Find out what has changed and how it has affected our build and any future build of Campers, (Truck Campers or Camper Vans) build and registered in Thailand.
Read below why it is so difficult in Thailand to officially build and register a Camper, what is involved and what are the regulation on registering it.
Why Is This Topic So Important?
If you are living in Thailand as a foreigner, you may have thought about buying a Car or Motorbike or any Vehicle for that matter and have it registered in your name. That is no problem at all with the right paperwork as long as it is a vehicle that can be driven with a Class P1 License (3.5 t. Personal Vehicle). It also depends what type of car it is that you wish to register and drive.
If you are thinking about Adventure and Overlanding, Camping with a build out Camper Truck or Van, or even thinking about getting a nice big Truck or a Mercedes UNIMOG, (the ultimate Overland Vehicle) than things are a lot different.
There are restrictions on what Thai registered Vehicle a foreigner is allowed to drive in Thailand and what Thai Licenses a foreigner can hold in Thailand.
We are talking about the official and legal side of this issue, keeping in mind the possibility to take this Vehicle also outside Thailand or around the world.
There are many places that are converting and modifying the heck out of your Vehicle if you wish to, but can you travel the world with it? Can you get insurance for it? Are you allowed to drive it with the License you hold in other Countries?
Now you know!
Information on Thai driver Licenses for foreigners.
A foreigner is only allowed to drive what is considered a Personal Vehicle under the Automobile Act, 1979 for small cars and motorcycle in Thailand. (License Class P1, 3.5 t.) No Commercial Vehicle can be driven since foreigners are not allowed to work in this profession nor are able to obtain such a license in Thailand.
Modified Vehicles can be driven with a Class P1 License if they are registered as personal and or special Vehicles, like Motorhomes, and exempt. (for instance the Motorhome exceeds 3.5 t.)
This is within Thailand. You may face an issue trying to drive it elsewhere since other countries may not accept this special exemption.
Information on registering Vehicles in foreigners names.
Any Vehicle that can be driven with the Class P1 License can be registered in a foreigners name. The lates rule change is that now a Motorhome (modified Vehicles) can be registered under a foreigners name as well. Requirement is that the foreigner is holding a Work permit and Valid Visa.
Registering modified Vehicles as Motorhome or Mobilehome.
Now that is where it gets interesting. Whereas you can do pretty much anything in other Countries and then re-register it as a Camper Van or Motorhome, Thailand is very different.
A Car usually gets its basic designation of purpose when it is registered for the first time, and that can not be changed. For example a Minibus or Minivan will be registered as a Personell carrier for X amount of Passenger with a specific set of regulations.
In this case it has to have Seats and Belts installed. If you remove them you will alter the purpose of the Vehicle and you will be fined. So you can change the registration to a Transport Vehicle and remove the Seats. But you have to keep it empty with no permanent installed modifications.
Same goes for all other Cars and Pickup Trucks. So you see where I am going with this.
The only way you can legally register a Motorhome out of everything is right in the beginning upon its first registration (that is what Car dealerships do) which is also possible if you build a series of Pickup Truck Campers like Classiccar Caravan Factory did with the Monté. (series of about 40 cars)
Or you re-register your Vehicle as a single special Vehicle and pay a six figure amount to do so. (that is what Car dealerships do for imported cars)
So you see to pay a million or more for the official registration of a Motorhome is acceptable if you can divide this by 40 cars because it is a sort of a Type registration.
Again, anything is possible here in Thailand, but you have to decide for yourself what you need. Without the correct registration you maybe not able to sell the Vehicle, and or the resell value will be affected.
Regulation changes per 1. Oct. 2022
Now this is something that again is restricting what is officially allowed in Thailand. If you want to legally register a modified Vehicle, that you have to follow the code.
It had not much of an impact to our Mobilehome, other than a delay of the delivery date, but will for all future projects.
Modification of the original Chassis of an Imported Vehicle.
If a Vehicle has been imported by a Company and is Type approved by the Transportation Department, its original weight and dimension of its Chassis can no longer be altered and modified after 1. Oct. 2022.
Lucky we ordered and registered our Vehicle before this deadline and are still able to receive it with the extended wheelbase and extended chassis. (complete Vehicle length 6.2 meter)
But the Vehicle had to be send to Bangkok to be inspected properly, which took about 2 weeks. (all Vehicles in production)
So, no more modifications to the Chassis are allowed, which limits greatly in what you actually can and cannot do to a Vehicle to convert it into an Overland or Motorhome.
Conclusion
For us, it was a minor hiccup, that actually translates into a value gain of our Vehicle, if we ever want to sell it in Thailand, since in this size, it is not available anymore.
For the price we pay, compared to European or American build Vehicles we get so much more, and the building standard is very high, plus we get a 4WD.
For you, it is now limiting even more of what is legally possible as a foreigner. As an alternative, there are a couple of companies that are offering Truckbed Campers for a reasonable price. Or you just have to pay the price for a Mercedes Sprinter Van that has been imported as a Camper.
If you have questions or would like to get more information on this topic, fell free to contact us and we happily share our knowledge and experience with you.
Till we meet on the road somewhere.
Neruwan and Byörn