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Happycampers · 12-04-2008, 03:27 PM

Sam .. Sorry that they lost the money but it works both ways.. Canadians have been turned back for the same reason from the US border... Always, always leave nothing to chance when entering another country...Check and double check the rules and regulations

altamont · 12-04-2008, 03:51 PM

Our trip into Alberta and BC last year was a joy. No hassles at all, even with our dog (never checked papers). On the way back into the states in Montana, they wanted to know all about our new F250 and one wanted a tour of the AS. She didn't really check out anything, just wanted a peak inside.

Do make sure you have your passport and/or birth certificate. I made the mistake of getting into Canada last February with just a drivers license (idiot concierge at the Hyatt said that was all I needed!!) and was detained in Niagra Falls for 30 minutes.

Tin Diesel · 12-04-2008, 04:13 PM

I can't resist telling this story - I think the statute of limitations is passed.

Almost ten years ago (pre-Airstream) my wife and I flew into Canada to tour Banff for our 10th anniversary. Our vacation plans included a rental car, and several nights spent in secluded rental cabins.

We brought suitcases and two cardboard boxes, taped shut. One box had some camping stuff. The other one had a dozen bottles of very good wine.

The Canadian customs official asked "what's in the boxes?" Without hesitating, my wife blurts out "CAMPING EQUIPMENT". I held my breath waiting to see if he would open them, and if so, which one (or both?). He opened neither. On the other hand, doesn't wine qualify as an essential camping requirement?

Then he asks for our passports - which we hadn't brought. We gave him our driver's licenses and he pouts "We are a sovereign country, you know. You should bring your passports."

To which I mentally (not verbally!) reply, "Really, we thought you were - like - the 51st state - actually we were thinking of trading Massachussets for you!"

I know, I know, very immature of me. But he really was a bit snotty.

Banff was fabulous - highly recommend it.

pmclemore · 12-05-2008, 12:56 PM

All of our crossings have been very pleasant. Capnred has the right idea. But be aware about any convictions other than minor traffic violations. You will be turned back.

The only crossing problem we had was on the US side... we didn't know that a couple of good, prime Alberta filets that we had planned for that night's dinner in Glacier were contraband. Mad cow, you know. Still sad about having to throw those into the trash.

Pat

SilverAvion · 12-05-2008, 01:50 PM

I dragged my Avion from western Canada across to Maine last spring. No issues for me. they just want to know why/where/how long till you go back home.

It took me twice as long to re-enter the US as to enter canada.

enjoy the trip!

Diesel1 · 12-05-2008, 02:37 PM

Best to go to Baja, warmer and no questions asked. Adios, John

Mike Leary · 12-05-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel1

Best to go to Baja, warmer and no questions asked. Adios, John

Double ditto, we were in Mexico yesterday. All the border guy said was "welcome". When we came back, same deal.

Gene · 12-05-2008, 05:10 PM

When I lived in western NY, I crossed the border scores and scores of times, but that was a long time ago. In this decade Barb and I have been to Canada about 5 or 6 times, not with a trailer. One thing is pretty constant—getting into Canada is pretty easy and the Canadians are almost always friendly. Coming back to the US is usually pretty easy, but there are a higher percentage of nasty US agents (probably former immigration agents; customs agents were always a lot nicer).

In '04 we crossed into New Brunswick from Calais, Maine, and the Canadian border guy started making jokes and we got into jokes together about old rock 'n' roll songs. Then he realized he was supposed to be serious.

In '06 we crossed into Alberta from I-15 and the Canadian woman agent seemed to being trying to prove she was tough. She asked where we were going and I said "Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska". She coldly told me to drive over the office. Inside, the guy, who was very friendly, wanted to see all sorts of papers and asked for more information plus whether we had $300 each or a credit card. The last was strange since we were driving a new SUV and he had the registration so I would have assumed that told them we weren't broke. I asked him why we were stopped and he said they assume anyone who is going to Alaska may be dangerous: "A lot of criminals go to Alaska". I didn't know if he was joking or not, though I think there's some truth about that (I think a lot come to Colorado mountain towns too). That took about 25 minutes since they checked us out by faxing copies of our documents somewhere.

Also in '06 as we crossed into Alaska from Yukon Terr. near Haines, after the usual questions from one guy, he said, the other guy wanted to ask us a few questions. My first thought was this was the nasty guy, but he wanted to know about Colorado since he had a offer to transfer here.

When we came back to the lower 48, we crossed into Idaho at a small town. We stopped at the Canadian side to get the forms stamped to get the GST back. On the northbound side of the road, an American who had just passed through the Canadian border station had pulled off the road about 50' afterward, gotten out of his car and was doing strange exercises or some variant of tai chi. The Canadians were watching this as were we. I asked them what they thought about him and one guy said they would probably shoot him. At that time Canadian border guys were not permitted to have guns, so that was part of the joke. So I have found Canadian border guys have a dry humor generally. I think if you are confident and used to crossing the border, humor is ok in some situations, but I don't recommend it for everyone.

I have also heard from people telling me how they were hassled going either way, asked to take everything out of their vehicles and such.

