Towing Doubles

[rowekmr]

On my way through the Smokey Mountains I saw a Ford F350 towing a 5th wheel and a Jeep attached to the 5th wheel. I never seen anything other than a semi pull doubles. I wondered how is the braking handle? Also is this legal?
Passing the combination I saw a small bar going across the back of the 5th wheel (in between the beams) and that is what he attached the hitch that was pulling his Jeep with.

[MFL]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Drove past two CA Highway Patrol Hwy 10 from PalmSprings CA towards AZ no issue.

I'm sure CHP was just thinking, WOW, that is a super nice rig! That parking area worked out nicely, only needed about 8 spaces. 🙂

You likely could not even feel/notice the double tow.

Jerry

[Passin_Thru]

http://www.rvtripwizard.com/rv-info/state-road-laws.php
Don't really want to tow doubles. Used to tow class 8 doubles Dallas to LA and they are a bear in snow or rain.

[Wadcutter]

Bumpyroad wrote:
or perhaps they have bigger fish to fry, until however one of these "illegal" combinations are involved in an accident then they would be doubly liable?
bumpy

When we stopped someone for some violation more often than not we'd hear "Why didn't you stop the other guy?" The reply is "Have you ever gone fishing?" They'd answer "Yes". Then we'd respond "Did you catch them all?"
In IL the traffic/vehicle statute law book is about 1 inch thick. Some cops focus on DUIs and wouldn't look twice at a motor carrier violation. Another cop might concentrate on speeders and never stop a DUI. And another may prefer to look for criminal violations and would never stop some traffic violations. I worked with one cop who would only stop red cars committing violations on a Wednesday. Drive a white car speeding past him on Wednesday and he wouldn't look twice at you. Another would not stop anything that ran on diesel. Another who was a veteran would never stop anyone who had any kind of veterans license plates or marking on their car showing they were a veteran.
People who have never worked law enforcement simply do not understand or have any idea what it's like. If a cop stopped every single violation they saw they'd never get 1/4 mile from their home their entire shift. No matter who the cop is they do not stop every violation they see. Some days even the most active cop may not make a single traffic stop simply because they're not in the mood to put up the BS that day.
When someone says "I drove past 2 state cops today and wasn't stopped so it must be OK." what they don't realize is tomorrow one of those cops might decide he's going to enforce a specific section of the law and you might be the fish he's going to catch.

[mowermech]

Stranger wrote:
MOST states require the LAST trailer be some sort of watercraft. That being said, I have seen all manner of thing tagging behind. Possibly the state cops don't know what they are looking at so the show a blind eye.

There's that overworked word again: "MOST". Seems to me that means that out of the 50 states, at least 26 require the last trailer to be a watercraft.
I really doubt that the statement is true.

[nevadanick]

Stranger, not true about having to be watercraft. Origanally in Ca it was that way but changed. Here in Nv there is no restriction to what you are towing and also dont need an endorsement or Class A any longer. Double bumper pulls are even legal in Ca. I say it everytime i see one of these posts, contact the states you are going to travel in and dont rely on blanket towing sites that list rules as they are usually wrong.

[Cummins12V98]

Drove past two CA Highway Patrol Hwy 10 from PalmSprings CA towards AZ no issue.

[Bumpyroad]

Stranger wrote:
MOST states require the LAST trailer be some sort of watercraft. That being said, I have seen all manner of thing tagging behind. Possibly the state cops don't know what they are looking at so the show a blind eye.

or perhaps they have bigger fish to fry, until however one of these "illegal" combinations are involved in an accident then they would be doubly liable?
bumpy

[Stranger]

MOST states require the LAST trailer be some sort of watercraft. That being said, I have seen all manner of thing tagging behind. Possibly the state cops don't know what they are looking at so the show a blind eye.

[nevadanick]

Fuel stations arent a problem towing doubles as the 2nd trlr follows the first quite well. I pulled 2 bumper pulls for several years and doubles with a 5th before that.

