Thinking of driving to Vancouver through the USA in an RV, what is the procedure for bringing one into Canada? Anybody know how much import duty is payable, how much time before it is due etc.
Would it be better to sell in Seattle?
Thanks

Fraser

We imported a couple of cars, one of them a recent Honda Element, it cost $850 for the conversion to Canadian specs and the duties and whatnot. I suppose it would be similar for an RV. Cars have to be on the list at www.riv.ca, I expect that's also true for RVs. One snag might be registering it in the US, I don't know how easy that is for a non-resident.

Hi Fraser

You will be charged GST at 5% and PST at 7% on the market value of the RV at the time of import. The customs people will collect the GST at the border, and you are supposed to self-assess the PST and send a cheque to the government. (Surprisingly, sometimes people forget to do that last bit!). From next July the two taxes will be merged and the Customs people will collect the lot at the border. If the RV was made in North America there will be no customs duties, but there is some other paperwork you need and there is certain to be some small fees for this.

Quite a few people import cars. They are often cheaper in the US and you have to pay the GST and PST if you buy them here. However, it could be a really expensive exercise to import an RV unless you were going to buy one in BC in any case.

How about if I bought one in the east of Canada ( I have PR status), and did the trip from there?
I suppose that would make things a whole lot easier?
Only problem is we plan to begin at the end of November!

Have you checked that campgrounds will be open? I know a lot close from Labour Day to May, there is a few all year ones but they don't tend to be the prettiest. BBbbbbbbrrrrrrr

Not yet, but I will do, when is Labour Day?

1st Monday in September.

On second thoughts, if you are doing this as part of your landing process then things are a lot easier.

For GST and customs duties, anything you owned, used and possessed (must be all three) prior to landing can be imported tax free.

For BC PST anything you owned for at least 30 days before first taking up residence in BC can be brought into the province without paying PST.

These exemptions don't apply to trade goods so if you are planning to rent out the RV then it is no good. Also, I am not aware of any time limit on how long you have to hold the RV before you can sell it, but best not tell the Customs Officer that this may be a possibility.

With this in mind, it might be better to buy the RV in the States, especially if you do so in a state with no sales taxes, if you can meet the 30 days and owned, used and possessed rules.

You will need to check that the RV can be registered in Canada. Not all US vehicles can.

So RV's are cheaper in the States? Its just a matter, same as any importation question of mimimising / avoiding the import taxes.
I have completed the Landing Process, and have my PR documents, but not yet taken up residence, any use?

Thanks for info

Fraser

Thats what Wal-Mart parking lots are for...

Nice resort!

We drove our motorhome from Halifax back to BC leaving mid November 2007, arrived home Dec 8th. There were certainly no campgrounds open and so no electricity available.
The furnace will keep the inside warm, but kills the batteries. The generator wasn't working properly so we had to get up several times in the night to run the engine in order to be able to run the furnace. It was -29 outside and -11 inside for much of the night. With the furnace running for 1/2 hour we managed to get it up to about zero degrees.
Unless you have a fully winterised RV and power to run the heat tapes, you won't be able to carry any water in the tanks or use the shower/toilet as it will all freeze. We carried jugs of water and attempted to keep clean by the use of wet wipes! The truck stops have showers.

As our motorhome is a diesel, the dash heater doesn't give off much heat to heat the whole space and we had a hell of a time keeping the inside of the windshield free of ice while driving!!! We resorted to keeping the furnace running while driving and had to constantly scrape the inside of the windows. You won't have that problem if you're using a truck to tow a trailer or are driving a 'C' class motorhome.

We overnighted in truck stops. Very hard to sleep as the trucks run their engines all night in order to keep warm and you're all parked right next to each other.

You could just use it to drive during the day and stop in motels. We had considered doing that but many of them didn't have enough of the carpark cleared of snow in order for us to get the motorhome in and out again.

If its meant to be a fun trip then I'd think twice but if it's just a case of getting from A to B, as it was for us, then do it. Anyway, what ever you decide to do, it will certainly be an adventure, we survived!

That does sound like quite an adventure, we were planning on being a bit softer and heading south, turning west at Florida, then North at the Pacific!

Probably in a Class C, now I'm getting to know the terms!

You will have better luck finding campground and RV parks in many areas of the US in winter in the southern portions, should be able to find some open all year in much of the south, but like I said, Wal-Mart allows overnight parking of RV's in their lots if one can't find somewhere to stay.