Go Back  Offshoreonly.com > General Discussion > Trucks, Trailers and Transportation
Is CDL & Wide Load Permit Needed?? >

Is CDL & Wide Load Permit Needed??

Notices

Is CDL & Wide Load Permit Needed??

Old 03-01-2011, 06:33 AM
  #51  
Gold Member
Gold Member
 
seafordguy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Seaford, VA
Posts: 4,905
Received 758 Likes on 348 Posts
Default

Hey Elminordic - I am just going to tell you this because I hope it makes you feel better (not because I did the right thing necessarily).

I pulled my boat home from Connecticut to Virginia with no plates on either the truck or the trailer, and I didn't even have a title to the trailer for over a year....

3 years later I went back to CT to pull my father's Wellcraft home. We had to take the radar off to get it down under 13'6" (it ended up at about 13'3"). It was 9'10" wide if I remember correctly and honestly barely fit through the tolls.

What sucks is that IF you were to get pulled over it would all depend on the officer. A big risk in my mind would be if you blew a tire or something and had to pull over - you'd certainly garner some attention under those circumstances.

PERSONALLY - considering the size, beam, weight and the fact that you are running an F650 - I would just grip it and rip it and not worry one bit about it. That is probably not the responsible decision but I like to think I can still justify the "young and dumb" card!!
seafordguy is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 06:51 AM
  #52  
Banned
iTrader: (1)
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: michigan
Posts: 2,103
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by seafordguy
Hey Elminordic - I am just going to tell you this because I hope it makes you feel better (not because I did the right thing necessarily).

I pulled my boat home from Connecticut to Virginia with no plates on either the truck or the trailer, and I didn't even have a title to the trailer for over a year....

3 years later I went back to CT to pull my father's Wellcraft home. We had to take the radar off to get it down under 13'6" (it ended up at about 13'3"). It was 9'10" wide if I remember correctly and honestly barely fit through the tolls.

What sucks is that IF you were to get pulled over it would all depend on the officer. A big risk in my mind would be if you blew a tire or something and had to pull over - you'd certainly garner some attention under those circumstances.

PERSONALLY - considering the size, beam, weight and the fact that you are running an F650 - I would just grip it and rip it and not worry one bit about it. That is probably not the responsible decision but I like to think I can still justify the "young and dumb" card!!

Thats exactly the way I felt the day I went and picked up my new to me OE (12ft beam). By 5 PM that evening while sitting on the side of the road half way home surrounded by cop cars for 2 hours and getting a police escort to the Holiday Inn Express I changed my mind. Tried to sneak out of town at sunrise the next morning and did not make it to the next exit. Lucky for me I had ticket/expensive permit in hand and when the officer asked for my permit I explained what happened the day before and he let me go.

I did mention the Holiday Inn Express and think thats why he let me go.
brian41 is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 08:34 AM
  #53  
Gold Member
Gold Member
 
seafordguy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Seaford, VA
Posts: 4,905
Received 758 Likes on 348 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by brian41
Thats exactly the way I felt the day I went and picked up my new to me OE (12ft beam). By 5 PM that evening while sitting on the side of the road half way home surrounded by cop cars for 2 hours and getting a police escort to the Holiday Inn Express I changed my mind. Tried to sneak out of town at sunrise the next morning and did not make it to the next exit. Lucky for me I had ticket/expensive permit in hand and when the officer asked for my permit I explained what happened the day before and he let me go.

I did mention the Holiday Inn Express and think thats why he let me go.
Yep - that's why I put about 5 disclaimers in my post saying that it wasn't necessarily smart.
seafordguy is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 09:28 AM
  #54  
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
 
27daytona's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: antelope,california
Posts: 610
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

Having the correct permits and license will make any trip way more enjoyable. The insurance and liability issue as stated in a previous post is real. It would be easy for an insurance company to decline a claim if you aren't legally licensed to tow your boat. I seldom place wide load signs on my truck locally but I buy an annual permit for California. I may get a ticket for noncompliance but they can't hold me any longer than it takes me to mount the signs. Kind of a hell zone but that F-650 is like a billboard towing a billboard. They will attrack a lot of attention, some unwanted. See you in the desert. Doug
27daytona is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 10:13 AM
  #55  
Banned
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Frankfort,ill
Posts: 12,861
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

did a search and could'nt find it butt there was a thread on here when jimmy Winters picked up the Skater on a weekend to get it back home and ready for Key West and got pinched and they impounded the truck/trailer/Skater for the weekend and even his young son ended up in the police car . i'll keep lookin for it
RunninHotRacing163.1 is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 10:29 AM
  #56  
Gold Member
Gold Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,923
Likes: 0
Received 9 Likes on 6 Posts
Default

