Denied at the Mexican Border - OH NO!!! // Prepping for Mexico // Full-time RV // Part 2 of 3

And thanks for joining us. As you saw in our last video, we were really super excited about getting into Mexico. We were preparing and started heading our way on down. So did we make it? Well, we did make it into Mexico, but just not quite the way that we had anticipated. Yeah. So why do we want to try to bring the rig into Mexico? There go those glasses again. Well, we are up high, about 8 feet drop. Yeah, we hope the railing doesn't give way here, because we're in Mexico right now. We just, not with the rig. So why do we want to try to bring the rig into Mexico? Well, it's an obsession of ours. It's not why we want to. Why do we have this obsession on trying to get the rig in? Well, it started about four years ago, and we were staying at an escapee's park here in Yuma, and we went to an ice cream social. Big mistake. Big mistake. Everyone was getting ready to head back north, and we talked to this couple. They're in their 70s, and they said they'd gotten back from Mexico. And we said, oh, how was the flight, and where'd you stay? And they said, oh no, we took our RV, our rig. We're like, what? Yeah. And so that got us to thinking, if they could do it, man, we could do it. We can. Especially a bunch of 70-somethings. Really. So we started looking into it, and a couple years ago, we were down near Sonoyta and Lukeville on the USA side, and went and talked to Mexican Border Patrol. Yeah, we drove the truck over there, and we showed them a picture of the rig, and they said, no problem. And we're like, yeah. Because basically, almost all tourists go through that point to get down to Puerto Penasco. So we said, yay, we found it, the Golden Gate. No problem. It'll be easy. Yeah. Oh, and then like a year later, so that was two years ago. And then, when did we go to Quartzsite the first time? That was in 20. So in 2020, there was actually a booth from Puerto Penasco. And so we went to the booth, we got the information, and we're just, we're armed with everything. We're so excited about it. We're ready to go. Yes. So we were just really excited as we started to approach the border this time. Oh yeah. So fast forward to January 31st, Monday, 2022, and... We were really excited. We thought we had everything. We had the documents, we armed with the knowledge from a couple years ago. So we got really super excited about getting into Mexico. We're prepared, we got our paperwork, and we started entering into the area. And there was just, there was nobody around. There weren't any cars in line. There was nobody in the pedestrian line. It was deserted. Yeah. And then there was nobody in the little, you know, huts. And so we just keep inching forward, inching forward, inching forward. Yeah. We thought it was just sort of like an open border, you know, just come on. And then as we got close, we saw a guy almost look like he was on the other side of Mexico, and he sort of waved us towards him. And we thought, ooh, this is it. Here we go. So now keep in mind, we were technically, we were in Mexico. We had crossed into Mexico, but we're in that no man's land because we hadn't gotten approved through the gate into Mexico. To actually enter in officially. Yes. Yeah. So we're in the no man's land. Yeah. So then as we're approaching, this guy from the right side of our rig. From the office area. Is waving his arms, and he's. But not in a good way. He's like, stop. Yeah, yeah. And he's coming towards us at a quickened pace, and he's carrying machine guns. Yes. That got our attention. Oh my gosh, that really, I was waiting for him to start shooting up in the air. So he crossed in front of us. We stopped, and. Yeah. Yeah. What are we going to do, right? Make a break for it in a 73 foot rig. So he comes up, and he gives us the bad news. Yeah. You're not coming in. We're not coming in. You can't bring that truck in. And we said, what? And he says, this truck is not allowed in Mexico. And we said, this is not commercial. Oh, David was really, he was trying to sell it. I was, I was trying to sell it, and he was not buying it. I said, not, we're not commercial. It's our own private truck. And he says, it doesn't matter. And he says, all I want to do is go to Puerto Penasco. And he says, I understand you have to go to San Luis Rio de Colorado. And we go, what? Oh, I started having hot flashes. I was freaking out because I was thinking about the last time we went to San Luis Colorado. Yeah. That was an okay experience, but not great. Yeah. So a couple of years ago, we were here in Yuma and actually here in Los Algodones. And then we realized, okay, there's no way we're getting into Mexico with the rig here in Los Algodones. No way. So we drove over in the smart car to do the same thing. We thought we would, to San Luis, and we thought we would park the car on the U.S. side, walk over, find the office, and then talk to him to see how do you get into Mexico through San Luis? Well, I think we made a wrong turn. Something