FridgeFreezer Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 Well 1st off this is a very hypothetical question but I'm really curious about the answer(s)... We're hoping, one day in the distant future when all the current nonsense has died down, to travel to New Zealand and do a little drive around in a rented camper. Which of course then begs the question, how much would it cost (and how hard would it be) to ship our own already-made 127 camper out there instead so it can enjoy the scenery with us? The biggest question (AFAIK) is whether NZ will even let the vehicle into the country as I know they're paranoid about invasive species etc., I don't know if it's possible to get an old Land Rover clean enough and spider-free that they'd even consider letting it on the docks? Very interested to hear from anyone who knows anything about doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 rental companies don't like you going off tarmac so some of the more interesting stuff will be out of reach . When I was there many people bought a car/van to use for the travels and then sold it at the end - I had a Mitsi Mirage and did about 5k km on unsealed roads including 90 mile beach , the Coromandel and up to Treble cone Ski lift plateau . However you do it , it will be worth every penny ...work visa and go for a year ... Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 id expect @Dave Wto be able to chime in a bit as he shipped his car to Oz for the OBC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 i don't know how arduous it is, but one thing to bear in mind with NZ is the need for a camper to be 'certified' for camping away from campsites. I forget the name, but its basically along the lines of having water/toilet of your own. Friend of mine was travelling and the just bought and converted a van themselves so it shouldn't be too difficult to do. Sorry thats all a bit vague! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Aren't containers fumigated on departure/arrival as a norm to ensure this is not a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon W Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Certified self contained/visible sticker on outside is what you need to be able to camp anywhere/wild camp. The van we hired had a porta potti to satisfy this requirement but we never used it. I can dig out what we paid for 6week hire in January-Feb if you like. That was South Island travelling to north island on a 1 way trip, for a comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 On 10/13/2020 at 10:35 PM, FridgeFreezer said: The biggest question (AFAIK) is whether NZ will even let the vehicle into the country as I know they're paranoid about invasive species etc. I think they have similar rules (if not more extreme) than Australia. Steph and Leigh (Grizzly 'N' Bear) posted a video about the prep they had to do when they were thinking of shipping their camper back to Australia before COVID put a halt to it. If I remember correctly the entire vehicle and camper had to be empty so they had to fit what they could into luggage to fly out with them. Whole thing had to be cleaned and inspected, timber can also be a bit of an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 I've shipped vehicles to Australia 3 times now. Twice I shipped my competition vehicle out for the OBC and more recently shipped our 90 out for a 6 month drive around Australia. For the OBC we shipped 3 vehicles in a 40ft container, for our drive around we shipped the single vehicle in a 20ft container. It takes a while to ship, if you can you'll want to allow 3 months. I believe the requirements are similar to NZ in that you need to get the vehicle through customs and quarantine. Customs is easy really, just need to have the numbers that match the documentation and away you go as it's a temporary import, you need a carnet though which you must get stamped when you ship the vehicle back or you'll get charged a huge import levy. Not sure what the state of play is with carnets now, you used to be able to get them from the RAC in the UK but they stopped doing them. The valuation you put on the carnet should be "realistic" but as low as you can get away with. The missing at sea insurance needs to be as high as you can reasonably justify. Quarantine is the hard bit and I'd strongly advise you to talk to a shipping agent in New Zealand with experience of this. You don't want to spend the first part of your holiday cleaning your vehicle and dealing with red tape ! IME it's worth paying more for a reliable agent having experienced what it's like to have your UK agent screw up the paperwork, leaving your vehicles stranded in Amsterdam for weeks ! The vehicle needs to be VERY clean, any trace of dirt at all and you can end up having to take it to a cleaning depot where they will clean it over and over again until the inspector is happy with it. Worst case was one of the Ibex where they'd used split convoluted tubing for the wiring harness, the inspector decided that it ALL needed to be removed from the vehicle. I spent days cleaning the 90 before we shipped it, hours underneath it with a commercial jet wash, stripped everything out of it and every item was then inspected and cleaned as it went back in. They will even shine a torch into the rear floor support sections and into the bottom tank of the radiator, for example. If they find any trace of dirt or vegetation anywhere, the whole vehicle will have to be cleaned, often multiple times. Vehicle regulations vary in Australia from state to state and I expect NZ will have it's own regulations and requirements. If you ship into NSW, for example, you can legally drive a vehicle registered and taxed in another country (or could in 2014) without any additional paperwork. The state will also cover your insurance (third party only), so you can literally drive out of the docks onto the road as soon as you clear customs/quarantine. In WA you need to get the vehicle tested and registered there. You really need someone to give you the precise info you need before you get there ! Every time we shipped we shipped in a container, this is by far the best way to do it because you can ship everything with the vehicle. Shipping on RoRo or deck cargo means every low life dock worker will strip your vehicle of everything that's not securely bolted down. No exaggeration there - we shipped a vehicle from the US to the UK as cargo and foolishly thought we'd be OK to put a spare set of wheels and tyres in the back (the rear was locked), the vehicle was completely empty when it arrived in the UK. Not only were the wheels and tyres gone but so was the radio, the spare wheel (and it's carrier) and the tool kit and jack. Last time we shipped a single vehicle in a 20 foot container (our 90). We had to remove the roof tent to fit in a standard height container so that was on a pallet in the container. In the 90 were all our clothes, cooking gear, off road gear, vehicle spares, everything. We flew into Sydney arriving at around 6am with a holdall bag each, got a taxi to Botany Bay for 8am, the 90 had been cleared through customs and quarantine and once we'd re-fitted the roof tent (a 30 minute job thanks to the loan of a fork lift and driver). By 11 am we were camped on the other side of Sydney, sleeping off our jet lag and ready to go. It was a perfect transition and well worth the extra cost of a good shipping agent. In 2008 we were supposed to have a week of prep prior to the competition, we arrived at the docks on Monday morning to find that our container had not arrived, we eventually employed a different agent to help sort out the mess and they did what they could but it still took nearly a week to get the vehicles and we ended up driving them out of the docks at 6pm on Friday night, 1500km from the start point of the event where we were due for scrutineering and briefings at 10am the following morning. The agent we used in 2014 was the agent who sorted the mess out in 2008 because, without their help we'd have probably missed the event. There were a number of advantages to shipping our own vehicle for our meander around the continent and, especially for an extended stay, it's worth considering. The cost of shipping and a good agent to keep things moving isn't cheap but then neither is vehicle hire. For me the deciding factor was that we expected to (and indeed did) spend a lot of time driving in very remote areas on our own off tarmac. I wanted a vehicle that, not only did I trust because I'd built it, that I could repair if something went wrong because I know every nut and bolt of it. The major issue I'd say you would face with the 127 is it's height but it may still fit in one of the tall containers. We did originally look at using one of those ourselves but the additional cost vs taking the roof tent off the roof meant we'd be able to spend a couple more weeks out there. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 If you do ship it in a container, you may want to think about fitting solid dampers, so it doesn't smack the side of the container when the going gets rocky (!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 33 minutes ago, Dave W said: The major issue I'd say you would face with the 127 is it's height but it may still fit in one of the tall containers @FridgeFreezer Jon you should make the rear bit demountable in that case then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 Thanks @Dave W, very useful! I'd heard other horror stories about the RoRo shipping so would look to containers, I believe the 127 will fit in a tall container... I'm not above fitting solid dampers & a set of Ifor low-profile trailer wheels & tyres to get it in if that's what it takes, I suspect the added cost would still be a fart in a hurricane 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 A high cube container is 9'6" tall, generally plenty high enough for a big vehicle. No need to worry about solid shocks etc, you can just ask to have the chassis lashed down to stop it being able to rock about, though once it's on an enormous container ship they don't move much anyway (but can get chucked about in the dock yards). Shipping charges consist of packing/unpacking, yard & handling fees, agent fees, cost of boat ride - probably looking around £1600 each way plus any customs fees or local regs like cleaning etc. It's not much more for a 40' container, so gets cheaper if you can find someone to share with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Gerry Mulligan shipped his 110 CSW with Alucab roof to/from South America, returning just before lockdown. There’s plenty of detail about container shipping in his blog. The packup for the return is here. https://www.celtic-rover.com/shipping-home/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
110 V8 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Hi FF, I imported my 110 back in 2006 (permanently). They are strict on the cleaning but there are companies specializing in it and the company I used (Jeffs Vehicle Deliveries) did it for a fixed fee including pick up from the port in an approved curtain sided vehicle, transporting to the approved cleaning facility (also owned by Jeff's) and delivery to my home. Personally I would say if bringing your own Land Rover Camper is affordable for you, do it! There are so many places to go here that you would not be able to visit in a rented camper. Some due to lack of off road ability but also some due to them being off limits for rental vehicles (for insurance reasons). Skippers Canyon near Queenstown being one that springs to mind. Its a public gravel road but very narrow and cut into the side of a gorge with big drop offs. Its spectacular but no rentals allowed. Also places like Macetown, Big River and Denniston Plateau (to name just a few) would not be accessible for you. There are many, many places here that your 127 would access easily and are genuine off road adventures. The self contained sticker would be a good addition and give you additional freedom of not having to find a proper camp site each night. Andy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cackshifter Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 On 10/19/2020 at 1:05 AM, 110 V8 said: Hi FF, I imported my 110 back in 2006 (permanently). They are strict on the cleaning but there are companies specializing in it and the company I used (Jeffs Vehicle Deliveries) did it for a fixed fee including pick up from the port in an approved curtain sided vehicle, transporting to the approved cleaning facility (also owned by Jeff's) and delivery to my home. Personally I would say if bringing your own Land Rover Camper is affordable for you, do it! There are so many places to go here that you would not be able to visit in a rented camper. Some due to lack of off road ability but also some due to them being off limits for rental vehicles (for insurance reasons). Skippers Canyon near Queenstown being one that springs to mind. Its a public gravel road but very