BoatUS services http://www.boatus.com/trailerclub/wide-permit.asp


If your boat has a beam that exceeds the standard 8 feet, 6 inches, then you’re going to need a wide-load or oversize permit whenever you leave the driveway. If you leave the state en route to a faraway destination, you’re going to need a permit for each state through which you are going to pull the boat. Yes, it’s a hassle. Yes, it takes lots of time. Yes, BoatU.S. can assist.

BoatU.S. Trailering Club members have the benefit of an agreement with a company that will do all the work for you at a discounted price. Mercury Permits (www.mercurypermits.net/BoatUS) also provides wide-load permits for commercial trucks traveling through every state in the country so they can get the job done quickly and you can be on your way with that boat in tow, and best of all, be legal as you travel.

“Getting a permit for a boat wider than 8 feet, 6 inches is relatively easy if you know what you’re doing,” says Steve Thomas, a partner in Mercury Permits based in Las Vegas. “But every state has its own rules and if your route is taking you through a number of states, you need to comply with each state’s requirements. That can be difficult.” Thomas notes that two states, Texas and Ohio, are the most problematic. Texas requires a $10,000 surety bond, which is a promise that the boattrailer owner will abide by all state laws when traveling through the state. It costs a few hundred dollars and, Thomas adds with experience, requires a boater to “go through a number of loops” to complete. Ohio requires that a specific form be faxed directly to a state office from the boater’s insurance company, another loop that adds time to a permit being approved.

A close runner-up, however, is California, where the state has a permit that is mandatory for wide boats traveling on numbered highways while each county and some cities also require a permit. Thomas continues, “Antioch, on California’s Delta, has one guy who’s in charge of handing out the permits and he’s the same guy in charge of enforcing the local jurisdiction’s rule about carrying a permit. He’s the poster child for making sure you have the necessary paperwork.”

There are a number of cities with restrictions in Virginia that have made Thomas look for alternative routes in order to make the trip easier for a boat owner pulling a wide boat. “Suffolk, Chesapeake, and Newport News all require separate permits,” he says, adding, “so if there’s a way I can avoid them, that’s what we do.” In most states, a wide-load permit requires the boater follow a specific route, leaving home at a specific time with a planned arrival at the destination within a certain time frame. “They’re all good for a specified period of time,” he says, “typically from three to 10 days, with most valid for three to five days. There are a couple of permits that are only good for one day – New York City and the New York Thruway – and these are separate permits from the New York state system.”

Only one-third of the states allow travel after sunset so keep this in mind when sitting down to plan a trip. Mercury Permits will provide all the specifics that are part of each state’s travel restrictions. Severe weather, however, is an entirely different matter. In many cases, bridges crossing long stretches of water, such as the Golden Gate in San Francisco, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland, the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys, or the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, close to boat trailers and semi trucks during high winds and/or heavy rain. Other restrictions can include using only specific routes at specific times. “The height of the boat on the trailer can be an issue,” Thomas notes. “If you come in higher than 13 feet 6 inches, you’re above the legal height. Sometimes, it’s the result of a radar arch or the wakeboard boats with the towers, but you need to figure out a way to get it removed. Of course, on a lot of boats, that can’t be done so we’ll have to find a route that avoids bridges with a clearance lower than 13 feet 6 inches. I find this happens in the northeast most often because so many bridges were already in place before the state put the rule in place. On interstates, you’ll usually have no trouble because the clearance is 16 feet.” That said, there are exceptions to this, especially in Pennsylvania where some bridges are lower and, as a result, require detours that can add miles to a trip.



The Bottom Line

Most of the time, a boater with an oversized boat in tow isn’t going to be stopped by police for an inspection of permits. But Steve Thomas says the economic conditions states and municipalities face I are bringing more crackdowns throughout the country. “Safety is always important,” Thomas says, “but money is the reason.”



You Need To Know

Mercury Permits will need information about your tow vehicle, the trailer, and the boat, as well as the dimensions of the load on the boat trailer and the overall dimensions.

