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03-19-2013, 06:48 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Trailer: 2005 Casita Spirit Deluxe 17 ft (was 2003 16 ft Scamp)
Posts: 427
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Purchase in Canada?
IF I bought a camper from an individual in Canada, is it a big deal for me to drive back to US and register in state here? What's involved?
thanks
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03-19-2013, 09:11 PM
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#2
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Member
Name: Ben
Trailer: Triple E
Colorado
Posts: 59
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Chris,
I am in the midst of this process at the moment. Check with your local DMV office and see what they will require of you. You will most likely need temporary tags to transport the trailer back to the states. Hire a broker to ensure that the trailer can easily cross the border. I'm looking at a cost of $150 for this and that seems fair considering the potential headaches it should help avoid.
If the camper is more than 25 years old, importing seems to be a fairly simple process, but if it is a newer unit, it may be more complicated due to more stringent manufacturing regulations. US and Canadian regulations are not the same and it seems as though this can complicate the process.
Canadian trailers will not have titles, however, there is a Transfer of Ownership Document that you'll need to obtain to register your new camper back in the states. My local DMV also wants the bill of sale to be notarized in Canada.
Perhaps not an exhaustive list of the process, but YMMV depending on your location.
Ben
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03-20-2013, 07:47 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Trailer: 2005 Casita Spirit Deluxe 17 ft (was 2003 16 ft Scamp)
Posts: 427
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Hiring a broker? Not sure what this means. This someone you found on Internet or ? Thanks
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03-20-2013, 08:36 PM
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#4
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Member
Name: Ben
Trailer: Triple E
Colorado
Posts: 59
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Z
Hiring a broker? Not sure what this means. This someone you found on Internet or ? Thanks
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Easily found on the internet. You'll want to look at what city along the border that your trailer will be coming through and search for "customs broker (insert city name here)".
Tell them you need a one time import of a camper. They will take care of the necessary paperwork for you. Cost is around $150 depending on your trailer's declared value.
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03-21-2013, 06:47 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Trailer: 2005 Casita Spirit Deluxe 17 ft (was 2003 16 ft Scamp)
Posts: 427
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Thanks
Also would there be a large tax to pay just to bring purchased trailer into US? (in addition to state tax)? Assume $20,000 on 5 yr. old trailer.
Thanks
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03-21-2013, 08:02 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 5,112
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I don't get all the hassle with buying in Canada. None of the other states give you this grief.
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03-21-2013, 08:41 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Name: Daniel A.
Trailer: Bigfoot 17.0 1991 dlx
British Columbia
Posts: 741
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Canadian trailers do have titles.
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03-21-2013, 01:24 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1986 17 ft Bigfoot
Posts: 117
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A couple of years ago I bought our Bigfoot in Quebec. The previous owner's registration certificate also was the title. He signed it releasing interest. I needed no temporary registration. My tow vehicle insurance automatically covers anything I tow. I used no broker and had no trouble bringing the trailer into the US via New York. The only trouble was getting a US border official to provide an importation document wanted by my home state of California. He said he was too busy dealing with big trucks. He said US Customs didn't care that I was bringing the trailer into the US, but that I might have trouble registering it in my home state. I persisted in my request for the importation document and he yielded. He never even stepped outside to look at the trailer. Since I was not to be in California for some time I had a Maryland safety officer verify the VIN on a California form. I mailed the signed Canadian registration, the importation document, and the VIN certification to California DMV. They mailed me a California title, registration, and license plate.
Your mileage may vary, but I have been told that Canadian brokers will tell you that you need their services when actually you do not. I had that experience in British Columbia when I was considering buying a trailer there. A Canadian broker told me I must use a broker to get a trailer into the US. I called the border crossing at Blaine, Washington to inquire. The officer there told me I needed no broker.
__________________
1991 Bigfoot 17 Rear Bath
2006 Dodge Sprinter
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03-21-2013, 02:41 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim D.
The only trouble was getting a US border official to provide an importation document wanted by my home state of California. He said he was too busy dealing with big trucks. He said US Customs didn't care that I was bringing the trailer into the US, but that I might have trouble registering it in my home state. I persisted in my request for the importation document and he yielded. He never even stepped outside to look at the trailer. Since I was not to be in California for some time I had a Maryland safety officer verify the VIN on a California form. I mailed the signed Canadian registration, the importation document
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I would like to think that this is the part that you don't have to deal with if you have a broker. Otherwise, what's the point?
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03-21-2013, 04:05 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1986 17 ft Bigfoot
Posts: 117
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Perhaps I got away with something. According to Customs and Border Protection website an importer is needed if the trailer does not have a certificate stating that it meets US safety standards. I believe the manufacturer can provide that, if still in business.
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...1qMkxsbA%3D%3D
Neither CBP nor the State of California asked for such a certificate and I do not have one. The State of California told me it was necessary only for motor vehicles.
__________________
1991 Bigfoot 17 Rear Bath
2006 Dodge Sprinter
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03-21-2013, 07:09 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
Posts: 5,002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel A.
Canadian trailers do have titles.
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They're registered, like a motor vehicle, but I don't think that's what is being called a title in the U.S.
__________________
1979 Boler B1700RGH, pulled by 2004 Toyota Sienna LE 2WD
Information is good. Lack of information is not so good, but misinformation is much worse. Check facts, and apply common sense liberally.
STATUS: No longer active in forum.
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03-21-2013, 07:51 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Name: Francesca Knowles
Trailer: '78 Trillium 4500
Jefferson County, Washington State, U.S.A.
