Help!!! Sleds Stuck on Wrong Side of Border!

[benamen]

I understand you live in Canada and bought in US, trying to get to take it home....
Don't want to hijack this thread either, but ....What kind of documentation do you need to get sleds in/out of Canada if I wanted to go up there, ride for a week, then come home?

You need a copy of the bill of sale and registration faxed to the border crossing you will exit the U.S. at, faxed to that border crossing 72 hours min. before you actually cross with the machine. You must stop at the U.S. side, produce the original documents, have them stamped and then stop in at the Canadian side. You will have to fill out the RIV form there and make the RIV payment. Try to get the seller to obtain a letter from the manufacturer or dealer stating that all updates have been done. Otherwise if anything is outstanding, you must do the updates on your own dime before the vehicle can be registered.
Make sure you declare any cash or money orders you are crossing the border with to pay for the machine.

Ben

 

[rmk2112]

You need a copy of the bill of sale and registration faxed to the border crossing you will exit the U.S. at, faxed to that border crossing 72 hours min. before you actually cross with the machine. You must stop at the U.S. side, produce the original documents, have them stamped and then stop in at the Canadian side. You will have to fill out the RIV form there and make the RIV payment. Try to get the seller to obtain a letter from the manufacturer or dealer stating that all updates have been done. Otherwise if anything is outstanding, you must do the updates on your own dime before the vehicle can be registered.
Make sure you declare any cash or money orders you are crossing the border with to pay for the machine.

Ben

I think you misunderstood, I want to take a trip to Revy or Sicamous, ride for a week, then come home.
I have the registration for the sled (title not required in WA State) and Title & Registration for trailer.
I want to:
* Cross border into Canada with my trailer and sled
* Return a week later with trailer and sled.

And again, don't mean to hijack this thread, but it seems like a good place to get info on what I'm trying to do, as well as info on the purchase issues that TimG needs.

 

[TimG]

As far as I understand, it's not really any different from driving a vehicle across the border. They may ask you to prove it's yours. Title, registration, insurance, bill of sale all should work (you shouldn't have to provide all of them, just one or two). You just have to give reasonable proof you own the thing. Best bet is to call the crossing you are going through, and talk to them. If you're going through the Sweetgrass crossing, call (406) 335-9610.

Edit: I see you're not going through Sweetgrass, going from WA to BC. You could still call them to get the number for your crossing, or just look it up on the net.

 

[benamen]

TimG

Just going over the regs(Section 16) on the RIV site and it states any vehicle that is not admissible can be imported as parts. Your sled without the sticker is not admissible or it would be in Canada now.

Use it for your last recourse.

(This is my interpretation of the regs)

Ben

 

[sled-fiend]

Just a thought...

Any way you could register the sled back to somebody in the US? Then have them bring it over for you under the pretense they were coming to ride?

 

[TimG]

TimG

Just going over the regs(Section 16) on the RIV site and it states any vehicle that is not admissible can be imported as parts. Your sled without the sticker is not admissible or it would be in Canada now.

Ben

Yeah, I should have been more on the ball Friday night and tried this right then and there. I am worried because the "Parts" designation still falls under the RIV program, so they still might need to see the decal (or the ever-elusive letter of compliance). I am going to check into this for sure tomorrow.

There are two entities I'm dealing with here. One is the RIV, and they seem to be quite nice and consistent in all my calls to them. The other, scarier, one is Canada Customs. Their regulations are more vague, and even seem to change on the fly. From my discussion with the RIV, it seemed like even if the RIV doesn't need to see the decal (as in the case of parts), customs still might demand it or the letter. What you are saying definitely makes sense (and will probably work), but I want to check into it to make sure. It's a long way to drive down, just to get turned away again. I would rather get it home and have to part it out than have it sit in the US, doing me no good whatsoever.

 

[Blk88GT]

I've imported two sleds and have never had anyone so much as look at the actual sleds when crossing. Go figure.

