Canadians buying from the USA

One question about the trailer licence plate : Does the U.S. dealer usually provide a temporary transit plate/document ??

I'm picking up a trailer in Sweetgrass,Montana and driving to Calgary .

This is all good reading! I'm planning on buying a TT from a dealer in Winsconsin in April.I'm driving from Calgary.My savings after expenses will be $4000+.
After 2 years of research,we tried to buy a TT in Alberta last weekend, but the dealer wouldn't budge on their price.So I called a dealer in Winsconsin.He answered all my questions.They will prepare all the documents needed.THey were very willing to work with me.So,as soon as the weather gets a little warmer,I'm heading south.

I'll throw in my two cents. We imported a 2011 Rockwood Roo 19 in August 2010. We were nervous as well, and the price difference seemed too good to be true (being from Atlantic Canada, we don't get the volume discounts that some from larger cities would get, making importing an even more worthwhile option. We bought our camper for $13,500+/- US, but locally, the best price we could get was $1000 off of the MSRP of $24,999. We bought from RV Direct (aka Albany RV) and picked it up in Elkhart, Indiana. RV Wholesalers were pretty much the same price, but we were leaning towards the Jayco 19H at the time we decided on RV Direct, so when we decided on the Roo, we stuck with RV Direct. If I had to do it again, I would have likely gone with RV Wholesalers, as they have a certified warranty centre about a half hour drive from my house, but no bad experience with RV Direct either.

For us, it was a 2300km trek each way...close to 5000km when all was said and done, but we still saved plenty, even factoring in the $1500 in gas and hotels, plus got to see parts of the US that we have never seen before.

Crossing the border was very simple. One thing with RVDirect and RVWholesalers (and likely others) is that they are very familiar with the requirements of importing as they have many Canadian customers who they sell to. They had all the paperwork ready when I picked up the camper. We told the border guard at the gate that we were importing a trailer, and he gave us a slip of paper, told us to pull ahead, park, and go in the building and give them the slip of paper. We did this at around noon on a Saturday at the St. Stephen, New Brunswick border crossing, as we knew it would be quiet, and it was. The border agent was familiar with the process, as there have been many others importing that year, and we were in and out of there in about half an hour. We paid our RIV fee of $195 plus GST, as well as the GST portion of the HST on the unit (we paid the rest of the HST when we went to register the camper at the DMV). We had all of our paperwork, including the recall letter, and just handed it to the border agent.

In total, we saved between $7000 and $8000, factoring everything in. Keep in Ming to that if you save $8000 off of the unit, there are additional savings since you do not need to pay taxes on that. I would import again in a heartbeed. Just be sure to do your homework.

We are now looking at our next camper, which is a couple years away. One we are considering is the Sabre 34TBOK, which would be around $35K from RVW, or over $50K at home. I am all for supporting local business, but.... And as soon as you mention to them how much you can get it in the US and if they can work with you on the price, they shut right down. I'd be willing to pay more to buy local, even beyond travel expenses, but even with their best price, the gap is too large.

mobilife wrote:
Do we pay the GST/HST at the border, or when we apply for license plate after RIV inspection?

You'll pay GST portion as well as $100 AC tax at the border. They can charge the RIV inspection at that time but it seems now they just tell you to pay that online. You'll pay the PST portion when you register the vehicle (after RIV inspection)

Do we pay the GST/HST at the border, or when we apply for license plate after RIV inspection?

Dealer in michigan recently told us that they can provide a recall letter for any trailer they sell,we were looking at used 5th wheels.
S o yes they are required for any imported rv.

FWIW, I'm too lazy to call RIV but all the references I see say that you do need the recall letter for trailers as well (the one step you seem to save with trailers is that they don't have to be exported from the US. You do still need the title in Canada though (if you don't have the title (e.g. some people sell with 'bill of sale only'), I don't think it's possible to import the vehicle into Canada.

I just had a look at the RIV site, specifically the "Recall clearance" information. The page provides two drop downs, one for the "manufacturer" and the second for the "type" of RV. I looked in the type list and low and behold, trailer is included. That would mean to me that by implication, trailers are included in the recall cert requirement. I don't think I would want to be trying to import a "trailer" without the recall cert! If called out for no cert, you would then own a trailer that you could not bring into Canada and therefore you would be in the Seller's market in the US. There is an alternative I would guess. Employee an import broker that is experienced in the vehicle importation process however; that would have a serious impact on the "savings" gained by importing. I would further suggest that one acquire the recall cert BEFORE taking ownership/title to the vehicle. I would not assume that a rv broker/dealership knows the ins and outs of import to Canada. Due diligence here would include overseeing the whole process to avoid owning an RV that is not importable to Canada.

Exemption from the RIV requirements, including the recall certificate, are listed at the following web site. Please note that there is AN exemption for any RV that is older than 15 years. The remaining exemptions include a work vehicle, a temporary import and pre-clearance These exemptions are not likely to fly for an RV, I would suggest.

http://www.riv.ca/RIVExemptions.aspx

Vic

Looks like your best advice here so far would be to just give them a call. Whether or not someone has done it before, might not be the case now.

Since trailers are listed in the drop down here on the RIV site, I'd have to assume that it MAY be asked of you, regardless of whether anyone else was asked for it or not.