Trailer width

[Sam Mansell]

I have a car trailer that has 3500 pound axels and is 105 inches wide overall outside fendeer to outside fender. Is this within the legal width?????
Also only has tail, stop and turn lights on rear?? with lots of DOT reflector tape??

 

[john in la]

102" is legal in all states but not on all roads.
96" is legal on all roads.
105" will require a over size permit just to move the empty trailer.

Anything over 80" wide requires clearance lights all the way around.

 

[jlmtractor]

102in is legal on any road, if it wasnt on legal on all roads then they wouldnt make them or sell them...

 

[john in la]

Please do me a favor. Do not say stuff you think is true but are not sure of.

102" wide trailers are not legal on all roads.

 

[jlmtractor]

Ok, then tell me what roads that a 102in wide trailer isnt legal on?

When we were in business doing directional drilling and underground utilities we drug 6 or 7 25ft gooseneck deckovers all over the east coast. We were in some of the most rural places and never had trouble or heard of this when dealing with the USDOT.

 

[john in la]

102" wide is not a state regulation. It is a federal regulation shoved down the throats of the states so the feds could try and standardize truck sizes and weights across the country.
53' trailers and 80,000 lbs gross weight fit into this same category.
While some states may allow these sizes most do not under their own free will.

I guess the easiest way for you to see this from another source would be for you to walk in any truck stop and pick up a copy of the Motor Carrier Road Atlas.

Open it to any page and look at the map. You will see roads highlighted in different colors. The highlighted roads are called "The National Network roadway system" and allow trucks that meet federal regulations but may not meet state regulations.

When the feds went to raise the size limit on trucks to include 80,000 lbs; 53' trailers and 102" width most states protested this stating trucks of this size were not safe on some state roads. To clear up this problem the feds came up with a national network of roads these larger trucks could use. They also allowed a 3 to 5 mile off network usage to allow access to food; fuel; and terminals.

If you google "truck width length regulations by state" you will also get many hits you can read about. Here is a map of just one county in Ky. If the road is not blue or green then 102" wide is not legal.

Please remember. Just because you never got a ticket for it does not make it legal.

 

[JimEvans]

(quoted from post at 19:19:21 10/31/08) 102in is legal on any road, if it wasnt on legal on all roads then they wouldnt make them or sell them...

Most cheaper trailers out there do not meet all legal requirements. Many trailers only have brakes on 1 axle, no brakeaways, and do not have DOT marking and lighting. Those are all options.

My trailer does not meet DOT requirements and although I have never been stopped, is technically illegal to take across state lines.

 

[jlmtractor]

ok, that makes sense, I was saying that because we had never heard or seen of that, We worked in alot of rural places where that wouldve came in to affect and were never notified, I was strictly going off of what I know...

 

[Gearnut]

This is all VERY interesting John in la... you have taught me a lot !

Mark Osborne

 

[Dennis Benson]

Thanks for telling about the book, that is real handy to have. They seem to have them available all over the internet, too as well as on Ebay.