#Shipbox panama to usa plus

OK…so now our mandatory vehicle export wait of 72 hours (Mon, Tues, Weds) is nearly over. This installment is the story of the actual crossing through the Los Indios, Texas border crossing into Mexico, the characters involved, the initial territory to be crossed, and the distance traveled the first day. The alternative is to not be allowed to cross.

What worked previously may not work when you get there. Export rules at borders change all the time. Its more expensive and takes a lot more time to cross borders.Ĥ. Commercial traffic, “in transit” across countries in Central America is treated very differently than tourist traffic. Because we were driving vehicles not coming back we were classed as “exporters, which is commercial traffic, and we had a mandatory 72 hour wait before the vehicles could cross.ģ. Though we didn’t know it at the time our first mistake in planning was that we were reading accounts of driving through Central America, easily found on the internet, that were written by people on holiday, or on driving adventures heading south…on tourist visas.Ģ.

#Shipbox panama to usa plus

Plus add vehicle insurance of $46 for the time we were to be in Mexico. On top of that we had to list everything that we were carrying on a commercial export manifest and use an agent to do so. there was a 72 hour wait time ( weekdays only) for them to check the Titles data bases to confirm that they were not stolen. Customs we found out that because the vehicles we were in were not coming back to the U.S. When we got to Los Indios a bit after 4 pm and spoke to U.S. We did not know it at the time but that time scenario would repeat throughout our journey. Total time at the Brownville/Matamoros border to sort this out: 9 am to 3 pm. So we got refunded the $200 vehicle fee but they would not refund the other “tourist visa” fees about $75, and we drove back to Brownsville headed to Los Indios about 25 road miles east, to discover what hoops we had to jump through. At first is seemed the Customs officer was giving us a hard time but as the situation played out, he was looking after our best interest by making us turn around and go to the Los Indios border crossing that we learned is the only other U.S./Mexico commercial border crossing between one in southern California and Brownsville. His sound reason that we would be asked for paperwork concerning our cargo later on down the road and if we did not have the proper manifest, properly stamped & approved, we could have it all confiscated, all within the law of Mexico and the other countries we had to transit. It was revealed that of course he could use his discretion and let us pass but he would not. It did not matter that most of the stuff was used.Īre you thinking about moving to Panama? Check out our guide to living in Panama and learn more about our relocation tours.Īfter long conversations and calls to the supervisor of the customs supervisor on site, Tony is fluent in Spanish, the Customs agent that took charge would still not let us pass. The reason being is that we were considered “commercial” because we were pulling trailers crammed with sale-able goods.

When they opened his trailer and saw all the “stuff” along with the “Gator”, a 6 wheeled turf maintenance vehicle he was bringing for the raw land he is building on, they would not let us cross. My companion Tony, was driving a new looking year 2006 Ford F-250 diesel truck & pulling a newer aluminum 2 horse show trailer packed from floor to ceiling with mostly with newer tools & other “stuff” to build a house with. By modern car standards that is really slow, and, what else can one expect out of that bread loaf and a half shape being pushed through the air?Īt the Brownsville border crossing, Saturday morning May 10, 2014, we got to the Mexican side and Customs stopped us for the required vehicle inspection. Not a speed machine, max speed on downhill sprints was about 60 mph, with averages between 40 and 50 mph the entire way to Panama. The bus lived up to its legendary pedigree. During that leg of the trip I, and the bus, experienced some considerable inclines and flats, terrain that would repeat throughout the trip.