narrow and cut into the side of a gorge with big drop offs. Its spectacular but no rentals allowed. Also places like Macetown, Big River and Denniston Plateau (to name just a few) would not be accessible for you. There are many, many places here that your 127 would access easily and are genuine off road adventures. The self contained sticker would be a good addition and give you additional freedom of not having to find a proper camp site each night. Andy Can you recall roughly the cost of getting your 110 there? I'm married to a Kiwi and we are toying with living there, her family live around ChCh - we have a 90 and 110, so it would be nice to take one if not both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 I shipped the landy in a 20ft container to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2003 to compete in the Rainforest challenge. I got a carnet through my local chambers of commerce. Make sure the car is well strapped down. Also make sure you have marine insurance, as containers do go overboard in heavy wheather, and otherwise all you get is an apology of the captain (if you are lucky!), but nothing else. It took 3 weeks for the ship to get there. Our ship ran late, decided to miss KL completely, and drop of our container in Singapore. P&O, who sponsored the RFC did bend over backwards to help get our car, we had to wait 12 hours at the docks for customs clearance and then drive 300 mile foot to the floor to KL to make sure we made the start line. Price was £1800 to get there, £1200 to get back. Looking back, the stress it gave me and all the agro, money and risks, the words Never again spring to my mind. I would be more leaning towards buying a car and sell it once you are done. Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Ranged Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 I've been involved in shipping earth moving gear to NZ, get a fixed price to clean it (makes cleaning it the responsibility of the cleaning company) we've had gear pushed back multiple times and costs thousand's each time.... any dirt is a fail and being a 4wd they will look I'm pretty certain you are allowed to drive for up to a yr on your GB plates, same here in Australia (seen a few GB plates in NZ) ..... check on this because if you can't and you have modified the vehicle it can get messy with our road rules (if you have PM me and we can talk I know most of the mod rules from when I ran my custom shop) When you get there, get "Responsible Camper Accreditation" its through one of the camper associations, you will need to get a toilet and it has to do with the size of the black, grey and potable water tanks in your camper.... information is online We have had issues with freedom campers in alot of areas who leave rubish and toilet waste.... it is bad enough that some councils hire security staff to move on freedom campers, but if you have the sticker alot of them even have free camping areas. Napier where I'm from they have a parking area with showers and toilets on the beach that you can stay for up to 3 days free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Ranged Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 One more thing being a 110 you may get denied over compliance vehicles imported with a first registered date after a certain date have to have front and side impact air bags and webbing grab seat belts.... I've been told the threshold date has changed (a mate had a corvette that was a month over and untill recently couldn't be registered for the road).... I don't know if this applies to personal vehicles, but I would assume so as you are paying a tax bond which gives you the option to import Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roamingyak Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 How long are you going for would be the key question I'd say. If only 2-3 months, definitely not worth all of the costs and hassles.... Work out the costs of the rentals (flights + rentals costs) for your estimated time against: Carnet: £280-700 in fee's, plus minimum £4,500 (age related) you must leave as a deposit you get back when returning. Shipping there plus port costs in a large container - about £4,000 Cleaning costs - 2-3 full time weeks of your time or £1-2,000 for cleaning (guesstimate) Insurance and road fee's etc in NZ Costs of servicing and maintenance Shipping back, another £4,000 Plus flights So £10,000-12,000 minimum spend plus carnet deposit Cleaning must be as new out of the factory, a gloved hand should not have any form of dirt, grease, oil etc to show on it anywhere on the vehicle at all. Pull out the headlining, stick a finger in, any dirt then its a fail etc. Hand along the top of a chassis rail, any dirt, fail. Extra plastic protection on wiring, fail, must be removed etc So you need to strip it down and clean all sides of everything and then hope you get a nice inspector who appreciates you really tried. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roamingyak Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 PS: I'm a Kiwi, some friends of mine just shipped their Disco TD5 back after driving around Africa for a few years. He hired a company in South Africa to clean it under his supervision. If your serious at some point, can put you in touch to se his experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 If it was me, I'd be having a chat with Arjan - seeing as he is an international frieght specialist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 3 hours ago, Nonimouse said: If it was me, I'd be having a chat with Arjan - seeing as he is an international freight specialist Are you mad? Arjan would just drive there overland. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 2 hours ago, Bowie69 said: Are you mad? Arjan would just drive there overland. He's more likely to put it on a train! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post miketomcat Posted March 23, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 23, 2021 4 hours ago, Bowie69 said: Are you mad? Arjan would just drive there overland. When do we go. I told a friend I'd happily drive to aus just to turn around and drive back rather than go to Disneyland. He thought I was nuts (he may have a point). Mike 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Given the choice, that would be my choice too! To be honest, who wouldn't want to spend 12 months driving to Aus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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