Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 14:33:31 -0700
Reply-To: Katherine Lee <katydid@TELUS.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Katherine Lee <katydid@TELUS.NET>
Subject: Overseas travel questions, especially for Britain
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Hi all:
This is my reintroduction to the list. I still have an 89 Westfalia, with a
propane furnace, 171,000 KM, which I was seeking advice about (bad
oil-burning problem around 145,000 KM; "ran out of" oil on the I-5 just
outside Seattle a couple of years back). I've finally had 3 pistons
re-ringed, a lot of exhaust work done, and some minor cooling system upkeep
repairs. Before all the repairs, I was ready to dump the thing; now it runs
so well that I want to take it with me to Europe for a year or so when I
travel this fall.
Hence, the questions.
1. Without having researched the cost of shipping two ways, we are wondering
whether shipping the Westy with some of our possessions packed within might
be more cost effective than finding and buying and then selling a camper van
(Westfalia, Eurovan, whatever) in Europe. I understand theft and security
might be an issue depending on the type of container used for shipping and
where the van is stored (e.g. in an open compound) once it arrives. Do any
of you have thoughts or experiences to share about this? Also, we're in
Vancouver, so any shipping information about Canadian companies or ports
(West or East Coast) would be appreciated.
2. We've also been told (by a Canadian Eurovan seller in Holland, who was
biased, one has to admit) that second-hand camper vans like the Westfalia
are very hard to come by in Europe. This doesn't really make sense to me,
but I'll ask anyway ... does anyone know if this is the case and why?
3. We'll be based in the UK mainly for the duration of our stay, with trips
to the continent. I realize the British cars have right-hand drive but are
there any other issues I should be aware of, such as standards & controls
(emissions, etc.) that would disqualify the Canadian Westy from being
licensed in Britain? If we were to go there for a year or more, would we
have to get some special licensing, registration, insurance, etc.?
4. We have a 2-year-old with a Canadian-spec car seat (Cosco Alpha Omega)
... any issues with standards and such in Europe?
5. What about unleaded fuel? Is this readily available in all Western
European countries?
6. I've had problems here at home getting propane fills, seems the new
nozzles at LP filling facilities is shorter now, and as the Westy's propane
tank is so recessed (I think this has to do with the protective plate
underneath the tank as well) access seems to be restricted, and some service
attendants have had to suggest we go elsewhere to find an LP station with a
longer nozzle. Does anyone have experience or suggestions about how to avoid
this in the future, and whether this might be a problem in Europe?
Just to make a long post longer, I've looked a 1994 edition of "Europe by
Van and Motorhome", which discourages people from shipping their vehicles to
Europe ... so I don't mind hearing pros & cons about the whole idea. I'll
also ask our local CAA travel office about rules & regs while travelling in
Europe ...
And just one last point ... sorry to dredge up this silly topic again, but
my ancestry IS Chinese ... there's an ancient saying that the Chinese will
eat anything that keeps its back to the sky ... including, snakes, seafood
and fish as well creatures with legs ...
Thanks in advance for any advice or sources of info you might have. I'm not
a techie but perhaps after our trip, I can share with the list some new
experiences (though with this well-seasoned group, that might be difficult
as well) ;-)
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