Towing a towed and a boat behind mh

[down_home]

This general subject has been tossed around from time to time.
Thinking seriously this will be the only way to take a boat with us when RVing. the Motorhome 40ft total, towed about 22 ft including hitch and tow bars then and perhaps the pontoon boat and trailer I want 28 ft total.
I would be towing, in the east to Alabama coast, from Tn, an d from Tn to Michigan and out west I'm not certain where except Oklahoma near the Cherokee Nation.
Is towing two vehicles with total length 80-90ft length legal? still anywhere? Air brakes on coach and towed and surge brakes on boat trailer, or should I convert trailer to air brakes?

[Bobbo]

Markiemark32 wrote:
Saw this once while out on a adventure:

------>



Markiemark:C

Is it just me, or would launching that boat soak the SUV? :B

[mowermech]

BuckyBadger wrote:

mowermech wrote:

ol Bombero-JC wrote:

JAXFL wrote:
Well now that we are all in agreement... :S

Never say..."ALL"...:S..:W


~

No, never.
AFAIK, as I previously stated, it is legal in Montana, but the maximum length for a truck/trailer/trailer combination is 75 feet (this is one place the Lists are wrong).
Another place they are commonly wrong is "Towing Speed". Montana does not have such a thing. There is a "Truck Speed Limit" but that does not apply to RV towing. There is a "Night Speed Limit" that applies to everybody. But, there is NO "Towing Speed Limit"!
Oh, and vehicles in tow are NOT "trailers" according to the legal definition of a "trailer"!

The link posted above states 75 feet;)

Actually, no it doesn't. It says 70 feet for a "triple tow" (footnote #42). In actuality, Montana code Annotated does not refer to a "triple tow", it refers to "truck/trailer/trailer", and the maximum length is 75 feet. For some light reading, see MCA 61-10-104.
Nearly all Montana vehicle codes are in the MCA 61- series.

[Wadcutter]

To the OP - when someone tells you something is legal in a certain state then if you want to know if they really know what they're talking about ask them to provide the statute for their state showing where it's legal. Don't accept those websites showing a chart of what's legal. Ask to see the exact statute. You'll find a lot of these internet 'experts' can't find their state statute if they looked and wouldn't be able to comprehend what they read even if someone showed it to them.

[BuckyBadger]

mowermech wrote:

ol Bombero-JC wrote:

JAXFL wrote:
Well now that we are all in agreement... :S

Never say..."ALL"...:S..:W


~

No, never.
AFAIK, as I previously stated, it is legal in Montana, but the maximum length for a truck/trailer/trailer combination is 75 feet (this is one place the Lists are wrong).
Another place they are commonly wrong is "Towing Speed". Montana does not have such a thing. There is a "Truck Speed Limit" but that does not apply to RV towing. There is a "Night Speed Limit" that applies to everybody. But, there is NO "Towing Speed Limit"!
Oh, and vehicles in tow are NOT "trailers" according to the legal definition of a "trailer"!

The link posted above states 75 feet;)

[mowermech]

ol Bombero-JC wrote:

JAXFL wrote:
Well now that we are all in agreement... :S

Never say..."ALL"...:S..:W


~

No, never.
AFAIK, as I previously stated, it is legal in Montana, but the maximum length for a truck/trailer/trailer combination is 75 feet (this is one place the Lists are wrong).
Another place they are commonly wrong is "Towing Speed". Montana does not have such a thing. There is a "Truck Speed Limit" but that does not apply to RV towing. There is a "Night Speed Limit" that applies to everybody. But, there is NO "Towing Speed Limit"!
Oh, and vehicles in tow are NOT "trailers" according to the legal definition of a "trailer"!

[ol_Bombero-JC]

JAXFL wrote:
Well now that we are all in agreement... :S

Never say..."ALL"...:S..:W


~

[JAXFL]

Well now that we are all in agreement... :S

[ol_Bombero-JC]

down home wrote:
This general subject has been tossed around from time to time.
Thinking seriously this will be the only way to take a boat with us when RVing. the Motorhome 40ft total, towed about 22 ft including hitch and tow bars then and perhaps the pontoon boat and trailer I want 28 ft total.
I would be towing, in the east to Alabama coast, from Tn, an d from Tn to Michigan and out west I'm not certain where except Oklahoma near the Cherokee Nation.
Is towing two vehicles with total length 80-90ft length legal? still anywhere? Air brakes on coach and towed and surge brakes on boat trailer, or should I convert trailer to air brakes?

