Traveling over the US/Canada border in a conversion van! Any tips?

Life on the Road Other Questions
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Hi there! Currently completing my first build with my partner and heading from Pennsylvania, USA into Canada! We are super excited but also would love some tips on crossing the border… our vehicle is not insured as an RV but has a bed, stove, DC fridge, etc. basically all the stuff to be a camper van.

Does anyone have experience crossing the US/Canada border?
If you have no real travel plans and just a general idea of how long you’ll be there, do you face issues?
What can and can’t you have?

Thanks in advance!

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They’re definitely going to ask you where you’re going/what your plans are/how long you’re staying. You could easily just say something along the lines of “we’re going for an extended camping trip in general area” (maybe like a national park) And you’re allowed a maximum of 6 months, but then you just have to cross the border back into the US for like a day, and then you can go back if you wish. But if you plan on staying that long, you could just tell them you’re doing a roadtrip and you’ll probably be fine.
You cant bring in any weapons. No guns, mace, I don’t even think hatchets or anything. (but I’m not totally sure on that one) If you do have a gun, it has to be registered before you head in and it’s like a 25 dollar fee that is only good for like 2 months, and then you have to renew it. And that’s only for things like rifles/shotguns. You also can’t bring animal products (I’m a bone/animal collector, and I technically can’t bring them in, but I have my prized raccoon bones hidden in a box, but I could get in trouble if it was found.)
And sometimes they’ll take your produce. Like fruits and veggies. If you have like an apple or two, they typically don’t care, but if you’ve got a bunch of stuff they might take it

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Thanks so much! This is all super helpful. I read that sometimes they are uptight about bringing specific types of wood in - does this include wood that is used for the ceiling or cabinets? Or do they typically not care if it’s apart of the build? Also I looooove my succulents and really want to bring them but I know there’s restrictions on bringing plants in… any knowledge about that?

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I don’t think they should care about the wood if it’s a part of your van (I’m assuming it’s finished wood)
Restriction on wood it typically for firewo/raw wood because it can bring bugs and bettles and kill local trees and stuff.
And I’m really not sure about the succulents, maybe someone else has some answers on that

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Have a great fun there man. But don’t forget to know all legal requirements. Check all parts of your van that they are enough fit because prevention is better than cure. You should also get [van insurance] before traveling anywhere. Keep all of your required stuff in van, my best wishes are with you.

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Unless it’s firewood, you shouldn’t have a problem with wood, especially if it’s pressure treated lumber. Plants will be a problem. I recommend leaving them with a friend, since you wouldn’t want to lose them!

As for your plans and time frame, you will definitely want to create an itinerary to show the border guards. Like, “Banff, August 10-28” and a reasonable travel schedule for several months out. I would even make a couple of actual reservations, if possible, even if you don’t really plan to keep them. The more official, the easier it will be for you. Oh, and don’t take any pot. Even though it’s pretty much legal, just keep everything very squeaky until you are safely across the border. I’ve experienced some pretty scary shakedowns crossing the border, and I hear it’s worse now. So keep it clean, keep it official,and don’t give them any reason to search you. Even more so when crossing back into the U.S., especially since Canada will be legal by the time you return.

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Hi there. What about mattresses? Hubby converted his van. There’s a wood bed frame and a mattress. We are traveling from Canada to US. We’re worried we can’t bring the mattress back because technically, it is a used mattress.

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A little late to the party, but…I live 3 minutes from the border and they will probably not allow you in if you have a DUI. They are far more lenient on drug charges (within reason) - but they REALLY don’t like DUIs. I was taking a friend to the airport one day and they tagged her past DUI. They only allowed her so much time to get to the airport and then she had to leave on her flight the next day without delay. They almost didn’t let her in at all - and it took two hours of talking for that to happen. Just a word of warning…

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If you are taking back anything major that you bought there, you are supposed to declare it.

E.g., I bought a kayak in Canada. When I took it back, I declared it. There was a benefit: sales taxes in Canada are much higher than the U.S., but I was able to get them back by going to the Canada-side office.

BTW, though this is years ago, the U.S. side searched the kayak, which meant I had to go a location they set aside for doing this, take the boat off the roof racks, let them look inside, and put it back. In general, they may do searches, and you should allow time for that. In fact, there may be a long slow line at the border.

Some U.S. auto insurance companies may not cover driving in Canada, and vice versa.

Figure out before you go a table of speed conversions, so you don’t accidentally go over the speed limit. It’s probably a bad idea to get a speeding ticket in another country, because there is a risk they might make you stay for paperwork. (I don’t know this for sure - I made a point of staying within the speed limit so I wouldn’t find out.) If this hasn’t changed, Canada has some really good extremely long highways along the U.S. border which have relatively low speed limits. To some extent Canadians ignore them, but as a foreign visitor, I guess you shouldn’t.

Canada is a very beautiful country, with a lot of open wilderness. But if you go into Quebec, it may be helpful to speak French - I don’t know, haven’t been there since a child.

Don’t use the term “America” or “American” to refer to the U.S. - they are Americans too, and a few find that insulting.

Also, check paperwork, recent requirements for going AND coming back - they might possibly include birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, proof of applicable vehicle insurance, Covid vaccination requirements entering the U.S. (??) - look it up.

Maybe check

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/canada-travel-advisory.html

before you go.

But my info is out of date.