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Cost of Shipping Vans kit to Canada

kevinsky18

Well Known Member
Shipping to Canada.

Canadian builders how much did it cost to get your complete kit from Vans shipped? How was customs and all that other fun stuff?

I have a 16 foot cube Van and live in Kamloops BC. I'm going to order my entire Vans RV-8 kit at once and was thinking of just driving down, picking it up, clearing it through customs myself and calling it a day.

Just wondering if there would be any cash saving in doing this.
 
Probably worth picking up...

I had my QB hauled by Partain Trucking to Niagara Falls, then rented a Uhaul to go across and get it myself. You are closer, so maybe worth it to go direct to Van's. Only way to know for sure is to get quotes and compare to what you can do yourself. If you go with Partain, or pickup yourself, you should be able to manage without crating (if you're careful) and save $$$'s that way. Also easier to unload when you get home.

There is no duty, though you'll have to pay GST and PST :mad:
 
Recent wing kit shipped to Saskatchewan

I recently (November 2006) took delivery of my wing kit.

Reimer collect was approx $370 CDN
GST $400 CDN
PST $332 CDN
no duty,
self-cleared (allow 2 hours- I got lucky and got it done in about 0.75 hours).

$35 for a half-hour of a custom cross-town courier with a flat-bed.

As I recall (don't have the difference handy) the price went up dramatically to get it delivered to a business. Reimer won't deliver to a residence.

I self-cleared, then picked up the kit crates out of bond at Reimer's terminal and unloaded them at my storage facility (they're building a Moose - what's a little more?)

There was a bit of damage to the spar crate - the light wooden bottom plate didn't have quite enough standoff for one of the forklift operators.
Lost a one-foot piece of wood off the bottom, and very minor damage to some light trim strips. Not worth claiming.

I've probably paid far more than that to fedex parts from vans, and tools from avery.
I really don't want to add it up.
 
Medicine Hat Alberta

I went and picked up my QB wings and QB fusalage last fall. Went though the Crowsnest Pass , Cranbrook and down thought Spokane and then Portland. Great trip. I pulled a 18 ft flatdeck behind a Nissan Titan. No problems what-so-ever. Going though the border took about 15 min. Paid the GST only and I was on my way. The trip from Medicine Hat, Alberta was about 14 to 15 hrs each way. Bonus, went flying in the RV 9A and a tour of the factory. Its nice to put a face to a name.
I didn't keep track of the gas, food, and lodging. But I think I had a grin on my face all the way back. Would I do it again? You bet.
Russel Koch
RV9A Emp almost done and QB wings and fusalage in hanger
 
Oliver, B.C.

Last month I hauled an eighteen foot flat deck trailer behind my Chevy Suburban and loaded all three boxes (7a QB fuse, QB wings and finish kit) on and hauled it back. There are a few ways for you to go. Perhaps the Coquahala highway would be the fastest. Figure two FULL days. First day, travel. Bunk over past Portland and pick up you kit in the morning. Drive back.
Canadian customs...all they want is you money...7% and 6% :eek:
But it still isn't really cheap hauling it yourself. For me, three tanks of fuel @
$120.00 per tank, night stay at the motel of your choice and meals. Oh, if it was the same cost to have it shipped I'd still go get it myself...just part of the adventure! BTW 6 1/2 hr Portland to Vancouver on a great hiway. SO get a quote or two from some carriers and watch them put an upcharge on there brokerage charges :mad: When you bring it over there is no brokerage fee(s)
 
Loren & rkochcyxh did you get quotes to have it shipped up before going down yourself? I'd be curious as to the ball park figures.
 
kevin

No, I didn't bother with quotes from shippers. I didn't have to rent any equuipment, just jump in and go! Now, if you're renting a trailer or a truck....
well then I think there might not be such a difference. With fuel, meals, time
and lodging. Call up some of these freight forwarders and get a landed, net- net price. Obviously, the QB kit is going to be higher freight than the standard build kit. Good luck!
 
Didn't get a price

I didn't get an price or quote for the shipping either. I get a fair amount of freight from Vancouver to Medicine Hat and it cost me over $700.00 for something the size of an RV9 quick build. The companies I use out of Vancouver don't run into the States so I couldn't use them. Also, you will have to pay brokers fees for your customs. The fee is usually based on the total cost of the product in Canadian funds.
If you are not going QB then a lot of things change. You can haul it in your van and also your shipping fees will be a lot less.
If you have the time ,go to Portland. You won't reget it
Russel
 
Shippers available?

