Shipping bagged vehicle overseas. (USA to ENGLAND)

[trappedunderice]

Im in the military, and i recently got PCS orders to England from the States. I just got back from a deployment, and im looking to bag and throw some new shoes on my JSW. I have a couple questions.

I'll be shipping this vehicle to England, paid for by the US government. Would it make a difference to bag it now, and ship it, or just wait. Would i be saving money buying and installing them now, or would i be paying more for an air ride setup while im in England? Is it safe for the suspension to ship it on an air ride, taking a few weeks?

any and all input is appreciated, i tried to search, but nothing really turned up. thank you.

[Twilliams83]

Im in the military, and i recently got PCS orders to England from the States. I just got back from a deployment, and im looking to bag and throw some new shoes on my JSW. I have a couple questions.

I'll be shipping this vehicle to England, paid for by the US government. Would it make a difference to bag it now, and ship it, or just wait. Would i be saving money buying and installing them now, or would i be paying more for an air ride setup while im in England? Is it safe for the suspension to ship it on an air ride, taking a few weeks?

any and all input is appreciated, i tried to search, but nothing really turned up. thank you.

take your time during the instal and be very careful. if you have no leaks i do not see a reason why there would be a problem to ship the car on air.

[RILEY UK]

I'd probably bag it before bringing it over myself.

I'm in the UK and if you import anything (All the better air ride stuff is where you are) then you will be hit with a lot of tax and the shipping isn't cheap. I recently bought a full e-level/air lift kit from BagRiders for example, and once it got here I had to pay...£400 import tax. Around $750USD I think?

Just something to consider.

[golf3racing]

yes defiantly install the air ride in the states and make sure that u leave ur car at a reasonable right height for clearance and stuff. also well I have auto pilot and if that's what u get make sure to turn off the auto ride height settings.

[golf3racing]

or just set it high

[Dpaz]

That or just buy it here, don't install it and get tmo to ship it over with all your other stuff for free and put it on over there

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[MechEngg]

yes defiantly install the air ride in the states and make sure that u leave ur car at a reasonable right height for clearance and stuff. also well I have auto pilot and if that's what u get make sure to turn off the auto ride height settings.

Not sure i get what you mean by turn off the auto ride height setting, why would it matter?

[alankitzmiller]

tui till i die

[golf3racing]

well if u have ur ride height set low the car might get damaged if they have to move it or just set the ride height high so there is clearance

[CoopersVR6]

A friend of mine shipped his car from washington to hawaii, we just put it all the way up and didnt have any issues

[trappedunderice]

tui till i die

qft.

thanks for all the info. i thought about doing what Dpaz said, but if i run into a problem while installing, ill have to wait for parts from the states. ill probably put it on first then ship it max height. thank you.

[MechEngg]

well if u have ur ride height set low the car might get damaged if they have to move it or just set the ride height high so there is clearance

Then what you should do is set the ride height at all the way up.

[ShadowWabbit]

Definitly do it before. Also, if its within your budget, i'd order a few major replacement parts as well. Worst case senerio, u just sell it in the UK for what u paid

[CoolestDudeEver]

Navy guy here...

I would recommend NOT doing it before. Order all parts and ship them in your HHG shipment and do the install once you get there. Shipping the car will take at least 30 days if not more. I wouldnt want a super tiny leak to appear and then they drag your car off the ship/truck because they cant figure it out.

You could also see if any UK guys want some airride parts, paypal you, collect a small fee, ship them to your US house and HHG ship them to UK.

Haha.

thats what i would do...

[bryangb]

Navy guy here...

I would recommend NOT doing it before. Order all parts and ship them in your HHG shipment and do the install once you get there. Shipping the car will take at least 30 days if not more. I wouldnt want a super tiny leak to appear and then they drag your car off the ship/truck because they cant figure it out.

You could also see if any UK guys want some airride parts, paypal you, collect a small fee, ship them to your US house and HHG ship them to UK.

Haha.

thats what i would do...

This. I wouldn't trust a new install to sit for 30 days and risk someone who doesn't now what they're doing try to drive it.

