North America Road trip for 2 Brits

For a while now me and the Mr have been planning a big road trip to North America.
We are both British Citizens and I have dual Canadian Citizenship.
We plan on starting our adventure October 2021, travel to either Canada or the USA, buy an RV (C class motorhome) and spend 10-12 months travelling.
We have had a couple of motorhome holidays in both the USA and Canada and we want more.
I realise that the visa situation limits us to 3 months in the USA, so the plan is to cross the border when the time is up and explore Canada, obviously the time of year will factor into our plan.
I have a Canadian bank account, Social Insurance number and a friends home we could use as a base. I was wondering if it would be easier to purchase an RV in Canada?
I can imagine that the cost would be higher, but cannot get my head around how you could purchase a unit in the States if you are a non-resident.
I was hoping to get some advice from all the experienced people on this forum.
Thanks

Its been probably 6 years, but we came across a German couple doing that.  They bought a truck and trailer from a dealer in South Dakota headed south for the winter.  When we met them in July they had followed the sun across the south, and were,heading to Canada.  The plan was to spend the last few months in CA then drop back to SD and return the teuck and trailer to the dealer to sell for them.  Remember, if you buy a motor home your going to be limited without a small car (toad) to get around in.  For the money you might be better with a truck and fifth wheel or a travel trailer.  One drive train, and still have a vehicle to explore with.  Since your already CA legal I would buy up there and head south as soon as possible to avoid cold weather.

Buying and selling in the USA would likely be easier just based on volume but you point out the biggest factor and that is registering and insuring a rig as a non-resident.

You could buy near the border import to CA and register and then selling can likely be cross border - check customs and duties impacts.

I would second the TT idea in terms of having a get around vehicle unless you luck out and can buy a set from someone.

Some big US RV dealers are well-experienced in handling purchases for non-US citizens.  They know how to handle titles and vehicle registration, obtain insurance, etc.  Lazy Days in Tampa, FL is one such, RV Country in Oregon and Lichtsinn in Minnesota are some others.  Some of them just provide the necessary documentation for you to take the RV to Canada to title it there, but Lazy Days will also help you get US papers for it.

If you intend to buy and later sell in the USA, then getting a US title and tags is probably the best course, but be aware that US insurance for a foreign national is extra-expensive. Not because of nationality, though. It's simply the lack of the US history, e.g. driving record, financial, etc. that US insurers rely on to set rates. Lacking a US track record, you probably end up in the highest risk category and therefore pay the highest rates. 

My main thought here is about the weather, by October many of the northern states can already be experiencing winter conditions, possibly even snow and ice on the roads in some places.  If you are limited to 3 months (I thought it was 6 months, but I am not an expert), how do you get back to Canada with an RV in January?  The Canadian RV Snowbirders that head south for the winter, traditionally arrive in the south (Florida, Arizona, etc) in October, maybe  and return north around April when the spring thaw occurs up north.  The other problem about travel starting in October is limited destination, with RV parks starting to close for the winter in the northern half of the country, and even in the south, mostly pleasant RV travel will be limited to the gulf coast states (southern Texas to Florida), as well as California and southern Arizona.

Last October my wife and I took a month long RV trip from Louisiana to the Grand Canyon in NW Arizona, and ended up dodging early season winter weather along the way.  Thankfully timing the major tourist sites during somewhat warm weather between two early season arctic blasts.  On the trip we spent a pleasant 4 days in Page, Arizona, where the highs were in the mid 70's F (about 24C), however the previous week the temperatures were hovering around freezing for a couple of days dropping to 24F (-4C) one night.  Then a week water on the last night in Arizona the next round of cold hit, where I experienced my coldest night in the RV yet, with lows of 12F (-11C) in Springerville, Arizona.  This was followed by a few pleasant days in New Mexico on the drive home, then cutting the visit short to run from the winter weather again, as I did not want to get caught in potential snow in the mountains of New Mexico.  So sure you might be fine in this area most years, but some of the time you will draw the short straw like we saw last year with freak early season winter weather reaching as far south as southern New Mexico and into west Texas..

[quote author=MissD]I realise that the visa situation limits us to 3 months in the USA, so the plan is to cross the border when the time is up and explore Canada, obviously the time of year will factor into our plan.[/quote]
For clarification, 3 months is the limit if you use the ESTA visa waiver program, and it's not renewable (i.e. you can enter the USA only once for each ESTA application). Best to apply for a B2 visitor/tourist visa; That will allow up to 6 months for a single visit, and you can enter multiple times. (The visa is good for 10 years). There are also ways to extend your stay with a B2 without needing to leave (cross the border) and return.

One caveat - there have been anecdotal reports stories of folks being refused re-entry because they were perceived to be trying to bypass the system by making short trips into Canada.

I believe Canadian border crossing still requires a 14 day quarantine period.  That could eat into your time.

