Towing a wide boat...

[HappierWet]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

I'm not trying to act a jerk,.....BUT, according to what I'm reading in that PDF......

Sec.4921
A.
C1.
C2.

it looks like 8'6" is accurate.

Since I have two trailers that are over the 8' width, I am curious now whether this is accurate, or I've just been lucky. Am I missreading the code?

 

[Knightgang]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

US DOT reg states 8'6". I tow a 8.5'X24 foot trailer everyday. States can make some roads more strict, but not on federally funded roads...

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

As with most state regulations, they tend to get convoluted and may not be changed over time. I checked two other documents for PA and they also indicated an 8 foot limit except on limited access highways. Unfortunately I didn't save the links. I also looked at a link from one of the RV information sites and they confirm that some states (there was a list of about 8 of which PA was not mentioned) where motorhomes over eight feet were not allowed on some roads. That requirement is obviously not being enforced as wide motor homes have been around for 10 years or more. So this width situation is something that needs to be investigated carefully, especially if you travel secondary roads and if out of state travel is planned. Ironically, 8 ft - 6 in. motor homes and trucks with side mirrors exceed the limit by a bunch but the regs specifically state not including them in the width measurement. I certainly don't mean to contradict what others find. I'm just pointing out what I've seen.

 

[steddy]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

Tow at your own risk. Better safe than sorry, though. Buy a less beamy boat.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

We've strayed a bit from the original post but the message is clear. Anything over 8 foot six inches requires a permit. From what I've found for PA, there are few season long permits issued unless you are in the farming business.

 

[109jb]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

I can't say about PA, but in Illionois they don't mess around with oversize or overweight. A buddy that is an excavator just got a little fine for being 400 pounds overweight. The little fine was $4900. It was a load of dirt from a job site so the only thing he could do was eyeball and estimate the load. 400 pounds isn't a lot of dirt. He went to court and pleaded his case to the judge and got it down to $2200. They aren't any better about oversize. It just wouldn't be worth tthe risk to me.

 

[pilotscrappy]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

Hello everyone I stumbled across this forum looking for boat shipping forums actually. I have been in the boat transport business for over 15 years and can answer any questions you have about the width laws etc.... from what i can see in this thread, there is confusion about whats legal and what isnt. Every state in the US there is a max width law of 8'6 or 102" every state every road that is as wide as you can go LEgally. Anything over that has to be permitted for road travel. Whether or not you need a escort car is a major variable that varies from state to state and on the roads you travel. Basically anything under 11' in width and you will never need a pilot car on any road you travel. At 11'1 and up you possible might need a escort. The thread poster i believe said he was running around a foot over width... that is a pretty big deal, and ignorance is no exscuse so i would advise on not using it if you are to get caught, by state troopers or Dept of Transportation. DOT seems to be cracking down on people pulling there boats around more so then state troopers. If anyone has any questions about laws or shipping etc. please feel free to IM or email me. I acutally came onto this forum looking to buy and sell transport trailers so hopefully i have found that!!!
thanks guys

-Josh

 

[nitsuj]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

Thanks for the input Pilotscrappy. Yes, I did say the boat is 12" over the limit, with a beam of 9'6". From what I've gathered, in PA it's darn near impossible to get the permits for a private citizen. Towing companies can get them easy enough, but regular Joe's seem to have trouble. I've talked to lots of PA boaters, and none that I spoke with had any definitive answers. And calling PennDot has proven to do nothing but waste cell phone minutes. You get to listen to some real crapy hold music, then talk to someone who doesn't know, who then puts you on hold (more music) and the call gets picked up by someone else who doesn't know. You hang up and are much more familiar with the music of Lawrence Welk, but don't know anymore about getting a permit to haul your boat.

The small amount of information I have got boils down to: there is a permit I can get, but it seems to be a PITA to get it. And it's $60 one way. Which I think is excessive. I would happily pay for a year permit, or a seasonal one or whatever, but thus far, I haven't been able to find out how to do that or if it's possible in PA.

I've checked and rechecked. The boat and trailer are well within my trucks rated towing capacity, so I'm not going to run out and buy a 1 ton dually.

And I fully realize that pleading ignorance won't get me out of a ticket. But I see an awful lot of boats being towed that are as large or larger than the one I'm looking at. And if the permit is as hard to get as I'm being lead to believe, I can't imagine their all getting permits. So it's either one of those laws that people just break at will and no one is enforcing, or there is an easier way to get a permit than I've been able to find. I'm not an anarchist. I'm not against getting a permit. If I find a way to be able to get one and not go broke every time I want to splash the boat, I'll happily do it.

Pilotscrappy, if you have any information to shed on the subject of permits in PA, feel free to throw them out. Or PM me. Or email me. It wouldn't hurt to just add them to this thread though so your wisdom may be able to help others.

 

[woosterken]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

Nit,
go to a big truck stop,at the fuel desk for the semis they should have info for a permit company (trans fax) i think ? been a while
i used to get permits from them,when i drove semi. they can get you permits for all 48 states. in no time and fax them to you at the truck stop,with in an hour

hope this helps

woosterken

 

[nitsuj]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

BIG help. Thanks Wooster.

 

[reelmess]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

For what it's worth, I've towed several larger boats in and out of PA over the past few years. Never bothered with all the permits but fully understand that I was taking a chance. Several were over 12' wide and well over height as well. I would add an overhead wire deflector to the top of the cabin so as to guide any low hanging wires up and over, I used a wide load banner and a chase car with a yellow light. We would travel after dark, late enough to miss most traffic and cross at a bridge which had the proper clearance. We towed the boat with a large dually pickup. I've done this trip over the years several times with no hassles along the way. The bridge was the biggest concern, so we headed north to miss the more congested bridges and to avoid passing through any city traffic.

I had gone the same route inquiring about permits and the cost was just too high. I can't say a few people weren't missing their cable or phone lines in the morning, but we never took out any power lines or traffic signals that I know of. On the one boat we would take down the flybridge but it still was over 16' tall on the trailer and a bit over 12' wide.

Never once were we stopped. We simply took precautions and looked as legal as posible. (If we did have a permit we would have had to pay for any downed wires and any wires which needed to be moved).
The permits locally were by town or county due to the need to move wires and street signs. I haven't done a big boat move in a few years now, both of those are long gone but I do see others doing the same thing from time to time.

 

[nitsuj]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

I'm no where near tall enough to need to worry about over head lines. I think the top of a arch is like 12 feet.

 

[mike343]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

Looks like you have two options.
1. Check with the DMV and find out what your limitations and costs will be and go with it.
2. Tow with it anyway, and risk a ticket or a serious problem in the event of an accident with a blatantly illegal towed load.

 

[nitsuj]

Re: Towing a wide boat...

I knew those were my options going in. I started the discussion to learn more than I could learn by calling the DMV. Which I did. (Thanks guys!) Calling the DMV will get me a very legal, correct answer. They will tell me that I need a permit, which I already know. They're tell me it's illegal to tow without one. Which I also already know.

That's easy. I started this thread to hear from guys who have been through it and knew some more real world info. And that's exactly what I got. ;-)