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DONNYJAY

Roads in Canada?

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Going to be driving my class A from Toronto area to Vancouver. Have you been across there lately and have any report as to the road conditions?

Two customers in my shop said it was terrible and one said it was ok.

Go across Canada or stay in the States?

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The furthest west I have driven my class A is Winnipeg. The furthest east St. Johns, Newfoundland. I would expect no problem in either country. Recently ( July ) went from Michigan to Nova Scotia and back. Drove one way in Canada, returned through the US. Canada roads were no problem. US roads a little better. The big difference is that gasoline is about US $ 1.00 per gallon cheaper in the US than it is in Canada. This was figured converting the US $ to $ 1.20 Canadian dollars.

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I heard that many Canadian truckers drop down in the states head east or west then back up when they reach their designation. There must be a reason.

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I think the main reason is the cost of diesel. When I was in Quebec in June it was $1.36 a liter or approximately $5.44 a gallon. I did not drive west but on 40 to Montreal. It was bridge and road repair season as in all places in the north.

Bill

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This past June, we drove our Type A motorhome with a car in tow from Banff, Alberta to Vancouver, BC on the Trans Canada highway.  It was a spectacularly beautiful trip but we encountered some issues.  Road construction sites along the highway were common and some of those activities forced us to stop for up to an hour before we were allowed to proceed.  Driving through the mountains, on some parts of the road that had just three-foot wide shoulders, no guard rails and sheer drops of a mile or more was somewhat frightening.  It was especially scary when blasted by the powerful crosswinds, which were common.  Plan for your trip to take longer than it would on US Interstate highways and for fuel prices to be dramatically higher and you should be okay.

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Drove through Aug 2016  above the Great lakes there is a lot of two lane highway but other than longer than the south route was a nice drive as long as you are not in a rush 

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$5.44 a gallon of diesel is comparable to most Scandinavian and European prices!  That makes me feel really good when I come back to $2.39 to $2.70 here!  However, I do remember 9 years ago, I paid $5.10 a gallon in Taos, NM.

Ray.  I expect they drop down for lower fuel cost, better and bigger rest areas, and truck stops! We also have higher speed limits in most areas!

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Diesel $5.44 a gallon?  

I know our fuel prices are higher than the US but your conversion calculation is incorrect. 

Here just east of Toronto, diesel is currently at $1.21 / liter.

At 3.71 liters to the US gallon thats $4.48 per gallon Canadian. 

Once you factor in the US currency exchange rate, which is $1.23 today..your price is $3.65 a gallon.

 

 

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Just a heads up to those traveling in Canada. Notify your bank and your credit card co. Use a credit card not a debit card to make purchases. The debit card will pay strait across but the credit card will pay the bill in Canadian and bill your account at the exchange rate. This saves converting cash US to Canadian and ending up with a bunch to swap back. 

Bill

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Bill, the times that I have been in Canada, I carry a couple of thousand CDN and I pay cash....so much easier!  If I was going to spend all summer, get a debit card from a local bank.

Outside the US,  I prefer to use local cash unless your in one off the countries, like Croatia where the local money(Kona) is not recognized by any other country and Croatia will not give you back any other currency....I still got 750 of their money = US$14.50.  Same with French Polynesian!  

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2 hours ago, manholt said:

Bill, the times that I have been in Canada, I carry a couple of thousand CDN and I pay cash....so much easier!  If I was going to spend all summer, get a debit card from a local bank.

Outside the US,  I prefer to use local cash unless your in one off the countries, like Croatia where the local money(Kona) is not recognized by any other country and Croatia will not give you back any other currency....I still got 750 of their money = US$14.50.  Same with French Polynesian!  

No you don't want a debit card as it will not give you the advantage on the exchange rate. Today you would be giving away +.23 per dollar or for that $1000 you would throw $230.00 on the ground plus if you do the exchange in Canada there is a charge for the service.  

Bill 

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