No reciprocity between states on length - assume 65' max for all.

However - that's the least of the glitches with your plan!

Mission Impossible.

Your two vehicles towed behind the MH is not only a design for disaster, it would be a citation magnet - as well as "Do not pass Go", park it and tow each "somewhere" individually- NOW.

Invest in some kind of stacker or single trailer combining both.

Good luck...:R

~

[colochoclab]

Here's the link to Towing World's guide to towing by state:

http://towingworld.com/towinglaws.cfm

Although in some states it may be legal to tow a boat/toad combo behind a MH, the logistics of the hitch setups would be a problem in my opinion. I was planning to tow my single jet ski behind the boat and researched this for my state, Colorado. (Your results may vary!)
It was stated that some pontoons don't have brakes. When I was shopping for a new Sun Tracker, it depended on what the dealer had and/or what you wanted to order as far as surge brakes. However, the configuration of the pontoon trailer frame would not allow for me to attach a receiver without a really long tongue extension to clear the outboard motor. This also proved true for our final boat purchase, a Bayliner 180 OB. SO, for me, towing behind a boat trailer was not possible. Towing something significantly more heavy than a jetski would be a huge problem.
The solution to my particular problem was to add a frame-mounted receiver hitch on the TT to tow the jetski and have a dedicated tow vehicle for the boat. I am under the length limit for my TV/TT/jetski combo and the minimal weight of the jetski does not create a problem.
Our future plans is to also get a new MH/toad in a couple of years. Our plan for boating trips will be to have the MH tow the jetski and the other vehicle tow the boat (In our case, our Mercedes ML430). If we need to go somewhere, we will have the ML430 to use.

Ok, my blabbering is done! Hope it helped!

[PAThwacker]

I kicked that thought around a lot. Probably only boats to work on a toad roof are canoes, kayaks or jon boats. KISS and carry a trolling motor or gas motor in toad or on hitch hauler of toad. Full blown boat? Rent it at location.

[Bird_Freak]

According to towingworld.com. Sponsored by Blue OX, you would be illegal in Ala. Tenn. and Ga. and most other states. Max length is 65 ft. and it states hitch ball only ok behind 5th wheel trailer.

[Grit_dog]

This is one of the worst ideas I've heard in a while!
......And I get accused of cowboying stuff!
Do not do this. Bad idea!
I don't even need to explain the multiple serious issues or flaws with this.
Btw, go tow a big pontoon before you think about going over the road with a pontoon trailer whether by itself behind a truck or as the caboose on the death train!

[msgtord]

Arizona: First trailer must be a fifth wheel.

Maximum length 65 feet.

[mowermech]

There are a few facts I have found in my research:
1. CA is the only state I have found that requires a Class A CDL with doubles endorsement for towing two trailers. I think there are a couple others that require an endorsement, but not a special license.
2. In Montana, what you want to do would be legal, but too long. 75 feet is the max length for a truck/trailer/trailer tow.
3. In most states East of the Mississippi, RV double towing is not allowed.
4. In most states in the West, it is allowed. Some states require the first trailer to be a fifth wheel hitch, some do not.
5. Trailer brake requirements vary by state. Some states require that the second trailer have brakes that can be controlled by the driver, independently of the brakes on the first trailer. I don't know if surge brakes qualify for that or not. Some states require that the second trailer have brakes, regardless of the gross trailer weight.
6. DO NOT rely on the information in ANY "List of Towing Laws" on the internet. Every one I have seen is inaccurate in some ways. They all have the Montana laws messed up, I can see no reason to trust them on the laws in any other state!
Have fun researching the laws in the states you plan to visit.

[nevadanick]

This is the wrong place to ask. You need to ask each state you plan to travel through. I towed double bumper pulls for many years and yes its legal and safe.