Leaving travel trailer/5th wheel year round in US Southwest

[tomike49]

We are exploring the idea of buying a 5th wheel or travel trailer and leaving it in storage in Arizona from May through November. We have family in both the US southwest and the US northwest so we would spend the winter in Arizona and the spring in the Seattle area. Rather than driving home to Ontario with the rv we would rather keep it in storage in Arizona or Seattle. A couple of questions:

1. Can I insure an RV that is kept in the USA year round? (Canadian or USA insurance company?).

2. Can I buy an RV in the USA (say Arizona) and use it as a vacation home with US plates and insurance? Of course bringing it back to Ontario sometime in the future (if ever) it would be subject to import duties, taxes, licensing etc.

Input from anyone with experience in this area would be greatly appreciated. I have seen posts from people from Australia that have purchased 5th wheels and trucks in the US and stored them while they return home but these posts are 5 years old so I don't know if they are current.

[almcc]

Firstep1 wrote:
Here is a article pertaining to this issue, Fred

KLICKY

In terms of registration, a lot depends on your province. Our 5th wheel has the same plate as our first one that we bought in 1977, it got transferred through 5 units to our current one, it's permanent in that no annual registration/fees are required. Same applies to all trailers in the province.

Insurance is a different matter,in Ontario you have to check with a carrier as insurance is private (not government) so different companies may have different requirements.

One thing I did note is that US border officers are recording trailer plate numbers (they have to get out of the kiosk and walk back to the trailers as the cameras can't read the plates on long trailers) so they know the trailer was brought into the US.

[peterparch]

Does anyone know where I can get information regarding the regulations for leaving a Canadian registered RV trailer in the USA. I spend about three months each year in Arizona and would prefer to leave my RV in storage there rather than going through the hassle of towing it back and forth to Canada through nasty winter driving conditions. I don't want to register it in the US as I want to bring it back to Canada at some time in the future.
For how long can a Canadian registered RV legally remain in the US without having to import it and register it in the US? How does one go about importing an RV if it is already in the US without towing it all the way back to Canada?

[Firstep1]

Here is a article pertaining to this issue, Fred

KLICKY

[tomike49]

Great information! Thanks for responding! Much appreciated!!!

[michelb]

The insurance side of it really depends on your insurance company. The registration side of it really depends on the state.

I used to work for a Florida company mostly from home (Ontario, Canada) but went onsite every few weeks so kept a car there. It was registered there at a friend's address and I had insurance in Florida.

A few years ago, I bought a used motor home in AZ, registered it through a mail forwarding company in SD (www.americas-mailbox.com and left it most of the year in Florida. It was insured through my Ontario insurance.

Now, I have a motor home registered and insurced in VT which we leave part of the year in Ontario, part of the year in Florida.

[Elizabeth24]

In March we decided that we had had enough of towing and purchased a 5th wheel that we left down in an RV Park 30 miles east of Yuma. We are fortunate that for $25. per month we can store it on our site, no need to move it to a storage area. We have AZ tag and insurance for RV from a broker in Yuma. We were told by the RV resort that we had to have AZ tag as inspectors do come by and check. We purchased the RV from someone who also left it in Yuma but they had never tagged it and they had no problems. Although they had the title, they had never registered it in AZ. The original tag was from SD, don't know if this makes a difference. We also pay a preimum for truck insurance in Canada as we are in the US for more than 90 days. We have no intention of bringing the RV back to Canada, once we don't go down in the winter, we will put the 5th wheel up for sale.

[tomike49]

Thanks for the input on this. We lived in Ohio for 10 years so we're familiar with the tagging/residency taxation issue. We're not really interested in buying and tagging an RV in the US but just using it and storing it there. In the end we may just drive it home and store it here. We've had lots of input on this site (as I suspected we would). Thanks!!!

[John_Joey]

bobsallyh wrote:
...snip...and some are tagged in AZ. This part(tagging) I can't comment on as nobody seems to know the real deal...

I know of the same thing going on, and after 9-11 I now get a little disturbed about it. Guess it harden me (sorry to our northern neighbors.)

It the law in the US, if you titled it in the state then you can tag it with that state's plate. If you're making a bogus legal entity to then use to title a rig, then make sure you report yourself to the IRS to see if your bogus legal entity owe US taxes now.

It's nice that some are being mail-drops for friends, but that is asking a lot of someone now after 9-11.

[Community Alumni]

My winter neighbor at Myrtle Beach Travel Park (SC) has a Mobile Suites 5th wheel that stays there in storage when he's not using it. He lives in Ontario and has US insurance on it. The storage company brings it back & forth from storage to his site. It has a SC registration.

[crabbin_cabin]

we have friends from Victoria that do exactly that. Our park - Mesa regal RV Resort even has a special yearly rate that they get that lets them pay the full monnthly while here and storage on their site while home. Google Mesa regal and then phone them for more detail.

[bobsallyh]

We have many Canadian friends in Yuma, AZ. that do just that. They are insured in Arizona and some are tagged in AZ. This part(tagging) I can't comment on as nobody seems to know the real deal. My neighbor has had his fiver there for five years with B.C. tags and it never leaves Yuma. His insurance is in B.C.

[aussie1]

Hi tomike49
We currently have a 5er and truck in storage in Phoenix. It is registered in Texas and insured through Explorer RV with National Interstate. Yes the insurance company is aware of the storage and in fact gives us a discount when not on the road. We use Escapees in Texas which provides us with an address for registration and insurance and we use their mail forwarding service. We are back home in Australia at present but will be returning to the US in a few months to hit the road again.
Good luck with your plans

[mamestra]

I leave my 5th wheel in Birch Bay Washington, and my Canadian insurance company knows and allows that.

[n7bsn]

Under the rules for licensing, in order to license the rig in the states you would need a US address (in the state it was licensed in):
* Have some friends act as a "mail-drop"
* Use a mail-forwarding service (Escapees, commercial)

Either of the above might be tough, as the old ID you will have is NOT in the state you are licensing the rig in. Local state rules may prohibit this.

* Open a Montana LLC. There are firms in Montana that specialize in setting up an LLC just to own an RV. This -might- be a real option as it gives a "US" owner.