We have crossed the border both ways with a pickup with a tonneau cover and were never asked to open it even though no one could see into it. Occasionally they have asked to look in the back of a SUV crossing into the US, but hardly looked for more than a few seconds. I've never been hassled about food though we have always brought a lot with us. I just tell them what we have and when the list gets long, they stop me and tell me to go. But no potatoes in Newfoundland (we didn't have any). I think generally it's about food for personal consumption vs. to sell.

We haven't been to Canada since '06 and haven't bothered to get passports, but have started to get it done since we may go in '09. I found Canadians were pretty upset that the US govt has acted like Canadians are dangerous and required passports from them. It was easy to cross the border forever and now towns and neighbors and families are being somewhat split. If you have a couple of kids and have to get passports or those cards now, it's a large expense. When I was in school in Buffalo I don't know if I could have afforded a passport. We used to go to Canada a lot (better Chinese food there). I'm not sure what's happening in places were the border goes right through communities, but I would think a lot of casual travel along the border has stopped.

Gene

Aage · 12-05-2008, 05:41 PM

I'm glad somebody mentioned the food items you can't bring, but the other thing in that sentence is always "plants". No plants, please.

safari57 · 12-06-2008, 11:57 AM

An issue which is causing grief going either way is the number of boomers who are being caught with illegal drugs. Not just a little, but sometimes quite a lot. 401K replacement program perhaps? Who knows why someone who should know better suddenly tries to top up their retirement plan just once with a cargo that should not be in their RV, and sadly RV's are often what are used to do this dastardly deed. Hide it in propane tanks, holding tanks, etc and hope they will get through, make some quick and easy money, and have a nicer retirement.

We go across frequently as we live only a few minutes north of the border and do shopping frequently in Bellingham, WA, a half hour trip from doorstep to the city. We do not have problems although from time to time we are checked out and that is the price we pay for our trips. In the overall scheme of things it is just a small hassle and the pain goes away as soon as we are on the road again.

We hear constantly from folks that getting into Canada is no big deal. From time to time they are checked out to some degree but not often and nothing that would be considered out of line or overly intrusive. Yes, there are a few folks manning the stations who seem to enjoy the aggravation they can cause but for the most part they are few and far between.

Going south though can be a real challenge at times. We hear often enough from our US friends who come to visit, camp and tour that their return trips have about a 30% chance of being far less than fun. Keep your sense of humour, have all your paperwork at hand, and answer honestly and they are far more likely to treat you appropriately. They do take a lot of crap from some folks who travel and feel that any public servant is a tax burden so we find that getting through the US border earlier in the day when they haven't had to deal with a lot of difficult people works best.

The US dollar is now something like 20% more than the Canadian dollar. You get a lot of value for your money. Come visit Canada

and see what a great place it is to have right next door. If the US won't take you back not a problem, we have lots of room with only 30 some million people running around up here and can always handle a few more Airstreamers hanging around supporting our economy and shining up our CG's.

Barry

Mike Leary · 12-06-2008, 12:29 PM

In spite of the border; Western Canada is one of the nice places on earth. We drove up
through Alberta to the Northwest Territories a few years ago: wow!

Gene · 12-06-2008, 12:44 PM

I believe the smaller the border crossing the less the chance of a hassle.

Hiding marijuana in the propane tank? Imagine the high when you turn the furnace on!

Gene

Mike Leary · 12-06-2008, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I believe the smaller the border crossing the less the chance of a hassle.

Nope, when it's your day in the barrel; it's your day. All you can do is shrug when they find a pound
of flour from the co-op, thinking, "ah ha".

pmclemore · 12-08-2008, 11:14 AM

Come to think of it, it was more of an aggravation every time we crossed into California from other states than it has been to cross into Canada. It was always such a surprise since this was our first driving excursion there. No other state has such a border guard system.

Pat

Gene · 12-08-2008, 12:52 PM

We've never had any problem with California. We stop, they ask us about fruit, I say we have some for personal use, they say "ok" and we drive on. There are some inspection stations in Florida. There's one in Chiefland north of Tampa/St. Pete by quite a few miles, but I've never seen anyone stop there, so neither did we.

Gene

ROBERTSUNRUS · 12-08-2008, 11:46 PM

Hi the most questions asked of us was when we left Canada while entering Montana. But we had all the right answers and documentation needed so I don't consider it a problem. I did feel that is was easier to leave my country than it was to re-inter it although not my state. [California]

Come to think about it, it's harder to get in and out of my driveway than it was to cross state or Canadian borders.

ROBERT CROSS · 12-09-2008, 08:16 AM

Take a Puck..... and ck this link.

Answer

Steve & Susan · 12-09-2008, 12:37 PM

Hi -

We've taken our AS to Halifax, crossing into Canada in Calais and leaving by way of Houlton ME. The only issue the Canadians had was POTATOES. We had four beauties ready for baking and they were confiscated. Also made the Trip to Halifax twice with a U-Haul trailer - no glitches. We agree with the 'all business' attitude of the border guards, both Canadian and American, but then again they have to be.

Have a great trip!