When I checked with Vans last year, I could use partain (oops, not to Canada, and not a quickbuild) or Roadway (which changes name to Reimer, in Canada).

If you ship it to the Reimer dock, you can self-clear customs, and haul it across town yourself. Then, the insurance is on the carrier's head, which was worth it to me.
 
RV7 Wings Shipping

I just got a quote from Midland Transport for the wing kit shipped to their terminal in Grand Falls, NL. They quoted me $1280.00(cdn). That doesn't seem like such a good deal to me, just a little on the high side. I guess I better research alternate methods. Any suggestions for how to get the wing kit to Newfoundland?

The shipping on my tail kit cost a little under $100.00(cdn) shipped to my door in Gander, NL.

Grant
 
shipping with Partain

Grant, get a quote from Partain Transport to Maine (or as close as they go to
the Rock) and drive it yourself to Nfld. I hear the boat ride to the island is pretty expensive. That might be the deal breaker. good luck.
 
Shipping emp kit is different.... courier

Remember that shipping the empennage kit is different than all of the other kits (except replacement parts, perhaps). The emp kit is shipped by courier, and all the other kits are shipped by freight.

Remember also that shipping cost is based on distance and contents. A local builder mentioned getting charged quite a bit for a canopy, compared to a similar weight crate of aluminum parts.
 
As another data point, my wing kit shipped via ABF (on the Canadian side at least). Shipping total was ~$450CDN total, from Van's to the GTA, delivered to my home. Brokerage fees were $135. Yeah, I could have saved those by doing it myself, but half a day off work seemed a bad trade.
 
I live in Victoria and always go down to pick up the entire kit. The entire trip for two with a pickup and trailer comes to $450-$500 in Canadian funds. Much cheaper than transport. Customs clearance, do it yourself its easy. The biggest expense for me is the ferry trip both ways.
 
Just ordered the RV-10 tail kit. Question, Can I chose to to do the brokerage myself with their choice of shipper and if so what's involved?
 
self-clearing customs

Here are the steps I went through to self-clear customs:

1. Shipment arrives and is held in customs bonded area at shipper's warehouse.
2. Pick up paperwork from shipper's warehouse
3. Take paperwork to customs office, pay fees, they sign off the paperwork and give you some more paper.
4. Take papers back to shipper, to prove you paid the customs fees.
5. Transfer to local shipper to deliver to your shop.

It was half a day shot, with back and forth travel, including cross-town transport and unloading at my shop.

Make sure you keep all the papers and receipts etc. as proof of import, GST and PST payment.
 
We shipped to a stateside address, that act as storage. We loaded everything up in the truck, went to the border, paid taxes on the invoices from Vans and drove off. For us it was as easy as paying taxes on a T-shirt or anything you bring from the US.
If it a complete v?hicule, it?s a different ball game.
 
shipping/importing etc.

Shipping to Canada.

Canadian builders how much did it cost to get your complete kit from Vans shipped? How was customs and all that other fun stuff?

I have a 16 foot cube Van and live in Kamloops BC. I'm going to order my entire Vans RV-8 kit at once and was thinking of just driving down, picking it up, clearing it through customs myself and calling it a day.

Just wondering if there would be any cash saving in doing this.

I have been to Van's, yes, it's a nice visit, but perhaps you've already been?
I can't imagine fuel, hotel, and food would be less than freight from Oregon to the border?...but I was wrong once before!

Many builder's seem to prefer to have the kit freighted to Oroville, held there at one of the depots, then you pickup and bring across yourself, so easily done in a day from Kamloops....maybe with a co-pilot eh?
As others have said, ensure you have tons of paper to prove all the values and origins etc! I nearly had to pay for a NEW nosegear when I sent mine to Langair for the cut/rethread mod! :(
 
This is interesting for me...

I'm super early in a journey to start an RV10 in 2021.

I just ordered the training projects from Vans (Tool Box, Light and Mini Wing) which were shipped via Fed Ex. The total Invoice costs were $285 US... Converted to Canadian was $305 CAD. They added $114 CAD to ship it all to Toronto and Fed Ex charged another $51 CAD for import fees. I have no experience in riveting or metal work so figured I would start there with the training kits for fun!

I'm beginning to realize the fees for shipping a full RV10 kit will be quite large!

If anyone is in the GTA doing a build I would be very keen to meet up to learn about your project.

Cheers, Rod.
 
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