Crossing the Canadian Border In Your RV

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Over the years, Heath and I have crossed the border into Canada on three different occasions. In our experience there are two ways of crossing the Canadian border in your RV:

1. The easy “Enjoy Canada!” and you’re on your way in five minutes route
2. And the “Please exit the vehicle while we search it” route

Even though Canadians are notoriously nice, and I think most Americans think of Canada as the snowy extension of America, crossing the Canadian border in your home can still be stressful.

Crossing international borders with your entire house requires careful planning. Technically, you only need your passport (and vaccination records if you’re traveling with pets). So crossing the border should be easy. But if you cross at a major border (like the one north of Seattle for example) it can take hours and be a bit frustrating.

Let’s break it down and make it as simple as possible. Here are a few things to note about the border, according to the government’s rules for crossing the Canadian border from America and my experiences.

What you need:

• Your passport
• Vaccination records for pets (if applicable)

What you need to know:

• Where you’re headed
• How long you’ll be in the country

What you need, but aren’t required to show:

• Up to date registration for your RV (and tow car, if applicable)
• Your RV license plate number (they ask you what it is if they can’t see it in the camera feed, like if you’re towing a car that might block their view)
• Proof of insurance on your vehicle(s)

What you cannot bring:

• Firearms and weapons (unless you’re hunting and have the proper paperwork)
• Fireworks, ammunition, and explosives
• More than $10,000 cash

What you “cannot” bring:

• Eggs and dairy products
• Fresh foods and plants (you must declare these)
• Excessive alcohol (no more than two bottles of wine, 1 40 oz. bottle of liquor, and 24 cans of beer)
• Excessive tobacco products (no more than 200 cigarettes and 50 cigars)
• Firewood

I call that last section what you “cannot” bring because while this is the information online, each crossing cares about different things.

During our most recent crossing, they said they really didn’t care about the fresh vegetables and fruits, but other crossings have confiscated all our fresh food. All of the other rules are set in stone, but these rules have a little wiggle room, depending on your customs and immigration agents.

Our First Border Crossing Story

For our first border crossing, Heath and I were traveling from Seattle all the way to Alaska via the Al-Can (or the Alaska Highway, if you want the official name). As you can imagine, driving from a major US city, this border crossing had a bit of a wait. We inched forward in line for a solid 1/2 hour. We crossed in Sumas, Washington, which is a small town. If you’re crossing at a larger crossing from an interstate (like if we were heading toward Vancouver), I’d expect longer waits.

When we finally get to the booth, we get asked the standard questions: “Is this everyone in your vehicle’s passports?” & “Take off your sunglasses everyone so I can see your face.” Without much further questioning, we were told to pull the RV into one of the slots up and to the left and go inside the customs building. They would need to search our RV.

Searching took at least an hour. We watched through the windows and found it particularly amusing when the agent picked up our monopod (like a tripod, but with one leg) and examined it as if it were a deadly weapon. They threw out all of our eggs and some milk, with a little scolding for having eggs in the fridge, and sent us on our way.

All-in-all, it took quite a while and was incredibly boring. Plus, these Canadians were a little rude.

Our Second Border Crossing Story

We left Glacier National Park heading for Banff and used the Roosville border crossing so we could take the scenic drive through the Rockies. This is a very small border crossing and we had a short line, made longer because of a pack of motorcyclists. We waited roughly 20 minutes in line.

“Take off your sunglasses, please sir. Where are you headed? How long will you be there? Do you have any firearms? Do you have any alcohol or tobacco? Do you have any fireworks or explosives?”

Crap. It was July 3rd. Of course we had sparklers.

“That’s okay,” the friendly blonde Canadian said. “Pull over to the left”—at this border crossing there was actually no area to search RVs—”and take your sparklers inside. Enjoy Canada.”

We walked inside, handed them to an exceptionally happy girl standing next to a picture of Queen Elizabeth, signed a form relinquishing our rights to our sparklers, and we were off to adventure in Canada!

It was so incredibly simple. No one came into our home. They never even asked what we had in the fridge. From other RVers I’ve talked to, I’d say this is what happens to two out of every three people I talk to. Every border crossing is different, and some are more strict than others.

On our way back to Montana, we stopped at the same border crossing and the older man let us through the line quickly, welcoming us back to the country and not asking too many questions.

Our Most Recent Border Crossing:

The immigration agents at this crossing were incredibly nice, but the fact that we now have to get repairs done on our Winnebago is pretty frustrating. Then again, I’m sure they found it frustrating to be stuck inside our home…

Canada and America seem to be pretty good friends, so crossing this border really isn’t difficult, but it can be frustrating and take time—like our first experience. As long as you have your passports and can tell the customs agent where you’re heading and for how long, you have nothing to worry about. If you’re carrying any foods or alcohol that exceeds their limits, they will help you with that process. You might lose a little food, but it’s worth it.

Have you crossed the border in your RV? What was your experience like?