such a shipping, maybe someone could suggest names of shipping companies?

And I have another concern: electricity is 220 in France, so is there a way to use a transformer in the trailer once there, or should the electricity be converted on the trailer itself (is it even possible?)

Valerie

We have NOT shipped a trailer but we know people who have; mostly Europeans who shipped a mini motor home to the US for a year of traveling. As long as you are "just visiting" it is not a big deal.

We have shipped motorcycles back and forth to Europe many times; no problem at all.

If, however, you are moving house and plan on settling there a whole different set of issues arise about the unit conforming to EU specs and of course the every present need to collect taxes by the government for every possible thing.

As to the power issues, I would suggest you contact the Euro arm of Airstream. I suspect it would be much better to replace the converter and any inverter you have as well as the umbilical. I do not know if the Romex wiring used in AS's presents any issues but I doubt it. Yet another question for AS.

Best of luck...

Jim

[remcolent]

valerie.
I recently had and still have a not to good experiance with a shipper, see my urgent help in baltimore tread.

About the electrics.
US specs is 110 volt 60 hz EU 240 volt 50 hz.
if the internal wiring is in good condition I don't see a problem with putting 240 volt on it.
I have done this of both my airstreams without a problem.
Its easy to convert the fridge to 240 volt.
So there is only the univolt and the AC.
You might considder to replace these with 240 volt models.
some of the 110 volt Apliances are 50/60 hz.
I have a 110 volt 60 hz AC with a transformer.
Up till now I had no problems with it.


Remco

[valeriaaz]

Jim,

I was considering moving that little trailer to France for a while, probably more than a year. And maybe use it as my "residence" at first, rather than renting a place. But I was not aware of the EU regulations... I am going to look into these & see if it is really worth it.

Remco,

I am not sure about the internal wiring condition of this trailer, I mean, it does work, but it is from 1963 & I should probably have it checked by a professional.
You mean that you can just plug in the trailer in 240 volts? But then appliances like electric heaters or a computer would have to be in 240 volts I assume? Or is it possible to use a transformer?
For the AC, there is none on that trailer so it won't be an issue.
I don't know what the univolt is...
And finally the fridge: I just replaced it, it works on gas or electricity. How do you convert it to 240 volts?

Thanks to both of you for your quick answers

Valerie

[remcolent]

Valeria
Do you want to ship it back to the USA ??
Better sell it overhere.
If you have no AC a transformer is the easy and cheap solution
But you must be sure that your apliances can handle 50 hz
A univolt is a kind of transformer that converts the 110 volt to 12 volts to keep the battery charged
A 1963 trailor is just old enough to be a vintage overhere so license should not be a major problem

Remco