On this link http://towingworld.com/towinglaws.cfm , it mentions "reciprocity". Whereby if you are legal in your own state of registration, you are legal in other states too. Now I have looked at every state on the list and only 3 do not recognize reciprocity; Colorado, Georgia and Delaware. I'm a newbie. And in fact don't even have a DP. Yet. We are planning to order either a year end model or a new 2015 ( depends if we can find exactly the one we want already built) Cornerstone in October of 2014. But we will be moving to full timers by spring of 2015 once the last kid graduates and heads off to the Corps. So I am doing everything I can to research everything I can. This is about the only thing I can't find a topic on here. We are going to register in South Dakota thanks to a lot of the info I have read on here. SD's law says I can drive a 45' coach with a 35' trailer behind it. 80' overall max. So, as I read it, I should be able to go anywhere but CO, DE and GA. Even Canada.Right?What say all of the experts and long time towers on here?Remember, I am a newbie, so I'm not trying to say this is right. I'm simply asking for help in making the right decision in purchasing our trailer. I want as large of stacker as I can pull with the above mentioned coach as I need to haul many Harley's, a Jeep Wrangler, my Harley shop and my gym with us. We plan to full time and work for the next 40+ Years and attend every bike rally 40+ times!!!!!!!

There's no such thing as "reciprocity" when it comes to rules of the road. States make their own rules re. length/weight limits etc. and one can get a ticket for violating them regardless of State-of-origin. The likelihood of that happening is another story altogether...

NO.........There are laws dealing with paper (license, registration, etc.) and laws dealing with equipment (towing double, lighting requirements, etc). The paper laws usually have reciprocity, the equipment laws don't.Each state can enforce its own length restrictions, as well as double towing laws. You can try and argument 'reciprocity' alongside the road, but I doubt you will get far. Be prepared to unhook. Again, there is NO reciprocity between states on towing doubles, or on length laws!

In a nutshell reciprocity means you only need one drivers license, not one for every state you drive through, and you only need to register your stuff in your home state, not every state you drive through. Most states are between 65 and 75 feet on length. The is a VERY small chance you will get away for long running 80 feet long in a 65 foot state. It is hard to eyeball the difference between 75 and 80, but most people can tell the difference between 65 and 80 feet. Get busted and drop the trailer - in your case rent something to tow it out of state. If you were pulling doubles you could drop the second trailer and come back for it after dropping the first somewhere.

I know a lot of people that have 45' MH's and pull 30' stackers. None has ever been cited for over length. The one state that can be a pain is California. Most won't bring their stackers there and many won't bring their MH there because of their restrictions over 40'.I have a 45' MH and a 30' trailer that I almost never tow, because to me it is so limiting in terms of CG's. Personally, I would stick to 65 or 70' overall, or less if you can live with it.

Reciprocty doesn't work for size limits or oversize permits, beyond the Federal standard for "designated" highways. That one state permits larger does not mean all states must, just because you are licensed in that moregenerous state.Higher limits also apply only to specific roads, in many cases. In the middle of the country, some states allow lightweight triples, over 110 feet in some instances, on certain highways, but they have to break down before leaving the state, or on leaving the highway within the state. The operators have terminals specifically for these road train assembly and break down operations.You should size your rig for where you plan to travel, within limits of the states you will visit. Keep in mind also that the limits in these tables are for "designated" highways, other roads and many city streets may have lower size limits. Each state publishes maps for commercial truckers that cover the designated highways and classify other highways, only part of this information gets to the Motor Carrier's Road Atlas and ATA advisory web sites.Large commercial traffic goes where the law lets it go, dispatchers take care of route planning to get traffic legally and safely from terminal to terminal. Motorcoach companies work the same way to connect planned destinations. In a large RV, it is up to the operator to gather the information and do the planning. A list of state maximums is just a starting point.

50 state (or rather 47) legal length towing | Good Sam Community

26 Replies

Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Nov 05, 2013
mowermech wrote:
For further reference:

http://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content26407.aspx

Also, see:

http://law.justia.com/codes/montana/2013/title-61/chapter-3/part-7/section-61-3-732

Live link for the first

Live link for the second

Hey Mowermech!

You can paste 'em in live by using the little icon in advanced post with the globe and piece of chain in the heading (right between the envelope and the quotation marks)...
mowermech
Explorer
Nov 05, 2013
For further reference:

http://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content26407.aspx

Also, see:

http://law.justia.com/codes/montana/2013/title-61/chapter-3/part-7/section-61-3-732
The_Texan
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
Even though that is an old agreement, section 5-A covers exactly what this thread is about......
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
mowermech wrote:
Here, for your consideration, is an actual Interstate Reciprocity Agreement:

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.irponline.org/resource/resmgr/about_irp,_inc_/multistate_reciprocity_agree.pdf

Have fun reading it.

