crrkelley said:
We are making our first trip into Canada via RV. We will be on the way to AZ (long-way around) and will, thus, have all the stuff we have to haul down there from Oregon. Will we have trouble getting into Canada and then back into the US with our food staples (flour, sugar, etc.)?
We just got back from a trip to Canada. Crossed the boarder just two days ago. I don't think you will have any trouble with flour and sugar. It's mainly certain fruits and veggies they are after. And you will have a lot more trouble getting back into the USA than getting into Canada.
Coming back into the USA, we honestly thought we declared all the fruits and veggies we had.
Then the RV gets searched (as usual, for us, coming into the USA from Canada). They found one orange and confiscated it. We did NOT declare it, because we thought we ate them all. But somehow one fell out of the sack and rolled to a hidden location on its own.
BTW, that orange came from Spokane, WA and had a brand sticker on it. But it made no difference. You can bring oranges into Canada, but you cannot bring them back into the USA. They don't care where they came from originally.
Anyway, they freaked out over this one orange and were ready to give us a $300.00 fine for not declaring it. They gave us a break only after they were convinced it was an honest mistake.
Expect to have your RV searched coming into the USA. We never made it yet into the USA without a search and we have been up to Canada and back many times. We did mention all other fruits and veggies.
Then, when we came into CA, we mentioned we had two ears of corn. That was no problem coming into the USA, but in CA they had us take all the husks from around the corn. IOW, the corn is allowed in CA, but their husks are not.
Coming into Canada, they just wanted to see our passports and ask us if we are gun owners (we are). Then they asked when the last time any of our guns were in the RV. "Never" was the honest answer. The only other question we were asked, was how Tom & I know each other. We are asked that every time into Canada as well as back into the USA. Seeing two guys in one RV seems to make them all ask questions at the boarders. We just tell them "we are a gay couple that's been together for 35 years" and then they ask no more questions about that.
BTW, we have NEVER been searched going into Canada, but have been searched every time coming back. Getting into Canada only takes a couple of minutes. Getting back into the USA takes about a half hour because of the search. That's if there's nobody in line.
-Don- SSF, CA