All Terrain Warriors campers

[rivenoak]

Hi John,
We would be keen to have a test run in the rental camper - keep us in the loop too!
Jenny & Wayne :sombrero:

 

[4wd26]

South East Queensland is all I can say for now. Where are you?

Regards John.

Yeah Brisbane
Sounds like a great opportunity
Selling my off-road van shortly and looking to swag it with my son, BUT having access to something like this would be awesome to take the family
Will really depend on restrictions

But now I know they are local I can wait in the rest of the info

Cheers

 

[whatcharterboat]

Yeah Brisbane
Sounds like a great opportunity
Selling my off-road van shortly and looking to swag it with my son, BUT having access to something like this would be awesome to take the family
Will really depend on restrictions

But now I know they are local I can wait in the rest of the info

Cheers

I spoke to the guys today. They are still a few weeks from finalizing the website, hire agreements, insurances, etc but I think it will be pretty good especially for familys coming in from overseas that want to trip around Oz for 6 months or so. They were saying the hire camper should be able to be taken anywhere considered a gazetted road......so I guess that means places like Fraser Island, Cape York, Simpson Desert, Gunbarrel Hwy, etc will still be fine.

The only other thing they said was no drivers under 25 and no one on a learner's permit which is all fairly standard for a hire vehicle agreement. However the driver will require a minimum of "Light Rigid" truck license for it.

Regards John.

 

[whatcharterboat]

A little plug.

Couldn't say too much before as there was another party involved........ but the owners of ATW have officially launched this new venture.

This website only went live a couple of days ago and it is still a work in progress.

http://www.4x4motorhomehire.com.au/

Regards John.

 

[Buckstopper]

That seals it! I'm heading south for the winter!:wings:

 

[Overland Hadley]

However the driver will require a minimum of "Light Rigid" truck license for it.

Do you know what that is in U.S. license terms?

 

[whatcharterboat]

Do you know what that is in U.S. license terms?

Hi Nat....The trucks are 6500kg GVM.......... I do not believe there is a special license required in the US to drive a truck of this weight. That's right isn't it?......If you come over with an International Driver's license, then you should be able to drive anything in Australia that you are able to drive according to your license in America.

In Australia, a car license only allows you to drive up to 4500kg GVM so we are required to obtain a Light Rigid license ("Light" being the lowest level of truck license).

If anyone is reading this that thinks differently, please make comment. We have done as much research into this as we can but so far have not put this to the test.

Kind regards John

 

[Gatsma]

Hey John,

As far as US laws go, you are correct. Under 26,000# GVW (about 11,818 kg) no special license is required in most states(don't know if any states DO require one).
The truck you mention is 14,300# GVW, so would not require a special license "over here".

Kind regards to you and yours, Gary

 

[DzlToy]

In the US, no RV (licensed as such) requires a special license, save some states which may require a non-commercial air brake endorsement for large motorcoaches or OTR based trucks like Renegage, Kibbi, Dynamax, etc. What OZ may require of an American visiting "should" be the equivalent of what you would need to use that RV here in the states, which is a passenger car license in almost all likely hood. You will need an IDP (International Driver's Permit) which can be obtained from AAA, but in reality it is not a permit at all. It is basically an internationally recognised attestation that you are licensed to drive in your home state or country, with a translation into common languanges, etc.

Both the US and OZ are signatories to this agreement, which seeks to establish international protocols for licensure, travel docs, etc.:

https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewD...tdsg_no=xi~b~1&chapter=11&Temp=mtdsg5&lang=en

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Driving_Permit

http://www.aaa.com/ppinternational/IDP_IADP_Apply.html

 

[Flys Lo]

Hi Nat....The trucks are 6500kg GVM.......... I do not believe there is a special license required in the US to drive a truck of this weight. That's right isn't it?......If you come over with an International Driver's license, then you should be able to drive anything in Australia that you are able to drive according to your license in America.

In Australia, a car license only allows you to drive up to 4500kg GVM so we are required to obtain a Light Rigid license ("Light" being the lowest level of truck license).

If anyone is reading this that thinks differently, please make comment. We have done as much research into this as we can but so far have not put this to the test.

Kind regards John

I've dealt quite a bit with this. Essentially the law will apply to the same category of license that you hold.

