Rough Rider

After some thought a question has come to mind... I tow with a 3/4 ton Dodge with 12,500# weighted tag. Pull a 23' Maycraft on tandem trailer. Weightwise I'm under the radar. Is there, somewhere, in the bowels of the statutes one that requires the trailer to bear a weighted tag also? Just a thought. With this state you never know, as if there was a way to get blood out of a turnip they would have been doing it a long time ago.

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"....that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants."

Baitcatcher

Squid,
Thanks for the heads up. What part of the state were you in when you got pulled?
Was it a DMV officer in a blue car or a Highway Patrol car? The DMV and Highway
Patrol merged years ago but it sounds like recently they have started a crack down
on trailers.

Thanks,
Doug

SquidWilm

I got pulled on Highway 17 between Ocean Isle Beach, NC and Wilmington, NC just north of the Highway 211/Highway 17 Intersection. It was a marked State Trooper car.

billy the kid

Does anybody have a website that details what weights are assigned to which weighted tags? I did a Google search and didn't come up with anything about weighted tags and their limits. If they are enforcing it why are they not giving us the information we need to know to be legal? Schmucks!

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1990 Shamrock 26 Cuddy
"Keel Joy"

billy the kid

Ok I just called the license plate agency in Greenville NC and they said if pulling the boat for recreational purposes you do not need a weighted tag. She said they had to call in a State Trooper to verify it. The number I called was (252) 758-8247 but I didn't get her name.

This is confusing, Squid were you considered commercial in any way? Did you have a for hire tag or was the truck listed as commercial? Maybe you have a case in court!

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1990 Shamrock 26 Cuddy
"Keel Joy"

Baitcatcher

Thanks for the info, I pull a boat near that area.

Doug

OBX Skeeter

http://www.ncdot.org/DMV/

billy the kid

Thanks Skeeter, I found that page but it doesn't say anything about weighted tags. Here is a link for all the other plates and their fees but nothing weighted.

http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/vehicle_ser...PlateFees.html

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1990 Shamrock 26 Cuddy
"Keel Joy"

Will

On the back of your vehicle registration card is the following:

NOTE: The weight declared on this registration must be sufficient to cover the weight of the vehicle PLUS any amount hauled or pulled. If the vehicle is overweight, you are subject to a citation...

Mine is for 4000 and the vehicle weighs 4088, so I'm breaking the law driving around town.

Like someone said earlier, every SUV leaving Walmart is in violation.

OBX Skeeter

http://www.ncdot.org/doh/operations/...t_PermitHB.pdf

SquidWilm

Billy,
This information is wrong! What you were told is what everyone went by up until now. They let recreational vehicles slide under the radar without a ticket. Sorry you got the wrong info.

Greg Manning

I inquired about the Class A license today...if you tow anything over 10000# they are enforcing that also. You have to take the truck portion of the CDL test and do a road test with your trailer GVW over 10000# What a PITA! DMV is lost on this one because of the offices I called I got yes and no as to recreational vehicles (boats)...but talked to one officer who was very knowledgeable in Siler City and he says you need the weighted tag for boats and the Class A for anything over 10000# even if you are not commercial. My tag is not weighted...I run Farm tags that are basically the same as the weighted...you buy the weight you need.

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Cape Horn 31, Yamaha 350's
Intruder 198, 140 Suzuki

offshore3144

Greg what about the class b license?? I sent a letter to the attorney general about this and hopefully I will get a response. Maybe everyone shoulb send aletter to try to get a straight answer. Everyone I have talked to are on totaly different sheets of music in this. Here is a copy of the letter I sent. They have always sent back a response on any issue I have sent them. I thought it was worth a try



Here is a letter I sent to the attorney Generals office to try and get some answers on the trailer laws in this state. Maybe we will get some answers!!! Mark