Live link

Interesting historical artifact- I love old documents!

Could be the basis for reciprocity rules all over, especially since it, too, relates only to licensing/fees etc. It's certainly an early one (1962).
mowermech
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
Here, for your consideration, is an actual Interstate Reciprocity Agreement:

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.irponline.org/resource/resmgr/about_irp,_inc_/multistate_reciprocity_agree.pdf

Have fun reading it.
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Francesca Knowles wrote:

:E
Be still my heart...I find myself in that rarest of positions- I actually disagree with Old-Biscuit!
..............big bunch of snipping...................

Don't be too quick to draw my friend.............snip................So the 'blog expert' is WRONG :B

I'm so relieved...it turns out that you and I agreed to begin with, only I misunderstood your reply to the post you were replying to, taking your reply to which I was replying to be a reply in disagreement with the heretofore mentioned post you were replying to, hereafter to be referred to as "exhibit 1", which clearly, Your Honor, was/is meant to Cast Foul Scorn upon the "Blog Expert", AKA "That Nincompoop", a fact that I believe forms the underlying basis and true meaning of (Exhibit 1), leading also to the inevitable conclusion that not only do you and I agree, but we both agree with the person I mistakenly presumed you to be disagreeing with...(stops to take a breath)...resulting in the vanishingly rare occurrence of three people at once agreeing on a single point at RV.net, which fact is further made manifest/accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a hole being torn in the fabric of the universe.

All's well that ends well! :B:W
Thunderstruck88
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
Might I just say "I'm glad I found you guys". This is quite informative.

It sounds like if I go with my original idea of the 26' Vnose stacker, I'll be in pretty good shape for the most part. Stay out of Cali all together. I should be able to haul what I need and a lot of stuff I'm sure I don't need in a trailer that big anyway.

Thanks for all the responses. Hopefully it will help others who are in this situation also.

Hope to see some of you out on the road in a year or so.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Nov 04, 2013
Francesca Knowles wrote:
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Thunderstruck88 wrote:
Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

click here

It is clearly spelled out in the second to last paragraph. This is dangerous stuff. I feel bad for the idiots who read this site and don't question it.

NO it is NOT clearly spelled out......
"....an infraction of the laws of the state you're visiting can be overlooked."

".....you'll most likely get a pass."

As you can see by those statements the 'article' has hedged it's bet.

:E
Be still my heart...I find myself in that rarest of positions- I actually disagree with Old-Biscuit!

With all due respect, Oh Wise One, I think the very strong statement in the beginning of that paragraph completely overwhelms those measly disclaimers...most important, the author clearly defines reciprocity as having to do with equipment requirements and, as we all know, it doesn't.

Here quoting:

Blog "Expert" wrote:
Forty-seven states and all Canadian provinces have trailer towing laws that observe reciprocity. This means that if your towing set-up is legal in your state, an infraction of the laws of the state you're visiting can be overlooked

Don't be too quick to draw my friend
Yes it does state 'trailer towing laws that observe reciprocity'
And what does that really mean???
Yes....I am not required to have a 'special' license to tow in my state (paper requirement....non-commercial class B license) so I can tow legally in CA. But if I were a resident of CA I WOULD need the non-commercial Class B license (5'vr GVWR over 10,000#)
Again I stand by my earlier statement.......Reciprocity applies to paper requirements not equipment requirements.
So the 'blog expert' is WRONG :B
crabbin_cabin
Explorer II
Nov 04, 2013
AS in most traffic laws - max. length, etc. When you have an accident or otherwise cause the local authority to measure and resulting measurements show you are over-length, according to that particular state's law, THEN you are caught and subject tow that state's laws.
Yes - if all is OK and you don'y give 'them' reason to measure then you do get away with it! Just as in speed limit laws.
Francesca_Knowl
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Thunderstruck88 wrote:
Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

click here

It is clearly spelled out in the second to last paragraph. This is dangerous stuff. I feel bad for the idiots who read this site and don't question it.

NO it is NOT clearly spelled out......
"....an infraction of the laws of the state you're visiting can be overlooked."

".....you'll most likely get a pass."

As you can see by those statements the 'article' has hedged it's bet.

:E
Be still my heart...I find myself in that rarest of positions- I actually disagree with Old-Biscuit!

With all due respect, Oh Wise One, I think the very strong statement in the beginning of that paragraph completely overwhelms those measly disclaimers...most important, the author clearly defines reciprocity as having to do with equipment requirements and, as we all know, it doesn't.

Here quoting:

Blog "Expert" wrote:
Forty-seven states and all Canadian provinces have trailer towing laws that observe reciprocity. This means that if your towing set-up is legal in your state, an infraction of the laws of the state you're visiting can be overlooked