additional trailer towing behind 5th wheel

[jwbups]

I was on my way back to our campground when i spotted a large 5th wheel pulling a small enclosed trailer with the 5th wheel. I went back and had a talk with the owner. He has a dodge duelly pulling a 37 foot 5th wheel and a 10-12 foot enclosed trailer with the 5th wheel.. I asked if he had problems with any law enforcement people and he said no , for in Michigan he is legal. He stated that as long as legal in your own state then you can pull it in most any state without problems. He had a special home made hitch for his trailer and he had been thru most states in the country with the combination. Has anyone installed a hitch on a MS or ES trailer ? I would like to have a golf cart to use in our park, but have no way now to transport it.

[layne]

We're in Tx and on the way to the RGV this winter, we got stopped by a trooper who usually works commercial trucks. He measured us and gave us a ticket for overlength, but we have TX plates and our state is 65'. We measured 73' with the extra trailer--he told us that TX is a reciprocal state and the legal limit is whatever your state is. We think we need Montana or Wyoming plates, just don't know how to get them! We have been everywhere pulling this combination and never been bothered, just got this guy this time who proudly told us he had given 6 other tickets that day for the same offense. Since we are fulltimers and it's our lifestyle, I don't think we'll be changing anything, but just may not travel as much since we do have a little farm in east TX.

[billr]

I think with a bit more research you will find laws for double towing is a State by State deal. With respect to these issues, you have to abide by each states laws no matter what your state regs are same goes for length. If you chose to tow over length or doubles in states that don't allow it you may get by no issue, but maybe not.

This has been discussed at length on the escapees forum on the HDT section. If you go there you will find a lot of answers. Try a search or post there.
http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showforum=32

Here is a thread that discusses this very thing
http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=76176&st=0&start=0

Also mentioned is the options to towing double.

[ontheroad]

Layne, what was the outcome. Did you have to unhitch the extra trailer. How much was the fine. Sometime just paying the fine and moving on is the best answer. I double tow with a 38 foot Elite and a 12 foot enclosed trailer which is 16 foot from the knob hitch to the rear. I have brakes on ever axle on the ground and have all trailers with the correct inspection sticker. The enclosed trailer is a tool trailer which we use in volunteering building churches. Just wondering if I would have to unhook.

[layne]

ontheroad: The trooper didn't make us unhitch though he said he could if he wasn't so nice! We had to pay a $170 fine and got a deferred adjudication that only means that if we don't get another fine in 30 days, it won't go on the driving record. In case we get another fine, we didn't want that one on the record. If Steve didn't have a CDL, he could have taken defensive driving and not paid anything, but he wants to keep his CDL. The trooper got our a tape measure and measured us from the front bumper of the truck to the back bumper of the motorcycle trailer. He is the one that told us if a state is reciprocal, the law goes by what is legal in your home state. Since we are registered out of TX and our law is 65' that's what they go by. This was not a regular DPS trooper, it was one that we refer to as a DOT officer--he usually just messes with commericial vehicles and he was driving a black and white SUV. Even the judge's office and his sargeant that I talked to at first thought I was calling about a commerical vehicle so I think it was unusual to be ticketing RVs.

[Carny Bill]

From my personal experiance towing doubles I would say as a rule 90% of police and state troopers even have a clue as to the rules for towing doubles. Only the DOT officers are up to speed on the ruling. Never had a problem (mostly in Illinois) . Approx 8 years ago my son got a $75 ticket (and it was not a moving violation)

[Huck]

Also, stay away from the eastern states(east coast) when double towing.

[terry and jo]

Here is a valuable link regarding double towing. From the different things I've seen online, this one gives the most detail, including the last column which regards reciprocity for each state.

Keep in mind, that the legislatures of the various states can change their laws at any time. Thus, it would still be advisable to verify each state that you plan on towing through. The last thing you want is for some policeman to inform you that you will have to drop the second trailer until you get the RV out of state and then return for the second unit.

