First of all, welcome! If you do get a Trailmanor, and it sounds like you are serious, I highly recommend purchasing a membership here. The help on here has been priceless. Of all the forums I belong to, this is the only one I pay for.
Now, to your question. All you need is a signed bill of sale. Make sure the amount is reasonable because you don't want customs to be questioning this.
There are some other more complicated processes and things to consider when importing though. If the trailer is older than 15 years, the process is MUCH easier. If the trailer is newer than 15 years, there are a number of other things to consider.
- If the trailer you are purchasing is over 15 years old, I believe all the inspections are waived.
- Make sure the VIN matches, and you have all the registration papers. Check with your insurance agent what you will need to bring the trailer up to Canada. I purchased a short term policy which was especially designed for importing. It gives you time to get your inspections done once you get it up here.
- Make sure you will have these documents available when you enter Canada with the trailer:
a) Original certificate of title.
b) Bill of Sale from the seller which should show your name, Canadian address, telephone number and the amount paid for the vehicle.
c) Insurance
d) Recall clearance letter.
- They say you are supposed to notify the US port of entry you will use that you will purchase a vehicle, and provide them with paper work. I did not bother with this, and had not trouble, even going back down to the US for vacations. The important thing is to always keep your bill of sale and all other purchase documents with you at all times if you ever go travelling to the US. You want to be able to prove that you did not steal this trailer.
We imported a 15 year old Trailmanor and the process was painless other than to my pocketbook. We purchased an insurance policy before going down so we would be allowed to tow it in Canada. We took cash with us (declared the cash at the US border even though it was less than $10000). We made sure we had a bill of sale and certificate of title, and that it was signed off. Then we drove back up at 2am. CBP asked us why we were importing at 2AM and I said this was my first time pulling a trailer and I felt more comfortable pulling it for the first time with little traffic. (Plus the fact there had been an accident on the way down which delayed us a few hours.)
To our amazement, they didn't even ask us to open the trailer. We just paid the GST at the border. The PST was paid when we fully insured the trailer.
If you are getting a trailer
younger than 15 years, there are quite a few other things to consider. Check
http://www.riv.ca/Home.aspx for more details. If there are recalls that haven't been done yet, you will not be able to import the trailer. If there are modifications, you may not be able to import, but this usually applies to people install lift kits to cars, cutting and chopping cars, etc.
This sound like a lot. If the trailer is newer, it might be, I don't know because I never imported anything newer than 15 years. I know others who have imported new Trailmanors so it is very possible. Good luck!
By the way, what Trailmanor are you considering?