I'm going south to get a motorhome soon....at least if my paperwork is rejected I'll have somewhere to stay!
Help!!! Sleds Stuck on Wrong Side of Border!
- Thread starter TimG
- Start date
K
knee deep in it
Well-known member
this is great news Tim.
In my experience, the guys at the border crossing are just regular people doing thier job. If you are honest with them, they will cut you some slack. The minute they think you are tyring to get away with something, they turns into real pr*cks.
I kinda like it that way as they catch a lot of bad guys by not being real trusting.
In my experience, the guys at the border crossing are just regular people doing thier job. If you are honest with them, they will cut you some slack. The minute they think you are tyring to get away with something, they turns into real pr*cks.
I kinda like it that way as they catch a lot of bad guys by not being real trusting.
Is there another crossing close to where you are? I know when we go to New Denver they dont hardly look in the trailer! If they did we would be completely out of beer & mixers!lol Never had any trouble going up threw Spokane Wa.
D
doornenbal
Active member
that whole story sucks
Don't go to another border crossing me and a friend got denied entry at sweet GRAS once and we decided to try another crossing got there and we were halled inside and threatened with being charged for border shopping up to a 5000$ fine we wound up getting a 500$ fine each and has to drive back to sweet grass and cross through that border crossing before we could leave the country again. I'd try going to a decal shop and have a new sticker made I did this with a truck I imported.
T
towngrunt
Well-known member
If anyone can help you it would be Tri-City, I have heard nothing but positive about these guys. Why don't you have them get hold of Russ Stebar who is the dealer rep. in this area and see if he can contact anyone in the Polaris headquarters. This seems so stupid to me since there are so many sleds out there that have replacement or after market tunnels on them. The tag that is placed on these tunnels are however very cheap and non-professional looking. Good luck with your adventure.
B
bigislandgrrl
Active member
Glad to hear they made it home!
Same deal here!
The communist regime called transport Canada/cbsa/riv has done the same thing to me over a pretty nice 06 RMK 900 Dragon with a really nice painted tunnel. As this tunnel is painted, the sticker was removed. It now sits in a storage facility in sweetgrass. As mentioned before in the thread, i tried to contact polaris for a letter of compliance and they stated no such letter exists. Upon reading the rest of the posts i am now trying to get a Border Clearance Letter (bcl). I hope this works. Nothing sucks worse than being told to go back to the usa with your asset cause it cant come in over a sticker. I even talked to the people at sscc and the told me there is no way a sled would be made by any manufacturer without this sscc. but that doesnt matter to the reds at the border. no sticker or papers, no entry. free trade my ***. its a snowmobile retards, not a thompson machine gun! i'll update as well to help anyone else out.
The communist regime called transport Canada/cbsa/riv has done the same thing to me over a pretty nice 06 RMK 900 Dragon with a really nice painted tunnel. As this tunnel is painted, the sticker was removed. It now sits in a storage facility in sweetgrass. As mentioned before in the thread, i tried to contact polaris for a letter of compliance and they stated no such letter exists. Upon reading the rest of the posts i am now trying to get a Border Clearance Letter (bcl). I hope this works. Nothing sucks worse than being told to go back to the usa with your asset cause it cant come in over a sticker. I even talked to the people at sscc and the told me there is no way a sled would be made by any manufacturer without this sscc. but that doesnt matter to the reds at the border. no sticker or papers, no entry. free trade my ***. its a snowmobile retards, not a thompson machine gun! i'll update as well to help anyone else out.
O
oscar680
Well-known member
wow sounds like some real fun at the boarder!
I do have to wonder one thing, and I apologize if it comes across rude but why would anyone bring a vehicle to the boarder without a VIN and expect not to have a problem? if for some reason your car didn't have a VIN would you still try and cross the boarder even if you had a valid registration? the officers at the boarder crossings are trained to look for anything that looks suspicious and a vehicle without any ID or a modified ID looks pretty suspicious!
I would like to add one thing that it seems some people tend to overlook when importing a sled, you need to to have the date of manufacture (month and year) to get a sled across the boarder, The RIV form 1 that needs to be filled out requires it and if it cant be properly filled out you have to leave your sled in the US.
The Date of manufacture is found on the tunnel sticker next to the VIN, 98% of the time its wore off and illegible an a used sled, the other place you can find it is on the vehicle MSO.
another thing to mention about stickers is when you go to get your sled inspected (probably at Canadian tire) you need to have the safety certification sticker on your tunnel or it will be almost imposable to pass the inspection.
I have imported a few sleds from the US, when I show up at the boarder I try to have everything needed to fill out the RIV form in my hand, I've found that if the officer doesn't have a reason to leave the office and look at your sled they prob wont.
I do have to wonder one thing, and I apologize if it comes across rude but why would anyone bring a vehicle to the boarder without a VIN and expect not to have a problem? if for some reason your car didn't have a VIN would you still try and cross the boarder even if you had a valid registration? the officers at the boarder crossings are trained to look for anything that looks suspicious and a vehicle without any ID or a modified ID looks pretty suspicious!
I would like to add one thing that it seems some people tend to overlook when importing a sled, you need to to have the date of manufacture (month and year) to get a sled across the boarder, The RIV form 1 that needs to be filled out requires it and if it cant be properly filled out you have to leave your sled in the US.
The Date of manufacture is found on the tunnel sticker next to the VIN, 98% of the time its wore off and illegible an a used sled, the other place you can find it is on the vehicle MSO.
another thing to mention about stickers is when you go to get your sled inspected (probably at Canadian tire) you need to have the safety certification sticker on your tunnel or it will be almost imposable to pass the inspection.
