The only state I was legal in this year was my own (70).

I know these laws apply to tractor/trailers. Wonder if the trooper has authority to apply to a car or truck/trailer situation?

Guess I'll check the state laws I travel a bit closer.

Indeed, but still at the 8 foot 2 max width tow !

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. If you look closely at the spreadsheet (provided by a trailer builder), you can see that there are weight restrictions listed that lead into supplemental braking requirements, etc. which makes me believe this list is for all trailers.

I would think that unless you're involved in a collision, or you come across a really bored trooper, you're probably OK. Although, I do recall a story about a guy taking a Hobie 21 through the toll booth in NH and getting an earful from the toll collector a few years back (he got tired of telescoping in the crossbars)...

There are other laws that aren't listed here. Some states require additional signals if the load exceeds a certain distance from the trailer (or car I suppose) lights. So many feet requires a red flag, so many more feet require additional lights. You can see where this applies to our masts, especially when towing behind an RV.

But, to answer the original question, to mass market cats, manufacturers are wise to stay within the highway limits. People are lazy enough as it is, if they have to jump through hoops to make their boat/trailer legal, that's one more excuse to buy something else.

Mike

Wide boats are usually involved in disatnce racing. That equates to a minimum of 3 days commitment unless it is in your back yard. Personally, I like the day on each end of set up and packin' it up where the extra beam would not matter.

HA!! California requires trailers over 1500lbs to have brakes. What a crock.

I've towed cats thousands of miles, my current boat at 2.5m wide fair scares the sh1t out of me on narrow roads , luckily it mounts high on beam supports over a massive box , the hulls were passing over folks wing mirrors on one nasty wee west highland road

towed a unicorn @ 7' 6" through cornwall once (was enough ) it was touching hedges BOTH sides of the road at same time in places

Sorry did mean flat... providing the overall width of trailer incl load is not over 2.6m then you are legal. Teach me to post and not read what Ive typed until the next day!:o

This certainly the case in Europe anything over a certain overhang Front or Rear requires markers and if over 3m requires notification of movement.

Trailers over a certain length also have to have side markers as well as reflective boards.... in extreme cases a reflective board with LONG VEHICLE on if the combined length requires it.

Then weights require brakes etc

Number of axles with brakes can affect the legal speed you can tow at in uk single axle non braked trailer 60mph braked twin axle 70mph

Complicated this towing lark ain't it!!!!!

Absolutely! That's why I say, unless you find a really bored trooper, you're probably OK as long as you aren't doing anything overly stupid to draw attention to yourself... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

IMHO, having this number of variations in the laws between states (in the US) screams poor legislation. I'm not a Big Brother kind of guy, but standardization in the form of federal laws instead of state-by-state rules makes far more sense, especially considering how many states we're likely to drive through on a given trip. Like THAT will ever happen... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Mike

Worse thing is is that in the UK Im considered an expert!!!!!!