happened and somehow the smart car got into San Luis. Yeah. We ended up in Mexico. In Mexico. Yeah. We tried, we tried to do a U-turn. Of course, border patrols coming at us with a gun again. We have something with people running at us with guns. Yeah. And he told us, you can't turn around, you got to go straight. So we went through the town. Trying to find the line to get back in. And there's, of course, no signs anywhere that U.S. border is that way. No. So I'm on Google Maps trying to figure it out. We saw the big wall, so that helped. That was an indication, right? And so we finally found the car line and we got through. And the lady on the U.S. side said, you know, state your business. What were you doing in Mexico? We said, we're just driving around. We just wanted to see it. She looked at us. She said, you guys, what are you guys doing over there? And she said, you shouldn't be over here. It's not safe. And that was U.S. customs. So that was kind of interesting. So here I'm going through that whole thing in my head when the guy says, when in Senoita, he says, you got to go back over to San Luis. I'm thinking, I don't know if we want to be driving through San Luis. No way. Yeah. So he just said, you got to turn around. Yep. So at the border, back in Senoita, in Lukeville, and the Mexican military that we were talking to said, you're not coming in and you got to turn around. From where? We were like in no man's land. We could not go forward. And there were cars behind us. Yeah. So we couldn't back. And it's a narrow lane. I mean, that's it. It's one pillars everywhere and road blockades, concrete stanchions. I mean, you know, we're like, how in the heck are we going to turn around? Yeah. So, uh, but he said, he said, you can't go forward. You've got to turn around. So we looked and, and, uh, I saw there was an area and I backed up a little bit and, uh, some of the cars backed up a little bit, couldn't go too far. And we made the turn. That was the tightest U-turn I think you've ever been able to make. Yeah. There were, uh, we were inches on both sides. And of course that was, you know, the whole day's entertainment. Everybody came out of the buildings to sit and watch this 73 foot long rig try and make a U-turn. But we made it. You did it. But then we made the U-turn cause we had to go back in the U.S. and we had to go back through the U.S. border crossing. That's right. And the overhang was what? 12 feet 6 inches. So the sign said 12 6. And so we pull up and we stopped. And of course U.S. now border protection is coming out going, they're motioning us like, you're fine. And we're like, no. And we look and we go, it's 12 6. And they said, oh, you're fine. We have big trucks through here all the time. And so what are we going to do? There was literally, there was no place to go. We had to go straight. We had to trust them and trust the process. We did. And there were these, uh, PVC pipes that were hanging down that gave you a clearance indicator. And we started rubbing on the very first one. It was dangling by a chain. Oh, and I was freaking out. I rolled down the window and I crawled halfway out the window. I mean, literally half my body was out the window and I'm looking up and saying, okay, okay. And I'm just literally watching that, that pipe move up. And it's just like bouncing along the top. And we were afraid we were going to lose our panels, our air conditioner. We didn't know how much it was going to scrape, but customs kept motioning us like, you got to come on. You can't block it. You're fine. And, uh, so we made it through. Yeah. Uh, and, uh, it was okay. That was awful. So we made it through and, uh, I ended up checking the top and there was no damage. Uh, so it was fine, but man, oh, it was just, it was awful. That was tough. So from there, you know, oh, we were so upset. We were disappointed. Oh my gosh. It was just, you know, the started going through the five stages, you know, shock, denial, betrayal, bargaining and acceptance. Mexico, we have been denied. How does that make you feel? Oh, he's pretty upset. That, that was about 15 minutes ago. So I've given David time to calm down before we started up the camera again. I'm very disappointed. Very disappointed. I was going through the five stages. I'm going to guess I'm in like stage three right now. Oh, are you already in three? That's pretty good. I'm having to work through it pretty quickly. So you feel betrayed right now? I do. He feels betrayed. I do. I haven't been in acceptance yet, but I guess I have to because they're not letting us in. You have to go through bargaining than acceptance. Yeah. So he's still in betrayal. I think I'm still in shock. I think, I don't know. So, um, we're going to go back up to Y and pull over, have some lunch and kind of figure out what our game plan is. So the great thing is we, we have no plans. So that means we're starting off with a blank slate and we have lots and lots of options and Mexico and the beach would have been great, but you know, we could still go to Los