Bringing Jeep from USA for Overlanding in Mediterranean

[Jgenshlea]

Hello

I've been watching Dan Grec on the "Road Chose Me" YouTube channel and now I'm inspired to ship my Jeep to Europe for an Overlanding Adventure.

However, I need to do some due diligence first. My primary concern is whether or not my modified Jeep is even legal to drive in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France etc. I've been googling for over an hour and can't find consistency in people's experiences and interpretation of the laws. Does anyone know a good resource that will help me equip my Jeep so that is has some goodies, but is still legal to drive on public roads?

My Jeep is a 2020 Wrangler Ecodiesel Unlimited (4 door).

Mods:
Method Racing Wheels 17 x 9
BFG K02s 35x17x12
Note: The rims have a 25mm offset so the tires (tyres) are completely covered by the fender flares
AEV 2.5" Dual Sport lift
Bull bar on bumper is OEM in North America
KC Flood lights on bull bar
Gobi Roof Rack
iKamper Roof top tent
Warn Evo Winch
AEV rear number with fuel caddy (the front bumper is OEM)

Not shown:
Drawer system in rear cargo area

 

[socal66]

I had been researching the same thing on and off as I am considering shipping my Jeep over to Europe for a trip as well. All I have found are some statements that seem to imply that as long as your vehicle is legally registered in the US and you are considered a temporary visitor then there are no regulation compliance issues. If you want to import and register your vehicle there then you will need to ensure it meets local specs and regulations. I have a Jeep very similar in setup to yours and what I would consider doing to stay out of possible trouble with law enforcement would be to ensure that my tires are covered by the fenders, put the wings back on the bumper so it was no longer stubby, and get some covers for my off road lights when on the road. I had heard that it was stuff like that which can get you into a hassle sometimes.

The one major issue that I am still needing confirmation on are the length of stay limits for a vehicle. Some things that I had read over the years implied that you could only have your vehicle in the EU for 90-days within a given 6 month period. Lately I have seen just mention of a 6 month limit as if the prior 90-day restrictions were amended.

 

[Alanymarce]

I suspect this answer is not going to help you that much, however just looking at your photos I don't think you'll run into major problems. Every country is different so you need to check "Vehicle Construction and Use" regulations (or whatever may be the relevant phrase) for every country you plan to visit. In general, if you travel on a CdP as long as the vehicle is legal at home it should be OK wherever you go (well nearly everywhere). Similarly if you choose to travel on TIPs my understanding is that the same is true.

Some thoughts:

- wheel protrusion - looks OK - I did have to change tyres on one vehicle brought from the USA to Europe many years ago but I was importing it which is not relevant for visits.
- gas canister - I'd check on whether you can have an exposed gas canister which could be damaged in an accident]
- bull bar - illegal in some countries (including where we live - the bull bars are not an option here)
- winch - when we took our vehicle to Australia we put a solid cover over the winch to avoid its being considered a "protrusion hazard"

Once again, if the vehicle is legal at home and is being temporarily brought into a country then it's theoretically OK, however in some places they will apply local rules (minor example - reflective tape in Zimbabwe), and perhaps more to the point anything which attracts attention from the police is not a good thing.

 

[leeloo]

Just make sure the wheels are not wider than the fenders. Even if it is technically legal since you do not import it, you will get stopped by the police very often and can be a PITA to explain yourself non stop. It is just not worth it
What ever shipping agent you will use, they know all the procedures and they will inform you if there are any particulars.
You will need insurance, same thing - shipping agent can help, the good news is, if you get cover in one EU country, it will cover all 27 member states and some of the ones in the neighborhood.

You can keep the jeep inside EU for 6 months, after, you need to exit for a while. Technically, lets say you roam for 6 months in Europe, you get a ferry to Morocco from Spain, have some fun in the sand in the Sahara for a month and come back, you are good for another 6 months.
in Europe DEF is called AdBlue and it is widely available.
Mediterranean countries are good choice, wild camping in most of them is at minimum tolerated, if not legal, except Italy. If you reach Itally, you will probably reach Greece as well, and from there you also have Albania, Montenegro that I recommend, very beautiful, tourist friendly, not so many rules and the food in Albania is unbelievable..
L.E>
You best source in Europe for off road tracks is Wikiloc

Wikiloc | Trails of the World

Find the best outdoor trails for mountain hiking treks, bike tour itineraries, MTB rides, and up to 80 activities. Discover the most beautiful places in the world, download GPS tracks and follow the top routes on a map. Record your own trail from the app, upload it and share it with the community.

www.wikiloc.com

for example - you can spend 3-4 weeks there easy only on this track in Spain, follows the mountains from Med to Atlantic..

Pyrenees Traverse 2020

Pyrenees Traverse 2020 Off Road trail in Portlligat, Catalunya (España). Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. Some route alterations will be required due to access restrictions etc

www.wikiloc.com

 

[Jgenshlea]

Mediterranean countries are good choice, wild camping in most of them is at minimum tolerated, if not legal, except Italy. If you reach Itally, you will probably reach Greece as well, and from there you also have Albania, Montenegro that I recommend, very beautiful, tourist friendly, not so many rules and the food in Albania is unbelievable..

Pyrenees Traverse 2020

Pyrenees Traverse 2020 Off Road trail in Portlligat, Catalunya (España). Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. Some route alterations will be required due to access restrictions etc

www.wikiloc.com

Thanks for all that info. I was wondering about wild (dispersed) camping in Europe. I live in California and there is so much wild camping oportunties here but California was only settled like 250 years ago. I'd bet there is more public land (Federal land, State land etc) than private here. In contrast, there has been the concept of land ownership in Europe for thousands of years right? Just kind of curious how much public land there actually is.

Regarding diesel, is ULSD the standard there? If I were to go to Morocco or other parts of North Africa does bad diesel become a concern? I've been thinking about driving through Central America but apparently the quality of the diesel becomes a problem in some countries.

Thanks again for the info.Will check out those websites you shared.
Joe

 

[Jgenshlea]

I suspect this answer is not going to help you that much, however just looking at your photos I don't think you'll run into major problems. Every country is different so you need to check "Vehicle Construction and Use" regulations (or whatever may be the relevant phrase) for every country you plan to visit. In general, if you travel on a CdP as long as the vehicle is legal at home it should be OK wherever you go (well nearly everywhere). Similarly if you choose to travel on TIPs my understanding is that the same is true.

Some thoughts:

- wheel protrusion - looks OK - I did have to change tyres on one vehicle brought from the USA to Europe many years ago but I was importing it which is not relevant for visits.
- gas canister - I'd check on whether you can have an exposed gas canister which could be damaged in an accident]
- bull bar - illegal in some countries (including where we live - the bull bars are not an option here)
- winch - when we took our vehicle to Australia we put a solid cover over the winch to avoid its being considered a "protrusion hazard"

Once again, if the vehicle is legal at home and is being temporarily brought into a country then it's theoretically OK, however in some places they will apply local rules (minor example - reflective tape in Zimbabwe), and perhaps more to the point anything which attracts attention from the police is not a good thing.

Thanks so much for the info! The tire/wheel issue comes up a lot. Jeep now offers 35" tires as an option on their "recon" edition. The recon edition has these fender flare extenders that I am going to install on my Jeep. The fender flare extenders are designed for the 35" x 12.5" tires so I think I should be fine.

That's interesting about the bull bars. My bull bar does not extend past the front bumper which a lot of bull bars to. It would be totally useless for pushing bulls or cows around. I think it's asthetic thing...and a mounting point for the flood lights.

Thanks again!
joe

 

[Alanymarce]

It occurs to me to ask whether you're familiar with the limits on time in each country. Schengen gives you (or should give you) 90 days in a 180 day period to stay in the Schengen area. Most non-Schengen countries allow 60 or 90 days. You should be allowed to stay in the UK for 6 months. The only countries which I believe require a visa are Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Russia (and I suggest that you shouldn't plan on the last two of these).

So, think about how to plan your travels to meet the limits on staying in the countries you intend to visit.

 

[rtexpeditions]

It occurs to me to ask whether you're familiar with the limits on time in each country. Schengen gives you (or should give you) 90 days in a 180 day period to stay in the Schengen area. Most non-Schengen countries allow 60 or 90 days. You should be allowed to stay in the UK for 6 months. The only countries which I believe require a visa are Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Russia (and I suggest that you shouldn't plan on the last two of these).

So, think about how to plan your travels to meet the limits on staying in the countries you intend to visit.

Quite a few overlanders go to Morocco to solve the 90 day Schengen problem.

 

[socal66]

It occurs to me to ask whether you're familiar with the limits on time in each country. Schengen gives you (or should give you) 90 days in a 180 day period to stay in the Schengen area. Most non-Schengen countries allow 60 or 90 days. You should be allowed to stay in the UK for 6 months. The only countries which I believe require a visa are Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Russia (and I suggest that you shouldn't plan on the last two of these).

So, think about how to plan your travels to meet the limits on staying in the countries you intend to visit.

So is the 90 day limit a limit for a particular country in that EU zone or is it the limit across all EU countries in that zone? I keep seeing references to just a six month limit on-line but have always been confused about the Schengen zone limits and whether that 90 days was just for an individual country or the whole zone altogether.

 

[El-Dracho]

So is the 90 day limit a limit for a particular country in that EU zone or is it the limit across all EU countries in that zone? I keep seeing references to just a six month limit on-line but have always been confused about the Schengen zone limits and whether that 90 days was just for an individual country or the whole zone altogether.

It is valid for the whole zone. And 90 days within 180 days. When checking the duration of previous and planned stays, a backward calculation is applied. This means that the past period of 180 days is considered, in which you are allowed to stay up to 90 days in the Schengen area (including the days of entry and exit). It is important that when you leave the Schengen area in the example mentioned, make sure that your passport is also stamped out - because for us EU citizens this does not apply (example, if I go to Morocco with the ferry from Spain, I do not get an EU exit stamp, but only an entry stamp to Morocco).

 

[El-Dracho]

Regarding shipping, I can tell you how it works the other way around with legality on the road. We shipped our Landrover to Baltimore from Germany a while ago. In order to drive the vehicle in the US, we had to apply for two documents. One that allows a vehicle that is not 100% compliant with US regulations to be driven in the country for 12 months and one with the Environmental Protection Agency that our European vehicle does not comply with US emissions/environmental regulations. The agent who organizes the shipment helps to get these papers usually - everything very easy. Whether there is vice versa a similar process, I will check within the next days with an agent who organizes shipments and I know quite. Will come back here then once I know more.

 

[WesternDirtRoads]

Sounds interesting.

 

[Kent R]

Hello

I've been watching Dan Grec on the "Road Chose Me" YouTube channel and now I'm inspired to ship my Jeep to Europe for an Overlanding Adventure.

However, I need to do some due diligence first. My primary concern is whether or not my modified Jeep is even legal to drive in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France etc. I've been googling for over an hour and can't find consistency in people's experiences and interpretation of the laws. Does anyone know a good resource that will help me equip my Jeep so that is has some goodies, but is still legal to drive on public roads?

My Jeep is a 2020 Wrangler Ecodiesel Unlimited (4 door).

Mods:
Method Racing Wheels 17 x 9
BFG K02s 35x17x12
Note: The rims have a 25mm offset so the tires (tyres) are completely covered by the fender flares
AEV 2.5" Dual Sport lift
Bull bar on bumper is OEM in North America
KC Flood lights on bull bar
Gobi Roof Rack
iKamper Roof top tent
Warn Evo Winch
AEV rear number with fuel caddy (the front bumper is OEM)

Not shown:
Drawer system in rear cargo area



View attachment 246758View attachment 246760

One more thing for you to think about is shipping from Canada rather than the US, customs issues that have come up with members shipping to the US have been a real pain. Might not be a big deal going but coming back might have been the problem.

 

[John and Mandi]

Another resource is WikiOverland. People don't update it as much as they should, most just update the border specific crossing information in iOverlander, but it was started and is still managed by Dan. If you use FB you can join overlanding Europe groups.

 

[leeloo]

In Morroco they have low sulphur diesel widely availabe, and if you avoid weird stations should fine . In all North Africa, around Med is not an issue. And visas can be extended in general, should not be an issue

 

[El-Dracho]

Hi Joe,

So, just spoke to the shipping agent this morning. He has already shipped some vehicles to Europe from abroad. He says that the vehicle can be driven for six months in the EU without any problems - but watch out which is the port of entry, because some countries require a security deposit immediately upon import, e.g. Portugal. To Germany this is no problem.

The vehicle liability insurance you get also easily through a broker here, I have organized that in the past for Australians. If you need help, please contact me. I can also put you in contact with the agent, he can ship RoRo or - if your vehicle fits into a container of the dimensions - then also containers from South Carolina e.g. Shipping from eastcoast is easier than from westcoast. He also has an agent in the USA, who can do all the paperwork for you.

Bjoern

 

[MazeVX]

As all questions are answered and I can second that, I will just focus on fuel.
The diesel quality in Europe is generally spoken better than in the US, almost every diesel you can buy, even some "exotic" varieties will work. Try to stay away from Biodiesel (RME) it will eat your fuel pump and clog the injectors.
You might even see better fuel mileage.
Low sulphur diesel in good quality is available in northern Africa without much effort as others already said.

Always try to stay within the speed limit, they sometimes have automatic control systems that you won't notice and the fines can be pretty high.