i've found trying to get a definitive answer to double towing laws an impossibitity. i've seen towing world's list of state laws but have found several other lists that are contradictory. i've contacted dmv/dot in 3 different states as well as talked to several state troopers. the one thing i've learned for sure is that no one knows what the laws are!! in the state of florida, where it is supposedly illegal to double tow, i talked to 2 different state trooper posts plus a dmv office. dmv told me it was illegal to triple tow but not double towing. when i asked her to explain what double & triple towing were, she explained pulling 2 trailers was ok but i'd better not be caught pulling 3 trailers!!?? one of the state trooper offices was very vague but when pressed admitted he he wasn't sure what was meant by triple towing. have you ever ticketted anyone for pulling 2 trailers? the answer was "no". another fla trooper post was aware that double (or triple, he wasn't sure) towing was illegal but wouldn't site anyone unless they were breaking other laws. i got similar responses from alabama & tenn offices. so i give up on trying to get a unifrom answer to the double towing question. what i think would be more reliable is what's happening in the real world. i'd like to know if you double towers have been ticketted & in what state. first hand experiences only, please.
I've never been ticketed, but I see double towing all the time in Indiana. By double tow, I mean a 5th wheel and a boat trailer. I mean a travel trailer and a boat trailer. For the travel trailer I've seen it being towed by both a truck and a suburban. I suppose those people have never been ticketed in Indiana. And I saw a pick-up truck towing a 5er towing a bass boat just yesterday on the road near Indianapolis.
Indiana has the 60 foot law. As long as it is not over a total length of 60 feet, it can be on the road, one vehicle, one vehicle towing something, or one vehicle towing something and that something towing something else.
My rig - in the sig below, is 53 feet long from bumper to bumper. That leaves me only 7 feet and them I at 60 feet over all length. Not much room for a 2nd trailer.... so, I'll never know for sure!
DutchmenSport
2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 Dually Duramax 6.6L V8 Turbo
Century Truck Cap Commercial /Toolboxes
Northeast Outfitters Canoe
Two trailers are OK in MI as long as the first one is a fifth wheel.
65' overall length limit.
MI residents need a $10 "R" endorsement on their license to tow "Recreational doubles".
I have seen (and spoken to) Canadians who have crossed the border with two ball hitches (ie. not a fifth wheel) who have been ordered to leave #2 trailer at the side of the road and return to pick it up once #1 trailer has been dropped somewhere.
Oh, and a $350 ticket to raise their spirits too!
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE 2WD/CC/SB/DA, 52 gal Titan tank, Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin box, Multi-vex mirrors, TST TPMS.
Having a CDL seems to help a lot if you get stopped, and you most likely won't get a ticket with a CDL.
I know a family that travelled around the US for several years with a Volvo 770 truck pulling a 40' Travel Supreme fiver and mini van behind the fiver. They were around 75' overall. They said they never had a problem double towing. However, I don't know where all they went or whether he had a CDL - although I don't think he had a CDL.
2001 Volvo VNL42T420, ISX450/1650, super 10sp w/GearMaster
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire 38RLRK (20K GVWR, tandem duals)
Piaggio MP3 400 scooter
RVing since 1979 - Fulltime since 2000 (mostly CO, MT, NC & Key West)
Retired USAF
In Kansas there is an official state government web site where the public can access such information directly from the source (the statute books). I fairly certain that all states have such a site (or at least MOST of them do). http://www.kansas.gov/index.php
2004 F-250 SCREW Long Bed (new)
OR 2004 F-150 HD (85,000 towing miles) Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
We had a guy in the RV park this winter that towed an utility with motorcycles behind his 5th wheel. Claimed to have been in almost every state and has never been stopped. Chris
My Rig
2001.5 2500 STD CAB AUTO SLT 4x4, CTD 4:10's, Bomb'd to Tow
2005 Cardinal 29WBLX.
Boocoodinkydow,
I've got 40 plus yrs pulling semi trailers all over the us. Double trailers is pulling TWO trailers and pulling triple is pulling 3 trailers.
FL does not allow doubles or triples and a lot of other states are the same.
Each state is/can be different, it is up to them. Some toll roads allow triples and most allow doubles BUT that is TOLL rd only and NOT ALL TOLL ROADS.
There is nothing more exciting than pulling three 40 to 50 ft trailers in the wind and rain. It looks like a snake in your mirrors.
Liscense classification does not have much to do whether it is legal or not. Just like ignorance of the law is not a excuse (I tried that once also)
Most State troopers do not know all of the DOT Laws. Check with
DOT and then you might get several different answers. Each person interprets the law little bit differently.
Darrell
PEACEFUL PATTON
"In His Grip" A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand,
and touches your heart.
"FULL-TIMING & LOVING IT"
To further confuse you, Ohio allows doubles and Florida does not allow doubles, but it is a reciprical state, therefore I am able to tow doubles with my Ohio license. The first year I avoided Georgia because it is not legal to tow doubles and is not reciprical but on several trips home to Ohio I saw several doubles being towed so I now come thru Georgia with no problems and I've seen several troopers...I tow a trailer behind my fifth wheel with a motorcycle on it...
Offline
