Towing through Canada, worth it?

Go through Montreal, a beautiful city, stay and visit. If you’re concerned about the gas price you better avoid the NY thruway, the tolls will be a bit of a shock.

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:
Depending on the order of things, a route through Canada will save us between 125-200 miles of distance.....

RobWNY wrote:
I can't offer any input based off experience but the time spent at the border crossings and the cost of fuel in Canada would make my decision easy.

What the heck do you drive that you couldn’t go 125 to 200 miles without refueling?

Canada is beautiful. Fuel costs are higher, border crossing can be a piece of cake or delay you, and there are food items you cannot carry that change annually it seems. Alcohol only is small quantities and NO guns. NONE. Animals need recent vet certificates. Passports are now required or I believe they take the enhanced drivers license but check to be sure!

So, lots to think about and if only looking to save a few miles, I think I'd stay in the US. Love Canada and have traveled there but not worth potential issues and food restrictions to save a few miles IMHO.

Have been crossing the border many years and have never been asked what food we have when going back into Canada, except for the one time there was an avian flu outbreak.

However, unless you are 100% positive you know the US regulations, do not take fresh fruit, vegetables or meat back into the US. Even some seemingly insignificant foods can be prohibited, even if canned or frozen. We do all our food shopping once we're in the US except for some things like canned items, frozen foods & condiments.

While fuel is def. higher here these days, a 150-200 mile trip won't matter much.

Depending on timing, border crossings can be very sloooow at peak times. Mid-week for ex. would be better than a Friday or Sunday afternoon during the summer. We solved that by getting Nexus cards.

Avoid buying fuel or groceries near any border crossing unless you want to pay the highly inflated prices. Here in BC/WA, we can save up to a $1 a gallon of gas by driving 10+ miles south into WA to an Arco or similar.

And if a border agent asks you if you have anything to declare, make sure you know what you are supposed to declare and what you have with you. If they happen to pull you aside for an inspection and find something you didn't declare, you *could* be in hot water.

Our latest border crossing was in July of this year: Port Huron to Sarnia and then return. No wait and only polite but serious questions. Last Summer from Sweet Grass into Alberta and return at another station whose name I cannot remember, but again no wait and only the serious questions. US always seems a bit more serious than Canada. All these crossings with fifth wheel trailer and dog in the back seat. Maybe we have just been lucky, but that has been our experience.

If you intend to carry any alcoholic beverages larger than the ones on airplanes I'd stay in the US.

You can look up what you can and cannot bring across Canadian/US border crossings. They will be different US into Canada and then the other direction.

Fresh produce, raw meat, pet food not in its original packaging are generally not allowed. More than a small amount of alcohol are taxed highly. No firearms. Your pets will need current vaccinations and health certificates.

If you typically travel with a lot of food or raw ingredients, it might be more hassle than it's worth.

If we were routing through Canada, there are a lot of places we'd like to stop and visit for a while. With the border crossing concerns and it simply being a drive-through, we have not opted to do it (even though we have done exactly the trip you are asking about - we stayed in the US).

I can't offer any input based off experience but the time spent at the border crossings and the cost of fuel in Canada would make my decision easy.

x2. Although I haven't had many issues with border crossings I'd stay in the states for one less hassle. The difference in gas cost may balance out with the value of the US dollar being so high against Canadian dollars. It may just come down to time but will the time you save be eaten up at the border crossing.

My wife and I went from Niagara to Sarnia in June. We had spent the night on the Canadian side of Niagara to view the falls at night. Since we were already in Canada we decided to just run over to Sarnia instead of going the extra distance to drive through Penn and Ohio. We did not have to buy any of the expensive Canadian gas so that was not a concern. Going through customs took us about 45 minutes in line and 5 minutes at the window. they never even went into the trailer.

We just crossed the border 2 days ago from Canada back into Maine. We were pulled aside and had to wait 1 hour while border patrol went through the MH including having me unlock safes. The also went through all the bays and looked in the engine compartment. It was the wife and 2 of our grandkids. They did confiscate a couple of tomato's and kiwis.

A few years ago we went from Buffalo to Sarnia to save the trip around the lake. This time the Canadians took 1 hour to go through the MH.

90% of the time though they ask a few questions and we're on our way. It's a **** shoot. But I'd agree with those that consider the time savings and expensive fuel to make it not worth doing.