How many are over the 75' length and how many actually have been stopped for it? Currently have 40' (almost 41') motorhome, looking to add 32' stacker.

Where did you come up with 75ft from? Many are 55, 60, 65. I think North Carolina has the longest at 90ft but, it must include a tow vehicle with living quarters and be involved in motor sports. I have been all over the country at between 72 and 77ft and never been stopped. Cal stopped a bunch awhile back coming out of Vegas going to Pamona.

There is a federal exemption for motorsports that allows 46' from the kingpin to the center of the rear axle. I have a copy of it in my truck.

2 dogs,

Does a 2 5/16” ball constitute a king pin? Can you post a copy or a link to the regs?

First I have heard of the federal exemption. Would really like to carry a copy.

quote:

Originally posted by 2doggs:
There is a federal exemption for motorsports that allows 46' from the kingpin to the center of the rear axle. I have a copy of it in my truck.

Federal laws only cover commercial vehicles. Alls good if you have cdl, dot#, ifta, etc. Semi trucks are generally around 75' and are federally exempt on certain class roads. Indiana puts the screws to you by having a law of 60' unless you have a fifth wheel hitch. Michigan is 65', but with allow 75' if the operator has a cdl.

You all need to ask Torqin... I know he has had many fun experiences with his rig.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Nitzsche:

quote:

Originally posted by 2doggs:
There is a federal exemption for motorsports that allows 46' from the kingpin to the center of the rear axle. I have a copy of it in my truck.

Federal laws only cover commercial vehicles. Alls good if you have cdl, dot#, ifta, etc. Semi trucks are generally around 75' and are federally exempt on certain class roads. Indiana puts the screws to you by having a law of 60' unless you have a fifth wheel hitch. Michigan is 65', but with allow 75' if the operator has a cdl.

I was looking at the federal exemption deal online, and they say CDL for anything over 26,000 lbs combined, or if trailer is over 10k. I knew the 10k deal. But I have never read that 26k combined rule. I wonder why everyone is confused to some extent about what is required?

The confusing part is those requirements are only for "commercial" operations. You do not need a cdl to operate a motorhome/trailer combo over 26001# if it is non commercial. The non commercial part is what causes all the confusion.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Nitzsche:
The confusing part is those requirements are only for "commercial" operations. You do not need a cdl to operate a motorhome/trailer combo over 26001# if it is non commercial. The non commercial part is what causes all the confusion.

And rogue DOT and State Police who would prefer the regs to be THEIR interpretation of them...and NOT what the regulations actually say. There's literally no downside for them to write you up for something and give you a citation...even if they know it's wrong. If you're from out of state, you have the choice of either paying it, or spending hundreds, or even potentially thousands, of dollars to return on a later date to fight it in court. Even if you win, you're out the money it cost to fight it, and the officer faces absolutely zero ramification at all. If they faced disciplinary action for writing bogus citations, then the dynamic would change...but, sadly, that's not the case.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Nitzsche:
The confusing part is those requirements are only for "commercial" operations. You do not need a cdl to operate a motorhome/trailer combo over 26001# if it is non commercial. The non commercial part is what causes all the confusion.

^^^^^^TRUTH and Maxx is right as well.

I am 88 foot and have been pulled over in Texas, stopped at toll booths in Pennsylvania as well as crashed in Florida...never successfully fined for over length to date. RV is exempt in my state and would not issue me a permit due to non commercial RV registration, furthermore, no state has signage stating I cant enter at 88 feet in length.

250,000 miles in under 10 years no issues other than Pennsylvania turnpike...I got my money back in 60 days...thanks to American Express.

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:
I was looking at the federal exemption deal online, and they say CDL for anything over 26,000 lbs combined, or if trailer is over 10k. I knew the 10k deal. But I have never read that 26k combined rule. I wonder why everyone is confused to some extent about what is required?

That seems odd to me. In all of the discussions I've ever had about towing, almost everyone knows about the 26,000 lb combination requiring a Class A (in MN, that was printed right on the standard driver's license) but most didn't know about the 10,001+ lb trailer part.

Unfortunately, there are 50 states that can all decide to, in some measure, make there own rules. I say in some measure because there are some thing the federal government can preempt the states in. The bigger problem though is enforcement because as someone said above, if you are cited, wrongly or not, and the prosecutor prosecutes, you have to defend yourself and the defense may be more expensive than the fines. I talked about this on this week's episode of the Fast Brackets Podcast. The show is worth a listen anyway on it's own right but I talked about the vagaries or overlength enforcement, DOT, etc.

In Michigan I was ticketed not that far from Michigan International Speedway at 73 feet long The officer said I was 8 feet over. This was in Addison, Mich. I live in Ohio about an hour and a half away and thought I might contest it. The fine was a hunderd bucks. I thought if that is the worst thing to happen in 25 years of towing I just pay it and move on. This was a motorhome and trailer.

quote:

Originally posted by SLICKSTER:
In Michigan I was ticketed not that far from Michigan International Speedway at 73 feet long The officer said I was 8 feet over. This was in Addison, Mich. I live in Ohio about an hour and a half away and thought I might contest it. The fine was a hunderd bucks. I thought if that is the worst thing to happen in 25 years of towing I just pay it and move on. This was a motorhome and trailer.