• Height – if the boat is over 13 feet 6 inches high on the trailer, it will be considered over legal height.

• Width – this should be the same as the width of the boat itself.

• Length – measured from the front bumper of the truck to the rear of the boat/ trailer

• Axle spacing – some states require this information even if your load is not overweight; if you don’t have this information, we’ll let you know if it’s necessary. To get the axle-spacing measurements, you’ll need to measure from the center of the first axle on the truck to the center of the second axle on the truck; then from the second axle on the truck to the first axle on the trailer; from the first axle on the trailer to the second; from the second trailer axle to the third trailer axle.



A Legislative Special Session For Wide Boat Trailers

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley vetoed a bill in 2008 that would’ve allowed boats with a beam of 10 feet or less to be trailered in the daytime without a wide-load permit. Both the House and the Senate called a special session to discuss the veto. In just 13 minutes, the North Carolina House overrode the governor’s veto, and in less than 30 minutes, the North Carolina Senate did the same. It was the first time in North Carolina history that the legislature overrode a governor’s veto.


From The “Don’t Need No Permit” Department

Internet message boards are filled with stories from trailer-boat owners who consider the need for a permit a waste of time and have traveled from home to their destination and back for years, until an accident occurs. In many cases these folks weren’t the cause of the collision but police investigators asked to see their driver’s license, registration, and wide-load permit. The story might have ended with their waiting for a permit to be obtained while the boat and trailer were impounded, but there was one more ending: If they filed a claim, their insurance company asked for the wideload permit required for that state. No permit? No coverage.


A BoatU.S. Benefit!

Trailering Club members get 30 percent off the service fee for oversize permits (you’re still responsible for the full cost of each required permit).

For more info: www.mercurypermits.net/BoatUS
VtSteve is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 10:56 AM
  #57  
Registered
 
Catastrophe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 2,936
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by ElimiNordic
It is amazing how many different slants there are on this CDL license. Because my truck is owned by my company, I am going to go ahead and get a full blow CDL even though here in Georgia, the rules seem to apply to someone using their vehicle for commerce and not for recreation. But, I will not be towing in Georgia and I do not want to be hassled by a DOT or truck inspection cop on the way to a run. Government can sometimes add such a fun layer to your life!
Thats new info, the truck being licensed to your company.

IN ONTARIO ( so it may not pertain to you )

If a truck is licensed over a certain weight capacity and you have a CDL requirement to operate it sometimes to pull overweight and overdimensional loads, the truck gets a sticker for everyone to see ( goes on the windshield)

That being said it introduces something else that we have to do.
Every single day the vehicle is used a log has to be filled out with a safety checklist.

I have been stopped numerous times to have that checked when driving my 350 dually.
Catastrophe is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 11:34 AM
  #58  
Gold Member
Gold Member
 
seafordguy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Seaford, VA
Posts: 4,905
Received 758 Likes on 348 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by catastrophe
Thats new info, the truck being licensed to your company.
Yeah - and it also opens up your company to liabilty if something were to happen and the right lawyer got ahold of it. I would be careful jeopardizing your livelihood considering you could probably get it towed home for relatively small money.
seafordguy is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 12:28 PM
  #59  
Banned
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 811
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by seafordguy
Yeah - and it also opens up your company to liabilty if something were to happen and the right lawyer got ahold of it. I would be careful jeopardizing your livelihood considering you could probably get it towed home for relatively small money.
The last time I hired a professional trucking company to transport a boat, it was a nightmare. The guy was pulling it at 80+ and had a flat tire. He never looked back or stopped until another tire popped and the fender on the aluminum trailer was in shreds. He left my cat sitting on the side of the interstate while he went and bought new tires at the nearest exit. The boat broker I bought the boat from had removed the spare that was on the boat when I looked at it. It sucked and of course, blame was with me for having bad tires. I will NEVER let a trucker haul any of my boats anywhere. I will have a CDL when I get back. I have a CDL medical card now and do not have time to take full blown CDL test before I go, but will soon. Thanks, Dan
ElimiNordic is offline  
Old 03-01-2011, 05:37 PM
  #60  
Registered
iTrader: (4)
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Posts: 1,975
Received 40 Likes on 22 Posts
Default

Amen brother, never met a transporter out there I'd trust. I'm sure there is one, but I've never met him.
SkiDoc is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.