DOT Towing Rules

I am interested in buying a boat that is big, but still legal to pull behind a good sized truck......looking into the 25-28 foot range max weight of appx 8,000 pds....

I guess what I need to know is what are the DOT requirements or rules on width and length that will allow me to pull a boat and trailer with a heavy duty pickup.... a link to a reference would also be helpful..

along these same lines, what type trailer do I need, i.e. bunks vs rollers etc...not familiar with handling this size of boat...

Thank you so much.......

Re: DOT Towing Rules

In that size range, it's not the weight that will be a problem, it will be the towing width... and that is subject to individual state regulations rather than the DOT (feds).

Generally speaking, up to 8'-6" is usually not a problem. Beyond that width, regulations and requirements vary a lot. There is a link on this site somewhere to trailering regulations by state... or Google will help.

Trailer design, bunk or roller... depends. What you will have for sure is a big dual axle trailer and a heavy duty 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

Re: DOT Towing Rules

You are into tri-axle range with a boat that size. 65 feet is the length and 102 inches (8.5 feet) is the width limit. In Minnesota a Class D license allows you to operate single unit and combinations (tow vehicle and trailer) up to 26,000 pounds. That my friends is scary as thats the basic drivers license so a teeny bopper can hop into any 26000 pound rig and beat it down the road. That info by the way came off the back of my drivers license.

Re: DOT Towing Rules

Thanks for the responses, I will look for the link.

any preferences over rollers versus bunks.....I currently have bunks for my 20 foot SeaRay and it seems like rollers might be a better idea for a bigger boat, but like I said I have never operated a boat larger than my current one.

I found the link on here and it is a dead one now....I did write the website it referred to and hopefully they can point me in the right direction.

Re: DOT Towing Rules

Try this link, it lists the commercial regs for the USA and most states.
102 is the standard width limit for the lower 48, height can vary from state to state, I think the highest I've seen has been 14' 9". Most wires are strung at 15'+. There can also be width restrictions on certain roads in some states, as well as wider limits without permit requirements on some limited access highways.

When it comes to a pickup, many states will go by the door sticker as far as GVW, they won't register it for any more than that. I ran into that with an older half ton pickup that was converted to a 1 ton via a frame swap. Since the body and VIN number said it was a truck with a 5450 lb gvw, they wouldn't allow me to register it at 9000 lbs as was the truck that donated the chassis.

With what your describing, the main concerns will be width and height. For example, a boat with a fly bridge may be a problem on the road, I've had to remove several over the years to make it down the highway. Width can't be changed, so that will be the one that determines whether or not it's trailerable or not. The distance you need to go to the water will also determine what is trailerable or not.

Re: DOT Towing Rules

the lauching and retriveing can be helped by the length of the tongue. drop axles, a boat that size i would want bunks under it. or a million rollers, that require constant maintainance, to keep rolling.

Re: DOT Towing Rules

thanks for the info guys, you have been a real help.....

Re: DOT Towing Rules

any preferences over rollers versus bunks

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i've only got a 19' boat. w/ a roller trailer. it's my first one. always had bunks before. i think it has some pluses and minuses.
plus would be an easy off load. i put the trailer fenders half in the water and give it a push. usually have to use the brake on my winch to slow it down even. retrieveing is easy too. get it started into the rollers straight and ya can half pull it on the trailer by hand. hook up the winch strap, and crank her right on up. easy as pie...... the rollers also seem to do a good job of centering the boat if i'm slightly off on the approch.

what i don't like is. if i miss being centered on the rollers. like approch it real crooked, the brackets for the rollers rub on my keel assumin i can't stop fwd momentem. for this reason, i never power load. which is fine. but there are times when power loading would be desireable for me. i also worry that there are only 16 points of contact with the boat (on mine). rather small contact at that. just seems like it'd be stressfull on the boat though i have no documentation to coraberate that. i've also heard that roller tailers can put a hook in the bottom of yer hull at the back.....can't substantieate that either. and i have no hook in my hull and it's been sittin on this trailer since day one i think. includeing 15 years of storage......my boat is a 1975....

would i get another.....probably not. if i had my choice. i didn't have any problems w/ bunks and i just think that it seems like they'd better support the load.

td. i imagin i'll get into the roller maint. thing before i'm done. but so far. 1 years worth of pretty high use. and all my old rollers still roll. easily too. so far my only maint. to them has been to shoot them with some lub periodicaly.........

Re: DOT Towing Rules

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

Some states still have an 8' max width, most others are 8'6".
Beyond that, you need special permits.

Re: DOT Towing Rules

alaska_av8r said:

I am interested in buying a boat that is big, but still legal to pull behind a good sized truck......looking into the 25-28 foot range max weight of appx 8,000 pds....

I guess what I need to know is what are the DOT requirements or rules on width and length that will allow me to pull a boat and trailer with a heavy duty pickup.... a link to a reference would also be helpful..

along these same lines, what type trailer do I need, i.e. bunks vs rollers etc...not familiar with handling this size of boat...

Thank you so much.......

Click to expand...

I have a larson cabrio 250 "(27'9")"on a 70 roller venture trailer "i added a couple." dual axel ,dual disk brake, and i put around 7 thousand miles on it last year, I love the rollers as the boat is over 6000lbs and have electric winch loading. saves the mooring fees and Im only 12 miles from ocean, but im in maine and I love going to the central part, Moosehead, sebec, schoodic, lakes and i use it in NH on winnepeesaki lake, so every weekend I load it up. the only complaint i have is that the venture trailer has a independant axles for each wheel, and if it isnt loaded perfectly, it will tear up a tire and a bearing in a hurry, so next time im going to get a solid axles. as far as rollers.I can unload and load in water too shallow for bunks, which happens a lot. lots of times my rollers are sticking out of the water and i can load right up, and the guy with bunks next to me is looking at me and swearing.. I tow it with a 04 expedition, no problem. as this is my 3rd expy on this same boat and the best performing one yet with the triton 3 valve.

Re: DOT Towing Rules

As the others have said,102 inches wide and 13ft 6inches high is the general rule.Thats a lot of boat!

Re: DOT Towing Rules

I bet this guys got his boat home by now!

Re: DOT Towing Rules

This is a boatus link.

http://www.boatus.com/trailerclub/laws.asp

Re: DOT Towing Rules

Mkos1980 said:

I bet this guys got his boat home by now!

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GOOD POINT! I missed the date at the start of the thread:redface: