When we knew we were moving to Brescia in Italy last year, my partner, Manjiang, and I knew we wanted to take our 2020 Bailey Unicorn Vigo with us.
Many people thought we would be better off selling the tourer in the UK, and buying a caravan in Italy when we had fully settled in. But we thought otherwise, mainly because prices for caravans in mainland Europe tend to be higher than they are in the UK.
The best caravan can be a personal choice too, and we love our Vigo. Plus, we liked the idea of using it to travel slowly down from the UK to our new home. It was indeed a nice trip.
I was aware that there would be a few administrative hurdles to get over, and payments to make, before we would be able to use the vehicle in Italy fully. There was import tax, for example, which in our case came to €120, although it could be much higher in other circumstances. There was also a fee for registration at the Motorizzazione, the Italian equivalent of an MoT. That came to €450, including the cost of an Italian numberplate.
There were other issues to consider as well. I was initially concerned that exporting the caravan would invalidate its warranty. But with our caravan this was about to expire anyway, so it was no great loss. Another point was the certificate of conformity which I needed to present for the import authority as well as the Motorizzazione, to show that the caravan meets the new country’s safety standards.
This was straightforward in our case, although I am grateful to Bailey for providing us with a replacement certificate after the Motorizzazione kept the original one.
If you are taking a tourer to Europe this year, make sure you know how to register a caravan for Europe, first, too.
Automotive issues
As an aside, an import could actually have been more tricky with the tow car, particularly as we were making the move after Brexit.
I was originally going to import our 2019 car along with the caravan. But the agency I used pointed out possible issues with compliance to the latest Italian car norms post-Brexit, so in the end I sold the old car in the UK and bought a similar car in Italy. Having the steering wheel on the ‘correct’ side is a bonus, too.
If you’re on the hunt for a towing vehicle, don’t miss our tips on what to look for when choosing a tow car, either.
Tax and insurance
In Italy there is also road tax to consider for caravans. Fortunately in Lombardy where we are based this is relatively low, amounting to around €50 per annum.
Third party insurance for the caravan is covered by our car’s insurance while we are towing in Italy, as it was in the UK; when I approached the insurers for the caravan, they could
only insure against third party damage while it is unhitched. Fortunately the premium was rather low, at €50 per annum.
I hope we won’t, but of course I might encounter some technical issues with our caravan while in Italy. I haven’t found a dedicated service centre for the annual caravan servicing, and any repairs would also likely be more expensive to fix in Italy. So we will probably have our service done while touring in the UK next year.
We have now had our first trip in Italy with the caravan, and I have to say that I was a little shocked at the high overnight prices for some of the caravan parks in the Dolomites: up to €70 for two people and a dog!
But overall I would say that the import has been worth it. It saved the hassle and cost of selling and buying a caravan again, and we still have our beloved Bailey Vigo.
Among many great features, it is still relatively slim (at just 2.28m wide) and this has certainly helped when navigating some of the narrow tunnels around Lake Garda. The locals seem impressed, too – some of them have even commented on our caravan’s good looks. Great to hear that from an Italian!
Take a look at what our tow car expert, David Motton, has to say about towing a caravan with a classic car too, an experience which can provide plenty of nostalgia, but comes with pros and cons to consider.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this article, why not get the latest news, reviews and features delivered direct to your door or inbox every month. Take advantage of our brilliant Practical Caravan magazine SUBSCRIBERS’ OFFER and SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER for regular weekly updates on all things caravan related.
