Visit our Popular Forums

golcarlily2 · 06-26-2007, 09:11 AM

Can anyone help with shipping to Australia. Cost, taxes, modifictions if any, and anything and everything else we need to know. Thanks.

puppybear · 08-03-2007, 04:36 PM

hi , ive just imported a 1965 overlander to the uk for restoration and then maybe sell on or bring with us as me and my family are moving to S.A. some time in the new year around feb / march time and a friend of mine who is there already is going to help me import them and get them ready for australian roads . Firstly if youre going to import and are not handy with tools minor motor mechanics , wielding , gas , plumbing or a bit of wood working then buy as new as you can older ones are cheaper but need work unless already restored .Secondly have you got deep pockets as ive been quoted $11000 aus dollers just for the boat trip not including perchase of the airstream or transport to docks ( los angeles )it usually runs at $1.50 per mile or there abouts to get to the dock , or dock costs i.e. getting it on and of the ship then theres tax ( that wont be to bad if the item is older than 15 years ) if you buy older then restore you can only really get the parts from the usa and these parts are heavy so postal costs are high .... but if you love them as much as me then its worth it and money is only there to be spent ...cannot take it with you .
As you can see it all adds up , ive priced up ,all in ,a restored fully working ploished ready to roll good quality airstream at about 30 000 to 35 000 australian dollers although if you want to restore it youre self and just want help importing and delivered to youre door youre probebly still looking at 25000 dollers au ........ still want one ..... by the way when mine finally got here it had been booked on 4 different ships with two different companies had a blow out on one tyre on the way to the docks broken into while on the ship and a window smashed and finally delivered 4 and half months after i bought it only to find someone had stolen one of the wheels to .... you can only claim on marine insurance if you can prove were the theft / damage occured and then its only 10 percent of the value .
i will not be put off by any of this as i have finally got my airstream and am about to return her to her former glory .
if i can help any more please mail me

steve . good luck

zephyr16 · 08-06-2007, 04:42 PM

Hi there,
I'm also interested in shipping an Airstream to Australia - be very keen to hear any tips/suggestions. I gather it was pretty awful getting one to the UK but surely it doesn't have to be so bad?! The one I'm looking at is just a trailer so more like a caravan - can you immobilise one in a shipping container?
natasha

puppybear · 08-09-2007, 01:39 PM

hi natasha .... i would not recomend it as shipping containers are about 8ft wide with door clearence at 7ft8" so a really tight squeeze for a mid 70s airstream at 7ft 6" wide and impossible at 8 ft wide for ones made after the mid 1970s , roll on roll off is the only real option . I do know people have had better experiances then me at getting there airstreams over but it was a real drag and almost a full time job on top of my day job waiting up most nights to call america as emails hardly ever got answered in time for me do anything about them. But to anyone who can wait a bit i have a friend in tanunda in S.A. and he and i are going to import them , restore and sell on airstreams in Australia we will also do an import service if you find your own on line but dont want the hassle of a million calls and emails we hpoe to be off the ground by april next year 2008 if you want us to help then please contact me at

sjparkerphillips@aol.com
put airstreams in the title i will help in any way i can .

take care steve .

Silver Threads · 08-09-2007, 09:10 PM

Hi Natasha, Im not sure about Australia, but I know a company named JAG is helping a friend of mine ship his from TN to France. He contacted them originally through emails. I think it was between 3500 and 4000 to pick it up here and deliver it to him. You may check with them.

puppybear · 08-10-2007, 07:30 PM

hi i think ive said this before but just in case i have not i used "carex shipping" and from baltimore to southampton i was charged $2500 US but the same company quoted me $9000 to australia thats about $11000 AU then theres getting it to port ,tax and then getting it home as they are not road legal in australia until it has had a gas/electrical check , no pass no road safety cert .so it will have to go on the back of a truck until you can it checked out , things like the electric brakes are ok unlike here in europe were they are much much less common so there is a school of thought that recomends changing the axels to a hydrualic set up ...lots to think about ..hpoe it helps ... one day i will learn to spell .

zephyr16 · 08-12-2007, 01:04 PM

Thanks everyone that's very helpful. The one I am looking at is a travel trailer so I was hoping that would mean it would require less in the way of compliance checks but on the other hand it needs to be towed on and off. I live near SA in Australia so maybe steve's post will suit me.
Cheers,
Natasha

puppybear · 08-13-2007, 05:53 PM

more info ..... please dont be put off by the work involved in another thread on this site ive stated patience is the most important quality you need ... oh and deep pockets...or a rich spouse .....suger daddy ..... lottery win .... delete as eplicable. When i get to Australia in the new year i may bring my 26ft overlander with me so you can come and see it in the flesh and it might help you decide on what you want or how much help you require to get one over ... but if you have any questions please feel free to contact me ... thanks steve

levyland · 05-24-2008, 08:46 PM

Gidday,

John here in Kaikoura NZ. I am looking at importing a 23' either CCD, Safari, or Ocean Breeze which are 8' wide which is the widest caravan that can be registered here in NZ. I have researched the shipping issue relatively extensively and flat racking is the cheapest way to go. The maximum width of a container is 90" which is 6" too wide. A good guy to get ahold of in terms of shipping is ThomasBoesselmann@maoinc.com or Steve @ Kiwi Shipping .co.nz

