requirements for canada trailer to u.s.

[gillian s]

has anyone bought a trailer in canada recently and brought it into the u.s.?
any info on what's required would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Joe MacDonald]

do a search on this site, there have been lot's of threads about this.

[gillian s]

thanks joe, i did search but came up with threads 2-3 years old and wondered with 'heightened security' if they were still valid. i spoke with u.s. and canadian border guards this morning and they tell me they need no paperwork at all! i will get a bill of sale and current reg papers signed over which should suffice for my state. still interested in any firsthand accounts.

[Brian B-P]

Sometimes it can be tricky to get just the right search words. I tried

+Canada +border

limited to the last 365 days, displayed by topic, and among the five pages of search results noticed these two topics:
Importing from Canada
US citizen considering importing from Canada, Trillium Outback importation question

I have not exported a trailer, so I don't have any personal experience with that, but I think it would be wise to ensure that the trailer has some sort of legal registration for road use in transit through Canada. While some states routinely allow vehicles to operate without a license plate (with appropriate temporary documentation on paper), a vehicle (even a trailer) without plates on the road here is abnormal. I wouldn't want to invite any misunderstandings.

[Benny K]

Paging Catherine H ......your help needed!

[Catherine H.]

has anyone bought a trailer in canada recently and brought it into the u.s.?
any info on what's required would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

I heard a page....sorry so late. Hi Gillian. I brought a Surfside back from Winnipeg in late August of this year. I brought it across the border into North Dakota and down to the Minneapolis area. All I needed was a bill of sale and the title. I had no problems bringing it back. It helped that it was an older trailer (1982). If it was new, there is more required. Mine was empty, and I went into Canada one day and back across the next morning. It was obvious, I think, that I was just making a purchase and bringing it home. Hope that helps.
Catherine

[Anne H]

Hi
I brought my new Escape over the border in Sept '06 - they didn't ask to see anything!
Lots of questions about who I bought it from and whether I had 'searched' it and was sure no contraband could be stored anywhere aboard. I assured them that I had, indeed, checked over every nook and cranny before hooking it up.

I, of course, had the bill of sale, and new vehicle stuff. I had gotten a temporary travel permit from my home state (Oregon) so I could drive it around until I got home and could get it registered, titled and get permanent plates for it.

[gillian s]

well, just got home, 1300 miles to nova scotia and back singlehanded in two days!!
to you canadians, i must say, you have a gorgeous country!! i went to sherbrooke at the mouth of the st mary's river, it was incredibly beautiful.
as to coming back to the u.s...
i had a bill of sale and an old permit paper that is pretty formal looking signed over to me and was running on the sellers plates, (expired in 95!!).
the customs man made me pull off to the side and i was told to sit inside while they would take 'a few minutes' to check out the trailer. i asked if i could use the ladies room and they said after we finish..
well, they took 50 minutes looking over the trailer, (it was around midnight). one officer shined a flashlight into the exteriour electric plug for over fifteen minutes..i can't even guess why. i was not allowed to join them. Then another officer got on the computer for more than half an hour but he had a monitor screen that was invisible to me. they were not exactly gruff, but they were not really polite and certainly not friendly. its very interesting catherine that you say you were in canada for 24 hours and made it clear you went just to buy a trailer; because i too, was in the country for only 24 hours and had called them the day before i left and told them my intentions and asked what paperwork they required and they told me, don't worry about a thing!! i think my sailing 20 years in the caribbean, (my passport is almost full with entry/exits from all the islands) set off some kind of alarm because i have a clean A drivers liscence, (never even a parking ticket), and have never had any brush with the law whatsoever and i am a middle aged lady!! i have been boarded at sea at least a dozen times by the coast guard and was always given the gold seal of approval, so this intense scrutiny really baffles me.
finally, (i really had to use the ladies room), i was getting fed up and i nicely asked, 'is something amiss??). "not that i can see" he said and finally let me take a pee.

i got an adorable 12 foot british caravan with many interesting features, like a jack with a wheel that has a cable handbrake for when you roll it around by hand!!
i won't post a picture here because its not glass, but i'll put up this link for those who'd like to take a walk on the dark side of canned ham:
http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h265/myl.../1970%20bailey/?
these are just the photos the seller had sent me, i'll add to the link soon, sorry the dinette table is not shown.
i would guess i saw 60 deer grazing on the sides of the highway in maine on the way home..worrying they would leap in front of me.
thanks so much for all your responses!