So would the RV 'live' in canada for the most part, with excursions to the US?  I'm just trying to envision a scenario where any of these ownership hoops to jump through much less depreciation would be better than just renting something as needed.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Leaving the US and going into Canada does not permit you to re-enter the US. You must leave North America completely. Being a dual Canadian citizen may change things slightly, but from what I have read on this forum, Canadians can only stay in the US a maximum of 6 months in any 12 month period.
As a UK citizen, you can apply for a Visa which does not grant you right of entry. The border official makes the decision whether to admit you and for how long, up to a maximum of 6 months. You can apply to extend that period as we are at this moment, but it is a very long process with no guarantee of success. Not only that, but if the application is denied, you become an overstay and will forfeit your current Visa. You may have duel citizenship, but how does that affect your partner, do they have the same status?

As a non US resident, it is not difficult to purchase an RV in the States, but as mentioned in other replies, insurance is extremely expensive. We currently pay around $1000 a year for the fifth wheel and around $2900 a year for our tow truck.
TonyL

If you want to talk to us (UK residents currently doing what you want in the US) PM us your UK phone number and we will be glad to give you all the experience we have learned to date. Bear in mind the 8 hour time difference.
TonyL

I am curious about those saying a non-resident can register a vehicle. I am 99% sure this can't be done in Ohio. I've titled and registered 5 vehicles in the last 2 years and have even witnessed some "out of state" Americans be told they can't register or title in Ohio without an Ohio license (proof of residency)

It might be important to OP to know which states allow this.

... have even witnessed some "out of state" Americans be told they can't register or title in Ohio without an Ohio license (proof of residency)

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We live in California and have a townhome in Ohio for the times we visit kids & grandkids. We both have California drivers licenses. We had no issue registering one of the cars at the OH BMV  after we had it shipped from CA to OH in 2019. The whole process was quite painless and fast although we did have to visit a BMV office. Story here.

FWIW we registered our first car in California while we were still UK citizens/residents (and were staying in a CA motel). But that was 40 years ago.

The townhome in Ohio is probably key. You can technically prove Ohio residence with a "local government" issued bill which I suspect is what you did.

Maybe, but there was no doubt about our CA residency while we are were at the OH BMV.

There have been numerous discussions here about non-US residents registering vehicles in various states, and we also have a couple of articles in our forum Library. Rules have been changing over the years to tighten up on US residents who register in a different state to avoid paying sales tax and registration fees in their home state.

Non-US residents are not the subject of these changing rules because they don't have a US home state, but it's possible that some states require proof residency in their state.

Many folks have used an LLC (Limited Liability Company) to register and, in some cases, to purchase a vehicle. The lawyer's office handling the LLC takes care of all the registration stuff. Since the LLC is registered in a given state, that seems to take care of any residency issue, both for US citizens/residents and non-US citizens/residents. There are stories and articles here about folks who've used this route.

FWIW a "Montana LLC" was quite common, and folks would register their vehicles in that state. I haven't heard much about Montana LLCs for some time, so don't know if they're still being formed/used.

Personally, I've always been leery of using an LLC to avoid home state registration, although we have a number of friends/acquaintances who do. I've even talked with LLC lawyers at large RV shows, and those discussions merely reinforced my reluctance. One such lawyer even told me "you're best not going this route". Again, there's no reason a non-US citizen/resident shouldn't have an LLC.

You don't have to be a resident of any state to title a vehicle there. If nothing else, simply form a business and have your business own and title the vehicle. No driver license required either - even a paraplegic can own his own vehicle (and hire a chauffeur to drive it).  Every state has a law that requires a vehicle kept in that state for more than xx days (typically 30) be registered in that state.

donn said:

Its been probably 6 years, but we came across a German couple doing that.  They bought a truck and trailer from a dealer in South Dakota headed south for the winter.  When we met them in July they had followed the sun across the south, and were,heading to Canada.  The plan was to spend the last few months in CA then drop back to SD and return the teuck and trailer to the dealer to sell for them.  Remember, if you buy a motor home your going to be limited without a small car (toad) to get around in.  For the money you might be better with a truck and fifth wheel or a travel trailer.  One drive train, and still have a vehicle to explore with.  Since your already CA legal I would buy up there and head south as soon as possible to avoid cold weather.

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We have considered the truck/trailer as an option, it?s hard to imagine towing such a large vehicle, we are used to smaller things here in the UK! We have considered a motorbike on the back of the RV.

Thank you for all the excellent advice, we have a lot to think about.

The weather is definitely something we need to plan around. We were in Bryce Canyon on our last trip, there was snow on the ground, but the roads were clear and it was beautiful. At Monument Valley is was snowing and very cold. That was March (2018)

We have a year to plan the trip, hopefully the Covid situation will have improved!
The plan is to take a year, travel as much as we can in Canada and the USA and then either sell the van, or store until we can return for another fix.

Thanks for your offer of advice TonyL, I will PM you.

Good luck, and please keep us updated on your plans. We'd especially like to hear from you during your trip; Many of us will follow along. If the stars align, you might even run into forum members along the way, and you'd be welcomed by new friends.

BTW what part of the UK do you live in?