Cheers

John

richinny · 08-18-2008, 05:04 AM

shipping anywhere is a pretty penny!

fr8gal · 08-19-2008, 06:33 AM

I am preparing a Rate Indication for a client in NZ needing to ship a 5th wheel, TV and auto to Tauranga. The 5th wheel will indeed need to be flat-racked. The TV and auto will fit nicely into a 40 container. If you are interested in the numbers, as a guide, please shoot me an email.

paperwork · 02-16-2009, 09:33 PM

Hello, I'm presently shipping a 34 from The US to NZ. Flatrack is the cheaper option. If I was to make a suggestion it would be to price it to the port, then have hand over to a reliable broker. I'd pick Hamburgsud as the boat operator, Good luck with your venture.

BillA · 02-17-2009, 11:39 PM

Hi mate. What did the shipping cost you? I'm getting told up to $ 35k Aus for roro.

paperwork · 02-19-2009, 10:41 AM

Hello Bill actual seafreight was about 8.7k US, roro was much more, I can't remember now but significantly more.

puppybear · 02-21-2009, 03:55 AM

hi i was quoted by a US broker 5k us dollors for roro but that was last year from LA to any oz port ... always try a us broker first .

BillA · 02-21-2009, 09:04 PM

Steve, sounds too cheap for roro. How do they measure vans ( travel trailers / caravans ) in the states? Are they quoting the Overall Hitch to Back bumper measurement, or do you work on the internal body length? For example, how long overall is a 34' Excella?

My brother ( customs & frieght broker ) confirms that flatrack is the way to go instead of roro. This has significantly reduced the cost, and consequently raised my enthusiasm. Exchange rate is a bit nasty however.

rideair · 02-22-2009, 07:22 AM

Back about 2 years ago, myself and Pete Daniels (PP WDCU) started working on a "Australia Caravan" that would last about six weeks. The plan was to ship late 60's, early 70's trailers over that everything ran on propane (lessening the need for electric change overs) use them on the caravan then sell them to help pay for the trip. If my memory is correct, Pete had someone that wanted to buy all the trailers at the end. We had planned to use a service that setup caravans to make all the arrangements, we would use rented Toyota Land Cruisers(diesel) to pull.

I would be interested is some exchange of ideas from our friends down under to help out on the trip.

BillA · 02-22-2009, 06:47 PM

Hey Paul. What you call a 'Caravan', we call a "tour / trip " etc. To us a "Caravan" is what you refer to as a "Travel Trailer". Funny ( to me anyway! ). There were some older threads relating to bringing AS's to Oz, but I don't think anyone's got one here - not that I can find anyway, other than the New models ( basecamp? ) which are here. Maybe the costs just blew out?

I can't figure out the intricacies of forum messaging - can you email me ( billa@davidmccoyhomes.com.au )and we'll have see if there's mutual benefits with your plans.

Cheers, Bill.

Obiwan · 05-19-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rideair

Back about 2 years ago, myself and Pete Daniels (PP WDCU) started working on a "Australia Caravan" that would last about six weeks. The plan was to ship late 60's, early 70's trailers over that everything ran on propane (lessening the need for electric change overs) use them on the caravan then sell them to help pay for the trip. If my memory is correct, Pete had someone that wanted to buy all the trailers at the end. We had planned to use a service that setup caravans to make all the arrangements, we would use rented Toyota Land Cruisers(diesel) to pull.

I would be interested is some exchange of ideas from our friends down under to help out on the trip.

Hey Paul. Let me know if you go through with your plan. We might be able to take one off your hands. Rgds, Ben

boiselfish · 06-13-2009, 07:52 PM

I was quoted by carex shipping US$170per Cubic meter for all fees from the departure port of Long Beach CA. This was to Melbourne, Australia. I thought this price was fairly good for ro/ro. Not including destination port fees though. Insurance was extra at a percentage of the declared value. So it seems to work out relatively cheap for one of the smaller vans which is exactly what im interested in.

Saying this buyers agents have quoted me in excess of US$10k. So how the price difference is qorked out I have no idea.

I guess the hard bit is to find the van I want.