larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1499
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
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Sentri lane with camper shell, anyone else had this experience?
I crossed at Mexicali west 2 weeks ago, and when I got to the agent he asked if my vehicle had been inspected and approved with the camper shell. I
responded yes (it was inspected at the time I registered with Sentri at Otay mesa) not much more was said but he sent me to secondary where another
agent asked me more about the truck and then had me wait in a booth while she looked the truck over. In a few minutes she came and got me, informed me
she was keeping my Sentri card and in a week I could email the East crossing and make an appointment with someone to see about getting my card back.
Or I could remove the camper shell and have the truck re-inspected or drop the truck from the sentri program. I asked her if campers were no longer
allowed but she either wouldn't or couldn't answer my question. They don't seem to like giving out information. She also left me a piece of paper
that listed my infraction and what I could do about it. I didn't notice at the time but the next day I noticed that she listed my infraction as
"towing trailer through Sentri lane". I was not towing anything and I was very careful during my time with them not to fail the attitude test.
When I emailed the east gate to set up and appointment I asked further questions. One of the questions I asked was: Are camper shells allowed in the
Sentri lane? And the response was: No, camper shells are no longer permitted in Sentri and my only recourse is to remove the camper shell from the
truck. As I said already I was not towing anything, my truck was inspected originally with the camper shell on it at the time, and I have not altered
it in any way since then. Anyone else going through something like this?
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 19688
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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My topper shell goes thru sentri ok. It is just a simple shell, with windows.
When you say ‘camper,’ you mean a slide in camper?
Topper is diff than camper in my mind.
[Edited on 7-4-2025 by mtgoat666]
Woke!
Hands off!
“Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.”
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Pronoun: the royal we
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AKgringo
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Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Camper shell sounds like a topper to me, but I have only driven SUVs across, and never had sentri.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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Quote: Originally posted by larryC  | I crossed at Mexicali west 2 weeks ago, and when I got to the agent he asked if my vehicle had been inspected and approved with the camper
shell..........................
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Too bad, you got the wrong agent - a stickler for rules.
I had a small crack at the bottom of my windshield. It was never a problem, until it was. After many crossings, I got a stickler for the rules and was
sent to secondary. They took my card and said I had to get a new windshield to get my card back.
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BooJumMan
Senior Nomad
Posts: 919
Registered: 8-11-2007
Location: San Diego
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Would be great to find a website with rules for SENTRI.
I've read in the past that camper shells are technically not allowed. This is enforced depending on the agent, apparently. Seems like a normal person
would at least mention "Camper shells are not allowed, please don't use SENTRI" rather than having no one say a word about it until its too late.
I posted this before, but I was told by an angry agent once about 10 years ago that in order to use SENTRI, he should be able to search my car and all
its contents within 30 seconds.
In that pre-Google Earth and social media epoch, The Code was adhered to. It was based on a simple verity: if a locale had been transformational for
you, and you had put the hard yards in to get there and to learn it, to know it, why in god�s name would you broadcast the news, thus ruining the
future experience not only for yourself, but for future adventurers?
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1499
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
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| Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666 | My topper shell goes thru sentri ok. It is just a simple shell, with windows.
When you say ‘camper,’ you mean a slide in camper?
Topper is diff than camper in my mind.
[Edited on 7-4-2025 by mtgoat666] |
My shell, which has no cabinets nor hidden spaces, has gone through the Sentri lane with no problem also for the past 15 years. I would think that if
I was violating some sort of rule either new or old then that is what would I have been cited for on the form I was given not just "towing trailer
through Sentri lane".
When I get some free time I'm going to have to go back to the east gate and let them look at the truck and camper and have them tell me what the
violation is so I can correct it and get my card back. Hopefully they have video of my crossing so they can see that I did not have a trailer.
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 19688
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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When i go thru sentri i am in a fairly-empty pickup or suv. If i am packed to the gills with toys and camping gear i use non-sentri lane.
The sentri is lane is not meant for vehicles packed full of stuff, and the agents will send you to secondary if your vehicle is packed full.
Woke!
Hands off!
“Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.”
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Pronoun: the royal we
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Tioloco
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4232
Registered: 7-30-2014
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Enforcement is inconsistent at best. I have found differing opinions from different agents at the different ports. Frustrating when you are trying to
follow the rules but they are a moving target. Camper shell with no cabinetry has been accepted in my experience but haven't had a camper shell on for
a few years.
Good luck.
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freediverbrian
Senior Nomad
Posts: 624
Registered: 2-24-2007
Location: Papas Gonzaga Bay
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It makes no sense that sentri an GE are the same lane with different rules. I did not ha e to get truck with a shell inspected with GE. I have
crossed 20 times no issue.
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