Visit in California with large fith-wheel -- License????

Cummins12V98 wrote:
As a LEO what would you say to someone in my situation? I think it would be a no win since I was a tourist coming to spend my money in your state.

I'd tell you the same thing I told all the others who were towing illegally. Unhook it right here, do you have a preference on a tow to remove it from the highway, sign here at the bottom of the ticket.
It's then your responsibility to figure out how you're going to deal with moving your illegal combination. Hire someone to tow it or come back and get it. A ticket is not a permit to continue with an illegal combination.
Don't really care how much money you spend in my state. People use that excuse all the time. They think it makes some kind of difference. It doesn't. The little bit you spend in a state isn't even a drop in a big bucket. In fact, bringing it up pretty well assures a ticket. No where in the law is there an exemption for illegal activity based on how much money you think you're going to spend in a state. Is one illegal activity OK but another not? The usual answer people give is it's OK for me to violate the law but give the other guy the ticket. One thing is for certain you'll be spending a minimum of $125 in the state as that's the minimum fine. I have no idea what the minimum fine is for CA but I'm betting it's more than IL.
Just passing on the way things are in life. Simple solution to avoid all the problems is obey the law. As with the illegal tow people say they'll do it anyway. They aren't very deep thinkers. They don't realize the consequences and hassle of dropping the extra tow then having to figure a way to move it. And also pay for the tow and any storage. Is that a way anyone wants to spend their vacation?

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Me Again wrote:
California is a state that has the short overall length of 65', which is easy to exceed with two trailers in tow.

I think I am slightly over that, I am 63' from front bumper to center MC trailer axle. I believe some places measure that way.Based on pic maybe 66' overall?

I =think= I read that here in AZ it's measured from front bumper to center of rear axle is 65', but you =are= allowed a rear "overhang" up to 75' OAL. I've seen people talk about similar laws in other states, too.

Lyle

Me Again wrote:
California is a state that has the short overall length of 65', which is easy to exceed with two trailers in tow.

I think I am slightly over that, I am 63' from front bumper to center MC trailer axle. I believe some places measure that way.Based on pic maybe 66' overall?

minnow wrote:
The officers most likely were afraid if they did stop Cummins12v98, they'd be subjected to a 30 minutes sales presentation on the B&W "heavyweight" hitch.

HA, too funny!

Wadcutter wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

hotpepperkid wrote:
The only thing you might want to pay attention to is total length expecially if your towing doubles as that number veryies from state to state.. There are some states you can not tow doubles

I double towed thru OR and WA yesterday passed several Patrol cars and was passed by one. Lucky I would guess!

We have a saying in LE when someone complains we didn't stop so and so for doing such and such. We ask them if they've ever gone fishing. Most people answer yes. Then we ask "Did you catch them all?"
People don't understand that just because a person is a cop doesn't mean they stop every violation they see. If we did I'd never have gotten more than a mile from my home before it would be end of shift. Also, cops generally only stop what violations they like enforcing. Some cops like stopping speeders and will never stop any other violations. Others won't stop speeders but like working big trucks. I worked with one cop who had a color of the day. One day he only stopped red cars, another day only blue cars. Some won't stop hardly anyone and they consider writing 5 tickets a month an active month. So just because you drove past 3 cops doesn't tell anything. It only tells us that those 3 cops either prefer not to stop RVers or they had other priorities that day. Or they had just stopped someone from another state who wanted to argue that because they could do something in their home state they believe they have the right to do the same in that state. Most likely you were the fish that didn't get caught that day. Some other day there may be another 'fisherman' who catches the fish.

Being licensed in SD may have made a difference, who knows. I figured I was staying in the right lane minding my own business doing the posted speed limit that helped no doubt.

As a LEO what would you say to someone in my situation? I think it would be a no win since I was a tourist coming to spend my money in your state.

I spoke to a long haul trucker in OR while fueling. He said he sees lots of RV's double towing in WA and OR.

California is a state that has the short overall length of 65', which is easy to exceed with two trailers in tow.

The officers most likely were afraid if they did stop Cummins12v98, they'd be subjected to a 30 minutes sales presentation on the B&W "heavyweight" hitch.

Well wadcutter you shed a lot of light on the situation. I tend to believe a bit of it. :B

On second thought all of it.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

hotpepperkid wrote:
The only thing you might want to pay attention to is total length expecially if your towing doubles as that number veryies from state to state.. There are some states you can not tow doubles

I double towed thru OR and WA yesterday passed several Patrol cars and was passed by one. Lucky I would guess!

We have a saying in LE when someone complains we didn't stop so and so for doing such and such. We ask them if they've ever gone fishing. Most people answer yes. Then we ask "Did you catch them all?"
People don't understand that just because a person is a cop doesn't mean they stop every violation they see. If we did I'd never have gotten more than a mile from my home before it would be end of shift. Also, cops generally only stop what violations they like enforcing. Some cops like stopping speeders and will never stop any other violations. Others won't stop speeders but like working big trucks. I worked with one cop who had a color of the day. One day he only stopped red cars, another day only blue cars. Some won't stop hardly anyone and they consider writing 5 tickets a month an active month. So just because you drove past 3 cops doesn't tell anything. It only tells us that those 3 cops either prefer not to stop RVers or they had other priorities that day. Or they had just stopped someone from another state who wanted to argue that because they could do something in their home state they believe they have the right to do the same in that state. Most likely you were the fish that didn't get caught that day. Some other day there may be another 'fisherman' who catches the fish.

hotpepperkid wrote:
The only thing you might want to pay attention to is total length expecially if your towing doubles as that number veryies from state to state.. There are some states you can not tow doubles

I double towed thru OR and WA yesterday passed several Patrol cars and was passed by one. Lucky I would guess!