Different States Length of Trailer Laws

[Everitt]

My wife and I are getting ready to purchase a new fifth wheel trailer and I noticed that states have different maximum length of trailer laws. What happens if your trailer is longer than the maximum length of trailer law for a state you wish to traveling in?

[fpresto]

BurbMan wrote:
As long as you are legal in the state where it's registered you will be fine.

While I agree that it is unlikely that anyone will be stopped just for being over length, your statement is just plain wrong. Reciprocity between states only applies to licensing and registration. Each state reserves the right to establish it's own laws for anything else such as weights, lengths, towing doubles, speeds, etc. Try telling a judge that you were going 70 in a 60 because it is legal where the vehicle is registered. You will have the same luck with length, weight or anything else. It is the driver's responsibility to know and comply with the laws in the state in which he is operating.

[BurbMan]

As long as you are legal in the state where it's registered you will be fine. When traveling pretend you are driving a semi and follow signs for trucks, so if it says no trucks left lane, trucks use lower level, all trucks must exit, etc., then drive like that applies to you and you will have no issues.

[paddywanpeep]

You are worried about something silly. There is no LEO/Sheriff/Highway patrol that is going to waste their time pulling you over because they 'think' you might be too long, unless you are doing something silly like towing a 50ft fiver with a boat on the back of that and a toad after that. Most of them would not even know there is a length law.
Buy what you like and enjoy it and stop worrying.

[bucky]

dfletch wrote:
Good question we purchased our 42’ 5th wheel in June in NC which has a limit of 35’ we drove it home to VA where 42’’ is OK.

Overall non permitted length is 60' in NC. See clicky CLICKY

[ependydad]

I asked about this in Maryland as I knew my hitched length was going to be in the 60-65' range. Turns out I'm 59 1/2' long bumper to bumper.

Most of the time, the guides that compile all of the states data don't cover the caveats of the states. For instance, Maryland is often quoted at 55'. Which is right, BUT you can be up to 65' in length as long as you follow a couple of rules.

Here's a snippet of an email exchange:

Maryland State Highway Administration wrote:
Noncommercial power unit and travel trailer combination may be up to 65 feet BUT anything over 55 feet is required to be on specific routes:

1. Interstate system
2. State routes considered authorized "truck routes"
3. Shortest practical route between designated highways and:
a. point of origin and destination on a particular day.
b. for a distance not to exceed 1 mile, facilities for food, fuel, repairs or rest.

Transportation article 24.104.1.m

[mowermech]

I'm going to stop this right there. Obviously, I am unable to explain myself sufficiently clearly for you to understand, so there is no sense in continuing the discussion.

[JaxDad]

Sub. 4 speaks of Passenger Vehicles also, so what?

When I said commercial rules don’t apply to RVks I was referring to your ‘there’s no length limit’ comment, that is for commercial vehicles.

I’m not sure what part of the AAA list you think is wrong, it says “motor home length: 55 feet” and the very section 1 you spoke of says “ A single truck, bus, or self-propelled vehicle, unladen or with load, may not have an overall length, inclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of 55 feet.”

That’s saying the same thing, a motorhome IS a self-propelled vehicle.

[mowermech]

Then, if MCA 61-10-104(2)(a) does not apply to RVs, does Paragraph 1 apply to motorhomes? If not, then the list is wrong anyway, because it says that motorhomes can not exceed 55 feet in overall length.
Thus, my point stands: Such lists of laws are notoriously inaccurate!

[JaxDad]

Why would you quote a post that says commercial vehicles come under different rules than RV’s then say that the website is wrong because there’s no limit on commercial vehicle size?

[mowermech]

JaxDad wrote:
Commercial trucks come under different rules than an RV does.

A synopsis of the various laws can be found on the AAA website by clicking here.

Not that it comes up very often, but bear in mind, drivers licence reciprocity does NOT cover vehicle lengths. Just because your legal in one state does not mean you’re legal somewhere else.

If you are found to be in violation you will not be allowed to continue on, that might result in a big tow bill.

It is interesting that very few (if any) of such lists give statutory references. That list is wrong about the overall length of a three unit combination in Montana; there is no length limit!
"MCA 61-10-104. Length -- definitions. (1) A single truck, bus, or self-propelled vehicle, unladen or with load, may not have an overall length, inclusive of front and rear bumpers, in excess of 55 feet.
(2) (a) When used in a truck tractor-semitrailer combination, the semitrailer may not exceed 53 feet in length, excluding those portions not designed to carry a load, except as provided by 61-10-124. When used in a truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer or a truck tractor-semitrailer-semitrailer combination, the semitrailer and trailer or the two semitrailers may not exceed 28 1/2 feet each in length or 61 feet in combined trailer length, excluding those portions not designed to carry a load, except as provided by 61-10-124. Truck tractor-semitrailer, truck tractor-semitrailer-trailer, and truck tractor-semitrailer-semitrailer combinations are not subject to a combination length limit."
However, note that the trailers in such a combination are limited to 28 1/2 feet in length, or a total trailer length of 61 feet.
If the list of laws sin't accurate about Montana, how can one trust any of the other listings?

[JaxDad]

Commercial trucks come under different rules than an RV does.

A synopsis of the various laws can be found on the AAA website by clicking here.

Not that it comes up very often, but bear in mind, drivers licence reciprocity does NOT cover vehicle lengths. Just because your legal in one state does not mean you’re legal somewhere else.

If you are found to be in violation you will not be allowed to continue on, that might result in a big tow bill.

[eHoefler]

The length limit is for towing doubles. If it was for single trailer in tow, 95% of all over the road trucks would be in violation, the most common tailer length is 53', add a tractor that is 25'-35' in length, and you would be well over the 60' or 65' max length.

[Lexx]

Everitt wrote:
Thank you to all of the replies. I didn' think about having an accident and being over length., I did think of it when it comes to weight (that's why we're going to a 1 ton dually). We are currently looking at 42' fifth wheels. We would like a shorter one but we cannot find a bunkhouse we like any shorter. By the way, I found the state lengths in the 2017 Good Sam Travel and Saving Guide book. It also has each states overall lengths in it.

Like you we were looking at bunkhouses. And like you we've found that the BH models are generally pretty long. Then we looked at Toy Haulers. The garage usually has a sofa that can be converted into a bed and there's another bed that drops down from the ceiling. So you should be able to get 2 - 4 kids back there depending if they share beds.

The Grand Design Momentum 328m, for example is about 37 feet long. Maybe something like this would work for you if you're concerned about length?

[Everitt]

Thank you to all of the replies. I didn' think about having an accident and being over length., I did think of it when it comes to weight (that's why we're going to a 1 ton dually). We are currently looking at 42' fifth wheels. We would like a shorter one but we cannot find a bunkhouse we like any shorter. By the way, I found the state lengths in the 2017 Good Sam Travel and Saving Guide book. It also has each states overall lengths in it.

[fpresto]

I also have never heard of an RVer being ticked for over length. I have seen other vehicles ticketed however. For those who said that you get a ticket that is only partially correct. You also have to drop the offending unit. You will not be permitted to continue over length. As others have stated if you are in an accident and are sued you can guarantee that the opposing lawyer will be stressing that you were over length.