Posts: 4,669
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As others have pointed out, less trouble is likely to be encountered at the border than at State licencing offices. Make SURE to check with yours as to exactly what you need before you leave Canada.
There's a detailed discussion of the process of importing a new trailer from Canada at
this link in the (British Columbian )Escape forum.
I don't see why the process/paperwork would differ much for a used trailer except that the previous Canadian owner's registration/Title/whatever subs for the new trailer's certificate of origin discussed in that thread.
Doesn't look like there's any duty/tariff to be paid...
Francesca
__________________
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Propane Facts vs. Fiction:. Click here
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03-21-2013, 10:35 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Name: Cathy
Trailer: Escape 19' sold, 21' August 2015
POBox 1267, Denison, Texas
Posts: 807
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Just to clarify, the link to the Escape forum above has threads on bringing trailers into the U.S. from Canada, posted by Escape owners. Those threads should help you as to the several documents needed.
Escape Trailer Industries is a separate entity from the forum. They manufacture and sell the Escape trailers in Chilliwack, British Columbia.
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03-22-2013, 06:52 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1973 Compact Jr and 1980 Bigfoot 17 ft
Posts: 1,339
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Check with the Canadian Provencal rules. Alberta says the license plate belongs to the current owner, not the trailer. When sold, the owner should remove the plate. If you have no transit permit, you'll be towing a trailer with no license plate. The US customs form is a 7501 and it needs to be stamped at the border. This is the form that you state's dept. of transportation needs to see to issue a new title.
__________________
1980 Bigfoot 17' & former owner of 1973 Compact Jr
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03-22-2013, 09:54 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Trostel
Check with the Canadian Provencal rules. Alberta says the license plate belongs to the current owner, not the trailer. When sold, the owner should remove the plate. If you have no transit permit, you'll be towing a trailer with no license plate. The US customs form is a 7501 and it needs to be stamped at the border. This is the form that you state's dept. of transportation needs to see to issue a new title.
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While that is true, the plate can not be reused. A new plate is issued every time you register a trailer. The last person I bought a trailer from let me take the plate, as long as I promised to destroy it when I was done.
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03-22-2013, 10:31 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Name: Brian
Trailer: 2015 Scamp 13 Front Washroom, Van Camper
New Brunswick
Posts: 372
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plates in Ontario can be reused.. you just need to pay the fee to transfer
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03-22-2013, 02:21 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
Posts: 5,002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Tilston
While that is true, the plate can not be reused. A new plate is issued every time you register a trailer. The last person I bought a trailer from let me take the plate, as long as I promised to destroy it when I was done.
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Alberta issues "permanent" (never expires, no renewal required) trailer plates, so perhaps that has something to do with their re-use. Motor vehicle plates here can be routinely transferred to a succession of vehicles... for the same owner. The buyer of any vehicle does not get the plate.
I can see getting away with using the previous owner's plate - who will ever check it? - but that's not how the system is supposed to work, as far as I know. I assume an in-transit permit is supposed to be used instead for exceptional cases such as buying and exporting a vehicle.
Although these owner-associated plates (which are probably used in all provinces by now, but at least B.C., Alberta, and Ontario) don't go with the vehicle, the registration form does - it normally has a section in it which is used to document the transfer of ownership; the new owner presents that when registering it in their name.
__________________
1979 Boler B1700RGH, pulled by 2004 Toyota Sienna LE 2WD
Information is good. Lack of information is not so good, but misinformation is much worse. Check facts, and apply common sense liberally.
STATUS: No longer active in forum.
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03-22-2013, 02:31 PM
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#18
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Member
Name: Ben
Trailer: Triple E
Colorado
Posts: 59
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Trostel
Check with the Canadian Provencal rules. Alberta says the license plate belongs to the current owner, not the trailer. When sold, the owner should remove the plate. If you have no transit permit, you'll be towing a trailer with no license plate. The US customs form is a 7501 and it needs to be stamped at the border. This is the form that you state's dept. of transportation needs to see to issue a new title.
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Are you saying that no plate/temporary registration tag is required if the 7501 form is stamped at the border?
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03-22-2013, 02:38 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Name: Francesca Knowles
Trailer: '78 Trillium 4500
Jefferson County, Washington State, U.S.A.
Posts: 4,669
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kellyben
Are you saying that no plate/temporary registration tag is required if the 7501 form is stamped at the border?
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Those are two completely separate issues/jurisdictions.
Licence plates are for traveling on roads. It's unlikely that a State/Provincial LEO that stops you for no plates will be interested in a form issued by a Customs agency.
Francesca
__________________
............... ..................
Propane Facts vs. Fiction:. Click here
Tow Limit Calculator: Click here
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03-22-2013, 06:03 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Trailer: 1981 Trillium 5500
Posts: 1,158
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The plates in Ontario are permanent for trailers as well, it's just that here it's plate to owner, not plate to vehicle. I have one trailer plate that is over 30 years old, and has been on at least 10 different trailers. each trailer i sell goes without a plate, and each one I buy or build gets registered with the old plate. our ownership(registration) takes the place of a US title. the ownership goes with the trailer after the previous (current) owner signs it.
In Ontario it is a small green form about half the size of a title with all the pertinent information on it. this is what you would give the DMV, and they should convert that into a title for you.
In Ontario, after importing a vehicle, the title goes to the ministry of transportation when you register it , they keep the US title, and issue an Ontario ownership.
Joe
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