USA driving for a brit?

[kizz81]

hello,
i am planning a fairly what i would call epic trip to america next summer,
my plan is to work all this winter then go out there next summer and work on a summer camp,
while im over there i want to buy a GMC G15 5.7 v8 van and either drive back or ship it back after 3 months out there

anyone have any idea what i have to do to to be able to drive there

cheers kieran

[dxmedia]

Have held a UK licence for more than 6 months iirc.

[Disco Matt]

One cheeky way to check - get onto one of the rental company sites and see if they say what you need. It's in their own interests to have a list of documents after all.

[Hightower]

As long as you hold a full UK license you should be okay.  It's easier when you're there if you have one of the 'new' licenses with your picture on it (the Americans don't understand the paper one too well).

[dxmedia]

http://www.theaa.com/getaway/idp/index.html

Everything should be in there....

[kizz81]

cheers,
thats the info i need,
i am plannng o be a out there for about 3 months in 2011

kieran

[dxmedia]

Remember to stick a bit of tape on the inside of the screen to remind you which side of the road to drive on ;) very handy when it's 3 in the morning and you've 300 more miles to drive and your coming up to a turnpike ;)

[SteveGoodz]

... i want to buy a GMC G15 5.7 v8 van and either drive back or ship it back ...

I think you'll find driving it back rather difficult even if fitted with a snorkel. There's a fairly deep "puddle" between the USA and UK  :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Disco Matt]

... i want to buy a GMC G15 5.7 v8 van and either drive back or ship it back ...

I think you'll find driving it back rather difficult even if fitted with a snorkel. There's a fairly deep "puddle" between the USA and UK  :lol: :lol: :lol:

Nah, wait until winter, cross the Bering Straits while they're iced over and then it's all easy stuff through Russia and Europe!  :lol:

[kizz81]

 :lol: im sure it can  be driven, have you not seen those crazy americans who fit huge tyres and drive really fast over the water

[Yoshi]

Werent they Icelandic and not American??? lol

[sMUDge]

i am planning a fairly what i would call epic trip to america next summer,

Whereabouts in the US mate :-k

If you find yourself heading South, let me know  :D

[kizz81]

haha, will do,
just ideas at the moment, im seeing wha needs arranging and how much money im likely to need

cheers kieran

[Disco-andy]

hi,
I did the summer camp then a few months traveling back in 2005, and it was the best summer iv ever had.
We ended up hiring a car though, as with the pice of the pound and being 3 of us it was very cheep. ( £70 each for 3 weeks from memory)

If you are planning on buying a car you will need to regester it insure it, and from asking when over there you need a address to do that to.

as for driving it back well even in a strait line! nearly 3000miles at at best 10mpg I will let you work out the maths, not sure on the price of a conatiner.

Good luck

[Bishops Finger]

MMM MOAB...

[kizz81]

MPG will be around 16 - 18, i know this, we have a g20 5.7 chevy,

will probley cost alot,
all these things seem to 

i will look into the possiblity of hiring a car / van

cheers kieran

[tim_aka_tim]

Ok, take it from someone who's done it......

I now have a Texas licence, but you need to have the right ID to get one. You need a work permit or
green card as a foreigner, since they really clamped down to stop illegals getting licences.

You can drive using your UK licence, but make sure you get an international driving permit. Sure, it's
just a translation document, but some retentive cop in nowheresville would love to put you in jail  for
the night for not having it. My insurance company insisted on it when I first came here in '08.
They are valid for 12 months.

Investigate insurance while you are here. Contrary to popular belief, it is mandatory. You may struggle
or have to jump through hoops to get an American company to insure you.

Far more important it the whole summer camp thing. Do some serious investigation, making sure you
have an appropriate visa. If you need a work visa, you'll need a sponsor, so contact the summer camp
people now.

I admire your goals, but what you want to do is not that easy, be prepared to put in lots of effort on
paperwork.

[Terranger]

I was lucky enough to have parents who resided in Kissimee, Florida. Things may have changed since 9/11, but my father was sick and tired of driving everyone about when they were over on holiday.
So, when I arrived for mine, he threw the keys to his Ford Taunus at me and said you drive. I had no International Licence with me, and told him I couldn't.

I told him, lets check the legalities, because i did want to drive and give him a break. Dad called the local Sherrif's department, who told us to phone the insurance company, and if they were okay to insure me, then it was fine by him.
One quick phone call, the Sherrif's name and badge number, and $300 for the two weeks, I was cruising the Sunshine State  :dance:

Like I said this was in the 90's, and obviously life was laid back then.

[tim_aka_tim]

Life was different then. You might be able to do that these days, but you'd need to check with the county sheriff in
each county you entered and the city police too. Also, the interpretation of the law varies from cop to cop.
If you were to be stopped in a city with a population of say 100 people, their city is probably half funded
by driving tickets, so you have a very high chance of getting one.

Laws here are much more complicated than the UK, given there are federal, state and local city laws and ordinances.
There is also a heavy presence of police, sheriffs and state troopers on the roads.