2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Take Truck Overseas?

[RNelson]

I'm expecting to be reassigned for a three year tour to the United Kingdom (northern England) in January. Other than the narrow roadways, do any of you all know of any concerns about taking my truck over with me? I am specifically concerned about the availability of competent vehicle mechanics, quality/availability of diesel, ability to get parts, etc. I don't want to get rid of my truck and I don't think storing it for three years until I get back is a good idea either.

 

[redram]

Having just spent 10 days vacationing in Cornwall (landed in London and took the train to Cornwall) and driving the small roads... ...



You'll have no trouble getting high quality diesel fuel, you should have little trouble finding competent mechanics although parts will probably have to be sent from the US for the Dodge components (they do have a dealer network although I do not believe that they are importing 4X4 2500's)



but you might consider waiting until you have been there a few weeks whether you think you would want to bother with paying for the transit of your truck via the ocean etc.



Although your truck is great, why not consider picking up a diesel Land Rover or Toyota Land Cruiser. Europe is far advanced with diesel engine use and have been using the common rail fuel presure delivery systems for 2-3 years. They have 4 cylinder passeneger cars that you'd be hard pressed to tell they were diesels with the acceleration and quiet operation. and they run like scalded apes.....



I'd sell it and buy another when you return, it's not like you have a one of a kind truck. JMHO



In England, on the smaller roads, you will be hard pressed to negotiate small of the turns and it would be a pay to park in any of the cities. The major motorways would not be a problem but remember, you're going to pay about a 1. 00 to 1. 10 per liter for fuel..... that's a buck every 5 miles!

You'll also be driving a left hand drive vehicle on right hand drive roads... . belive me, probably not something you want to do especially being that big for the regional roads.







Ditch the 6 cylinder and get something local.

 

[redram]

I might to type "it will be hard to negotiate small turns and a pain to park".....

 

[redram]

ignore "might" and insert "meant"..... jeezus, fingers should be connected to the brain!

 

[sberrio]

Leave it at home

I did a 3 year tour in Vicenza, Italy. I didn't bring the truck(I had a 93 Cummins) for several reasons. In Italy, they ration the fuel and oil. The insurance is priced by horsepower and displacement( about $3000 a year), I think GEICO and USAA will give you decent rates for insurance. Shipping, for some reason the government shippers at Bayonne, NJ thought it was oversized. Also, I hate to think of my truck in the hands of strangers for about a month. Although I don't know about Cummins overseas, all the people with American vehicles were paying ridiculous shipping charges for parts and service was hard to come by.

Hand me down cars are always available, I started out with a Lancia then went to a FIAT. FINALLY, I had someone I trusted to leave it with, my father. He was able to maintain it, and run it every once in awhile. Roads are no problem, other than driving on the left, PARKING IS!!! I spent about a month near Newcastle (in Otterburn) HMMWVs were able to get around easily, even towing howitzers.

When I think of other pros & cons I'll post them.

simon



P. S. are you going to Mildenhal(sp?)?, they have an outstanding Class 6.

 

[sberrio]

Can anyone say "run on sentence" or "awful grammar"

 

[WDaniels]

Another thing to consider is that the English drive on the "other" side of the road. With your vehicle, a left handed drive, at first, you would be at greater risk of driving on "our" side of the road over there and causing an accident. The price of fuel would also be the determining factor. It is very expensive as stated before in this post. There would be nothing wrong with storing your vehicle for your PCS over there. Just leave it with family members. The military use to ship to your home of address instead of your PCS base.

Enjoy the UK and Europe. It is AWESOME!

WD

 

[Marco]

What WDaniels said.

I think your greatest concern in UK would be the fact that they drive on the wrong side of the road. Makes it very hard to enjoy a drive over there!



Other than that, no problems.



Spare parts are not a problem.

Any Chrysler dealer can order them. The most usual ones are in stock in Europe. Parts in stock in Europe take 2 days to be delivered to the dealer. Parts not in stock in Europe will be send by DC to the dealer from the States. That can take 5/10 days.



My new transmission took 10 days to arrive... .



Marco

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

No problem





Driving a left hand drive vehicle in the UK, where they drive on the other side of the road is a bit unusual, but not impossible or totally impractical. If you bring it over here for longer than 1 year, then you'll have to implement some minor modifications to meet European specs ( amber turn signals where the factory back-up candles used to be and the amber front running lights must be disabled from the indicators and relocated to small 5W white bulbs, which I have installed inside the main headlamps on both sides, plus rear facing hi intensity (red) foglight(s).



There are plenty of vehicles, cars, vans, trucks and BIG trucks that visit England from mainland Europe and the only real problem is when you want to pull out to overtake. Because of the relatively high seating position in my truck, I can see over the roof of most cars on the road.



Diesel is somewhat more expensive than you're accustomed to :{ Fit an auxiliary tank in the bed or get a bigger stock tank and every opportunity you get, take a ferry ride over to Europe and make a pitstop in Luxembourg (home of tax-free diesel).



Would I bring another over the pond? of course! Why? If you have already owned the vehicle for more than 6 months and you declare it as your own personal transport, then there's no import duty or sales taxes if you keep it in your own name for 1 year or more. Just get it UK registered and when the time comes, you'll find a buyer for it when you go back stateside at the same price you paid for it in the USA/Canada.



It's much harder to get a 3500 in, a 2500 is no probem. I can post a few pics here of the UK vehicle mods if anyone's interested.



As regards general driveability, not just in the UK but all over mainland Europe, it takes some getting used to, but after a while it becomes second nature - in my experience, people make space on the road for you because you're so much bigger than your average vehicle, commercial vehicles excepted and anywhere the commercial vehicles go, you can go to, remember the semis over here in Europe have an all up weight of around 45 metric tons and an overall length of almost 55 feet. Parking does demand some extra thought and attention, if only to make sure you're not blocked in when you return, because someone else left their brain at home. Mine's a daily driver and I have now got more than 25k miles on the odometer.



Cummins have representation everywhere in the UK and Europe. Regular serviceable items are available off the shelf, and some stuff is to special order and UPS Air. Insurance is a minefield, I can recommend the National Farmers Union for a great deal, if interested. When it comes to shipping across the pond, you can either go in a container or drive on drive off. Whatever you do, please don't skimp on the marine transportation insurance. I can clue you in on some pointers here.



So what part of England are you going to then? Drop me an email or PM...



PS. leave the sun tan lotion at home

 

[RNelson]

Thanks for all the great replies! I just found out this week that this "sure win" for our company was awarded to our competitor, so I'm not moving overseas after all. I don't have to worry about taking or not taking my truck now, but I would sure have liked to be able to see Europe.