Towing overwidth
 

I'm planning a trip to Loto in June from Northern cal. Should I go through the hassle of pulling overwidth permits for each state or risk it? I did get nailed in Cal. so now have a overwidth permit for California. Thanks for any imput. Doug

The only thing with running permits is you cannot run at night and have to hit all weigh scales.
I have run many times without permits and have been lucky.
I am not much help here but to say if you don't like driving at night, then run permits. It takes a while to get them too, doesn't it? You may not have enough time to get them. That has been my issue in the past, just not able to get them when I need to get haulin' down the road.

Basically, what I am saying is it's a 50/50 shot.

My .02

Thanx

How far over width? If you are going to get permits your bet bet would be to hire a permitting company?

Educate me, what is the overwidth point ? how did you get caught? My understanding from when I was buying dual axil flat trailer the wheels can't be wider apart than 8.5 feet. Now my boats width is 9.5 feetish, so the trailer wheels width less or at the legal limit I think, so probably no one would notice is what I was told, so far so good.

I had a Cal. permit in about 3 days, which is amazing considering this is the land of laws. Overwidth is overwidth, but to answer the question of how much. Legal is 102" and I'm at just under 10'. A foot and a half is pretty obvious if a trooper gets behind me. That's what a trooper told me as I was being written up. A 35 foot cat on a 44' trailer can attract a lot of attention was the other comment that the trooper made. I should have stuck to 20' boats, life was much simpler and cheaper. Thanks Doug

Anything over 102" is overwidth. I run signs and permits during the day, and remove the signs to run at night. I have not stopped at any scale house. I have been extremely lucky not to get stopped yet, but I am sure it is a matter of time:( It is totally your call to permit and follow the rules or not.

I got stopped last summer in Vegas and asked for my permit. I was under the width and weight. They measured the width and weighed the trailer to make sure I wasn't over the max tow weight for the truck. Trailer/boat came in at 8'3" and weighed 12,300#. They hassled me about being over weight for the truck until I showed that the F350 had a 15k# tow weight. NV is cracking down on the guys towing 7000# boats with S10's...

I would do what warparty says, banner and flags during the day and remove at night.

To me, your boat is not an issue under 10 ft. I tow 12' on a 50' trailer and tow mostly without a permit. On long trips I get the permits.

comdata thgeyw ill do the permits for you. tell them private carrier, and you dont have to stop a wiegh stations, just keep rolling. you will have to stop at night. but i have gotten by driving at night and mine is 10'6"

new mexico is a pain in the arse too. they stopped me ran everything held me for 2 hours, found out i was legal. then told me i could nt move my boat till day light

call me and I will explain it to you. at your width I would not pull a permit. any permit company can get you permits within days. some states require a DOT number even if you are private. call me 909-********* jeff murray

Doug-
The Jag is ready to go? Let's see the photos!
John

To get a DOT # go to www.safer.fmcsa.dot.gov If you are private, use your ss# if you have the truck registered to a company ,use you FEIN # in the online app. I have used TC Permit service, only need five days leed time for all the States your going through and they will fax you a work sheef with all the info you need . Certian CGVW you will need a CDL even if your hauling your own boat. LIke the previous posts no weekends, dusk to dawn, yellow strobe, red flags on the cornners, wide load banner. I get permits when I tow or a hire a commercial hauler.

So how do most of you deal with the (at least in CA) 10K GVWR limit for trailers if you have a regular class C (car) lic.? It is my understanding that you can't tow more than 10K GVWR lbs. without some form of CDL or endorsement (in the case of 5th wheels under 15k GVWR). I went ahead and got a Non-Commercial class A, which basically says I can tow whatever I want (weight wise) as long as it's not for compensation.

Also, not to ruin anybodys day, but I have never seen a 3 axle trailer with a GVWR of less than 15K lbs... So are the rules different in other states? How are you guys "legally" towing your bigger boats?

When I was towing my racecars, I ran into a lot of other racers who were unaware of the 10K limit in Ca...

Just haul it,no permits,no flags...I don't even register my trailer...just hauled one from NY-Louisiana on a '05 plate.

I am 10'6" wide and run with and without permits. The dawn to dusk is a real pain on long runs. More and more I just run without. Most long time cat guys tell me to run without.

Whats A Permit?? Just Kidding ..i'll Bet A Cocktail I Personally Have Pulled More Overdimensional **** Down The Road Than Anyone On The Board..the One And Only Time Ever Had A Problem Was When I Did Pull A Permit..actually The 2 Times I Pulled A Permit..50' Nortech Cat And The 50 Cuv "dirty Laundry".. Whatever You Do .. Do Not Run Signs And Banners And Not Stop In The Stations..thats Like Saying You Know The Law And Just Dont Care..my Reccomendation Is Just Go 4 It.. If Your Towing With A Dually The Boat Doesnt Look Real Big .. If Your Pulling With A Toyota , Thats A Differnt Story.... Rule #1 Always Ask For Foregiveness Than Ask For Permission.... The Dot Guys At The Weight Stations Only Know Commerical Stuff. And They Assume Anything On The Road Is That ..its A Whole New Ball Game As Commerical..

John, The Jag is almost done and I should have pictures real soon. It has been a long road back but I am very happy with all the repair work that has been done. I will have to sort through the advice on towing. I have towed this boat with a one ton Dodge dually, Topkick, Fl60 and now a Kodiak conversion pick-up truck and since I have been cited, I find myself just wondering if I get stopped again ,if they will make me park it. I do plan on getting my CDL but my research states that you need a class A commercial license to tow anything that weights over 10,000 on a tag hitch and 15,000 with a gooseneck. The confusion continues. Thanks for the imput. Doug

I had a 3 axle boat trailer that was 11k max