[afidel]

Bionic Man wrote:
Towing doubles is legal in most states. The costal states, for the most part, is where it is not allowed.

I have double towed since about 1999. Tens of thousands of miles at this point. I've towed countless boats, and my ATVs. If you have it set up correctly (read a qualified welder add the hitch on the back of the first trailer), it is very uneventful.

The biggest down side is fueling up, and the bounce you get by the tongue weight of the 2nd trailer. I imagine you wouldn't get very much bounce at all towing a Jeep as the second "trailer".

A couple of mine.

Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum limit of 640px maximum width.

Yeah, I'd definitely want a in-bed fuel tank with pump for either of those setups, no way I'd want to attempt to fuel up at anything but a truck stop (and even then, wow).

[rowekmr]

Yeah I was just joking I know you can pull a house with that.

You brought up a point I was going to put in my last post but didn't. How do you figure how much weight the frame of the 5th wheeler can take?

I love boating and RV'ing also so am glad that I made this post I have learned a lot. Up to now I have never seen a double trailer besides semi's. This brings up possible options for me in the future but not now because I tow a TT.

Bionic Man wrote:

rowekmr wrote:
Get a BIGGER tow vehicle

The tow vehicle isn't my limitation. I am pretty sure a 7000 pound boat is going to put too much strain on the frame of the 5er.

[Bionic_Man]

rowekmr wrote:
Get a BIGGER tow vehicle

The tow vehicle isn't my limitation. I am pretty sure a 7000 pound boat is going to put too much strain on the frame of the 5er.

[rowekmr]

My original post came because I saw the hitch mounted to what I assumed would be a marginal mount. It was metal bar across the rear of 5th wheel mounted to the metal beams of the trailer, but I am not a welder. I guess as one said it all boils down to how well the hitch is mounted. Thinking now I see with appropriate brakes not too much stress is passed on to the trailer except in bumps and accelerating.

[rowekmr]

Get a BIGGER tow vehicle :B

Bionic Man wrote:

rock1424 wrote:
Nice setup! Just out of curiosity - how heavy is that boat?

Bionic Man wrote:
Towing doubles is legal in most states. The costal states, for the most part, is where it is not allowed.

I have double towed since about 1999. Tens of thousands of miles at this point. I've towed countless boats, and my ATVs. If you have it set up correctly (read a qualified welder add the hitch on the back of the first trailer), it is very uneventful.

The biggest down side is fueling up, and the bounce you get by the tongue weight of the 2nd trailer. I imagine you wouldn't get very much bounce at all towing a Jeep as the second "trailer".

A couple of mine.

***Link Removed***

Thanks. The Crownline is about 5500 pounds. I have since sold it, and upgraded to a bigger boat that I feel is too heavy to comfortably tow tandem. Now it is two tow vehicles going to the lake. Which has a lot of downside......

[rock1424]

Bionic Man wrote:

rock1424 wrote:
Nice setup! Just out of curiosity - how heavy is that boat?

Bionic Man wrote:
Towing doubles is legal in most states. The costal states, for the most part, is where it is not allowed.

I have double towed since about 1999. Tens of thousands of miles at this point. I've towed countless boats, and my ATVs. If you have it set up correctly (read a qualified welder add the hitch on the back of the first trailer), it is very uneventful.

The biggest down side is fueling up, and the bounce you get by the tongue weight of the 2nd trailer. I imagine you wouldn't get very much bounce at all towing a Jeep as the second "trailer".

A couple of mine.

***Link Removed***

Thanks. The Crownline is about 5500 pounds. I have since sold it, and upgraded to a bigger boat that I feel is too heavy to comfortably tow tandem. Now it is two tow vehicles going to the lake. Which has a lot of downside......

Thanks for the info, I just bought a 14' tandem axle enclosed trailer to haul my UTV behind my 5er that is going about 5000 lbs., so I was just curios. I haven't had a chance to tow it yet but getting it ready for a hunting trip coming up in a couple of weeks.