bobmacc wrote: I have imported two motorhomes. One from Missouri and the second from Minnesota. As you know, you cannot get provincial plates until the vehicle has passed the inspection. The temporary state tag that the dealer should provide you with is valid in the US and Canada until you get the RV inspected and licenced provincially OR until the expiry date on the tag - likely 14-30 days. Really not a problem. Don't forget to get it insured. As a matter of interest and reassurance, I took 8 days plus to get each home and was never stopped by police even though the tag was only visible through a tinted road side window 6 plus feet above the road.
Be sure to have the dealer get recall clearance letters from both the Chassis and house maunfacturers and submit them to the RIV within 30 days of their date. Good luck and you will be amazed at the simplicity of the import process.
Bob
Thanks Bob that's the info I was looking for, was wondering if I had to stop right after crossing the border and try and get a temporary tag for Alberta.
So far the price I'm getting down south is well worth my effort to go there.
You must fax to US Customs at least 72 hours before you cross, the title and bill of sale and go into the office before you cross into Canada. They assure themselves that there are no liens on the MH and will stamp the original title for you. Note this does not apply to non motorized imports. Be sure to get their hours and fax number where you plan to cross and have this info before you cross into the US so the paper can be faxed from the dealer. They don't do vehicle imports on the Cdn side at all crossings nor on weekends in Ontario so check that out too in your neck of the woods.
PM me if I can help further.
Bob
* This post was
edited 04/11/12 07:12am by bobmacc *
You must fax to US Customs at least 72 hours before you cross, the title and bill of sale and go into the office before you cross into Canada. They assure themselves that there are no liens on the MH and will stamp the title for you. Note this does not apply to non motorized imports. Be sure to get their hours and fax number where you plan to cross and have this info before you cross into the US so the paper can be faxed from the dealer. They don't do vehicle imports on the Cdn side at all crossings nor on weekends in Ontario so check that out too in your neck of the woods.
PM me if I can help further.
Bob
Thanks Bob that's great info cause I would have drove right up to the border assuming that they would want me to stop in there office on the Canadian side.
The dealer has already said he would prepare all necessary paperwork and forward it to the border.
We're a couple of months away but I will take you up on the offer to help with private messages
You must fax to US Customs at least 72 hours before you cross, the title and bill of sale and go into the office before you cross into Canada. They assure themselves that there are no liens on the MH and will stamp the title for you. Note this does not apply to non motorized imports. Be sure to get their hours and fax number where you plan to cross and have this info before you cross into the US so the paper can be faxed from the dealer. They don't do vehicle imports on the Cdn side at all crossings nor on weekends in Ontario so check that out too in your neck of the woods.
PM me if I can help further.
Bob
The most important thing is do do your homework.
- Make sure your mh is admissible in Canada. If it's not admissible, you WILL NOT be able to import it into Canada until it's 15 years old. The list is available at www.riv.ca
- Branding of title. If you are buying a vehicle that does not have a clear title (e.g. has a rebuilt title) you need to check with your province. Different provinces have different rules - I believe Ontario will not allow you to register a vehicle that's ever been branded as flooded or fire in the US no matter if it's been rebuilt or not.