My M7 had the sticker worn off. Arctic Cat had no problem issuing me a letter of compliance, but the only person who wanted to see that was when I took it for the "inspection".

I would get a sticker printed if Polaris won't give you a letter.

 

[TimG]

I find it unreal that Cat and Ski-Doo have no problem issuing a letter of compliance, but Polaris will not do it, no way, no how. Best I can figure is that their lawyers are convinced that it is a liability issue. Someone at a high level must have a basic misunderstanding of what the letter needs to state- it's not saying the thing is still in compliance, just that it was the day it came off the line. It's actually funny- they won't state that their sled was in compliance on the day it was built. Does that mean it may not have been? They should be happy to reassure everyone that they build a safe and compliant product! They are really very tough to deal with- just keep repeating that they are unable to issue the letter. Everyone I talked to- customs guys, RIV- says it like it's the easiest thing in the world- "Oh, just give Polaris a quick call and they'll fax you this letter!" Not so easy! If I had unlimited time & resources, there is probably a way to legally force them to declare whether their product was built to safety standards or not.

You can bet that if their was a lawsuit against Polaris involving a safety issue on a modified sled, they would be out with all kinds of documentation proving that it met every standard when it was built, and it's unsafe condition was the result of aftermarket modifications.

 

[Super Dave3]

Any way you could register the sled back to somebody in the US? Then have them bring it over for you under the pretense they were coming to ride?

X2^^^^^ That is what I would do.

 

[ihatesummer]

Not sure this will help you now that the border crossing has already seen the sled. I bought a race chassis at haydays and didn't want to deal with the riv or import crap so just told the border crossing on the canadian side it was for parts and showed them the bill of sale. When I got it home I went to MPI(Manitoba's insurance provider) and told them I was building a sled from misc. parts what do I need to do to register it. They came and inspected it and put a new serial number on it. It is registered as a homemade sled. Cost me the taxes at the border thats it.

 

[summitone]

Call into the Border Patrol and say the Injuns have a couple agents hostage in Browning and when they're all haulin' azz down there just ride it across.

 

[TimG]

Yes, they have already seen the sled, so now it's on their radar. Anyhow, I looked into the "parts" designation, and they are not dumb. They're not going to just let complete sleds across as parts. At this point, they just won't do it, even if I swear up and down that I'm just going to part it out. I know some would argue that I shouldn't fool around calling all these government agencies trying to get assurance that it'll work, and instead just go down and try again, but I just hate to do that when it's so far away. It would be different if I lived close to the border.

I talked to a customs superintendant that told me to get in touch with Transport Canada- they can apparently issue a letter that supersedes everything else. I then called them and spoke to someone who seemed very knowledgeable, and he said I need to get ahold of either Polaris' engineering group, or else the SSCC (Snowmobile Safety Certification Committee). They are the ones that issue the decal in the first place. As far as talking to Polaris engineering group, it's a long story, but if I can get them to acknowledge that the tunnel was replaced with a factory replacement according to their service procedures, I can get Transport Canada to give me a letter clearing the machine for import. However, he said if he had to bet on the outcome, he'd put his money on me being unsuccessful in the end. I think the dealer would be much more likely to get this info from the engineers than I would. I am still hoping and trying, but in the end, I might have to take it to Kurt's in Kalispell and trade it in for whatever I can, or maybe find another edge tunnel that has the decal and transfer it onto the sled. Not much fun changing tunnels in some parking lot, though.

 

[steel town]

That sucks, "the Man" is alway trying to take you down.
I have imported alot of bikes from the US and was shocked at how much of a pain in the *** it was sometimes, and other times nobbody there even gave a crap, I just paid my fee's and left. One time we came across the border with 75 used steet bikes, the border dudes did not even look at the bikes, they had just ordered pizza, the guy just stamped everything and told us to leave.
I will say that the lady at suzuki who issues proof of recall notices is a real douchbag, she said she'll get to it when she feels like it and why would I buy a bike in the states any how, what a Call yoU Next Tuesday.

