Hi,I'm new to the forum. Was after a bit of advice please? My girlfriend and I are flying from the UK to Canada in a couple of weeks to do a ski season in Whistler. We've got a 6 month working holiday visa.Does anyone know what class of campervan I can legally drive with my regular UK car license?In England, I drive my Mercedes sprinter which I've converted into a camper, and can drive anything up to 3.5 tonnes...We're planning on buying a second hand camper (in either Vancouver or Whistler) and driving it down the West Coast of USA (between April 2015-June 2015). the plan is to then sell it on in San Diego (before then travelling through Mexico and Central America by bus and plane). I have considered driving the full way, but my girlfriend's worried it might not be safe, and I worry we'd lose loads of money on the van if we sold it on in central america...Is it likely to hold its value just between Vancouver and San Diego?Am I legally allowed to import it like that?Any legal or other issues I might encounter?Can I get North American insurance which covers me to drive freely between Canada and USA?Is insurance expensive in Canada? And do you have to pay road tax? If the answer to both these questions is 'No', I might buy the camper as soon as we arrive in Canada at the end of this month (rather than at the end of the season in April 2015). That way I'll have it as a run around during the ski season and can use it for work if needs be...Sorry for all the questions! Answers to any of them would be helpful! :)ThanksNick

Probably get more information by a straight internet search than here.

Try reposting this in travel Canada forum here,you should get more responses

I think you will find you can drive any vehicle up to 26000# with your regular driving licence. But only for 90 days.After that you need a Canadian licence, which would need a Canadian address.Insurance in Canada is not cheap. It would cover driving in America, but would also need a Canadian address as a base.Road fund tax as you call it is a sticker on the vehicle license plate, good for one year. A LOT cheaper than the UK.Buying a unit in Canada and travelling as you propose should not be a big deal..............BUT selling a Canadian unit in the US will be a HUGE issue. You would be importing the unit which must meet all US Safety and Emission standards and must have a letter from the Manufacturer to that effect AND stating all recalls have been done.Good luck with that!Vehicles in Canada are significantly more expensive than in America, so, even if you got the legalities taken care of, you will lose your shirt on that sale anyway!

You may find it way less expensive and problematic to export your own sprinter to Canada. Drive it for your six month holiday there and in the states and then ship it home from California. This will probably be easier and cheaper and more reliable then buying used, insuring, and importing from Canada to US. Plus you will be driving a vehicle you know as opposed to taking on unknowns.

Sebtown wrote:You may find it way less expensive and problematic to export your own sprinter to Canada. Drive it for your six month holiday there and in the states and then ship it home from California. This will probably be easier and cheaper and more reliable then buying used, insuring, and importing from Canada to US. Plus you will be driving a vehicle you know as opposed to taking on unknowns.Thinking his UK sprinter is probably right hand drive. Not optimal for driving in Canada and the US.

UK citizen- Wants to buy an RV in Canada & sell on in USA..?

27 Replies

MysteryNick
Explorer
Oct 07, 2014
Thanks so much for all your comments. Very helpful!
Kaydeejay-will the letter from the manufacturer be good enough if I've bought the vehicle second hand (and old!). Or will I need to take it to a garage and get them to sign off the emissions? Do you think that maybe if I made a couple of clever phone calls to the correct authorities and/or to the manufacturer prior to buying the camper, I might be able to ensure that I got one that was good to import to the US?
Also, will I need to take a test to get a Canadian license? Or would I just need to buy one? Are they expensive? I will have a fixed address for 6 months whilst in Whistler, so that won't be an issue.
What does up to 26000 mean Kaydeejay? And is that class A, B or C?
I suspect it would be prohibitively expensive shipping my van to and fro. My Sprinter camper conversion in the UK isn't amazing anyway. It's old and unreliable!
Smkettner- I think you might be right. It might be worth me just buying and selling in the USA. A bit frustrating though, because it would be nice to have a motor whilst in Canada too. I could maybe buy one and sell it on in Canada and then do the same in USA...
time2roll
Nomad
Oct 07, 2014
I recommend you buy and sell in the US to avoid any import/export issues.
Sinnettc
Explorer
Oct 07, 2014
Sebtown wrote:
You may find it way less expensive and problematic to export your own sprinter to Canada. Drive it for your six month holiday there and in the states and then ship it home from California. This will probably be easier and cheaper and more reliable then buying used, insuring, and importing from Canada to US. Plus you will be driving a vehicle you know as opposed to taking on unknowns.

Thinking his UK sprinter is probably right hand drive. Not optimal for driving in Canada and the US.
Sebtown
Explorer
Oct 07, 2014
You may find it way less expensive and problematic to export your own sprinter to Canada. Drive it for your six month holiday there and in the states and then ship it home from California. This will probably be easier and cheaper and more reliable then buying used, insuring, and importing from Canada to US. Plus you will be driving a vehicle you know as opposed to taking on unknowns.
kaydeejay
Explorer
Oct 07, 2014
I think you will find you can drive any vehicle up to 26000# with your regular driving licence. But only for 90 days.
After that you need a Canadian licence, which would need a Canadian address.
Insurance in Canada is not cheap. It would cover driving in America, but would also need a Canadian address as a base.
Road fund tax as you call it is a sticker on the vehicle license plate, good for one year. A LOT cheaper than the UK.

Buying a unit in Canada and travelling as you propose should not be a big deal..............
BUT selling a Canadian unit in the US will be a HUGE issue. You would be importing the unit which must meet all US Safety and Emission standards and must have a letter from the Manufacturer to that effect AND stating all recalls have been done.
Good luck with that!
Vehicles in Canada are significantly more expensive than in America, so, even if you got the legalities taken care of, you will lose your shirt on that sale anyway!
free_radical
Explorer
Oct 07, 2014
Try reposting this in travel Canada forum here,you should get more responses
trop-a-cal
Explorer
Oct 07, 2014
Probably get more information by a straight internet search than here.

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UK citizen- Wants to buy an RV in Canada & sell on in USA..?

27 Replies

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