If you own a "car" license from Australia, and you travel to the US, you will be fine in any vehicle up to 26,000lb GVW, or any vehicle "classified" as an RV.
If you have a "car" license from the US, and you travel to Australia, you will be fine in any vehicle up to 4500kg GVM. Australia does not have a similar RV law for licensing.

If someone wished to travel to Australia with a US license and wishes to operate a vehicle greater than 4500kg would need to get a local license to whatever weight rating. Stupid, but welcome to government.

The IDP laws mentioned only allow up to 3500kg GVM, but local police enforcement won't be familiar with them, but will enforce whatever the local law is.

I've been cited in the US for riding a motorcycle without a motorcycle license - because my Victorian/Australian license has my motorcycle endorsement listed as a "code" on my car license (it doesn't specifically state anywhere on the license that I have a motorcycle endorsement)

 

[Overland Hadley]

If someone wished to travel to Australia with a US license and wishes to operate a vehicle greater than 4500kg would need to get a local license to whatever weight rating. Stupid, but welcome to government.

So what is required to get the Light Rigid? And is it instant, or would you need to wait for paper work, testing appointments etc.

Here in the US it can take months to get an appointment to change something on a drivers license, e.g. a motorcycle endorsement.

 

[Maninga]

So what is required to get the Light Rigid? And is it instant, or would you need to wait for paper work, testing appointments etc.

Here in the US it can take months to get an appointment to change something on a drivers license, e.g. a motorcycle endorsement.

I got my Medium Rigid (next step up from Light Rigid) license earlier in the year, specifically for my truck. Booking was available within a week off when I asked. License itself was a 2 part deal, written test oneday followed by a couple of hours with an instructor who then did the driving test. Cost about $800, there were cheaper but I wasn't looking for the cheapest.

Not sure how it'd work with an international drivers license.

 

[SkiFreak]

I don't know how it goes from overseas to Australia, but the only time I ever had an international drivers license was the first time I traveled overseas. After that first time I never bothered and if pulled over simply presented my Australian license. This was quite comical for a while, as my license was just a piece of paper with no photo ID (as it was back in the day). This normally resulted in the police officer just letting me go, as it was just too hard to deal with. Later when Australia finally went with photo ID licenses nothing really changed. I have owned and driven numerous cars over the years in Canada and the US and never had anything other than my Aussie license.
Maybe I was just lucky, but I never encountered any problems when I presented that license.

 

[gait]

must have been lucky Owen.

Its an International Drivers Permit (IDP), not a licence. Basically a UN sanctioned translation of home country licence. Has to have home country licence with it.

From Australia driving overseas wife and I both had MR (Medium Rigid, two axles greater than 8 Mt) in Aus specifically for trip. As mentioned already, the boundary from car to truck is 4.5Mt in Aus, 3.5Mt Asia, Europe and IDP. LR (Light Rigid) was same price.

Saved a lot of bother several times having all the circles in the IDP stamped. Notably when stopped in Germany and Cambodia but also Russia.

Coming into Aus is obscure. Not helped that each of seven states deals with drivers licencing a bit differently.

Here's South Australia which is most explicit. An IDP is required.
https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/transp...al-motorists/driving-with-an-overseas-licence

NSW is usually the most stroppy. In my experience Aus Traffic Police tend to be revenue driven rather than driver behaviour.

Here's one example of a company that provide MR licence.
http://www.transtrain.com.au/truck-a-bus-licences/medium-rigid-mr.html

I have to contact Automobile Association Australia soon (each state has its own automobile organisation, AAA provides services through state orgs). Contact had useful info and advice before I traveled and understood the oddity of the different weights in different countries. Its been that way forever but is apparently on the agenda when countries meet for review in a few years. I'll ask.

 

[Flys Lo]

Most countries do not require an IDP, but the local law enforcement that pulls you up may not know that (or want to know that ). I would definitely advise carrying an IDP in any non-English speaking country whether it is required or not. I personally order 3 of them, in case a corrupt police officer wishes to use holding your IDP as "ransom" to pay them a bribe - you can just drive off with them holding onto one of your permits. I avoid handing over my actual license at all costs in case they try to pull that trick.

gait is correct in that is really just a translation of your existing license.


To get a Light/Medium/Heavy Rigid license in Australia just requires a one or two day test, and its pretty instantaneous.

On edit: reading gait's website on South Australia, you may be able to get away with having whoever does your IDP's tick the boxes for the higher weight ratings that the US allows anyway (assuming they will do that).