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Transport Update: The RORO ship "Galveston Highway" has officially left Europe and is headed towards North America, destination: Halifax, Nova Scotia. I took a screenshot from the ship tracking website - Lowly's current means of transport is by no means the only boat on the ocean! ETA...

Spoke with Hagarty this morning - according to the lady I spoke with, 1982 and older is what they will insure for firetrucks. I'm quickly running out of options but probably need to take the "RV" slant with US insurers with the hope they will provide coverage in both the US and Canada. BC...

US/CANADA Overland Vehicle Insurance. . . Calling all US & Canadian Overland Expedition Camper style vehicle owners: Who is your insurance carrier for your rig's vehicle insurance? Due to the complexity of my situation (US citizen trying to get an ex-fire truck insured in Canada for a...

Actually, I was able to get a discount on shipping because they were wanting to test out a new way of using vehicular cargo to ballast the ship - something about my truck being excessively heavy? It also will allow for them to still unload the truck in the event he doesn't start up in Halifax...

SHIPPING UPDATE. . . If my sources are correct, Lowly now sits snuggly inside the belly of a RORO ship called the "Galveston Highway". For those of you who don't know what a RORO looks like, here is a picture of said ship: After getting loaded in Bristol, England the ship appears to be...

Lowly Update. . . Who thought a truck of this size would provide the thrilling ups and downs of a roller coaster ride?! With the batteries changed out, the overseas shipping company (Autoshippers International) was able to arrange for in-country transport from its storage location to the port...

Lowly Update. . . Its been a busy 36 hours! Quite a few things checked off the old to-do list: I heard back from the North Wales Fire Service (previous owner) fleet manager who helped me figure out where on the truck the batteries were located and what type/size I would need to replace them...

I just might have to do something like that to recoup some of my expenses! I try to brace myself for every transaction I make in the UK, but the VAT is so heavy (and applied to every little thing) I end up cringing with every purchase! "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except...

Lowly Update. . . Time flies when you are sorting out shipping vehicles from the other side of the world. After getting price quotes on in-country transport from its current storage location to a shipping port + RORO shipping from UK ports to Halifax, I was able to sort out my preferred...

Ozrockrat, Just got off the phone with US Customs & Border Patrol (navigating the menus to speak with a human is quite possibly the 3rd level of Hades!) and they confirmed that imported fire trucks are not exempt from the 25 year rule. It was a "hail-Mary" but worth the try. - Sheik Beware...

Ozrockrat, I've read through quite a bit of government documentation regarding the ins-n-outs of importing vehicles into the US; I have yet to see anything exempting a fire truck. That being said, your question reminded me that I should probably call US customs to confirm. If you are correct...

nick disjunkt, Much thanks on the very informative UK license information - that was exactly what I was hoping to get back from one of you knowledgable folks here in EXPO country. With your information I will definitely be relying on a transporter to get Lowly to port. - sheik

Question for UK readers: Is there a special license or endorsement required to drive a vehicle like mine on the roads in the UK? I'm in the process of arranging transport from its current storage facility to the shipping port and have a friend who could assist, but not if it takes anything...

Export/Import Update: If Lowly is leaving UK soil in the near future it will be headed toward Canada; the USA is not an option because he is too young (1995) but Canada only has a 15 year-old vehicle stipulation compared to the US 25 year-old rule. Due to his size, the truck will have to...

thebigblue, I'm not too picky on what side the steering wheel is on. Yes, there will be times when it is not too convenient but I don't plan on going thru too many drive-thrus or taking very many toll roads in this truck! I also hope that Lowly won't spend the rest of his life in a LHD...

Back from holiday down in Utah getting some quality time in on my mountain bike. I've been hitting the phones upon my return in order to try and nail down exactly when the truck was manufactured (info I didn't have) versus when it was first registered in the UK (info plainly listed on the UK...

Thanks mog! Its at least worth a call in to hear a German laugh. Stay tuned. . . - Sheik

CALLING MERCEDES TRUCK EXPERTS: Based on research, it is quite likely that my truck was bodied by an aftermarket coach builder. This might create a time gap between the time the truck was constructed by MB and when it was first registered. If this is the case then I'd like to figure out when...

mog, good to connect with you and nice to have someone close who is doing something crazy like me. I'll have to swing by sometime and check out your wheel/tire conversion. - Sheik

While I wade thru the morass of exporting/importing the truck from the UK into Canada, I can't help but think about starting the conversion process. I'm hoping to convert the rear axel from dualies to single tires on each side. If possible I prefer to swap the entire axel to a proper single...