Lenght of RV and trailer

Tom/Barb wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Many states have 60' and 65' length limits.....couple of feet over goes unnoticed

10'-15' over..that's tough for a LEO to NOT notice

That could easily be 'leave trailer here' and come get it with a proper length set up PLUS here's your Ticket

OK is 70' length


Towing Info

When you are legal in your home state, you are legal in all states.

I don't believe that is true with equipment issues. It is true for operator's license. I have seen non-CA vehicles being measured for length in CA where the limit is 65 ft.

There are - each state has a DMV (or similar) site listing the requirements for their various classes of licenses.

ArchHoagland wrote:
That question comes up every few months and I've never seen anybody say they got a ticket.

I know there are a lot of overlength RV's pulling big trailers out there. Guess the police leave them alone as long as they are driving sensibly.

Not really! Friend of mine had Monaco Signature and pulled a full size pickup. He got a ticket coming over the Tehachapi mountains on his way to Pahrump, Nev. for being over 65' long.

I guess it all depends on the highway patrol, but she would not give him any slack.

GTMADNS wrote:
I have a 38' class a and 32' trailer with a 5' tongue. In most states I have been told by DOT police at a trade show in Indy the legal length is measured by wheel base not overall length.

I can't speak for other states, but in California length is measured bumper to bumper and there are actually a couple of variations of that. The 65' max length limit is bumper to bumper and would not include things like a ladder on the back or mirrors on the front. But when a road is restricted to a certain length of vehicle, then mirrors and ladders do count. They try and make it as difficult as possible in California.

On the commercial side, there are laws that do pertain to wheel base and things like distance from the kingpin to rear axle. I never worked a lot of commercial enforcement so I didn't pay too much attention to those laws. CHP is the one that handles most of that.

I have a 38' class a and 32' trailer with a 5' tongue. In most states I have been told by DOT police at a trade show in Indy the legal length is measured by wheel base not overall length.

Also Tom/Barb, the Federal Highway regulations set minimum weights and vehicle sizes that the states are required to allow. For example California limits vehicle combinations to no more than 65 feet. However, I believe the federal standard says 75 feet on the Federal Highway system. So California has to allow commercial vehicles to 75 feet on the Interstate and for reasonable access routes. Federal law does not say a State has to allow Triple Towing. But it doesn't prohibit it either. So states like Nevada allow it, but California does not (without permits or some special exemptions.)

I drive on I-5 in California every single day and have been for years. In fact when I was a cop a very long section of I-5 was in my jurisdiction. Never ever even once have I seen a triple tow on I-5 in California. Never. So how is it you see them every day?

MPond wrote:


As msmith1199 said earlier, there is no reciprocity for equipment, so nothing to find online.

If there were restrictions from state to state there certainly be a web page noting what and where.

caou_26 wrote:
Thinking about buying a stacker trailer. Would make my RV with trailer 75 ft long. Anyone have troubles when it comes to the law?

How long is your RV and how long of a trailer are you buying, a 40ft motorhome towing a 25 foot trailer = 65ft, how big of a stacker do you need, my stacker is only 17ft long and I can carry a small boat and a Jeep.

Tom/Barb wrote:

MPond wrote:
I believe you're referring to reciprocity between the states, but that concept only applies to licensing, not equipment.

Got a reference for that ?

As msmith1199 said earlier, there is no reciprocity for equipment, so nothing to find online.

Reciprocity for Driver's Licenses is based on the Driver's License Compact, which you can read the text of here: DLC

In Article 1, Section (2), part (b), it states as follows:

It is the policy of each of the party states to: (b) Make the reciprocal recognition of licenses to drive and eligibility therefore
more just and equitable by considering the overall compliance with motor vehicle
laws, ordinances, and administrative rules and regulations as condition precedent
to the continuance or issuance of any license by reason of which the licensee is
authorized or permitted to operate a motor vehicle in any of the party states.

I did some more searching, but couldn't find much else, because the DLC is also the primary law allowing DUIs to follow an out-of-state driver home, so much of the info online is focused on DUIs.