Prospective Canadian Customers

This posting is directed to prospective Camp-Inn customers from Canada who are unfamiliar with importing a holiday trailer. Having recently imported my own trailer, the following is a breakdown of the process:

1. When you pick up your travel trailer in the US, Camp-Inn will supply you with a recall compliance letter that you will need to produce during the import process.

2. Prior to arriving at the border crossing gates, unlock your cabin and gallery doors as the officer will want to take a look at your trailer. The reason I suggest that the trailer be unlocked is because the officer will direct you to remain in your vehicle while he/she looks it over. In my case, the officer seemed more curious as to what the trailer looked like inside than anything. He complemented the trailer and commented on the appeal that such a trailer would have for single travellers.

I was then directed to move up to another window, where another officer asked for the purchase price of the trailer, the officer filled in a slip of paper, handed the paper to me, directed me to park my vehicle and report to the office.

At the office, I was required to supply the certificate of origin, the letter from Camp-Inn, purchase invoice, and directed to fill in a Vehicle Import Form. When the form was completed, I paid GST on the trailer (note HST may apply in Provinces other than Alberta). Payment can be made by most major credit cards or cash. Those residing in provinces other than Alberta should consulthttp://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5048-eng.html. This site is geared towards importing motorized vehicles, but it has applicability to travel trailers.

I was supplied with a RIV (Registrar of Imported Vehicles) form and directed to pay the inspection fee of $204.75 within 10 days.

3. The RIV fee can be paid on-line, by mail, or by fax. You must also supply to RIV the Vehicle Import Form (note your case number is on the top right hand side of this form) and the letter from Camp-Inn. This documentation can be sent electronically through fax or scanned. The benefits of paying the RIV on-line (www.riv.ca) are that the case progress can be tracked on-line and is apparently processed faster.

Check the RIV website regularly for the progress of your case. If nothing seems to be happening with your case in a couple of business days, contact RIV staff to determine if they received all the documentation in good order and that it is legible (they don’t quickly report deficiencies to you). When your documentation has been processed you will see (on the right side of the “track your case” page) a tab to click on in order to access your Vehicle Inspection Form. Print this form.

4. Take your trailer, the Vehicle Inspection Form and the Vehicle Import Form to Canadian Tire. Canadian Tire is authorized to do these inspections. No appointment is necessary and you will not be required to pay Canadian Tire anything beyond the RIV, which you already paid. They will briefly take a look at the VIN documentation and your trailer’s undercarriage. This takes less than an hour to complete – depending on how busy Canadian Tire is. The Vehicle Inspection Form will be endorsed and returned to you.

5. Go to your nearest registry office. You don’t need to bring your trailer with you, but you will need to supply the RIV form, Vehicle Import Form, Bill of Sale, the Certificate of Origin, and Camp-Inn’s letter to the registry office. They will keep the top copy of the Vehicle Import Form. In my case, I had a prior trailer plate, which I transferred to the new trailer for $22.45. Within Alberta, first time trailer registration is about $105.00. This is a one-time fee and does not require annual renewal. I cannot speak to provincial variations.

6. RIV then mails a sticker for placement on your trailer, which confirms that your trailer has successfully been imported into Canada.

You're done! That’s all there is to it. The import process is not in any way a daunting or overwhelming task. Hopefully this information will be of use to prospective Canadian customers.

Kelly

 

Awesome work Kelly!

Cary

 

Absolutely! Great work! My ordeal with Texas was NOT GOOD and extremely tired - it only took me about 2 mos. to get my tags. And a nervous breakdown or two, huh Cary?

 

Kelly thanks for the posting we leave from Nova Scotia on Friday this week and my mind is in a whirl with all the planning. This is very helpful information and will put a lot of prospective buyers from our side of the border at ease.

 

Excellent post, Kelly. I will put it somewhere where it will be easy for people to find. So, I'm guessing that you need a 'First Night Badge' then?

 

Evan, a "First Night" badge is indeed in order! I spent 3 nights camping in the trailer on the way back to Alberta. All went smoothly with the trip, thanks largely to Cary's thorough orientation.

Kelly

 

Linda,

I seem to recall at least 4 nervous breakdowns!


It was neat when Kelly came to pick up her trailer. The week before I had another Alberta customer come pick up his. When he got back he sent me a similar breakdown of the process after getting his registered. His went very smoothly also and thought he should share his info with Kelly. I had told him about her coming to pick hers up a week later. When Kelly arrived and I showed her his email she showed me she had is all mapped already also. I thought it was cool to see the exact same breakdown from both customers like that. That sort of consistency with a DMV was a breath of fresh air for me. So rare here in the states to get two DMVs to give our customers the same answers. Some of these places just make "stuff" up as they go. In the past two weeks I have had to argue with two DMVs for customers to correct their rather creative interpretation of various elements of the registration/tax process. Arghhhh. One of these of course being Rockytop's troublesome DMV person.

Cary

 

Cary - I agree it was at least 4-! I just didn't want to exaggerate! A HORRIBLE experience!

 

Ok, so now I have to ask. I'm not a Camp Inn owner yet, but what's the deal with the DMV registary?

 

DMV employees.

 

It depends on your state - some are a hassle, others not so bad. Most are more of a hassle than they should be.

 

Cary's right! They all have their own interpretation of "the law." And on any given day you will get any given emoployee with a different given answer to your given problem...and you would give up except you CAN'T (and they know it.) I believe it was over 2 months for me to get my tags - from March 15 to 1st week in May I believe...I can't remember it all...I chose to put the memories on automatic dump so I don't have a nervous breakdown....that's how you do it. (Not have a nervous breakdown!)

 

Cary, for the record, had no problems with the paperwork Camp-Inn sent me.

In and out of the town office in less than 10 min with a plate.

Live Free or Die, J&B