Using Canada as a shortcut

In less than a month I'm heading East and was thinking that it would be less stressful and shorter if I drove through Canada instead of the States.

What kind of issues might I have. I'll have a bunch of food for a three week trip, but it's not like I'm staying in the country, I'm just passing through. My other big worry is that I'll be pulling a trailer with about a dozen canoes on it. The canoes won't be mine, and I'm not selling them, but they are also not registered. The trailer won't be mine either.

I won't have any meat, booze, cigarettes, or firearms with me.

Anyone have experience with using Canada as a shortcut?

 

Can anyone spare a minute to offer some advice?

 

I don't think its about someone 'sparing a minute' as much as the fact that you are throwing out some variables that most have no experience with and would complicate any answer / advice.

"My other big worry is that I'll be pulling a trailer with about a dozen canoes on it. The canoes won't be mine, and I'm not selling them, but they are also not registered. The trailer won't be mine either"

Most people i know have the sense not to test the border with these types of things as they only tend to complicate the entering into and passage through a foreign country.

Canada is especially sensitive to the thought you might be entering the country to take work or money out of the pockets of their merchants or workers and as a result, their Governments. Your above highlighted statement could certainly be percieved as doing just that, from the standpoint of the person interviewing you at the border.

 

How much time are you going to save by going through Canadia?

 

I don't think bringing the canoes through is a problem. The first question I have is, does everyone in the vehicle have a valid passport? With the new tighter homeland security regulations you can enter Canada without one, but they won't let you back in on the American side without a passport. Which I know sounds like complete BS, but that's what they did.

This answers your question about food, people cross the border with RV's all the time with fridges full of food, it's not a problem.
http://www.gonorthwest.com/Visitor/planning/border/food_canada.htm

Crossing the border is really not a big deal, I live about 45min off the Peace Bridge out of Buffalo on the Canadian side and cross the border at least once a month. We usually cross with the RV at least 3 times a year. Coming home is never an issue and going to the US is typically not one either.
The worst thing we had happen was have a US border officer take a $25 prime rib out of our freezer (NO Canadian beef can enter the US with a private individual - MAD COW BS). I wasn't about to tell her that I purchased the roast at Publix in Florida and it had been there since my last trip. It had Publix written all over it! LOL

What route are you planning on taking?

 

it'll take you more time to travel east..a;ot more time. when you get to the border with all them canoes...they won't let them in becuase they will believe your gonna sell them here..as much as we love the tourists stay state side!!

 

It can be a real time saver, but my buddy has a few cottages in Crystal Beach and they do the work on them themselves, seeing as they own one of the bigger construction companies in Western New York.

Unless you are working on your own property, they really frown on you bringing tools across the border, and they want to see documentation for things like the Canoes and trailer. Driving back with his (my friends) Explorer they treated me like i stole the vehicle due to his registration not being in there. I had to convince them it was not stolen, which took a bit of time.

 

The border is such a pain in the A$$!!!!

Just make us the 51st state and get on with it.

 

I would call the boarder patrol. I never had much of an issue going into canada its the people working the boarder letting you back into the states.

 

Not really, but if you go 50km/h over the posted limited they consider it street racing and you get your license suspended and you're slapped with a $10,000 fine. You can run around at 10-15km over on rural roads and not get bothered.