Crossing borders

The big one I see, and you may want to contact the CBSA first, is that when crossing the border a vehicle is allowed free passage because it’s a “personal possession” just like the rest of your belongings.

If however you neither live in, nor are a citizen of, Canada they may be concerned that you won’t take the motorhome back to Canada. When it’s a rental they don’t have this concern.

As long as the vehicle was legally sold, properly registered, licensed, and insured and every one in the vehicle is carrying the proper documentation I see no difference between you or I as a Canadian in crossing the US / Canadian border, in either direction. My wife is Australian, now a Canadian citizen, but never required a visa to enter the US but I'm not sure what the requirements may now be or whether it's different for Kiwis. Rather than rely on WAGs from those of us here on the forum you'd be far better sourcing accurate information from official Canadian & US government websites. Enjoy your visit! :B

The only major issue I know of is time limits. YOu are only allowed to spend so many continous days OUT OF COUNTRY. (I THINK it is six months but am not sure)

You may be subject to a serious search when crossing the border (Do not worry unless you have something to worry about).

We have had Kiwi friends do this a couple of times and it didn't seem to be a big thing. In both cases they started in Canada and then toured to the US. Both vehicles were purchased in Canada and sold here in the US before the kids returned home. Their travels were more or less their OEs although the guys were on work visas.

I can have the DW(darling wife) contact them and see if it is okay for you to contact them.

Even with the current level of international worries, we are still partners with Canada and they with us. There are certain guidelines that the members of these forums follow to ease crossings. They are simple things like not volunteering information to the boarder agents, simply answer their questions and don't try to chat them up, don't wear sunglasses at the crossings. These can be explained later or you can search here for more information.

You will hear from me within a week and if you want to contact me you can use the Personal Message feature.

David

billandeve wrote:
We are New Zealand citizens planning a lengthy RV tour of Canada and the USA.
If we buy a Canadian registered motorhome (we expect to start in Canada) what restrictions or annoyances are there on taking that vehicle across the border into the USA?
Conversely, if we buy a US registered MH, what problems might we encounter taking it across the border into Canada?

You didn't ask this question but you'd want to carefully consider just where you'll be buying this motorhome as costs can vary considerably from one region to another. Generally speaking you'll find that Canadian cost overall will be noticeably higher than if you had purchased the same unit in the US as almost all RVs sold in the US & Canada are manufactured in the US. Secondly, since most manufacturing facilities are located in Indiana you'd find that the cost of any given unit purchased from a dealer in that locale will be less costly than the same unit purchased from a dealer in California or British Columbia, if for no other reason than freight charges to get that unit from the factory to the dealer will be higher the further away it is from the factory.

JMO, but I'd be carefully trying to integrate my purchase plans with my itinerary to best maximize what I'd get for my $$$$$$s. You'd also want to factor in your flight costs which could vary quite a bit depending on where you land - west coast, east coast, US or Canadian destination. For example, Air Canada now runs daily, year round, non-stop flights directly between Vancouver & Sydney and if the same is the case from one of your major NZ cities your flight costs could be reduced substantially, particularly if you plan well ahead and wait for deals, just as we did recently when flying Vancouver to Sydney. Fly into the US which relies heavily on a hub system and you could well be stuck with multiple flights to get to where you eventually want to end up.

A) Go read stickies and other postings RVing Canada and Alaska section of this forum.

b) Make sure you have your passports in order.

c) REmember those we call snowbirds (Canadians who want warm weather when Canada has snow) sometimes spend as much as 6 months in the USA, every year.

& there are lots of USA residents who know little about Canada.

Remember both countries got European settlers starting in the east, then a hop to the west coast and the middle last.

:C
p.s. I spent 3 months in OZ in 2012 camping.

Little Kopit wrote:
REmember those we call snowbirds (Canadians who want warm weather when Canada has snow) sometimes spend as much as 6 months in the USA, every year.

Unfortunately it's not quite so simple if a Canadian wants to avoid being classified as a "US citizen for IRS purposes". For accurate, up to date information on how long a NZ citizen can visit both our countries I'd suggest the OP start with their own NZ government resources, along with US and Canadian consulates that will surely be located in one of the major NZ cities.

& there are lots of USA residents who know little about Canada.

An understatement, to be sure. ;)

Many thanks to all those who have posted replies. We had already tried to find the info on government web sites, but got lost in horrendous detail about importing from Japan, etc. The pointer to the correct authority was invaluable. Looks like we can enter freely either way for up to 12 months. Haven't sorted out the visa restrictions yet, but it seems the vehicle won't be the limiting factor.

We're well on top of travel to N America. There are direct fights from Auckland to Vancouver, where I have cousins so it will be a good starting point.

Buying from the factory area would make sense if we were looking at (near) new, but there are MH on Craigslist with modest miles that better fit our budget and the prices don't seem to vary much by location.

Little Kopit wrote:

p.s. I spent 3 months in OZ in 2012 camping.

not sure Kiwis appreciate being confused with OZ, since that's Australia.
both groups dislike being mistaken for the other.

by the way, billandeve, we spent our 20th anniversary and my 50th birthday in NZ and Fiji.
spent over 2 weeks in your beautiful and wonderful country. did both islands, with the south being our favorite.
we LOVED Queenstown. we did the jet boats, river rafting and i did the Nevis bungee and the DW paraglided above Queenstown.

bikendan wrote:

Little Kopit wrote:

p.s. I spent 3 months in OZ in 2012 camping.

not sure Kiwis appreciate being confused with OZ, since that's Australia.
both groups dislike being mistaken for the other.

I was just saying I've traveled abroad on an rving time and not too far away. To say I was confused is being offensive to me. Please pause and think before such comments.

:(