Wow - all exports temporarily suspended

[Porsche Pilot]

Originally Posted by CADreamin

Well then, let us know when you're in the area! (Most people don't know where Felton is ... ).

And congratulations on your 21'. (We've been going back and forth as to whether to "upgrade" or not.) You made a great choice and I know you're going to love it.

Jan,
We just might take you up on it since my sis lives in Santa Clara and we will swing through during the holidays to visit. We can't wait to get our 21, this temporary issue will get resolved.
" It's not an adventure till something goes wrong", Yvon Chouinard

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by FMLNM

If Progressive found the Escape VIN in that system then maybe they are making progress. The VIN on our 2008 5.0 did NOT decode so perhaps they are prioritizing the newly built trailers.

I don't think so. The error, shown below, is for the manufacturer (identified by the WMI and manufacturer number of 2E9 068), and the problem is at that level, not specific to the trailer. The same problem is reported as when this discussion started, even if you put in a partial VIN omitting the last three digits (so generically describing any trailer of a given year).

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

...
NHTSA offers a VIN Decoder; I was not previously aware of this. I tried my car's VIN and it worked well, but for a sample Escape VIN it reports

... which is, as Sarah explained, the problem.

[rbryan4]

Rob, nothing to do with the topic, but I agree. We're treated better entering Canada than returning to our own country. It's shameful.

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[Sandra L]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Rob, nothing to do with the topic, but I agree. We're treated better entering Canada than returning to our own country. It's shameful.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I concur...It make one wonder seeing all the barricades and security in place. To me it was intimidating, unwelcoming and not the America I thought. It reminded me of a visit to a prison. No welcoming smiles; and being viewed as a potential criminal...

[padlin]

Seems to me the US gets a lot more terrorist threats then Canada. I don't mind customs at the border or the security lines at the airport.

[Jim Bennett]

I think it is in the training. US border guards act like they are under orders not to smile. Even when being a bit light hearted, they are as straight faced as ever. Whenever I try to elicit a smile out of them, I just get a solemn stare.

[Sandra L]

Originally Posted by padlin

Seems to me the US gets a lot more terrorist threats then Canada. I don't mind customs at the border or the security lines at the airport.

My experience was in 2009.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I think it is in the training. US border guards act like they are under orders not to smile. Even when being a bit light hearted, they are as straight faced as ever. Whenever I try to elicit a smile out of them, I just get a solemn stare.

We reentered the US at South of Osoyoos after the rally. They had me pull into the parking area. The officer only wanted to check our refrigerator. When I opened it he could see I did not have any fruits and vegetables. His only comment "Ooooh, Tillamook cheese". With that he said you're good to go. I shook his hand and told him that his outfit was doing a hell of a good job. He smiled. I thought I was Buddy Hackett. Then, two days later I missed the last exit at Sweetgrass Montana. After getting a light chewing for pulling too far ahead the Canadian guard told me how I could turn back around about 500 feet into Canada and return to the US. The American officer watched the whole thing and was professional as I pulled up to the window I explained my actions. He asked me if I had made any purchases during my short Canadian stay. His attempt at being Hackett. Maybe my day is coming but so far Ive had good luck.
Dave

[Jim Bennett]

Only once have I ever had trouble crossing into the US. I must just run into the guys that are not the cheerful type.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Maybe my day is coming but so far Ive had good luck.
Dave

You've lucked out Dave. Crossing back from Osoyoos we were told by a misinformed lady at the crossing that since we were towing a trailer we had to have a secondary inspection. Took about 20 minutes. There's no such requirement, but I wasn't about to argue.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

I don't think so. The error, shown below, is for the manufacturer (identified by the WMI and manufacturer number of 2E9 068), and the problem is at that level, not specific to the trailer. ....

If that was triggered by a missing Manufacturer's Identification Form (49 CFR Part 566?), that seems a pretty quick fix. That form simply asks: 1) owner of the company, 2) city of incorporation, 3) product(s) manufactured (in simple, brief layman's terms), and 4) GVWR(s) of the product(s). Again, with just four basic trailer models, that seems a pretty quick fix.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

You've lucked out Dave. Crossing back from Osoyoos we were told by a misinformed lady at the crossing that since we were towing a trailer we had to have a secondary inspection. Took about 20 minutes. There's no such requirement, but I wasn't about to argue.

