Max and I got into the line at 4:30pm and inside USA at 9:30pm... The agent looked like she was disgusted and suggested we make a complaint. No idea
of why so long . Very quick crossing once we got to her. The second inspection down the road took about 10 min. Wow.
[Edited on 10-29-2012 by David K]Desertbull - 10-28-2012 at 10:11 PM
no line at 7:45 am...wide open!redhilltown - 10-28-2012 at 10:34 PM
David...was the line crazy long or was it just moving slowly? Was it up and over the hill out onto the main street? That really sucks. Sounds like
Tecate is becoming a crap shoot but I'll still do it just about every time. (crossing three weeks ago on a Friday afternoon was 15 mins.)mulegejim - 10-28-2012 at 11:19 PM
Crossed at Tecate last Wednesday at about 9:30 AM - wait was 40 minutes so not too bad. Five hours sucks.vandy - 10-29-2012 at 04:37 AM
WHAT "second inspection down the road"?
Never heard of such a thing, unless you were in secondary?
5 hours; good thing we fill our tanks up in Mexico!DavidE - 10-29-2012 at 05:35 AM
Border patrol checkpoint? Near Dulzura?Marc - 10-29-2012 at 06:36 AM
I think all pickups crossing at Tecate go to secondary?? I am still trying to figure out the officers. Some are real d***heads. At Algodones last week
we waited in secondary for one hour while they just stood around and did nothing.vandy - 10-29-2012 at 06:42 AM
Oh, THAT way. I always head east to the fun Border Patrol checkpoint on I-8 in Arizona.
Dog alerted on my "new" used car last year. I was told that marijuana residue is a class VI felony in AZ, and I should really air out my car.
Hell, even I could smell it, and they had to take the dog off sniffing for explosives for 45 minutes...believe me I watched as I sat there in the
heat.aguachico - 10-29-2012 at 06:45 AM
Thanks for the heads up. i was going to tow my boat back thru tecate for the first time Sunday, but SY is still the better option since I live in
SouthBay.DENNIS - 10-29-2012 at 07:22 AM
Sunday is just a bad day at the gates. Excessive wait times are the norm.
Don't cross on Sunday if you arn't ready to accept the misery of the long wait.thebajarunner - 10-29-2012 at 08:25 AM
And Tecate used to be the real trick.
All good things must come to an end.
(Never thought about buying a used car and having some "left-overs"- scary thought)Bajaboy - 10-29-2012 at 08:30 AM
I crossed recently at Tecate...the line was not vert long but I still waited about 45 minutes. My daughter had a dirty diaper so I was bit edgy when
I finally got to the gate. I quickly realized why the wait was so long....my agent was too lazy to get up from his chair. He asked me to open the
doors so he could see inside of my truck as he sat there. It probably took him a good 4-5 minutes to process us. He was definitely not one of our
finest....bkbend - 10-29-2012 at 08:32 AM
Quote:
I think all pickups crossing at Tecate go to secondary??
I cross there twice a year in a pickup and last year finally made it through with no secondary. Didn't last, next trip had the same agent and was
sent to secondary.Martyman - 10-29-2012 at 08:33 AM
Tecate beer is good. Tecate crossing is bad. Drive an extra 2 hours inland for what? SY here I come.DENNIS - 10-29-2012 at 08:45 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Martyman
Tecate beer is good. Tecate crossing is bad. Drive an extra 2 hours inland for what? SY here I come.
What has become number one on the "caveat" list for Sunday border crossers.......anywhere:
[1] "Get in line with a full tank and an empty bladder."
[2].............fill in your ownrdrrm8e - 10-29-2012 at 08:53 AM
David we got in line at 550....right behind you
After 1000 when we got thru
Lady in right lane apologized.Ateo - 10-29-2012 at 09:04 AM
How was the Ready Lane on the left?
My pickup is exempt, I guess
thebajarunner - 10-29-2012 at 09:07 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by bkbend
Quote:
I think all pickups crossing at Tecate go to secondary??
I cross there twice a year in a pickup and last year finally made it through with no secondary. Didn't last, next trip had the same agent and was
sent to secondary.
Cross every Springtime, en route home from our annual outing,
Truck has a slick shell on the back, always crammed and jammed with our gear,
been sent to secondary once in ten years....
And that was because we admitted we had some firewood
when I showed him it was good old California almond wood, he sent us on with a smile.