To Whom It May Concern,

I hope you are having a good day. There seems to be a problem brewing on North Carolina highways and I am looking for some definite answers to the problem. The problem concerns the towing of recreational towing of Campers and boats. There seems to be different interpitations of the laws depending on who you ask. The County Sheriff office says one thing; The Highway patrol says another as well as the DMV with a different answer to the Recreational Boats trailer laws in NC. I am giving you a few links to look at that shows the confusion this is causing among North Carolina residents.
There seems to be no consensus whether recreational boat towing needs commercial tags and wide load permits to get to and from the destination.
http://fryingpantower.com/modules.php?n ... pic&t=6431
http://fryingpantower.com/modules.php?n ... pic&t=5835
http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/thre ... 6&posts=21

Is there anyway to get a definitive answer to the following questions: Not a answer that dances around the question?
1. When do I need a weighted tag for my vehicle?
2. Why do I need a weighted tag to tow a recreational boat?
3. When do I need a wide load permit to tow a recreational boat?
4. Why do I need a wide load permit to tow my recreational boat?
5. Is the wide load permit based on the axel width or the overall width of the boat being trailered? Does this include boat guides fenders etc?
6. If I need a wide load permit, how do I get my recreational boat to the ramp before sunrise to go fishing if I can only tow during daylight hours?
7. If I need a wide load permit, how do I get my recreational boat home after sunset when I am finished fishing if I can only tow during daylight hours?
8. If I have to get a wide load permit, how do I get my boat home Sunday afternoon after a weekend at the coast if I cannot tow my boat on Sunday?
9. When do I need a Class A or Class B driver’s license to trailer my recreational boat?
10. Why do I need a Class A or Class B license to tow a recreational boat which is not a commercial load?
11. My boat weighs 8000lbs and is not a commercial load why am I required to get a Class A or Class B license?
12. Why do I need a trailer tag if I need a weighted tag on my truck to tow my boat trailer?
13. Why are the towing of campers not held to the same standards as boats when tags, drivers licenses and wide loads permits are required for the same width and weight trailers?

Any help with answering these questions in writing would be a great help. There seems to be no common answers to these questions when different enforcement agencies are asked these questions. It also seems that boaters are being targeted yet cannot get the correct answers to these questions in writing or pointed to where they can get a written copy of these laws at one location. If boaters are going to be targeted then they should get the answers and reasons why they need to get the appropriate tag, licenses, and permits

Thank you for your time,
Mark Miller

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SquidWilm

Thank you Mark! Please post the results if/when you hear anything back!

dawiggs

Good letter mark.. Keep us posted
Thanks,

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Dave

Blue Magic

At least your not paying $998.00 to register a dump truck. That's what it cost in Florida and I have 6.
The last trip to OBX I had a trooper follow me for about 30 miles until I got into Manns Harbor. He didn't stop me which I was really suprised. I had a wide load permit but when I trailer I try not use flags or wide load signs so I don't draw attention.
The Class A license is for vehicles with a GVW of 26,000 lbs or more and towing more than 10,000 lbs.

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P . A . R
Delivery Service

offshore3144

Does anyone get the feeling that this is a revenue issue?? If it were a safety issue they would be targeting all the people trailering not just those they feel should have a weighted tag....Mark

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robsride2

I believe its called revenue enhancement. The state is getting very good at enhancing revenue unless of course you have a large business and then they will give you our "contributions".

An article in the Wilmington fish wrapper today said that the shipping company that brings the raw rubber in for the Goodyear and Bridgestone plants wants a 30% discount on the state port fees or they will use the New Orleans port. It seems to me that the cost oftrucking the rubber from New Orleans to NC will more than eat up any savings that they may see in New Orleans. But I am sure it would be asking to much for one of our state employees to actually question this and call their bluff,after all its easier to bring out the checkbook and ask the taxpayers to bend over further!

HBO

When I bought my F250 Crewcab new in 2003, I had COMMERCIAL plates. A couple of years ago, they issued me WEIGHTED tags to vehicles over a certain weight (6,000#??) that were used privately. As I recall after looking into it at the time, the rules were basically the same in that I wasn't allowed to go over the 10,000# weight limit unless I paid for extra weight.

So what exactly was the purpose for the new "weighted" tags? Just so law enforcement would know for certain that the vehicle wasn't commercial?

HBO

I don't think you have a problem. The rule for night time, holidays and Sundays is for those that require wide load permits only.