Can a Canadian register a trailer in the US?

H

HMSC

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
hi, Im a Canadian thinking of buying a trailer in the US. Is there anyway to register it there, say in the state of Florida? Does the trailer need to come back to Canada like people do every 6 months? What happens when crossing the boarder with it?

2) say I need to buy a truck to pull it with. Can that vehicle also be registered in the US?

I don't own property there. What about a virtual office or a post office box? Are there services like this available that will hold your registration in the US for a foreigner?

IMO the purpose of having a trailer is to be mobile. Why do they need to be registered in a particular place in the first place? Ideally, Id like to travel around the US, especially in winter because it gets cold up here north of the ICE WALL.
 
Why to people want to make things complicated for themselves.

Very complicated because each state has its own laws about titling and registering vehicles.

Why not buy the truck and the trailer in Canada, title and register it to your home, then you can travel anywhere in the US with it.
 
adjusterjack said:
Why not buy the truck and the trailer in Canada, title and register it to your home, then you can travel anywhere in the US with it.
Click to expand...

I suspect Canadian vehicle costs and registration fees in the Land of Snow are excessive, compared to the USA, as are the insurance costs.

A few examples:

Driver and vehicle fees
...

Vehicle Registration
...

https://www.finder.com/ca/cost-of-car-ownership
...

Vehicle Registry Fees - In & Out Registry Services | Authorized Alberta Registry Agent | EdmontonRegistry.com
...


Register a vehicle in B.C.
...


Process of Registering A Vehicle In Canada
...
 
Actually, the trailer should be registered where it is "garaged." Lots of snowbirds that keep cars in Florida rightfully keep their vehicles registered there. Florida does not require any proof of residency to register/title cars there.
 
adjusterjack said:
Why to people want to make things complicated for themselves.

Very complicated because each state has its own laws about titling and registering vehicles.

Why not buy the truck and the trailer in Canada, title and register it to your home, then you can travel anywhere in the US with it.
Click to expand...

Because years ago, I bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle from the US because it was such a good deal compared to here. Even with the dollar difference and extra expenses like gas and motels, I was still way ahead, like 4-5k ahead. It's just supply and demand. US has way more bikes, cars, boats etc hence less cost.

My son and I drove 750klms (one way) to pick up the bike. Had all our paperwork in order, there's a "Registrar of imported Vehicles" thing we had to pay for in advance and I had the bill of sale notarized by a public notary however the Canadian boarder patrol said "how'd you pay for it?" I said PayPal since I didn't want to carry a bunch of cash with me. Boarder patrol said "prove it" so I tried to log into pay pal but since there was no wifi at the boarder, I couldn't. So we tried tethering the laptop to my son's phone which had data but that resulted in "wrong credentials" and we were locked out. After trying to get though to Pay Pal on the phone for like 45 minutes, the Canadian Boarder patrol said "here's what's gonna happen". Im like "really? whats gonna happen? Enlighten me. They're like "WE'VE SEIZED YOUR BIKE! Now you have two choices. You can leave the bike here in impound, go get a lawyer and a court date, and subpoena the seller, pay his time off work, food lodging etc and hope you win because if you lose, we sell your bike at auction OR you can choose whats behind door number 2 which is an 1850.00 FINE, pay it and leave! Which I did. I wasne't planning to leave the bike there after all that. I talked to a lawyer after who advised me to walk away. Cost too much plus time to get though the courts and if you win, all you get back is your fine. They likely won't award you extra costs. I argued with the patrol saying "why do you think I drove 750klms one way in the worst possible snow storm to buy this bike if it wasn't a good deal?" They just went by black book value, charged me HST and some other fees based on book value plus the fine.

So your initial costs of buying things in the US are less. Your taxes are less and without importing it, I would avoid all the extra fees as well as getting involved with values and possible fines. Insurance is another big one. I have friends in the US who ride their bikes year round and pay from 100-300 per year for full coverage. I pay 1200/year for the same bike, same coverage but we only ride 6 months of the year. Used to be that we could insure for 6 months but now, if you discontinue your insurance, you are looked at as a new rider, hence higher fees, so they got you coming and going here.

So getting back to "Florida" for instance, how would one register a vehicle there if they don't own property there?

thanks for your help.

HSMC
 
army judge said:
I suspect Canadian vehicle costs and registration fees in the Land of Snow are excessive, compared to the USA, as are the insurance costs.
Click to expand...


B I N G O, B I N G O, B I N G O, B I N G O,
B I N G O, B I N G O!



HMSC said:
So getting back to "Florida" for instance, how would one register a vehicle there if they don't own property there?
Click to expand...

These websites explain what you asked about:

How to register a vehicle as a non-US resident in Florida


Motor Vehicle Registrations


Can I Register a Car in Florida With an Out Of-State License? - DemyPro


Can I Register a Car in Florida With an Out Of-State License? - DemyPro


Can a Snowbird Register a Car in Florida?


Registering, plating and insuring a car in Florida | Bird Talks | Canadian Snowbird Association


........................
 
@HMSC - Realistically, where will the vehicle be garaged and spend most of it's time?
 
Zigner said:
@HMSC - Realistically, where will the vehicle be garaged and spend most of it's time?
Click to expand...

truthfully, Im not an experienced "snowbird" but as I understand it, Canadians can visit but must return home at least once every 6 months. Ideally Id like to be in the US most of the time except for this technicality that we have to return once every 6 months so I could see it being registered in FL or TX. Whats the sense registering it in Canada if its going to be in the US most of the time?
 
 
There are likely MUCH better states to register the vehicles in from a tax standpoint.

I suggest you google, "cheapest state to register a car".
 

Share this page

Get a free case review from a lawyer
Back
Top