towing double

[SOLER]

I have a question, and searching was to no avail. I am traveling through New England in June, and will be pulling my 5er with my atv trailer in tow. Do any of the following states have a problem with this?



Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, New york, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Connecticut.



Also, are there any good places to ride dirt bikes and atv's in Vermont and New Hampshire?



Thanks in advance

 

[Cowboy Medic]

My folks used to pull a horse trailer behind their fiver, and they used Good Sam to find out what states allowed it and under what conditions, length, weight etc. Not sure if it was a book they got or a website they checked, but I know it was something from Good Sam.

 

[WMeyers]

According to my (out of date) 2001 Trailer Life Campground Directory which has a "Rules of the Road and Towing Laws" section it isn't legal in any of the states you listed -- but it also says it isn't legal in your home state of Delaware. May want to check the Trailer Life website to see if there is more current info.

 

[KenHokie]

I think I remember a website (www.rvsafety.com??) that had this type of information. FYI, if you every come out to UT, as long as you are under 65' long its legal here. And if you are over, the law is rarely enforced. I used to have a neighbor who had a 33' class A motor home. He pulled a 24' boat behind it and a trailer with 4 jet skies behind the boat. This guy was a train going down the road!

 

[Mschevey]

Well Penn DOT told me that it could be done. As long as you are within the combined weight rating of the truck, AND you have a CDL with the endorsement for doubles. Even though our truck do not require a CDL, pulling doubles in PA does. You also have to follow the rules for doubles. Only on main roads, or within 1-3 miles of interchanges, for food, fuel and the like.



Mike

 

[racer39]

If you are looking for places to ride atv's, check out Senic View Campground in Warren NH.

http://www.usastar.com/scenicview/facilities.htm

We plan to do some camping there this summer. We've got 2 atv's that we'll be carrying in the back of our 5th wheel toy box trailer.







should be fun!!

 

[TowPro]

If you want to ride Dirtbikes and ATV your heading the wrong direction, To many rocks up there

I hear everybody that rides owes themself at least one visit to Hatfield McCoy in WVa



Maybe next year I will go, this year building the Garage will suck up all my time.

 

[clem]

If you never been in New Eng. If you are OK by the rules of the road. When you get off the interstate the roads get real narrow and not straght and the toll booths will love you

 

[MarkF]

TO the best of my knowledge this is definately not legal in the Nort East, they are way too uptight around here. I can guarantee that the local authorities have no sense of humor either and will not let you off with a warning. Good luck and enjoy the trip, it sure is beautiful up here!

 

[Dean Upson]

CT requires a special license to tow tandem commercially and I would bet the farm that it is illegal to do recreationally. I would bet the hen house part of the farm that it is not allowed in the other New England states. To be honest, we have too much traffic here to allow this practice.

Dean

 

[Fireman]

NO DEAN!

Not the Hen HouseTOO!:-laf :-laf



Fireman

 

[Dean Upson]

Yep,



But I'm saving the dog house. I might need it.



Dean

 

[GAmes]

Come to Texas!

www.rvsafety.com is not accurate. According to them double trailers in Tx isn't legal.

 

[AKsmoker]

Nice rig GAmes! Like to see you back down the lanch ramp!

 

[afalardeau]

I can say that I've never seen a non-commercial vehicle towing more than one trailer in NH. If they do enforce it you'll get nailed at your first toll booth, there's almost always a state trooper or highway safety officer at each toll.





NH:



265:108 Certain Towing Prohibited. –

I. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no vehicle, truck-tractor, or tractor may tow on any way more than one vehicle, truck-tractor, trailer or semi-trailer, except one used exclusively for agricultural purposes. This provision shall not apply to:

(a) Towing by duly authorized wrecking vehicles.

(b) Transportation of new and used trucks in saddlemount combinations, provided no more than 3 saddlemounts may be used in any combination, and provided that all vehicles comply with the regulations of the federal Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety regarding driveaway-towaway operations as provided in title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 393. 71.

(c) Commercial vehicle combinations consisting of a truck-tractor, semi-trailer and not more than one full trailer driven on:

(1) Any interstate and defense highway.

(2) On sections of the state turnpike system with 4 lanes under conditions and rules as adopted under RSA 541-A by the commissioner of transportation.

(3) On such access routes to terminals, facilities for food, fuel, repairs and rest as the commissioner of the department of transportation shall designate by rules adopted under RSA 541-A.

II. Access routes for truck-tractor, semi-trailer or full trailer combinations to and from the interstate system and state turnpike system from and to terminal facility sites may be granted by permit upon application in writing to the commissioner of the department of transportation by the terminal facility operator or owner. Access to points of loading and unloading for household goods carriers may be granted on an individual basis by application to the department of transportation. Said approval, based on reasonably safe highways and driving conditions, may be granted for class I and class II highways, and, with concurrence of local officials, for class IV and class V highways.

