There are two key elements in travel trailer transport to the United Kingdom: You are moving a travel trailer, which has some different requirements than a car or small truck move. You are taking your travel trailer into the U. K., which may have some requirements for such vehicles that are different from those in another country.
But never fear, when it comes to travel trailer transport to the United Kingdom – it has been done before by careful and enterprising individuals and by experienced shipping service companies. The key to success is to allow plenty of lead time for planning and getting all the documents and schedules in order. The companies that have experience with moving travel trailers know the process takes patience and problem-solving skills.
Watch for the companies that make promises and claims that seem almost too good to be true. If you think this is the case, it probably is! No careful and reliable agent can make all the arrangements in a week or two and deliver your travel trailer in good condition a few days later. In truth, it will take a couple of months of planning to cover all the details of registration, insurance, dock fees, customs schedules and import costs.
Travel trailer transport to the United Kingdom should be carefully planned, as we mentioned several times already (mostly because there are specific limits for trailer length and weight). An earlier call or visit to the Vehicle & Operator Service Agency (VOSA) would be a good idea. An agent at this office should be able to answer questions about how the travel trailer can be transported over land, once it arrives in the U.K. This is crucial because you don’t want to go through the months-long process of getting your prized possession into the country only to find that alterations are necessary to make it “legal.” Lighting, licensing, hitch arrangements and brakes can all vary in different countries. Deal with these issues before moving the trailer, rather than after.
Some people who start planning travel trailer transport to the U.K. find that the entire process may cost $2,000, $3,000 or more, even for a unit that cost about that much in the first place. Estimates for shipping a small car, for example, range from $500 to $2,000 for the least expensive option – roll on/roll off service. But the movement of a non-motorized trailer is a slightly different animal, so to speak.
Before you commit to any overland transportation in the original country, make sure that all the registration and tax documents are in order. This means that at any moment during the entire trip you or your agent can say “yes” when an official of some agency asks if you own the unit and all is in order. That simple step can eliminate delays later in the trip.
Finally, take some time to visit some of the excellent Web sites that deal with travel trailer transport to the United Kingdom. Some of them are very detailed and answer most of the questions about this process.