Agadones, Mexico and, you know, have our shrimp tacos and go to Molca's and have a really nice time down there for the day in the smart car. Um, we could go to Phoenix. We can go to Tucson, um, go to Quartzsite. We could, we could do it all. Go to Death Valley. So, I mean, the possibilities are endless. So after leaving Lukeville and, uh, driving up the roads, we said, let's go to Yuma. Let's figure things out. See what we want to do. We kind of had a plan B, but we weren't giving up on plan A yet. We still wanted to get into Mexico. Yeah. So we went to Yuma and, uh, found a BLM that we like and set up there. Then I remembered that there was a Mexican, I'm sorry, a Mexican consulate in old downtown Yuma. I mean, surely there's somebody there that can help us. I mean, all we want to do is just go to the beach. I mean, how, how difficult is that? We've got, you know, a couple of Americans. We want to go to a Mexican beach. That's it. It's pretty simple. Yeah. So we went to the consulate and we didn't know we had to have an appointment because there's a lot of people standing outside. A lot of people. Oh my gosh. It's like, oh, great. Here we go again. Another little roadblock. So we, um, we stood in line and there was a security guard and he took our name. We told him about our situation and he said, well, hold on a minute. So he went inside. Gosh, he must've been in there for four or five minutes. He came back out and said, oh yeah, you need to go to San Luis. I was like, oh, we don't want to go back to San Luis. And he goes, well, wait a second. And we showed him a picture of our rig and he said, there's another section. There's another entry point. You have to go through the commercial truck crossing area. And we said, commercial. And he said, go talk to him. And he says, we said, but yeah, we're not commercial. And he said, but those are for big trucks. Yeah. And we go, Ooh, okay. So our travels have taken us to the American side. So we're still in Yuma. Yeah. It's taken us to the Mexican consulate and we talked to an individual there and he has sent us to the commercial side of the border crossing in San Luis, which all they do is trucks. Yes. And he said that we might need a permit to get in there, but he said, shouldn't be a problem. You know, we've heard that one before. So we're going to drive down there and we're going to check it out. We still want to get down into Mexico and to Puerto Penasco. So we'll give it a shot and see what happens, and also when we were in Sonoyta, they said we had to go through San Luis, Colorado, and we'd been over that crossing before, but we didn't know that there was a second commercial crossing. And apparently they just changed this. So we're going to drive the smart down to the commercial border and check it out. Yep. See what happens. Fingers crossed. Well, he told us where to go and where, how to get there. So, oh yeah. So we just said, okay, we're going to strike while the iron's hot. Let's, let's get on down there today so we can get this thing figured out once and for all. So we got in a little smart car. We're not giving up on this. Um, we were going to go to Los Lagadones, but we decided that we're going to go to San Luis and go to the commercial border crossing, not the non-commercial border, and check it out and see what's required to get our rig across the border. Yeah. The gentleman at the Mexican consulate we talked to said basically the same thing that the border patrol in Sonoyta told us, that there is a border crossing and it's a separate, it's an actual separate facility, which we didn't realize. So we're going to go there and talk to those people. Uh, you know, we went through the, I went through the five stages yesterday. We got denied going into Mexico and I was really disappointed. I really wanted to go. And, but in coming back up to Yuma, kind of got over it and decided, you know, moved on. Yeah. You know, Yuma wouldn't be bad. We can go to Los Lagadones and still get some good Mexican food and get the atmosphere and get some things done. A few errands that we need to run. So we made some new plans and we're happy with it and ready to move on. But then we still want to get to Mexico. We still want to get to Mexico. It's just like, just so we got to get this last bit of information and find out definitively No. I am not doing another U-turn between the borders. But you're getting really good at it. I tell you what. That's the problem. I'm getting good at U-turns. You were impressive yesterday. I mean, I thought you were pretty good in Tampa making all those U-turns, but man, I think this was your best yet. I think so too, but we don't want to make a habit of it. No. I'm So we'll see what happens. We're going to get more information and time will tell. We'll know this afternoon. Yeah. Headed down to San Luis to the commercial truck entrance side. And it's a brand new facility. Absolutely gorgeous. Really nice. Big. Big. Like meant for big trucks. So we pulled up and talked to the security guard and we told him what we were