- Some provinces will not issue temp permits for imported vehicles until the vehicle is actually in Canada and inspected (e.g. Ontario - I'm not sure if any of them do it) so you need to check with the state you are purchasing if you can get a trip / in-transit permit. Most will issue them. Some will only issue them if you pay state tax (e.g. FL, CA, AZ I believe, etc). Some only issue them to US residents (e.g. AR). Basically, you really need to do your homework here. Same thing applies to whether or not you need to pay state tax on the purchase. For most states, if you are a non-resident, you don't pay tax but a few (FL, CA, IN, AZ I believe) will charge if you take delivery within the state so the vehicle must be shipped / driven by the seller out of state for delivery there. There can also be different rules depending if you are buying from a dealer or privately. Bottom line is that with all the permutations, you need to confirm the rules for your particular situation. It's important to know that there is no reciprocity tax agreement between provinces and states (e.g. even if you pay taxes in Florida, you will still need to pay taxes in Ontario when you import it and will not get a credit for taxes paid)
- Make sure you can get the recall letter and it must have been issued in the past 30 days. Several references say that you need 2 for motor homes but I've checked and been told by the RIV that you only need it from the chassis manufacturer and can confirm that I've imported and entered the RIV program with only the recall letter from the chassis manufacturer (the last mh I imported (Dec 2011) was from a manufacturer that's long been out of business and I only had the recall letter from the chassis manufacturer (Freightliner)). This does mean that you probably cannot import a mh from a manufacturer that builds their own chassis that's gone out of business whether or not they are admissible (e.g. CountryCoach, Alpine, NationalRV Islander (built on CC chassis, etc)). One more thing about recall letters is that some manufacturer do charge for them (e.g. Chev / Workhorse, possibly Chrysler/Mercedes for Sprinter, etc) do charge for the recall letter however the RIV will usually accept a printout from a dealer showing that there's no outstanding recalls (for Chev, this can be a bit of a run around for older chassis; a few years ago they changed their system - RIV wants a printout from the new system and older VINs are not in it. When I did ours a few years ago, I had to get the printout from the older system saying showing no recalls (but that the VIN was in it), the printout from the new system showing that it's not in the new system (basically blank page showing VIN not found in the system) and explain to them that older chassis are not in the new system but that the old system indicates no recalls. Eventually RIV accepted it but it was a bit of a run-around).
- Many US POE require the original title in hand at least 72hrs before you export although some accept faxes or scanned emails (i.e. you have to send the original title by courrier). You need to check with the specific US POE you will be exporting from what their policy is. If there is a lien showing on the title, you need a letter (possibly notarized) showing that the lien has been discharged. I've never had to deal with it but I believe the US border will not let you export a vehicle with a lien registered.
- From my experience every Canadian Border I've checked will process imports 24/7 but I've only checked the bigger border crossings. The US side has restrictions on the hours and the ones I've checked only do it Mon-Fri during regular business hours (something like 8:30-4:30).
- Again check with the Canadian Border Patrol but I believe since the introduction of the HST, all borders will collect the GST portion of the tax on the purchase price. Technically, the tax is suppose to be charged on whatever amount is on the bill of sale but if it's low, CBA agents will challenge you on it. Best thing to do is simply have it notarized in the US before importing. You'll also need to pay around $200 RIV fee and $100 AC tax. If the mh is not built in NorthAmerican (i.e. if the VIN does NOT start with a number), you also have to pay 6.1% duty (in practical terms, I think the only ones this might apply to are the Sprinter based chassis mhs).
- Once in Canada, there's pretty much nothing to do other than have DRLs activated / installed and get your RIV inspection done at CanadianTire. I think the only other thing they check is the VIN and tire pressure so it helps if you know where the label with that information is.
* This post was
edited 04/11/12 06:02am by michelb *
I bought a motorhome a few years ago in North Carolina.
The information bobmacc & michelb are providing is correct.
Your temporary licence plate is valid in Canada, just make sure you get one for the longest period possible (30 to 45 days) to give you ample time for the various inspections. Of course make sure you are insured the minute you drive away with it.
* This post was
edited 04/14/12 05:17am by gorjo01 *
For those following this thread and seeing dollar signs...there are some restrictions and they primarily apply to older types of RV. There is a federal site that lists these.
When you call RIV, they should ask you for your chassis manufacturer and your RV manufacturer. They told me both must comply to Canadian spec. apparantly very few do not comply.
Papers have to be 72 hours at the US port of entry to check if there is anything linked to the vehicle, example if there was a crime linked with this vehicle. I provided a clear title to custom, and I was asked for the title at the Quebec province vehicle registry. I cannot immagine buying a vehicle without clear title. I also checked with Carfax for peace of mind. If the vehicle is still on warranty, you might want to call the Canadian company, ie Ford Canada to make sure it will still be on warranty.
Lemon law vehicle cannot cross to Canada, some States have lemon law vehicles that they sell after fixing it.
You could bring your papers with you and wait 72 hours at the border, this is what I did with my pickup truck, I gave it to the US custom and waited 72 hours. I was lucky I have relative near the border, but you could just leave it and go camping for a few days in USA.
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