Trailer import

happycrappy

happycrappy

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Just a quick question; I've bought a new trailer stateside, and it's being shipped unassembled to Buffalo for pick up. It will have full American documentation, and I'll be carrying it in the back of my truck. Any special papers I need to enter Canada?
 
Good luck.Without a Transport Canada approval, you wil probably have a mile of paperwork to do sand redtape to cut thru. If I were you, it' be imported as trailer parts. then once assembled at home, I would go to the MTO and register my'"home built'" trailer.
 
Your kit probably comes with some papers that describe the resulting trailer as a vehicle, suitable for licensing. Hide those papers. When you enter Canada, those papers do not exist! You bought some girders, wheels, chains, lights, and an axle (or two). You did not buy a trailer; for example, it probably has no floor.

These parts are just hardware, pieces to help you build a trailer
when you get them home, along with parts you will buy in Canada.

When you go to the Motor Vehicle Licensing office, those papers still do not exist. You built a fine trailer from parts that you bought from various (well, at least two) sources. Perhaps you will need to get it inspected, and perhaps you will not. In any case, there are simple and low-cost procedures for licensing a trailer that you built from pieces. That is the route to take.

The other route is cumbersome, time-consuming, and expensive beyond belief.
It involves forms and fees that you do not need to deal with. Forget it.

Good luck. If you are buying this trailer kit from Harbor Freight,
you are likely going to succeed. My HF trailer carried bikes from Florida
to Toronto and back several times, with no problems except normal wear.
 
I imported mine the proper way through RIV. It cost $200 and no crazy paper work. Just had to bring it to Canadian tire for a 2 minute inspection.

If you are bringing it in for parts, don't hide the paper work. Theres nothing wrong with bringing in a parts vehicle. If you lie to the border and get caught you will not feel it was worth it.

It's a harbor freight trailer that cost $250. So while it's double the cost after the RIV is tacked on, its still cheaper than anything bought here.
 
My preference would be to do it correctly, with proper documentation. What I'm asking is what specific documents would be required when I'm at the border. I vaguely remember doing this for a boat trailer 20 years ago and it was no big deal. This trailer is a pretty basic unit for towing behind a motorcycle. www.motorcycletrailer.com It's the 5ft supersport unit
 
How much hassel do you want to go through? If your willing to work throught all the red-tape then it would be worth it.

Usually for a trailer, its not worth spending the time/effort/money to do that that way...home built is the way to go
 
OK, basically, I mean EXACTLY what I said, but there is some noisy static from somebody who thinks he knows better. Well, this is the voice of experience, so pay attention. I am NOT suggesting anything illegal, nor am I advising you to lie to Canada Customs.

When you bring the UNASSEMBLED trailer to the border, you are NOT importing a vehicle. You are importing a bunch of parts that will help you make a trailer when you get home. Tell Customs "I am importing some trailer parts." That is what you are doing, so say that. If asked how much you paid, tell the truth.

You do not need to present any papers at the border unless your declaration of the price is disputed, and then you show the cash register receipt, and NO OTHER PAPERS.

You do not need to pay any $200 RIV fee. That is crap.
I do not know the duty on hardware, but it is not severe. For me, it was waived.

I have crossed the Peace Bridge over 70 times, and never paid anything except the toll.
I have carried a Harbor Freight trailer kit into Canada on a trailer with an Ontario license.
I declared that I was importing about $140 worth of parts to help me make a trailer,
which was 100% true, because the wood to make the floor was later bought in Toronto.

The trailer was later licensed in Ontario, and still works fine. No papers went to the
Motor Vehicle Licensing office except a picture of the queen on a $20 bill, to which
two toonies were added to make $24 for the plate. Maybe prices are higher now.

Got it now? 100% experience talking. No lies, no distortions, no stupid fees.
 
Salos Dafee said:
OK, basically, I mean EXACTLY what I said, but there is some noisy static from somebody who thinks he knows better. Well, this is the voice of experience, so pay attention. I am NOT suggesting anything illegal, nor am I advising you to lie to Canada Customs.

When you bring the UNASSEMBLED trailer to the border, you are NOT importing a vehicle. You are importing a bunch of parts that will help you make a trailer when you get home. Tell Customs "I am importing some trailer parts." That is what you are doing, so say that. If asked how much you paid, tell the truth.

You do not need to present any papers at the border unless your declaration of the price is disputed, and then you show the cash register receipt, and NO OTHER PAPERS.

You do not need to pay any $200 RIV fee. That is crap.
I do not know the duty on hardware, but it is not severe. For me, it was waived.

I have crossed the Peace Bridge over 70 times, and never paid anything except the toll.
I have carried a Harbor Freight trailer kit into Canada on a trailer with an Ontario license.
I declared that I was importing about $140 worth of parts to help me make a trailer,
which was 100% true, because the wood to make the floor was later bought in Toronto.

The trailer was later licensed in Ontario, and still works fine. No papers went to the
Motor Vehicle Licensing office except a picture of the queen on a $20 bill, to which
two toonies were added to make $24 for the plate. Maybe prices are higher now.

Got it now? 100% experience talking. No lies, no distortions, no stupid fees.
Click to expand...

Listen to this - this is correct. Going through the RIV for a trailer is insane if you can avoid it. I spent about a week once trying to get all the documents I needed to satisfy the RIV and MTO for a trailer kit I bought from Northern Tool in the states and had shipped here, including proof of import taxes paid (not available to me from the shipper) and a bunch of other crap I can't even remember - it was a nightmare. So, I took the VIN plate off the thing, walked into the MTO and said I had a home-built tralier (which was true - I assembled it and bought the floor separately), and 5 min and $25 later I had my plate and registration.

Doing it through the RIV is really really really a bad idea for a light trailer.
 
