Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ importing a camper into canada, buying a truck camper in the usa

[scottyquickfeet]

Hi there campers, has anybody out there imported a truck camper, from the usa into canada? I'm seriously thinking of doing just that! and would appreciate any information that you would have ,and could pass on to me! etc are there a lot of hurdles, like paper work, doing certain things ahead of time?
thanking you in advance, for any help that you can give me.
Scotty

[aqualung]

Yup, I did just that a few years ago. There is no special paperwork that you need and nothing special that you need to do because a truck camper is considered cargo and not a vehicle. You will be required to pay the sales tax (GST/HST etc) at the border when you cross and the tax will be calculated on the total selling price of the camper including any state tax - yes you're paying tax on tax. I crossed the border in Sarnia Ontario, they classified the camper as "camping equipment". The only questions they had was whether or not I bought it at a dealer or was it a private sale and was I aware of all of the contents (i.e. is there anything illegal in there?). It did take them awhile to figure out what to classify the camper as because it wasn't in their books but that was the only slow down.

Prior to going to pick it up, I checked with the "Registrar of Imported Vehicles" in Ontario to see if they had anything special I needed to do and the answer came back that they have no jurisdiction over truck campers and that there was nothing that they cared about. You also do not register the camper with the MTO so there's no fees there either. I do carry copies of the purchase agreement, customs documents etc in the camper proving that I already paid this stuff just in case anyone asks but that's it.

[scottyquickfeet]

Hi there campers, has anybody out there imported a truck camper, from the usa into canada? I'm seriously thinking of doing just that! and would appreciate any information that you would have ,and could pass on to me! etc are there a lot of hurdles, like paper work, doing certain things ahead of time?
      thanking you in advance, for any help that you can give me.
                                      Scotty

Thanks Aquaung, that was a big help that reply, and made me feel alot better, about going over the border and picking a truck camper up.

cheers Scotty

[aqualung]

Buying anything related to RVing is much cheaper in the US. Our TC is Canadian made but it was about 60% of the cost to buy it in the US versus buying locally. And thats after including all my costs to go and get it (fuel, hotel etc). The only tricky part is buying it sight unseen so make sure you buy from a reputable dealer or make sure you can walk away from the deal if you don't like what you see when you get there.

One other thing. Make sure you have everything you need to bring the camper home with you (ie tie downs, turnbuckles, rubber bed mat etc). I bought all of this before heading down to get the TC except for the bed mat which the dealer provided in the deal. I also installed the tie downs on the truck before heading down. You can do all of this at the dealer you buy from but it will take longer and cost more than doing it yourself - its your choice. Just make sure you have it all sorted out before you head out.

I also made sure that I brought original receipts for the stuff I bought in Canada so when you cross back over, customs doesn't charge you for tax on that too. I keep copies of the receipts in the TC all of the time so I have them should anyone ask.