But, the lines are often short in length, but long in wait,
Fortunately they have installed all the little portable phone booths where you can take a leak...KurtG - 10-29-2012 at 09:25 AM
Crossed at Tecate Thurs. 10/18 late morning. No cars in the line ahead of us or in the other line. Crossing took about 30 seconds, presented
passports and were waved through.DENNIS - 10-29-2012 at 09:45 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Ateo
How was the Ready Lane on the left?
Yeah.......I was wondering if that was still happening on weekends.J.P. - 10-29-2012 at 09:46 AM
If you must cross Tecate Sunday make it early the earlier the better. we crossed N.B. a couple sundays ago 1hr in line 45 min in secondary we were
expecting and prepared for the worst.willardguy - 10-29-2012 at 09:53 AM
did those 4 and 5 hour waits jive with the border crossing wait time sites?DENNIS - 10-29-2012 at 10:14 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by willardguy
did those 4 and 5 hour waits jive with the border crossing wait time sites?
I has been my experience that this official site is grossly inaccurate. They just don't seem interested in giving good information to anybody,
thinking the bad guys may be able to use it to their advantage.
Originally posted by Martyman
Drive an extra 2 hours inland for what? SY here I come.
I'm with you, I ballparked the extra mileage to Tecate
from 3, from El Sauzal-Tecate- to SD, less than 1 might think,
but the drive back thru E. San Diego County makes
it seem long. I'm sure Teacte is good m-f, but
not worth it on the weekendUdo - 10-29-2012 at 05:34 PM
The second inspection along the road is the CBP stop just north of Dulzura. It is about 15 miles north of the US/Mexico border.
This is the one I consider an infringement on our (US) freedom.
Quote:
Originally posted by vandy
WHAT "second inspection down the road"?
Never heard of such a thing, unless you were in secondary?
5 hours; good thing we fill our tanks up in Mexico!
Udo - 10-29-2012 at 05:42 PM
I was
wondering the same thing.
The far left...third lane is now open, but no ready-lane.
The ready-lane ID checks are working...but no ready-lane!
WASUPWITHDAT?
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by Ateo
How was the Ready Lane on the left?
Yeah.......I was wondering if that was still happening on weekends.
David K - 10-29-2012 at 05:51 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Udo
The second inspection along the road is the CBP stop just north of Dulzura. It is about 15 miles north of the US/Mexico border.
This is the one I consider an infringement on our (US) freedom.
Quote:
Originally posted by vandy
WHAT "second inspection down the road"?
Never heard of such a thing, unless you were in secondary?
5 hours; good thing we fill our tanks up in Mexico!
As Udo said... the same as the ones we have bt San Onofre northbound I-5, Rainbow northbound I-15 and over by the Salton Sea northbound 111(?)...
Usually they look at us and just wave through, but last night he actually asked us our citizenship.David K - 10-29-2012 at 05:55 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Ateo
How was the Ready Lane on the left?
There is no "ready lane" yet... signs are talking about the construction for it, I noticed... Just two lanes into USA... and the two commercial
vehicle lanes (which they have opened on weekends before) were closed (no commercial traffic on weekends). Anyway, my passport does not have the chip
in it, so it wouldn't matter to us last night if it was open.David K - 10-29-2012 at 06:01 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by rdrrm8e
David we got in line at 550....right behind you
After 1000 when we got thru
Lady in right lane apologized.
Insane huh? You must have got the same lady as we did... she looked sad for us and suggested we complain... but to who for what good... no time
machine to get back those hours.
I really wanted to know why? Were there rookies working and instead of sending questionable cars to secondary, they were inspecting too much there in
line? We actually did not move some times for 10 whole minutes... why?
Oh well, it was a beautiful day in Baja... too bad I didn't see any Nomads at the Gran Fiesta. We were set up and there from 12:30 to 3:30. On the way
south we got to see the Guadalupe mission foundation, for the first time! As well as a museum tour... that was great... See my upcoming trip report
for yesterday!rts551 - 10-29-2012 at 06:06 PM
too many crossers for a two lane border station...Given the drive for border security.David K - 10-29-2012 at 06:06 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by redhilltown
David...was the line crazy long or was it just moving slowly? Was it up and over the hill out onto the main street? That really sucks. Sounds like
Tecate is becoming a crap shoot but I'll still do it just about every time. (crossing three weeks ago on a Friday afternoon was 15 mins.)
It was long, out to the main street (Mex. 2) and back a block from the intersection when we got in line at 4:30. I have been in line at that point
before, and the wait was 1.5 hours from that point before.