I have imported a few sleds from the US, when I show up at the boarder I try to have everything needed to fill out the RIV form in my hand, I've found that if the officer doesn't have a reason to leave the office and look at your sled they prob wont.
That sure is a policy that encourages tourism!
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.
I got them to say it today. They admitted while being recorded that the vehicle when manufactured was compliant, but would not issue a letter stating so. A$$holes. Still working on it, Transport Canada has the best ideas so far and I'm emailing them directly. When they say the sled comes over, its coming over regardless of the idiots at the border.
X2 on several occasions .... try a different boarder crossing .... probably some A Ret Cdn Border Services agent thinking that tey are personally saving Canada ... last few times I've crossed all they were like Jerry McGuire ... show me the money
From the Transport Canada officials in Ottawa:
" Dear Mr. Smith,
In speaking with Polaris customer service in the US, Transport Canada was able to establish that confusion is arising from the fact that Polaris does not provide compliance documentation for snowmobiles being imported in the United States, let alone Canada. Therefore any request for compliance documentation will be met with some resistance.
The Polaris unit enquiry document attached does have some merit in regards to importing the snowmobile into Canada because it establishes that it was manufactured and certified for sale in the United States were it was first sold as new. It would have had to be certified to SSCC to be allowed to enter the U.S. market. This proves sufficient for Transport Canada to meet the requirements to allow entry into the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV). You can provide a copy of this message at the Canadian border upon entry if necessary. My contact information is located in my signature block it border officials require further confirmation.
[FONT="]A word of caution:[/FONT][FONT="] although this will allow you to enter the RIV program, it does not guaranty successful permanent importation. As the importer, you are responsible to ensure that any recalls or service bulletins that affect safety have been addressed prior to having the snowmobile inspected in Canada. We strongly advise you to confirm with the RIV before you decide to go and bring the snowmobile into Canada that the Polaris unit enquiry document attached is sufficient for the RIV to establish recall clearance. Our suggestion is to contact the RIV at 1-888-848-8240 and obtain a ticket number before you the document to [/FONT]recall@support.riv.ca [FONT="]and include the ticket number in your e-mail.[/FONT]
The snowmobile will also be inspected once in Canada to ensure it maintains its original stock characteristics. If the snowmobile has been modified, it would be subject to failing the inspection and will be deemed inadmissible to remain in Canada. If you are confident and you wish to proceed with importing the snowmobile, please contact the RIV to get all the information you need to complete the process. You can also send them a copy of this message in support of your file. "
Suck it, overzealous border tax collectors. I told them Ill be down on Sunday to pick up my sled and I dont want any guff from you clowns. Well not in those words exactly, but you catch my drift here.
" Dear Mr. Smith,
In speaking with Polaris customer service in the US, Transport Canada was able to establish that confusion is arising from the fact that Polaris does not provide compliance documentation for snowmobiles being imported in the United States, let alone Canada. Therefore any request for compliance documentation will be met with some resistance.
The Polaris unit enquiry document attached does have some merit in regards to importing the snowmobile into Canada because it establishes that it was manufactured and certified for sale in the United States were it was first sold as new. It would have had to be certified to SSCC to be allowed to enter the U.S. market. This proves sufficient for Transport Canada to meet the requirements to allow entry into the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV). You can provide a copy of this message at the Canadian border upon entry if necessary. My contact information is located in my signature block it border officials require further confirmation.
[FONT="]A word of caution:[/FONT][FONT="] although this will allow you to enter the RIV program, it does not guaranty successful permanent importation. As the importer, you are responsible to ensure that any recalls or service bulletins that affect safety have been addressed prior to having the snowmobile inspected in Canada. We strongly advise you to confirm with the RIV before you decide to go and bring the snowmobile into Canada that the Polaris unit enquiry document attached is sufficient for the RIV to establish recall clearance. Our suggestion is to contact the RIV at 1-888-848-8240 and obtain a ticket number before you the document to [/FONT]recall@support.riv.ca [FONT="]and include the ticket number in your e-mail.[/FONT]
The snowmobile will also be inspected once in Canada to ensure it maintains its original stock characteristics. If the snowmobile has been modified, it would be subject to failing the inspection and will be deemed inadmissible to remain in Canada. If you are confident and you wish to proceed with importing the snowmobile, please contact the RIV to get all the information you need to complete the process. You can also send them a copy of this message in support of your file. "
Suck it, overzealous border tax collectors. I told them Ill be down on Sunday to pick up my sled and I dont want any guff from you clowns. Well not in those words exactly, but you catch my drift here.
Holy Crap! You have been working on this for 2 years? Man you are persistent, glad you got it worked out. I would have got a copy of the required paperwork from someone who had it, made a duplicate of it with my sleds info, and at the border when they gave me the hassle I would have called the "dealer" and had them fax it up to them. So a copy of a copy of a forgery. lol. Or make the sticker, or stamp the right numbers in the tunnel. But I am like that. Man I hate the gov't and gov't officials. They always spoil the fun.
I know this thread is over a month old, but I would just ride them across the border in the wilderness. That border is pretty big.
S
snengineer
Well-known member
Two questions.
-Would it be any easier to ship it over the border?
-What about just unloading somewhere in the mtns and riding the sled across, would you have registration issues later on since it wasn't documented at the crossing?
-Would it be any easier to ship it over the border?
-What about just unloading somewhere in the mtns and riding the sled across, would you have registration issues later on since it wasn't documented at the crossing?
O
oscar680
Well-known member
You would have to pay a customs broker to do all the paperwork and if the sled wasen't up to par it still wouldnt be allowed in to Canada.
you would not be able to get registration on that sled, no RIV inspection = no registration, not to mention if you got caught sneaking across the boarder, you would lose the sled and prob end up with a rubber glove up your rear
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