Moab UTAH USA

[Peter and Sandra]

Currently 2/3rds of the way through a six month tour of Canada and the USA.
We bought a 2005 4WD F250 Extended cab Superduty long wheelbase ute and new Palomino Real Lite 1608 pop top slideon camper to travel in and will keep it for now to return in the future.
Travelling over here in the US is a bit different to Oz, so many more people everywhere and we're fortunate in some respects that we are travelling "out of season" as crowds are far less than they would be in season.
On the flip side lots of places are closed for winter and while we have had snow, ice and all sorts of weather it is only now starting to get a bit on the cool side. We will probably start to head further south from Colorado to hopefully a bit warmer weather. Temps here are around -1 overnight and up to 9 during the day but the gas furnace keeps us nice and warm.
We've had down to -13 and 10" of snow earlier in the trip at higher elevations, totally different to Oz and a new meaning to cold ).
Canada is in some ways similar to Oz as far as population density goes with large areas of the Yukon and BC having virtually no inhabitants so bush camping is relatively easy unlike most of the US which has people living pretty much everywhere and the rest is in Forests and National Parks. National Forests are good for campsites but just pulling off most roads for the night is pretty hard at times.

[norman]

G/Day to you... Sounds like you are having a good trip.and enjoying it. Keep us informed on your travels and up to date a few piccies would be good value for us to look at.....

[T1 Terry]

Hi Peter & Sandra. Did you have any hassles buying a vehicle in the US? I've heard stories about non residents not being able to get insurance and rego etc. How did you go about drivers licence etc? One of those bucket list things, 12 mths or more touring the US, but then a life time touring Aust is on that list too

T1 Terry

[Dot]

Sounds great,

[Peter and Sandra]

Terry
Big problems all round and basically we found can be very expensive without having someone over here to use for addresses etc.
We bought our F250 in Canada through friends who live there and use their address etc for rego and insurance. The slideon camper was bought new in Michigan but as it isn't registered there is no problem with foreign ownership.
Basically it is virtually impossible/horrendously expensive to register and insure a vehicle in Canada without a local address and drivers licence, ie:residency which as an Aussie is possible on a temporary basis.
The situation in the US is different from state to state, some allow it and some don't but most will still require a local address at least. Insurance is a minefield with many states only requiring minimal cover which leaves you liable in the event of an accident. Most Aussies that I know who have a vehicle in the US have a friends adress to register and insure it to.
A International Drivers Permit issued by the NRMA etc in Oz is required for insurance purposes and rental vehicles but an Aussie licence is all that is required for ID and if asked by the police, we carry both along with our NRMA and CMCA cards which has gained us discounts at some RV parks. A seniors card if you have one will also give you discounts in many places.
Length of stay is the next problem, Canada is ok as they are part of the "Commonwealth" as is Oz so no probs, no visa required.
The US is much more difficult, an ETSA (electronic online) visa allows 90 days from the day of first arrival, resets if you leave the North American Continent by sea or air. To stay any longer than 90 days up to a maximum of six months you need a proper visa which entails filling out and paying for an online application and then fronting for an interview at the US consulate for a face to face interview to state your case, it is viable for 5 years but only for six months in any one visit. You must leave the Nth American continent by sea or air to another country (Hawaii doesn't count as it is still US) before the clock resets. Upon arrival in the US your length of stay is purely up to the official that you see at the counter as to how long you can stay, so no smart arse comments just yes sir no sir.
It has been a great trip and worth the cost etc but there is no way we will ever see it all even with repeat visits in the future.

[Peter and Sandra]

Currently in Paducah Kentucky, experiencing our first white Christmas, had 4" of snow overnight, very pretty and most go about their business as if nothing out of the ordinary.

[T1 Terry]

Still on the bucket list, is there a huge difference in costs between owning and hiring a motorhome in the US? i'm guessig the insurance and other hassles don't exist when renting plu you don't have maintenance costs or the expense of keeping it somewhere while you are out of the country. Are the costs of rent v owning enough to make owning worth the hassles?

[PandJ R away]

Peter and Sandra

Our daughter is near Kamloops staying on friends ranch

We are planning 10 week trip to Canada starting in August probably landing in Vancouver where friends and family are close by. We will likely use our daughters ute and slide on for touring.

We are considering a trip across to the East Coast (Quebec and Nova Scotia and down to Washington DC) and possibly returning through northern USA.

Any tips?

[Peter and Sandra]

Sort out your visa, for a 10 week trip you should be able to get away with a 90 day ETSA visa for the US, no visa required for Canada as it's part of the Commonwealth as we are.
Oz credit cards attract a fee EVERY time you use it so consider using it only once a week to withdraw cash enough for the week and pay cash for everything. Cashcard seems to work ok but incurrs costs transferring money to it. Paying for fuel over here is upfront either at the pump with credit card or cash at the till, so if using Ozzie CC you have to give CC to operator to hold while you fill the tank and then go in and pay. Not my cup of tea!
Fuel in Canada is similar price to Oz, US around $3.40 a US gal (3.85 litres) but we have been paying around $2.80 a gal in the midwest. Diesel is a bit dearer. Most vehicles over here are petrol (gas as they call it), lpgas is called propane ).
Average cost for 9kg bottle of LPG is $14 and they weigh it, so you can just top it up most places if going boondocking (bushcamping).
Terry we initially planned an 8 week trip, hiring started out at $60 a day but by the time all the extras (ins, camping gear, linen, mileage etc) it ended up around $1500 a week and as we wanted a 4wd ute and wanted to go pretty much anywhere inc beaches and 4wd tracks the hire mobs didn't even want you driving on dirt roads with large slabs of country off limits.
Wanting to stay for 6 months meant hiring was way too expensive so by buying a new camper and secondhand ute we had autonomy and were free to do what we wish, selling it after the trip will recoup most of our outlay.
We have friends that bought a 10 y/o Winnebargo without slideouts, 34k miles, immaculate with Cummins pusher and Alison auto for around $26k in the US a year or so ago, so cheap travelling is still possible. Nobody wants a non slideout these days so they go pretty cheap. That being said a brand new 26' tandem axle van with all the fruit is under $30k brand new, fifth wheelers just a little more for the same thing. There are thousands of RV's for sale over here.
RVparks charge around similar amounts for sites $25-$35 for most with full hookups (power, sewer, water, cable tv, wifi etc) State parks start at $5 and go up to around $25 and can have similar facilities to the RV parks.
When you visit your first US National Park buy an annual $80 pass it gets you into lots of places beside NP's inc historic sites, National monuments etc and quickly pays for itself as typical entry fee for a National park is $25.

[Dot]

Thanks for that great run down Peter & Sandra, very helpful and informative for us as well. I would love to do that one day but we are a wee bit hesitant to take that big leap... Food for thought. Thanks again.