Can you buy an airstream in the States and register in Canada?

[mistahlee33]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and to airstreams and RV's in general. I have been looking into restoring an airstream this coming summer and I am wondering what is involved in buying an airstream from a private seller in the U.S. and then getting it to Ontario, Canada where I live. Is there anything the needs to be done registration wise or any other paper work that would need to be handled? I also intend on using it to travel around a lot of Canada and the States too, I would assume that purchasing in one country, owning in another and traveling back and forth would not be an issue?

Thanks!

Lee33

[idroba]

If you register it in Canada, you will need to check with Canadian Customs as to what paperwork you will need to have. I would think that they may have a web site, but it is always best to stop in in person at a border crossing and ask there to be really sure what they will be looking for when you bring it into Canada for the first time.

Once you have it licensed in Ontario, you will have no problems bringing it back into the US. What you don't want to try to do is to keep it licensed in the US and bring it into Canada with a Canadian registered tow vehicle and Canadian drivers license. That will get the border people in a tizzy in a big hurry.

[Aage]

If it is 15 years or older, there is no duty unless it has been "extensively modified".

There are taxes to pay (HST, GST, PST or some other three-letter word) based on your purchase price IIRC. There is also a fee of approximately $400 to get it across the border.

Call Service Canada for the complete details. 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232)

[Wingeezer]

It is pretty straightforward, we bought a 2005 Classic 30 in Ohio and imported it. You need to do your research first though and get all the necessary paperwork.

For example, you need a letter from teh manufacturer stating that no outstanding recalls exist.

You show up at the border with the ownership papers, temporary transfer license bought in the US, then you pay the GST at the border and after completing a form, they let you into Canada.

Within a week or so you will get a form in the mail that you must take - along with the trailer to a Canadian Tire Store to have the trailer inspected. (Canadian Tire is authorized by the govt to do the inspection).

The inspection costs you about $213 I think - may have gone up a bit since.

It is very perfunctory and took us all of five minutes - the CTC bloke did little if anything other than to confirm the VIN of the trailer!

Canadian Tire then gives you another form for you to take to the license bureau and get your Canadian registration and plates.

We regularly travel back & forth across the border with the trailer.


Brian

[DMT]

There is no import duty as the trailer was manufactured in the US, because of NAFTA (the free trade agreement). You will need a certificate of origin to prove this, which can be obtained from Airstream I imagine for a used trailer.

Would echo the previous comments in that there was no issue with the trailer at the boarder. They are much more interested in any booze or tobacco over your limit that you may try to sneak in without paying tax. They are very well trained at some secret facility in the mountains of the Canadian shield to pick up visual clues and nuances in the tireless effort to protect national security from the threat of wine sipping and scotch tasting deadbeats. Sorry, that may be slightly off topic...I'm not bitter, really...

[Shacksman]

Originally Posted by Aage

If it is 15 years or older, there is no duty unless it has been "extensively modified".

There are taxes to pay (HST, GST, PST or some other three-letter word) based on your purchase price IIRC. There is also a fee of approximately $400 to get it across the border.

Call Service Canada for the complete details. 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232)

I have brought in at least 6, older then 15 years. Nothing is needed in advance. You must have a bill of sale and a registration or title when you pull up to the customs window. They will send you inside and they will fill out a "Form 1" that you need to register it in Ontario. You will have to pay GST on the cost as declared on your bill of sale. There is no special fee or duty on 15 year and older, and nothing needs to be done in advance.
That's it for the border.
To register in Ontario you will have to pay PST when you get a licence. Don't bring one in without a registration or Title as you can't get it licenced in Ontario without one or the other.

[Aage]

Shacksman has it right. I researched this when we bought an SOB for our daughter that had been brought in but never declared here.

[mistahlee33]

Awesome! thanks so much for the replies everyone. Very helpful info

[waninae39]

we brought our new AS 22FB from the USA into Canada last week
now we cant get ONT plates

when to try to get plates, were told it needs to be inspected
we go to CDN TIRE, and they say we need form 2

we go to riv.ca and theereis no form 2
we call riv.ca and they say cdnborder service will send us one in a few weeks
we ask why we cant track or import event hough we paid $300, they say its cdn border servives issue ti update the site

thus we are stuck as we can

[Shacksman]

Originally Posted by waninae39

we brought our new AS 22FB from the USA into Canada last week
now we cant get ONT plates

when to try to get plates, were told it needs to be inspected
we go to CDN TIRE, and they say we need form 2

we go to riv.ca and theereis no form 2
we call riv.ca and they say cdnborder service will send us one in a few weeks
we ask why we cant track or import event hough we paid $300, they say its cdn border servives issue ti update the site

thus we are stuck as we can

Go to the customs office at any international airport, they have all the forms needed.

[Masondood]

Hi, if you did the import online from RIV they will send the form 2 by email. The delay is having Customs sending the form 1 from the border to RIV. Once you get the form 2 you go to Cdn tire and they will do the inspection and this takes about 10 minutes. They will stamp the form 2 and you can take all your paperwork to the registry office where they'll issue the plate. Canadian tire gets paid the environment fee on the 5 tires on the AS. It's around 25 bucks. In a couple of weeks you'll receive a new sticker for the trailer that shows it conforms to Canadian standards.

[Roadroamin]

It is a pretty straight forward procedure as explained above. We took the RV to the border paid the gst portion of the HST. Filled in the forms went to Can Tire got it inspected, if it is a fairly new one it will pass without any mods. Then went to Service Ontario paid the PST portion and got plates.
You just have to follow the procedure in the right order. There are no short cuts.