[Niagara_V_Dub]

Navy guy here also and I second what the other sailor said. If you buy and ship it later you will get RAPED in shipping, customs and VAST (squirrelly import tax), if you install first then you run the risk of everything from a pin hole leak deflating one or all bags and them not caring and messing you ride up, a improper electrical install could lead to a dead battery and them just dragging the car off and messing up your tires. And the list of possible problems goes on, just think what is the strangest possible problem, then multiply that by the dumbest people ever and you have your answer.

If you include it with your HHG it will also be covered by the moving company and gov't so if it gets damaged in shipping it is WAY easier to recoup your money through them then through UPS or whoever would ship it otherwise. Have had a few items messed up and way incredibly easy to get my money. BUT get OCD on taking pictures of EVERYTHING that is getting packed, along with video of the electronics working to prove that it was previously functional. Is that OCD, hell yes... but it is worth it if it goes wrong.

Most importantly, patience and PMS (preventative maintenance service) is key to success. Most likely you would rush the install to make sure it is on in time and that would lead to nothing but problems. Whereas if you wait till your after you PCS then you have time to plan and take your time.

[GolfL]

For the story above,

I would do the air install in the states and ship the car completely ready to england.

Just put some bumpstops between your shocks, so that it wil not lay frame/fender/tire when aired out.

[87vr6]

I would wait until you got to England. There are a few reputable shops, like Rayvern for instance to handle the install.

I've been in and/or around the military for over 9 years now and have seen tmo screw up way to much stuff to trust them with my air ride vehicle

Funny, everyone with military experience says wait, everyone else is all "bag it now bra!!"

I wonder whose advice I'd take...

[arethirdytwo]

I would install it and use an Auto Leveling system like eLevel or E3. Have you auto ride height set to OEM or more (don't max it out) on start. Then you are golden. Auto level systems are considered wife safe. IE. You get in the car, start it and that's it.

Granted if you lose some pressure in the tank it will take a few for it to lift but that would be my recco. Covers everything. You are in the military and getting deployed I know you have enough cash to buy eLevel as I don't think you have any other bills

[Will@BagRiders]

Would i be saving money buying and installing them now, or would i be paying more for an air ride setup while im in England?

Yes, I can confirm it will be less expensive to purchase the bags here. As Neil stated, the shipping and import duties are a killer.

[WaWaMKVDub]

Buy now, ship with HHG and do the install over there. I just think it will be less of a headache and stress. If it were me, I would be worrying everyday until I got the car back that something went wrong.

[MoWsE]

Another Navy Guy here, and I agree with the others. Buy here and ship with your HHG's. Another thing is, if they actually know that there is air in the car, they may not ship it at all. I recently looked into this, because I'm thinking about taking orders to Germany when I'm up to transfer from here in Hawaii. Guy told me, because there is the risk of the tank exploding under pressure, the only way they'd ship it is if the tank is completely empty.

[guerilla_zoe]

I say wait and bag it there. And as for shipping stuff, wont you be getting an APO address? When you ship APO/FPO, you're only paying to get it to the military mail facility, then the military takes over from there and gets it where it needs to go. So aside from the wait, it should be the same price here or there.

[unitzero]

money wise - buying parts in the US is going to work out cheaper. Air is still super expensive over here, it's getting cheaper but it still works out cheaper importing certain parts from you guys.

can you not pile all the parts in the trunk and install when you get here ? make sure you bring a bunch of spare US threaded fittings too just in case as they can be hard to come by over here.

BTW, I can't think of a single bagged JSW (or "mk5/6 Golf Estate" as we say) over here so you will make me sad as I was hoping to do it myself.

[Niagara_V_Dub]

sorta odd how the OP hasn't chimed in.

[Bazmcc]

Simple solution:

Install the bags, make sure it's all working ok.

Reinstall coilovers or standard struts and springs for shipping for ground clearance with the air struts and bags in the trunk. When you get to the UK refit the air struts and bags.

[aj11086]

Simple solution:

Install the bags, make sure it's all working ok.

Reinstall coilovers or standard struts and springs for shipping for ground clearance with the air struts and bags in the trunk. When you get to the UK refit the air struts and bags.

I actually like this idea the best. Do you know who TMO uses to ship these vehicles? The LOWEST bidder. Im terrified to send a nice vehicle over with TMO. I guess if anything happens they will pay for it but its going to be a pain in the ass if it does.