# 2011-2012 US & Canada big adventure



## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

Having persuaded Nuke to open up this new USA & Canada section (and him having kindly moved older stuff here  ), I'm taking the opportunity to post about our forthcoming trip spanning 2011 & 2012 to both countries. Ray (raynipper) has already been a great help via email with stuff - thanks Ray.

The basic infrastructure is:-
* fly out mid-May 2011 & buy a second RV (e.g. http://tinyurl.com/33ddaqq and http://tinyurl.com/37g7wvu ) and toad
* drive to Halifax NS (via Boston MA - relatives) and start the trip as per the attached documap
* store the vehicles in Phoenix at end October & fly back to UK
* fly back early Feb 2012 & continue second leg eastwards, ending in either Texas or Florida (second leg not yet in planning stage)

I own a Montana LLC (limited company) which will purchase (tax-free) & own the vehicles, and insurance etc. is organised already through our attorney. One practical drawback of buying is that the dealers are mainly south in the sunshine, i.e. CA, AZ or FL. This means a 2,000-3,000 mile drive to the starting point in NS which we want to keep to, as the trip is planned to work with seasonable temperatures and weather generally. On the other hand, petrol is currently around £2.15 a UK gallon (47p p/litre) so the extra fuel isn't a problem.

Shipping ours from here is £10k return so not an option (quite apart from other considerations). Long-term renting is out too.

At the end of the second leg - around May/June 2012 - we will have the option to either sell the vehicles if we decide we're not doing it again, or store them if we decide we are. This gives us all sorts of options.

The two items which I'd love some experienced input on, are:-
a) the RV buying process - how far I can reasonably expect to push the discount (I'm quite comfortable with "interacting"...), and how long I can expect to have to sit around waiting for the registration process (our attorney will handle it in Montana and UPS the tags down to the dealer), and
b) the western Canada section - I've been advised by more than one person to drop down to the lower 48 and miss out sections 7-9 on the map, e.g. do Minnesota & the Dakotas (Mount Rushmore) instead. Also what to do and see in the Rockies (the mountains?  ).

So - all comments will be appreciated.

Dougie.

*First leg*​
*Halifax - Prince Edward Island - Gaspe Peninsular - Quebec - Toronto - Thunder Bay - Winnipeg - Calgary - Banff - Icefields Parkway - Jasper - Prince George - Stewart/Hyder - Prince Rupert - 100 Mile House - Whistler - Vancouver - Banff - Cranbrook - Glacier NP - Yellowstone NP - Cody - Reno - San Francisco - Los Angeles - Las Vegas - Grand Canyon (South Rim) - Page Lake Powell - Sedona - Phoenix*

.


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## loddy (Feb 12, 2007)

Hello Dougie

We are going over next month to sus it out, and hopefully going over to purchase after my sons marriage in April 2011 and stay for a year, at present we are still writing down places we want to see and then putting them on a map, it will turn into a dot to dot eventually.

We need to look at this ltd company thing or you can take delivery in a different state and avoid purchase tax ( I think ).
there is a lot of info on a American Rv site I have been reading lately
I expect you have found it

Regards Loddy


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## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

loddy said:


> We are going over next month to sus it out, and hopefully going over to purchase after my sons marriage in April 2011 and stay for a year, at present we are still writing down places we want to see and then putting them on a map, it will turn into a dot to dot eventually


Good stuff. We'll be buying in May, so we can maybe hammer a dealer rigid with a two-RV deal. :lol:



loddy said:


> We need to look at this ltd company thing or you can take delivery in a different state and avoid purchase tax (I think)


That's exactly right. I spent a month researching the logistics of everything and got all that sorted (plus visas etc.) so PM me if you'd like the Montana attorney contact details. It's a very simple process, and I'll help you all I can. (Basic premise is you can buy in any state, have the registration done in Montana by the attorney, and avoid paying sales tax.)

Cheers Alan,

Dougie.