Source. RSA 263:7-b. 1977, 167:1. 1981, 146:1. 1983, 434:9. 1985, 213:21, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

 

[skobylenski]

I've never seen it done around here, but I'd NEVER try it. Many of the roads are wide enough, but every so often, you come to a REALLY narrow section, and someone coming at you at the same time. The highway cloverleafs are barely big enough for class 8 trucks (with 48' trailers, never mind 53 footers), I'd hate to see you roll that thing over hitting a curb (yes, it's almost happened a number of times). Also, the parking lots around here aren't large enough to park a crew-cab in, never mind doubles. I'd expect you'd be in for a LOT of explaining to the cops around here - To quote MarkF: "they are way too uptight around here. "



On another note - when you come through, give a shout, maybe we'll give you a not-so-grand Northeast welcome (Whatdaya say guys?)



As for places to ride - not really. There are a couple old sand pits around here that people use for bikes, but nothing really for ATVs. The VAST (Vermont Assoc. of Snow Travellers) people are rather protective of their trails that run all over the state. The "rails to trails" that run around here are okay - but those are sleds in the winter and bikes/foot traffic in the summer. It's a nice place to live, but the rules and people who make them leave something to be desired



Sorry to be so long-winded.



Good luck planning your trip,

Scott

 

[SOLER]

Thanks

Thanks to all who have replied. First of all, I have done this several times in Oklahoma towing my 5er and a boat. And being from Utah, I never thought I would miss it so much. The rules out here suck. I am in the Air Force, and being here isn't my first choice. There are a lot of historical sites, and I have tried to take advantage of gong to see them in my time off (very little of it due that scum bag osama and dip sh!! saddam).



But, I miss going out and doing outdoor stuff whenever I wanted, and without having to spend countless hours researching whether or not I can even do what I want. I thought I was in America. It makes me wonder sometimes what we are fighting to defend, especially since being here around so many uptight East coasters. DON'T GET ME WRONG! I am not stereotyping. I know there are a lot of great people out here. But it seems that the uptight legislators are getting the upper hand. And according to my brother still out in Utah, they are trying to get their greasy feet in the door out there and telling them how things should be done. And don't get me started on California. I had my choice of going to Delaware or California. I didn't even consider California.



Anyway, I'm off my soap box. I have decided to just take a few days and go to George Washington Forest for a couple of days. I'll tow the 5er and the wife will tow the ATV's/dirt bikes. We'll stay at Creekside Campground. Anyone in that area, I'd be happy to arrange a get-to-gether. We might go up to the panhandle of Maryland for a couple of days and ride the state forests there. Then, we'll take the bikes back home and do the rest of the trip with just the 5er. I was hoping to ride up in Allegheny in PA, and Adirondack in New York, but that will have to happen later.



We are going to Niagra Falls, and then going to the LDS sites in Palmyra. We'll miss the pageant, but may catch it later. Then through NH, VT, Maine, and back down to Delaware. We are going to VA on June 6th, staying the weekend, and then up to Niagra on the 10th or so. If anyone is interested in meeting up, I'd love to do so.



Skobylenski, up in VT, are there any campgrounds that are better than others?



Well, I haven't posted here much since the war has been going on, so I thought I'd do a little catch up here. JK



Thanks again guys and gals.



Shane

 

[SOLER]

That time of year again

Well, it's that time of year again. Time to get the 5er out, check her out, and get her ready for this year's trips. Also need to start finalizing plans for our trips. We plan on a couple this year with the 5er, and one down to Venezuela . First in April. I want to take the ORV's out to VA or WVa. Hatfield McCoy sounds great. Any of you that have been there or live there think it a bad idea? I know the trails in MD are pretty muddy that time of year.



I'm still sick of the East coast. I can't pull my toys behind my 5er. :{ I thought about getting a toy hauler, but I'm not going to live here very much longer. In fact, I should be back to Texas or Oklahoma this time next year!



We are going to finally catch the pageant up in Palmyra this year in July. Looking forward to it with great anticipation. I am really anticipating pulling the 5er with my new rig. May or may not have the go-fast goodies on by then, but the bomb bug can only stay thwarted for so long.



Same offer as last year. If there are any that want to hook up at a campground, or join us on the trails, either in WVa or upstate New York, let me know.



SOLER

 

[Firewalker]

Check out this web page for more info



http://www.towingworld.com/towinglaws.html



and ofcourse you want to call the state police of each state to check if information is correct.

 

[skobylenski]

Campgrounds, hmmm, the only really good one's I can think of are the State Parks. They seem to do a pretty good job of keeping things nice and neat, and you also get away from road noise in a lot of them. Just do a search of VT State Parks and you'll find more than you EVER want to read about them I personally like being as far north as I can get, just to get away from all the people. I know that there are literally hundreds of small "mom-and-pop's" type campgrounds, but you really just have to stumble upon them as you drive.



If you end up heading through my neck of the woods, just let me know and maybe I'll have to meet you somewhere in the area.



Have fun, and go get the bad guys



Scott