Canadians- buy an RV in the US and leave it there ?

Slightly off topic but since my 5er is a toy hauler: the Cdn Tire inspection will also check to make sure your imported motorcycle brake light meets CDN standards and that the license plate holder is in the centre of the rear fender and properly lit.

Thanks for the comprehensive information. I also made a call to RIV to ask what the situation is if you buy a unit that has gone out of production and the company no longer exists (Alpenlite for example). No recall letter is available for orphan units. They told me that if it has the correct compliance labels on the unit that it may be admissible but to call them with the VIN number before you buy and they will confirm if it is admissible.

Almot wrote:
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Homefor2 - yes, if you plan on bringing it to Canada, you better go through the process of importing (or buy locally). There was very good thread on Airstream forum. Rigs newer than 15 years need to be inspected by people from some federal Canadian office - you will get the appointment date and place when you cross the border, often the inspection takes place in Canadian Tire. You will need some paper called "manufacturer's recall letter" (? not sure), and the title from the seller, nothing else I think. If you don't pass the inspection - say, something serious like bent frame - you can't register it and have to remove it from Canada or destroy. It might be cheaper to buy new in the US than used one in Canada, new rig will likely pass the inspection. Rigs over 15 years don't require inspection. Either way, with or without inspection, you'll have to pay GST/PST or HST, same as if you bought it in Canada.

Just to clarify, the inspection is purely to confirm that the vehicle conforms to Canada Safety Requirements. In most of Canada, it's done at CanadianTire although there are a few 'non-CT' garages that do it (maybe in areas that don't have a nearby CT). It pretty much only covers things like DRL (daytime running lights), child seat anchors (for passenger cars), and make sure there are km/h markings on the speedometer (I believe they provide you stickers if it doesn't), etc. They also verify the VIN, the GVWR of the vehicle, tire pressure, etc (I believe all the ladder are because they print and send you a label for the door side). It usually takes about 5-15 minutes (I've had it done on 5 vehicles (4 mhs and 1 minivan)). This is not a mechanical or safety inspection (although if your Province requires these to register a vehicle, the imported vehicle will also have to pass that). You do need a 'Recall clearance letter' (a letter that states that there are no active recalls on the vehicle) from the manufacturer - for vehicles like a motor home which can have 2 manufacturers (one for chassis and one for the coach, they say you need both but for the last 2 or 3 motor homes I imported, I only got it from the chassis manufacturer and it wasn't a problem (i.e. 2 years ago, I imported a National RV Tradewinds on a Freightliner - National RV has been out of business for about 6 years now so I obviously didn't get a recall letter from them but I had one from Freightliner and that was fine).

If you're interested in importing, there's quite a bit of info in the forum so just do a search. Also look at www.riv.ca which is the agency responsible for this. The most important part is that not all vehicles are admissible for import into Canada (some because they don't comply and can't be made to comply and some simply because the manufacturer simply never disclosed admissibilty to RIV (it appears to be a voluntary process) - if it's not admissible, you cannot import it (until it's 15 years old - as mentioned above, most vehicles 15 years or older are exempt from the program)).

Don't forget about insurance.

No cracking down on LLC. When state legislation allows establishing an LLC in Montana or some other state, and the same legislation doesn't require the members of such newly established LLC company to be US residents, then there is nothing to crack. The rig is owned by LLC, a sort of mini-corporation. LLC is legal resident of the state - not physical persons who established the company and became members. Members, naturally, are allowed to use the company assets. All legal.

However, there is a cracking on fake residential addresses of physical persons in some states. I've been told that Oregon is one of them - better local tax treatment perhaps, don't know. They crack on both Americans and Canadians who register their vehicles in Or without actually residing there. Any moment any state may crack down on such a physical person, like on a camp in Florida - because snowbirds are not US residents. But, local authorities often don't care (or prefer not to care because snowbirds are a source of income for the state).

Homefor2 - yes, if you plan on bringing it to Canada, you better go through the process of importing (or buy locally). There was very good thread on Airstream forum. Rigs newer than 15 years need to be inspected by people from some federal Canadian office - you will get the appointment date and place when you cross the border, often the inspection takes place in Canadian Tire. You will need some paper called "manufacturer's recall letter" (? not sure), and the title from the seller, nothing else I think. If you don't pass the inspection - say, something serious like bent frame - you can't register it and have to remove it from Canada or destroy. It might be cheaper to buy new in the US than used one in Canada, new rig will likely pass the inspection. Rigs over 15 years don't require inspection. Either way, with or without inspection, you'll have to pay GST/PST or HST, same as if you bought it in Canada.

Thanks to all that made suggestions and supplied helpful ideas. DW and I have been discussing the issue and we have come to the conclusion that we will likely want to make a trip to Alaska and also travel for part of the summer in our home province of BC. Looks like either finding one here at home or importing one from the US will be the best decision for us. Prices in the US for used RV's do look better that the same unit here on the West coast.

As you can see, this is very common. You'll have to check with specific States since some require a Driver's Licence to register a vehicle so you have to be a resident but most will let you do it (In the past, I've registered vehicles in VT and FL in my name and in SD using Americas Mailbox). Montana LLC is an option but you do have research that since some states are cracking down on abuse and it's a red flag (although as a non-US resident you'd probably be fine in any state). As far as the taxes, again, each state is different so you'll have to research the one where you plan on registering it. Insurance can be a bit more difficult since you won't have a US DL but you just need to keep calling around and you'll find a company (many will tell you they can't insure you if you don't have a US DL and US driving history, others will tell you they can't insure an RV unless they insure you're primary vehicle (which is likely registered and insured in Canada so not an option) but in my experience, you'll always be able to find a company that will sell you insurance.

One thing to keep in mind is that as a Canadian Citizen, you will likely not be able to bring the US trailer into Canada even for short periods of time without importing it into Canada (e.g. you can't leave it in US / Mexico for 11 months of the year and then bring it into Canada for 2 weeks during the summer). You probably also wouldn't even be able to enter it onto Canada on the way to Alaska without importing it.

Probably you can. Some states will charge sales tax up front at the dealers lot, Ca is one of them. Though you can ask dealer to tow it to Az border for a few hundred bucks and sign a delivery there. Then you need to get a US address and register it there. I didn't know how, and didn't have time, so did it through one of Montana LLC, got my plates by Fedex in a few days, setup fees were steep but annual renewal is cheap. I think LLC are good for people with VERY expensive rigs, because you don't pay any sales tax. Otherwise, setup fees are high.

We have a fiver permanently on a lot in Florida.
Bought and registered there.
In Florida, permanent units must be tagged.

We pay the tag and insurance as though we were residents,
no problem.

I'm not Canadian but have know plenty of Canadians who did just as you described. They had winter addresses in AZ and kept their rigs registered there.