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## icer (Dec 11, 2006)

Dougie 

This is a link to a company that basically does what you are doing with your shell company. You may find it answers some of your questions namely how long does registration take and how long for the plates to arrive.

I am toying with the idea of a trip from maine up through Canada coast to coast and back via usa to main in a couple of years time. 

What about your rv insurance?
Is it possible to arrange without an address in the US or can you arrange that via your LLC?
Will it also cover Canada?

I was intrigued by the ebay advert, that seems a good way to sell as I probably won't bring it back to the UK. Although my father did buy an import an rv in 1978. One thing he told me was that he made sure it was winterised as some of the vehicles were not! He said that it was an option. \i think he purchased it in delaware also tax free

Ian


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## icer (Dec 11, 2006)

sorry

link

www.rvconsulting.com/faq_rvsalestax.html

Ian


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## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

icer said:


> Is it possible to arrange without an address in the US or can you arrange that via your LLC?


You need a US or Canadian address. The LLC however takes care of that. I found that a P.O. Box number is insufficient.



icer said:


> Will it also cover Canada?


Yes. In fact, it's easy to buy the RV in the US and have it registered in Canada (and vice versa).



icer said:


> I was intrigued by the ebay advert, that seems a good way to sell as I probably won't bring it back to the UK


We won't bring it back either. I'm not confident about buying privately, so my selling it in this way at the end of the trip may not be easy. I'm looking into buy-back arrangements with dealers at the moment.

Thanks for the link, which I'll look at in a bit.

Dougie.


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## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

Dougie,

We toured the USA & Canada between Oct 2007 and August 2009 so may be able to help with a few questions.

For our LLC we used http://www.heggenlawoffice.com/

For our mail address: http://www.pakmailkissimmee.com/

For Camp sites we used 1,000 Trails and Coast to Coast purchased through this broker: http://www.membershipresale.com/

RV & Car Insurance: http://www.gardencityins.com/ ask for Keith

Do you have a B2 6month visa?

Hope this helps?

Mick


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## loddy (Feb 12, 2007)

Mick
They are very useful links, If you get a 6 month visa ( which I understand is the longest) is it a simple matter of leaving the US and returning after a week and reapplying for a further 6 months ?

Loddy


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Loddy,

"Simple" and "US authorities" are not obvious bedfellows!

This is a post that explains, and while I'm doing it I will point out that thread is a goldmine of useful, practical, hard-won information by Paul UK-RV, highly relevant to this new forum.
http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=860.msg101222#msg101222

Dave


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## MicknPat (Jul 18, 2005)

loddy said:


> Mick
> They are very useful links, If you get a 6 month visa ( which I understand is the longest) is it a simple matter of leaving the US and returning after a week and reapplying for a further 6 months ?
> 
> Loddy


Loddy,

If I understand your question the answer is NO.

Since 9/11 the American Border Authorities have really tightened up, we met some British RVing veterans who us of the days when you could 'pop' into Mexico for a day or take a Caribbean mini cruise and be given a further 6 month period, long gone are those days.

Another British couple we met were told by a US Border Officer was after 6 months you had to leave the US for as long as you wished to return and that meant your HOME country not Mexico or Canada. 8O

Now I don't know if the latter part was the official version or that US Border Officers own interpretation.

We spent Oct 07 - April 08 in the US then Apr 08 - Aug 08 in Canada. The Canadians ask you how long you wish to stay we said just 6 months as we were travelling west to east and the winters in the east tend to be very severe.

In August we flew home for 6 weeks for grand daughters birth, this return didn't effect our non payment of import duty or tax.

On returning to Canada we were given a further 6 months in Canada however it started getting cold so we crossed back into the USA in Oct 07 - April 08, several months before Apr 08 we completed visa extension form i-539 and pay $300.

We eventually received our further 6 months just weeks before we returned and shipped our vehicles back to the UK in Aug 09.

Mick


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