Thank you for the support. Another poster misunderstood most of what I said,
and then saw lots of troubles in his misconceptions. Well, no wonder. Sigh.
 
YellowDuck said:
Listen to this - this is correct. Going through the RIV for a trailer is insane if you can avoid it. I spent about a week once trying to get all the documents I needed to satisfy the RIV and MTO for a trailer kit I bought from Northern Tool in the states and had shipped here, including proof of import taxes paid (not available to me from the shipper) and a bunch of other crap I can't even remember - it was a nightmare. So, I took the VIN plate off the thing, walked into the MTO and said I had a home-built tralier (which was true - I assembled it and bought the floor separately), and 5 min and $25 later I had my plate and registration.

Doing it through the RIV is really really really a bad idea for a light trailer.
Click to expand...

Exactly the same situation I went through. Made several trips to MTO and Customs offices because I had lost my reciept from the taxes I had paid at the border crossing. Gave up, walked into another MTO office and registered it as my home built trailer.
 
AngeloX19 said:
Exactly the same situation I went through. Made several trips to MTO and Customs offices because I had lost my reciept from the taxes I had paid at the border crossing. Gave up, walked into another MTO office and registered it as my home built trailer.
Click to expand...

I bought a Trailer-In-A-Bag and had it shipped to me from the US. When I tried to register it at the MTO, they told me I had to fill out a mountain of forms, go to the RIV, pay an exorbitant import fee and then return to the MTO.

So I said "F-that" and just went to another MTO office where they registered the trailer, no questions asked, and no fees paid besides the registration.
 
I imported it properly through riv and it wasn't any hassle.

At harbor frieght they fill out the ownership info - go to the peace bridge during business hours, fill out a form, pay taxes and the riv fee, go home, build trailer, show up at the canadian tire down the street and ask for an inspection, they fill out form, I go to MTO and register trailer with plates, etc...

It's so easy I'd happily do it again.

If you are importing it, in parts to build or not, and it has a serial number or VIN, you are technically supposed to register it with RIV. However, it's up to you to do what you like. You can import it as just parts, then register as a home built in Ontario. However, if you ever try to register it in a different province which actually inspects home built trailers (most other provinces), or sell it and the seller registers it with the VIN, you may be in trouble later on.
 
jsv650 said:
I imported it properly through riv and it wasn't any hassle.

At harbor frieght they fill out the ownership info - go to the peace bridge during business hours, fill out a form, pay taxes and the riv fee, go home, build trailer, show up at the canadian tire down the street and ask for an inspection, they fill out form, I go to MTO and register trailer with plates, etc...

It's so easy I'd happily do it again.



If you are importing it, in parts to build or not, and it has a serial number or VIN, you are technically supposed to register it with RIV. However, it's up to you to do what you like. You can import it as just parts, then register as a home built in Ontario. However, if you ever try to register it in a different province which actually inspects home built trailers (most other provinces), or sell it and the seller registers it with the VIN, you may be in trouble later on.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this reply. This is all I was asking; unfortunately few others were able to understand that. I needed to have this import done correctly, regardless of the hassle, and I didn't need the short-cut advice.
 
How about that! After all this effort, I have misunderstood the central issue.

This thread is all about how to jump through hoops and pay extra fees.
Silly me. I thought somebody wanted to make a trailer and use it.

Instead, he apparently wishes to stand in lines at various red-tape offices,
pay multiple unnecessary fees, and wind up with double the necessary expense.

OK, pal. Good luck with your project.
 
Salos Dafee said:
How about that! After all this effort, I have misunderstood the central issue.

This thread is all about how to jump through hoops and pay extra fees.
Silly me. I thought somebody wanted to make a trailer and use it.

Instead, he apparently wishes to stand in lines at various red-tape offices,
pay multiple unnecessary fees, and wind up with double the necessary expense.

OK, pal. Good luck with your project.
Click to expand...

Lol, You're a bright one aren't you? Not ONE SINGLE reference to the question I asked, which were specifically the forms require for the transaction. Your reply? various, multiple, unnecessary, red-tape, etc. I don't think you know how to do it properly at all. I'm quite aware of the "loophole" of making it a homemade unit. Unfortunately I am not using this for personal use; it will be declared, insured, claimed for taxes, etc. So yes, a paper trail that shows it for what it is ( a manufactured unit) is what I am looking for. I didn't ask for the shortcuts, I asked for the forms. I'm glad you understood that.
 
jsv650 said:
I imported it properly through riv and it wasn't any hassle.

At harbor frieght they fill out the ownership info - go to the peace bridge during business hours, fill out a form, pay taxes and the riv fee, go home, build trailer, show up at the canadian tire down the street and ask for an inspection, they fill out form, I go to MTO and register trailer with plates, etc...

It's so easy I'd happily do it again.

If you are importing it, in parts to build or not, and it has a serial number or VIN, you are technically supposed to register it with RIV. However, it's up to you to do what you like. You can import it as just parts, then register as a home built in Ontario. However, if you ever try to register it in a different province which actually inspects home built trailers (most other provinces), or sell it and the seller registers it with the VIN, you may be in trouble later on.
Click to expand...


To Salos - Is this the tireless mountain of death you refer to? Sounds easy to me.
 
UPDATE: Thanks to jvs650; I brought the trailer home, imported, declared, everything as required by transport Canada. Piece of cake. The only delay was the penmanship of the customs officer, lol. Yes, I would do it again. Sorry Salos, your advice was clearly exaggerated beyond belief. I can appreciate the risk you take to 200$ trailers, but the point of all this for me was it was a business transaction, hence the need for all correct documents. Plus, I'm not a thief or an idiot. Screw the border, and soon enough you will get caught. Love to hear the advice on that one.
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