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

Terry

[keithandpenne]

If you talk to an actual DOT enforcement official, I think you will find that weights, axle bridge, over all length and widths are established and enforced by each states statutes, just like the speed limits are set and enforced by the state you are in at the time, no matter what your home states regulations are.

You may have skated this time without a greated expense and inconvience.

[2 DA WDS]

DOT official told me that Illinois is reciprocal with the state the vehicle is licensed in. Does that mean that IL troopers know the DMV laws of every state? I dont think so.

[Carny Bill]

Tom,

They don't know all the laws for their own state.

I know, I retired from ISP.

[Motor31]

Reciprocity in this case refers to the states respecting each others licensing and registrations. In other words if you have the proper license to drive the vehicle you have and it is registered properly then the state you are driving through will recognize those documents and not require you to change to the state you are in.

Equipment violations (ie lights working), size, weight, length are not going to be reciprocal. Some states will allow doubles, triples and others won't.

[2 DA WDS]

Mike, I was looking at that link for state towing laws and noticed that there are a lot of them that have 40 ft for trailer length. That puts a damper on the new DRV 43 footers!

Bill, thats what I'm counting on for my motorcycle trailer thats 'not legally defined' in Il!

[bstark]

About 4 years ago I got a call from a friend who double tows a cargo trailer behind his fiver with an M/C aboard. he had gotten about 30 miles into Ca from the Arizona border and had been stopped by CHP. I had to go and hook up his fiver while he hooked his cargo trailer to the back of his pick-up and we beat feet back to Az.

The trooper was still there when I arrived and pulled out and left while I was reversing to get under his fiver. He was making absolutley certain our friend was not going to bluff or con his way out.

The problem was not weights or truck rating or even doubles per-se but the trooper had quoted that the second trailer must be for a BOAT ONLY!

Gooofy or what?

[2 DA WDS]

Bruce, when I first contacted the IL DMV they told me it could only be a boat but then the guy got back to me and said that he was wrong. But they finally decided that a swivel wheel trailer was not legal in IL because it wasnt defined in the statutes.
3 or 4 years ago a retired LEO friend went to CA towing a U-haul behind his 5er and stopped at the first CHP to see if he was legal. They searched all the DMV books in his squad and decided he was ok. My experience has been ask them to show you the law and a lot of times they are wrong. Did your friend fight the ticket?

[Motor31]

The peoples demokratic republik of kaliphornia is also hell on wheels for length violations. One of the reasons I do not enter the state any more. Frankly if it were not for my Brother living there I'd have no interest in the state at all. I have not crossed that border in all since we started RVing in 2001. I'm perfectly happy to leave it out of our travels and spend my $ elsewhere.

FWIW I have crossed the length and width of Texas multiple times in different routes, locations and never had any trouble at all towing double. That also includes cruising through the larger cities (other than DFW we take the bypass there) and Austin several times. IMO El Paso is just as much of a pain to get through as Houston is now. I'd love to be able to have a bypass route for it.

[roxanne22]

I did not yet installed a hitch on a MS or ES trailer on my own. I just call a person who knows how to install on my trailer. Because I was worry if I will be the one who make the installation even if I don't know the proper way.

[GlennWest]

I want to pull my wife's civic. Been debating this for some time. I've got the hitch. It was on the MS when I got it. I weld professionally and checked it out good. Had to remove the under covering. He boxed the rear of frame and braced diagonally. I just need to weigh my current setup to see if truck is up to the task. Sounds I need to do some measuring also. Oh, I have to change tags also. NC doesn't allow double towing.

[wingnut60]

I don't double tow yet, but might at some future time. I think the basic problem is a patrolman can write a ticket for just about anything he wants to and the legal interpretation is left to the judge--thereby putting it on you to spend time and money to argue the citation. But certainly it gets troublesome to have to drop the extra trailer and return for it--if it is still there when you return...
Joe