trying to do. And he goes, hmm, he says, I can't help you. But if you just pull around in that little parking area next to me, he says, let me make a phone call. He knows a guy. And we said, all right, we're making progress again. So we made a phone call to the customs protection agent that we were given the phone number for. And he said he knew a guy on the Mexican side. So he invited us to come over to the loading dock. He met us there and we parked the car at the loading dock with all these big trucks around. And, um, there were no cell phones allowed. So we couldn't take any video or pictures. So he escorted us into the building and put us in the holding area. And we sat there and he said, I'll be back. I'm going to go get the Mexican border guy. So he was gone for like a half an hour, 45 minutes. And he came back with nobody and, but he had a piece of paper with him. We continue to deny it again. Um, so there's this absolutely wonderful gentleman, Officer Luis, and he kind of, he didn't let it go. He didn't just say, sorry, Charlie. He went over to the Mexican border patrol and talked to them, told them what our circumstances are. And they said, no, if it's, um, you can't do that. So what he suggested is, and he gave us a list of what are they called? Customs brokers. Customs brokers to get in touch with the customs brokers, and then they can fill out the documentation for us. So when we cross over, we'll have the proper documentation. And I guess the biggest concern is what they don't want people doing is taking trucks over there and selling them or just dropping them off. Um, so, which, which is kind of weird, but, um, you know, it is what it is. They have this, uh, these rules and, and everyone and all these, uh, border crossings are very attentive to that. They are. So there, there's something going on in Mexico with, with people, I guess, trying to sneak trucks in and sell them. So we're, we're going to try and, you know, law abiding citizens, and we're going to follow the letter of the law. So we're not going to let this one go yet. There's still hope. We're going to make a few calls and see what the process is. Yeah. At this point, it's kind of now down to principle. We want to go to Mexico. How difficult is that people? Obviously it's becoming very difficult. Oh my goodness gracious. Yeah. So it was a listing of brokers and he said that we needed to call them because we needed to have documentation to get into Mexico. And he said that if we got that documentation that Mexico would probably let us in. Yeah. So we're close. We're really close and I'm super excited because when he said, you got to talk to a broker guy, this is his area of expertise. David, David understands logistics, transportation, import export. I was like, yes, we're going to do it. We're going to make it. So we went back home and of course, by the time all this was done, it was after three 30 brokers were done. So he said, next day I'll give him a call. So David's up first thing in the morning, Wednesday morning. So I'm calling brokers and first couple didn't have any luck. It was the third one that he said, yeah, I do this all the time. And we said, oh, this is fantastic. But as we started talking to him, he got more information on our particular situation. And he says, so you're not hauling anything. And we said, no, he says, you're not bringing anything like to sell or to haul, or we said, no. And he looked in there, we just want to go to the beach. And he laughed and he looked in the regs and he said, you know, he said, it's pretty cut and dry. And we said, really? He says, yes. He said, there's only two reasons why a semi-truck goes into Mexico. And we said, oh, two reasons. Okay, great. And he says, the first one is that they're hauling goods into Mexico for commercial reason to be sold. The second reason is if they're going to settle the HDT, the semi-truck that's going into Mexico. And he says, there's no gray area. Mexico has two reasons why a semi-truck goes into Mexico. Pick one. Pick one. And we weren't willing to pick either one of those because if they inspected us, if they looked at the documentation and found that we were just simply an RV hauling our home down to the beach, they could have confiscated the semi-truck because we would have been entering the country illegally, technically. And if we had gone in without any paperwork, they could have confiscated the rig. Yes. So we decided not to chance it. If anyone has gotten into Mexico with a semi-truck, it's either been by mistake or they've been commercial or got lucky. Yeah. And we weren't willing to take the chance of getting inspected and getting our truck confiscated. Right. So that's why we didn't get into, that's why we were denied into Mexico. Denied. Hi everyone and thanks for joining us. Got it going? Yeah, I've got it going. As soon as I turn it on, I just go. I should have known because there was like silence. Yeah, I know. I was like, oh, the camera must be on. I was like, all right. So what did I want to say? Hey.