And I'm guessing that's what most do...and what they count on. It's probably a rare thing for them to give that same ticket to someone locally with the same length rig. That's just an assumption...but probably not far off in reality.

I had a situation way back in the early/mid 2000's in Knightstown IN. A car club I belonged to had their National meet in the area, and we all went to Knightstown for the day to hang out, see the town, etc. My car wasn't a street car, so it was on an open trailer. The town is a historic type town, and I just parked on a side street out of the way. There were not any "No Parking" signs or anything, so I figured it'd be ok. Apparently not...I was riding around with a friend, and another guy from the club found us and said I needed to return to my truck because the police were there. I thought maybe someone had hit it or something. Nope..they literally had 2 police cruisers there with lights going, and the third (the police chief) arrived, lights on also, as I did. They were giving me a parking ticket.

No problem, I'll pay it, move the thing somewhere, and be done with it. I'm guessing this was the ENTIRE police force for the town. Anyway, I ask how much the ticket is, and he informs me that it will be $250! I ask "for a parking ticket"? Now I'm pretty livid...I take pics of where the truck is parked, clearly showing no signage, and ask where I can pay the ticket. He directs me to the City Clerk. When I go talk to her, she says it's cash only, and that I can't pay with a check. Now I'm suspicious. I told her I'd pay it later, and left.

When I get back, the local newspaper editor comes out because he had seen the commotion (small town excitement), and explains that they routinely do this with out of town folks. That made me even madder, and I decided to go back to the hotel and type up a Freedom of Information request for all parking tickets issued in the town in the last 5 years, and the amounts of the fines. I printed it off and took it back to the city clerk the next day. She promptly told me she wasn't going to provide me with anything, and suggested I pay the fine. I looked at her and said I bet you do.

I informed her that if I didn't have anything in writing in 10 days, I'd be notifiying the State AG's office (Solicitor General in IN, and not AG as I discovered).

I didn't think anything else about it until I got a letter in the mail from their office several months later explaining to disregard the citation, and no further action was necessary on my part. This prompted me to email the newspaper editor again and see what was up. He said that they had apparently been issuing parking tickets to vehicles with out of state plates with a $250 fine, and local citations were $10 lol. I don't know about any other outcome. I haven't been back there, and won't because of that, which is a shame, because it's a really cool little historic town.

Bottom line...don't assume that these things are just happening innocently. These folks aren't stupid...they're corrupt.

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Nitzsche:

quote:

Originally posted by 2doggs:
There is a federal exemption for motorsports that allows 46' from the kingpin to the center of the rear axle. I have a copy of it in my truck.

Federal laws only cover commercial vehicles. Alls good if you have cdl, dot#, ifta, etc. Semi trucks are generally around 75' and are federally exempt on certain class roads. Indiana puts the screws to you by having a law of 60' unless you have a fifth wheel hitch. Michigan is 65', but with allow 75' if the operator has a cdl.

I was looking at the federal exemption deal online, and they say CDL for anything over 26,000 lbs combined, or if trailer is over 10k. I knew the 10k deal. But I have never read that 26k combined rule. I wonder why everyone is confused to some extent about what is required?

The 10,000 lb deal screws a lot of racers. My new trailer has 6000 lb axles which makes it 12k GVW. I just wanted the 16” wheels/tires as they seem more durable than the 15”. I should have done 5200 lb axles with 6 lug 16” wheels/tires.

Heck, the 10k trailer deal also means every triple axle 32’ Dragster trailer is illegal without the CDL.

Friend of mine went to get his CDL and they told him he couldn’t test for it even though he needed it. Stupid catch 22 crap won’t the DOT.

quote:

Originally posted by DOTracer:
The 10,000 lb deal screws a lot of racers. My new trailer has 6000 lb axles which makes it 12k GVW. I just wanted the 16” wheels/tires as they seem more durable than the 15”. I should have done 5200 lb axles with 6 lug 16” wheels/tires.

How would two 5200 lb axles help you? GVWR is still over the 10K threshold.

quote:

Originally posted by Lenny5160:

quote:

Originally posted by DOTracer:
The 10,000 lb deal screws a lot of racers. My new trailer has 6000 lb axles which makes it 12k GVW. I just wanted the 16” wheels/tires as they seem more durable than the 15”. I should have done 5200 lb axles with 6 lug 16” wheels/tires.

How would two 5200 lb axles help you? GVWR is still over the 10K threshold.

Trailers with 5200 lb axles are registered st 10k.

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Nitzsche:

quote:

Originally posted by 2doggs:
There is a federal exemption for motorsports that allows 46' from the kingpin to the center of the rear axle. I have a copy of it in my truck.

Federal laws only cover commercial vehicles. Alls good if you have cdl, dot#, ifta, etc. Semi trucks are generally around 75' and are federally exempt on certain class roads. Indiana puts the screws to you by having a law of 60' unless you have a fifth wheel hitch. Michigan is 65', but with allow 75' if the operator has a cdl.

I was looking at the federal exemption deal online, and they say CDL for anything over 26,000 lbs combined, or if trailer is over 10k. I knew the 10k deal. But I have never read that 26k combined rule. I wonder why everyone is confused to some extent about what is required?

26K combined is for Class A license not a CDL