 

[TimG]

OK, thanks to everyone for all the help & empathy, but I've got to say I feel like quite the fool.

Apparently I've been fighting the wrong battle all along. When I talked to Transport Canada today, the guy briefly mentioned that I should check the recall letter again. He then talked for about half an hour about how to try to contact the SSCC and Polaris engineering group to get the letter of compliance, and I was so intent on trying to take it all in, I forgot all about his remark about the recall letter. Finally I remembered and took another look at it, and lo and behold, the wording sure looked like the letter of compliance I've been chasing after so hard. I called the RIV to verify, and sure enough, it does double duty as recall letter and letter of compliance (only thing it's missing is the date of manufacture, but I have the MSO, or something else can apparently be printed off by the dealer). So I've been chasing after something I had right under my nose all along!

So now the hurdle to overcome is that the VIN as stamped by the manufacturer is gone. Tri-City engraved the VIN back on after they replaced the tunnel, but when I tried to take it across on Friday night, the customs guy noticed it was done with an engraving pen and sure didn't like it. However, I should have a pretty good chance because the tunnel was replaced by a dealer and the replacement was fully documented. Tri-City is willing to write a letter stating where, when, how, why, and by whom the tunnel was replaced. I'm going to check further into what's needed tomorrow. From talking to the Superintendant of the Coutts Crossing (real nice guy), I believe I can get some sort of a file or confirmation # so I don't have to go through all the explanations again when I get there.

I know, I know, everybody's thinking I should quit being so anal and just go try again, but now I'm spooked, and when I drive the 7 hours down there I want to be nice and relaxed, knowing I'm bringing both sleds home.

Thanks for all the efforts of people trying to help with the compliance letter, and I'm really sorry about your time & energy wasted on this wild goose chase!

Tim

 

[Blk88GT]

If you're spooked, it's going to make them grill you that much more. Be confident but not cocky, bring as much documentation as humanly possible and bring it home!

 

[gcmci]

Tri-City engraved the VIN back on after they replaced the tunnel
That is a federal offense
It is against the law to transfer,alter a vin # on any vehicle with a vin # so a letter from them is ammo for ?

 

[MTdream]

Tri-City engraved the VIN back on after they replaced the tunnel
That is a federal offense
It is against the law to transfer,alter a vin # on any vehicle with a vin # so a letter from them is ammo for ?

for an individual that is accurate, but for a manufacturer or manufacturers representative, it is a different set of criteria...and dealers are agents for manufacturers and there is a whole process they ahve to go through to ensure all is on the up and up...

In the end, he may have to get a salvage title out of like a Montana title or something, but this is not a lost cause...

 

[Super Dave3]

Find a machine shop or a mechanic with a set of letter and numbers stamps. Have them stamp the vin# on a small piece of aluminum and rivet it to the tunnel. Looks more factory. I have done this many times and have had no issues at the border.

 

[noob]

it sucks that you live north of edmonton and so far from the border. You have a couple of options. go back down and run it through another border crossing. or run it through sweet grass again and see if you get a different guy/gal. everyone of them border dudes have different opinions on what they look for when you bring a sled up. some are stonch on looking for tags and vins, others could care less to be bothered to walk outside to look at the sled. hit and miss.

 

[Jaynelson]

it sucks that you live north of edmonton and so far from the border. You have a couple of options. go back down and run it through another border crossing. or run it through sweet grass again and see if you get a different guy/gal. everyone of them border dudes have different opinions on what they look for when you bring a sled up. some are stonch on looking for tags and vins, others could care less to be bothered to walk outside to look at the sled. hit and miss.

Exactly....they didn't even come outside and look at my sled when I brought it through and other times I have gone through hell for bringing back a case of beer anda couple t-shirts. It's a very inconsistant science.