BYO camper to South America - Pros and Cons?

[windhorse]

Howdy, we are a couple of golden oldies enjoying travel in our 1996 Lance Legend slide on camper on trusty 2003 Chevy Silverado, so far throughout USA, with plans to travel in South America, where we have previously lived and worked for a couple of years.

To do this we have to decide, do we sell our truck camper (which we are very fond of) in the USA, then try to rent or buy a similar rig in Chile or elsewhere in South America, or do we ship our camper roll on/roll off from USA to South America, travel there for three to six months, then ship it back to USA when we are done?

So we would very much appreciate any advice or suggestions you may have about the viability of shipping a truck camper like ours (which is unfortunately about three inches too wide to fit into a container) roll on/roll off from USA to South America. Is it a good idea or likely to be a costly nightmare?

[south-of-the-bo]

We have done the trip three times and enjoyed every moment of it the last time we did it we did not go to Venezuela but all the other countries yes
There’s a lot of good information free on the adventuretrek Website you can Google it and find out for yourself they also have RV road logs and paper maps which are very hard to find in them central and South America
When you’re in Panama for shipping to Cartagena checked various companies because the shipping rate varies… The average price is about $50 a square meter and that is RO-RO There are other options such as rail or container which you cannot ship a camper in a container it’s too close to the walls
If you are in Cartagena there is free camping close to the port PMA for information have a good trip happy travels

[valhalla360]

windhorse wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

windhorse wrote:
Shipping looks like it will cost about $7500 each way

Wow!!! I was going to suggest shipping is likely much cheaper but when we checked into this a few years back we were finding prices around $1500 each way.

Thanks for the heads up!

Deisel prices were also lower a few years ago (-: but not that much difference, so sounds like it may be worth my while delving into this a bit deeper to see if I can get a cheaper quote for shipping than the one I got that was $6500 from Tacoma to San Antonio in Chile for roll on/roll off (RORO) one way shipment in September plus about $1000 for additional expenses specified by the shipping company ( $440 docs and port fees, escort required for loading at US ports $50-$125 depending on the port, basic insurance, estimated import costs in Chile between $500-$1200 etc etc...

Baseline quote for shipping from Baltimore ($5,455) or Galveston ($4815) was about $1000 to $1700 less than $6500 to ship from Tacoma but nowhere close to prices around $1500 each way.

This was a few years back, so my info may be out of date.

[windhorse]

valhalla360 wrote:

windhorse wrote:
Shipping looks like it will cost about $7500 each way

Wow!!! I was going to suggest shipping is likely much cheaper but when we checked into this a few years back we were finding prices around $1500 each way.

Thanks for the heads up!

Deisel prices were also lower a few years ago (-: but not that much difference, so sounds like it may be worth my while delving into this a bit deeper to see if I can get a cheaper quote for shipping than the one I got that was $6500 from Tacoma to San Antonio in Chile for roll on/roll off (RORO) one way shipment in September plus about $1000 for additional expenses specified by the shipping company ( $440 docs and port fees, escort required for loading at US ports $50-$125 depending on the port, basic insurance, estimated import costs in Chile between $500-$1200 etc etc...

Baseline quote for shipping from Baltimore ($5,455) or Galveston ($4815) was about $1000 to $1700 less than $6500 to ship from Tacoma but nowhere close to prices around $1500 each way.

[valhalla360]

windhorse wrote:
Shipping looks like it will cost about $7500 each way

Wow!!! I was going to suggest shipping is likely much cheaper but when we checked into this a few years back we were finding prices around $1500 each way.

[windhorse]

wolfe10 wrote:
What countries are you interested in visiting? We really enjoyed our 6 week driving trip (rent car and Air B&B's in Chile)

Had not thought about this option. Any idea if it would be possible to visit other countries in south america in a car rented in Chile, or would we have to rent a separate car in each country we want to visit?

[windhorse]

RetiredRealtorRick wrote:
On the surface, shipping it doesn't sound like a very cost-effective option, but maybe if you provide us with some dollars & cents figures we can be somewhat more objective with our feedback.

We figure ballpark sale price in the US market for our truck camper is about $20,000.

A similar used rig with US plates can be purchased in South America for a similar price, from travellers who have driven down from USA and are eager to sell their camper after completing their trip, but the process of transfer of ownership, title etc from one foreign owner to another foreign buyer of a vehicle with only a temporary import permit (TIP) for tourism lacks transparency and is (to put it mildly) "complicated"

Hiring a similar rig in South America would most likely cost about $200 per day that adds up to about $36000 for 6 months - too much to be worthwhile

Shipping looks like it will cost about $7500 each way

[silversand]

....you may want to contact Leave Everything and Wander through their Youtube channel ( LEAW ), and enquire what they plan to do with their truck camper rig now parked in Argentina (and ask about its condition). They had to abandon ship during Covid, and left their vehicle parked at a friend's ranch in Argentina. They are based now out of the Italian Alps.

Luck! Have a super expedition.

[windhorse]

Thanks for the encouraging replies (-:

[Talleyho69]

Yes, Please! We have always intended to make the trek to Tierra del Fuego and just haven't. Kind of, but not sure that we won't.

Do it and post everything, please!

[rocmoc]

Go on YouTube and search for "Leave Everything and Wander" and "Curt and Snow". Both channels will provide the info you are looking for. The first couple / channel was traveling in a truck & camper. They crossed the Strait in 2018/2019 so will have look thu past episodes. Curt & Snow, that is their names, are down there now and cross the Strait in 2021. They are traveling in a large 4x4 van. Their rig had to be shipped the same as the camper rig. Both share cost and contacts. Good luck, this Golden Oldie wish he was going with you. Not an easy trip both looks worth it to me. I'm only one of the two votes required to make the trip so do a YouTube channel so I can follow along.

rocmoc n The Great SouthWest

[moisheh]

Will you be shipping the truck and camper as a unit? If not I would be worried it could be damaged.

[time2roll]

http://theroadchoseme.com/panama-to-colombia-vehicle-ferry-xpress

[windhorse]

When we bought our camper in California a couple of years ago we were living and working in Mexico, and our “retirement” plan was to drive via the pan-american route to Argentina, but when we got to the bottom of Baja California Covid struck the world so we scurried back to USA where we have been enjoying life on the road exploring the US since then.

Now we feel reluctant to drive through central american countries like Honduras and El Salvador but quite comfortable about travelling in South American countries like Argentina, Chile and Bolivia that we know well.

The only problem is our camper is at the other end of the americas ??

If we understand right (but are not sure yet and continue to investigate):

- Truck campers like ours are not easy to find and very expensive to rent for 3 to 6 months in south america
- Roll on/role off shipping from Usa to South America is doable, but we are not sure yet about best shipping company, ballpark cost etc.
- Temporary vehicle import permits can be obtained for up to 90 days in most south american countries

Hence, this line of thought and this post, as we figure many others have already done this, or know others who have, so appreciate your replies

[wolfe10]

What countries are you interested in visiting? We really enjoyed our 6 week driving trip (rent car and Air B&B's in Chile).

Any though of driving to Panama and then ship to Columbia?