Compendium of States' RV Laws

Well I have been traveling in Western states for 8 years now and have never seen a RV pulled over! In Arizona right in front of our RV resort the AZ commercial vehicle guys routinely pull over trucks and inspect them. Never seen them with a RV pulled over.

Use your head and go see America! Chris

The basic rule is that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Even if it's obscure, you can get nailed.

But even cops don't know basic rules of the roads sometimes. I asked a cop once what the difference is between a double yellow center line, a solid yellow and a solid white. He had no idea and told me to go down to the station and ask someone at the front desk... Hard to believe because that is straight out of the motor vehicle act and one of the most basic of things you learn before taking your first drivers license exam.

There are some pretty obscure rules of the road in the US. Did you know these for example?
- In California, no vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour.
- In Oregon, a door on a car may not be left open longer than necessary.
- In Tennessee, it is illegal shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile.

So, if you plan to drive around the US, you need to be aware of obscure rules of the road out there:

obscure rules of the road
obscure rules

Here are some general laws in different states around the US that you may also want to be aware of, lest you end up being arrested, in a whole lotta trouble and in the pokey (or worse): general laws around the US

And if you decide to travel around Canada, there are some equally obscure rules here. The worst has to be in New Brunswick where technically, driving on the roads is not allowed. I guess if you get in an accident there, it's everyone's fault no matter what. :E

isa wrote:
This is the best site with respect to Towing Regulations for the U.S. of A.

home.roadrunner.com/~morodat/toad-brakes-by-state.html

If it is truly "the best", the rest are REALLY bad!
This list says Montana is a "Performance Law" state, which is true.
But then, it says that the performance requirement is 35 feet from 20 mph when towing a vehicle. THAT is NOT true!
MCA (Montana Code Annotated) 61-9-312 clearly states that the performance requirement for "ALL combination vehicles" is 40 feet from 20 MPH on a clean, dry, hard, level surface. A motorhome with toad is certainly a "combination" vehicle!
I'll say it again: DO NOT place any faith in any list of towing laws that can be found on the internet! EVERY one of them I have ever seen is WRONG! Find the applicable State Law and read it for yourself

This is the best site with respect to Towing Regulations for the U.S. of A.

home.roadrunner.com/~morodat/toad-brakes-by-state.html

Last word from the OP: I discussed all this with DH and said clearly we would be going through states that required the auxiliary brake and I thought we should get one. He said, "You're probably right, I was just trying to cheap out." And one is on the way. As for other laws, I'll try to make time to research each state before we get there. We carry a little printer in the coach so I can build my own compendium.

I don't mean to resurrect a old thread but in this case, I think it may be of interest to some here. I received my April copy of motor home magazine a couple of days ago and with it a booklet on becoming super tower. In it is a map that shows the states that require auxiliary braking systems. Right off I can tell it is wrong. California has a performance test law but no blanket law requiring
a supplemental braking system. I think I mentioned earlier that these so call lists of towing laws are really a slightly veiled attempt to scare you into buy one by whichever manufacturing company prints the list..

mowermech wrote:
"So...."Most MT law enforcement personnel" don't know the law/s in MT?...."

No, many don't. They only know the ones they are most often called on to enforce.
I don't believe there is anybody in Law Enforcement in ANY state who is fully conversant with ALL the laws in his/her state.
For your own information and edification, ask a few officers in YOUR state if they are fully conversant with EVERY law on the books. On second thought, make it easy on them, ask them ONLY about vehicle laws. Do they know them ALL?
I bet not!

Absolutely correct. We were issued a state law book that was about 2½" thick and updated annually, so we could be sure the law we were citing was the appropriate law, for the offense. those in my state knew it as the "Dade book".

"So...."Most MT law enforcement personnel" don't know the law/s in MT?...."

No, many don't. They only know the ones they are most often called on to enforce.
I don't believe there is anybody in Law Enforcement in ANY state who is fully conversant with ALL the laws in his/her state.
For your own information and edification, ask a few officers in YOUR state if they are fully conversant with EVERY law on the books. On second thought, make it easy on them, ask them ONLY about vehicle laws. Do they know them ALL?
I bet not!

Here is a compendium of state laws as they apply to "passenger" vehicles, but NOT RV specific. The LE department I worked for, purchased these from the AAA and required we carry one in our cruisers, to be able to look up information on the state the driver clamed residence. It is probably the "only" compilation of vehicle laws I would trust.

mowermech wrote:

The Texan wrote:
I'll be very blunt, NO there is no compendium of RV laws that you can use to stay legal in all states. There are a few that purport to be, but they are wrong, over 33% of the time and can get you into trouble.

Also, the folks that think "reciprocity" applies to everything are also wrong. The 40 states that are subscribed to the reciprocity act only give you reciprocity for your drivers license, registration, insurance and inspection requirements. You have NO reciprocity for any other law affecting vehicles or vehicle equipment.

The ONLY way to get factual information is to contact each state directly and then it may change by the time you get there.

By the time you get to the end of Section 61, you will know a great deal more about Montana road laws than most law enforcement personnel!

Agree with "The Texan".

And.....Mower - do I understand your statement (above) correctly,
".....you will know a great deal more about Montana road laws than most law enforcement personnel!"?

So...."Most MT law enforcement personnel" don't know the law/s in MT?..:h..:h

~