Truck campers and TIP classification

They will not ask for title for the camper if you bring it in as an RV, just use the Truck VIN number. If you have room to stash them, remove the jacks so if they see it it will show as a single unit.

We will be coming in to Mexico from the south.

when I said No-go - meant that I can't do the TIP on-line because it only allows for USA citizens and Canadian Citizens so that probably means only 6 months instead of ten.

Truck and camper are one unit as far as our plans go. We have other RVs elsewhere so we drive one for six months, park it up somewhere safe(ish) and fly somewhere else and drive around there for a few months and so-on. It would have been convenient to park the truck camper in Mexico for about 9 months while we fly home and then on to Europe (Turkey beckons) but if all we get is 6 months then that might be OK too.

USA isn't a problem because the vehicle is registered and owned by a USA entity, the LLC - as is the Airstream which we took into Mexico last year using a permission note I wrote myself and which wasn't even notarised. We will also have a notarised permission to cover the truck camper just in case they are a bit stricter way down south.

I hope nobody every asks for the title for the BigFoot camper because as far as I know there isn't one. Previous owners who bought the rig in CA never mentioned it and I have all their paperwork. Should I be concerned about this and get a receipt for the camper from the previous owners?? The camper is specifically mentioned on the Poder they signed in Argentina so I guess that might do.

Recently I changed the name of the LLC to " LLC" so our full names appear on the title and the registration paper so unless you notice the "LLC" right on the end, everything matches our passports.

Just more info for anyone planning on buying a vehicle in S America and driving it north - as we have done - the process is actually illegal and getting the vehicle ownership and TIP "laundered" as you cross the border is possible but if you do it wrong you can lose the vehicle or have to pay very large fines as have two parties I have talked with recently. Couple of others have managed it by skipping border crossings altogether, but that runs the risk of not getting into the next country. We have done it once already using an Argentinian Poder (Power of Attorney) signed by the previous owners. That, plus good photocopies of the previous owners registration papers (they don't have titles in England - well not those sort of titles anyway) plus the actual TIP documents. Got us across the border after about 90 minutes of head scratching and then at the border for the next country - which was three days travel away - we presented our genuine British rego papers in my name and entered Chile as normal getting a TIP in my name.
Now have to do it all over again with the new vehicle with the added complication of having to check out with CA plates and documents and check in with MT plates and documents so I need a bit of empty road out of sight of both border posts to make the swap.

All good fun.

"Maybe @ Lukeville/Sonoyta where they give everyone a hard time on everything from pets to meat!"

We had a really easy time at Lukeville last year. Just us crossing and both Mexican and US people just waved us through with a smile - perhaps not exactly a smile, but the US guy at least grimaced a little bit which I thought was a pretty good sign. So far - fingers crossed - we have never been subjected to a decent search or significant delay at any border. Closest was a couple of Chilean SAG (agricultural) inspections which can be pretty strict but which only ever lost us a token carrot or couple of apples.

To add to the confusion, at Colombia a few years ago the slapped a 10 year on the camper, but then we have to get a TIP on the truck every year. I don't recall them ever looking at the 10 year permit since then. I suspect coming in from the south it will be even less organized than the north.

Tony: I have never heard of anyone having a problem with a truck camper @ Nogales. Maybe @ Lukeville/Sonoyta where they give everyone a hard time on everything from pets to meat! I would not get the on line permit. Just get a regular 6 month permit for the truck at the border and ignore the camper. Where would you store the camper in Mexico? The LLC is not a problem. We have an LLC and got a 10 year @ Nogales. We did the same 7 years ago with another MH.
Moisheh

How come no go? If you have a notorized letter it should be OK.

Thanks for the link Tequila. On-line would be a good option but I doubt whether the fields include any nationality other than American or Canadian.

Hmmmm! The truck and camper is actually owned by our LLC which IS American - and we will be driving it with written permission (might get it notarised this time) from the LLC which is us. Might have a go at filling out the on-line form part of the way through and see what happens

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Hmmmm again. No go so looks as if I might have to leave it a bit further south after-all.

Reason I asked is the vehicle is currently down south and we have already spent 6 months touring Argentina and Chile and then flew here to the US to tour around here a bit more before heading back.
Plan might be to spend 6 or seven months heading north into Mexico where we would like to leave the camper for a few months while we go elsewhere.
Argentina and Uruguay don't have a problem with leaving vehicles there for the duration of the TIP (8 months and 12 months respectively) - on a don't ask, don't tell basis anyway - but most of the rest of the countries further north either don't allow it at all or require you to leave the vehicle in bonded storage for a fairly hefty daily fee.

We want to spend a bit more time in Mexico rather than just blasting through to CA so it would be good if we could just store the camper in the far south of Mexico for a few months and then visit a few of the places where the airstream doesn't fit or won't go.
I assume if it was classed as a vehicle then we couldn't do that because the TIP is only for 6 months, but if it got in as an RV then presume we could just leave it there and fly out (inside our visitors visa validity) without any problems - or have I misunderstood what the RV TIP is all about.

Tony there are 2 ways to handle this. Even Banjercito is unclear on this. A buddy of mine has had several emails with them back & forth and they cannot give a defintive answer. They either classify them as a truck carrying cargo or an RV. it can depend on who handles the paperwork. In most cases they will classify it as a truck carrying cargo. If you get the permit on line, you can get the 10 year permit no problem, but I advise against driving the truck down there without the camper on board if you do that. A sharp police officer may question why a truck has an RV permit. With the camper on board, no problem. It is OK to do it that way, I know people who do it every year and even cancel the permit on exit with no issues or questions. They do not cross check VIN Numbers year by year so you can even switch methods with no problem. (A good idea if you are not sure if you will return) There is a page on a caravan company web site dealing with this with examples. Link

Tony: Campers are not supposed to be subject to any permits. They are not vehicles. The truck is classified as non RV. Some people have asked for clarification. I think that is a bad idea as technically one would have to pay duty and IVA to enter the country and that is non refundable.

Moisheh