Maybe the same person we had there a couple of years ago. She was out of her booth, standing on the pavement not looking towards traffic. I pulled up and stopped about 4' from her, she turned around and was surprised to see me. Then she started yelling that I had tried to run her down. You just never know how things are going to go. The fun of traveling.

Ron

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

If that was triggered by a missing Manufacturer's Identification Form (49 CFR Part 566?), that seems a pretty quick fix. That form simply asks: 1) owner of the company, 2) city of incorporation, 3) product(s) manufactured (in simple, brief layman's terms), and 4) GVWR(s) of the product(s). Again, with just four basic trailer models, that seems a pretty quick fix.

Close... in case anyone is interested, it is Part 565, rather than Part 566
In NHTSA's online Manufacturer's Information Database (MID), a search in WMI (World Manufacturer Identifier) information in the SAE database for "Name contains 'Escape Trailer Industries' AND Country contains 'Canada'" finds Escape (with the expected values of 2E9 for the WMI and 068 for the small manufacturer ID), but the result is flagged with an exclamation mark...

The ! indicates that this WMI may not currently be registered with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through 49 CFR 565 (proper VIN code accepted and posted) as on-road vehicles.

... which is essentially what Sarah said in her note, and matches the result from a test in the VIN Decoder.

The "!" note goes on to say

Submittals provided to NHTSA are available via the search engine by searching Parts 565 / 566 in the previous screen to determine if there is a current approved submittal on file. For recently approved submittals allow for 4-8 business weeks for processing of 565 submittal. If after this period you believe the ! is still in error please contact NHTSA at manufacturerinfo@dot.gov for corrective steps.

In other words, there's a process, Escape Trailer Industries is following it, it takes up to 8 weeks (again as Sarah said), there's no conspiracy nor any need to change any rules, and Escape's people have the contacts they need to get assistance working through this process. The fix is straightforward, but unfortunately not quick to complete.

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

You've lucked out Dave. Crossing back from Osoyoos we were told by a misinformed lady at the crossing that since we were towing a trailer we had to have a secondary inspection. Took about 20 minutes. There's no such requirement, but I wasn't about to argue.

We went through same checkpoint about a week earlier and a nice lady explained they were doing secondary in as many RVs as they could as they are looking for the forbidden fruit. When coming through same place after 2014 Rally another officer was somewhat put out at secondary when he saw some citrus. "You are from California- you should know better". He was right.

[gbaglo]

Did he find any kumquats? bureaucrats?

[Ruthe]

As I've commented before, we had a very unhappy customs inspector when we re-entered Canada after assuming ownership of the Escape in Sumas -- she was looking for trouble and clearly didn't want to understand our explanation about picking up the trailer. We figured she either had a fight with her husband that morning or was told she needed to meet a quota. Her superior recognized the absurdity of it right away, but the whole thing was a nuisance on a day when we were very tired and still had a lot to do before we could set up camp. Re-entering the U.S. three weeks later was a snap, but I was annoyed because in anticipation of Customs I threw out all our produce and didn't stock up on meat and fish for Glacier since I didn't want to deal with customs going through our food. I don't feel one bit safer knowing that we all have to go through these hoops to get from one country to another. The people that want to cause trouble will figure out a way to do it while we're burning gas on the Customs Lines.

[War Eagle]

I know ETI has a lot on it's plate right now, and I trust they have contacted affected delivery customers directly, but it's interesting that the delivery schedule currently posted on their web site does not reflect the 6-8 week shut down they anticipate for border crossing. They are still showing room on the truck for July and August deliveries to the U.S. Maybe they are hoping to clear this all up in short order. Or maybe addressing this on their web site is a relatively low priority at this time. And I don't blame them. I just trust that this will be a non-issue and distant memory by the time our July 2017 completion date rolls around, and when we do receive our new Escape, the registration process will be a breeze.

[Greggo]

Border Inspectors. GS-5 $27k/yr. You're not dealing with the FBI here!

[Zardoz]

Originally Posted by Greggo

Border Inspectors. GS-5 $27k/yr. You're not dealing with the FBI here!

Valuable lesson in perspective.

[C&G in FL]

Maybe I've been lucky but I've never had my trailer inspected passing into Canada or coming back into the US. And after this year's rally, upon entering at Sweet Grass, Montana, the border guard said "Welcome back to the U.S." Planning to go to NS, NB, and PEI next May. We will have to wait and see if our luck holds out.