The problem was it just wasn't moving the normal pace... One car every 3 minutes on average instead of every 1 minute is how I would guess-t-mate our
progress... We were stopped still for 10 minutes at a time more than once, as well. Apparently with a shift change or that woman relief agent, it
started moving normal...?David K - 10-29-2012 at 06:11 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by rts551
too many crossers for a two lane border station...Given the drive for border security.
Usually not, and even if a large load of crossers, if the inspectors are taking more than one minute when you drive up to them, and up to 10 minutes
per car... that will cause the back up and slow crossing nightmare. I think it was noobies on duty... just the expression of the lady who was on duty
when we finally got across the border seemed to indicate something done was wrong the previous 5 hours+ ??David K - 10-29-2012 at 06:16 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Marc
I think all pickups crossing at Tecate go to secondary?? I am still trying to figure out the officers. Some are real d***heads. At Algodones last week
we waited in secondary for one hour while they just stood around and did nothing.
Not that I have seen... and most cars in line were pickups and vans... and most were not the typical Baja vacationers... of all the cars we could see,
only one had a quad in the bed (and looked to be a camper)... the rest around us were in Calif. plated trucks, vans and SUVs and when they got out to
stretch their legs and use the porta potties along the route, they were speaking Spanish... Perhaps visiting family in Mexico over the weekend?
Secondary last night was nearly empty as we passed by... one car and one CHP car in there pointed the wrong way... as if looking at cars heading out
of Mexico?Ateo - 10-29-2012 at 08:40 PM
A month and a half ago on a Sunday evening it was 5 minutes in the Ready Lane at Tecate (leftist lane to the left!), Udo can vouch for the lane
existing. Maybe they closed the Ready Lane because it was so darned busy at the POE?
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Quote:
Originally posted by Ateo
How was the Ready Lane on the left?
There is no "ready lane" yet... signs are talking about the construction for it, I noticed... Just two lanes into USA... and the two commercial
vehicle lanes (which they have opened on weekends before) were closed (no commercial traffic on weekends). Anyway, my passport does not have the chip
in it, so it wouldn't matter to us last night if it was open.
David K - 10-29-2012 at 10:54 PM
Maybe it is only open on weekdays? There are only two lanes into the USA, so do they use one just for Ready Lane traffic, or let you take cuts?BooJumMan - 10-30-2012 at 06:12 AM
Yes my last two trips through Tecate have been just as long or longer than San Ysidro. I usually only cross on the weekends though. Annoying since I
have SENTRI yet none of the friends I travel with have one. :/
Just went down and back on Saturday through San Ysidro. The new crossing (going South) is opened. It is HUGE! I couldn't believe it. Coming north,
about 5 lanes were closed due to construction, but only about 1.5hrs at 11am.BornFisher - 10-30-2012 at 08:23 AM
The Tecade Ready Lane was just a trial. It was for 6 weeks, Sunday only from 12pm to 8pm . Hopefully the experiment was successful and they will open
a full time lane soon.
BTW crossing at Tecate has been a crap shoot for years now. Win some, lose some.DENNIS - 10-30-2012 at 08:38 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by BornFisher
The Tecade Ready Lane was just a trial. It was for 6 weeks, Sunday only from 12pm to 8pm . Hopefully the experiment was successful and they will open
a full time lane soon.
BTW crossing at Tecate has been a crap shoot for years now. Win some, lose some.
Judgeing from whatever their reasons where to build the crossing where they did when there was nothing but wide open space to the east, I have no
reason to hope they'll do anything right in the future.
Their selection of a place to build an international gate defies logic and common sense.bajaguy - 10-30-2012 at 09:11 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by BooJumMan
Yes my last two trips through Tecate have been just as long or longer than San Ysidro. I usually only cross on the weekends though. Annoying since I
have SENTRI yet none of the friends I travel with have one. :/
Just went down and back on Saturday through San Ysidro. The new crossing (going South) is opened. It is HUGE! I couldn't believe it. Coming north,
about 5 lanes were closed due to construction, but only about 1.5hrs at 11am.
You take the SENTRI, let them walk across.......or have them get a Passport card and then you can try the Ready Lanes mcfez - 10-30-2012 at 09:35 AM
DavidK: "Salton Sea northbound 111(?)... Usually they look at us and just wave through, but last night he actually asked us our citizenship".
Funny you said this! I went to Vegas on route 78 from Baja last week....that check point asked me if I was an American citizen. That's a first.
Salton Sea check point is a real pain to go thru ...if......if's rush hour :-(David K - 10-30-2012 at 05:05 PM
