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Random Quote: A fishermans plate is six days empty and one day full.
8' 6" or 102 inches is the most widely acceptable width State wide for towing a boat without permitting.
Question > My Beam on my boat is 9' 2" Would you permit this for a North Carolina to Maryland State travel ? What do you guys out there do in this case?
I see many boats heading down to Outer Banks and no amber lights or wide load signs and I have never seen a boat pulled over by police. This is so close ( 6 inches or 3 inches on each side ) that the mirrors are wider on my truck than the beam width of my boat.
Maryland wants $50 fees one way for a 5 day trip. Virginia has a $100 blanket permit and North Carolina wants the red flags and amber lights.
8' 6" or 102 inches is the most widely acceptable width State wide for towing a boat without permitting.
Question > My Beam on my boat is 9' 2" Would you permit this for a North Carolina to Maryland State travel ? What do you guys out there do in this case?
I see many boats heading down to Outer Banks and no amber lights or wide load signs and I have never seen a boat pulled over by police. This is so close ( 6 inches or 3 inches on each side ) that the mirrors are wider on my truck than the beam width of my boat.
Maryland wants $50 fees one way for a 5 day trip. Virginia has a $100 blanket permit and North Carolina wants the red flags and amber lights.
Every State in the US requires red flags, strobe lights on front and rear and sign in front and rear saying [wide load] for vehicles that are over 8'6", and most residential areas are 8'.
Plus you should also know that a oversize move can only be done during daylight hours, half day on saturday, and no moves on sunday.
If you were going 85 mph in a group of cars on a interstate and got pulled over by the police, would the excuse of everyone was going 85 mph to the officer deter him from issuing you a summons, i think not.
What you have to decide is if it is worth the chance, see how much the fines are in each state vs the permit fees, and there is the chance that your vehicle can be impounded and or kept on the side of the road until you get the necessary permits.
With all that said, it seems like allot work to move a boat that is only 6" over the limit.
To me a bigger issue would be would whether or not you would be covered under your insurance if there was an accident that impacted the truck and/or boat, and you were pulling without a permit.
The risk of getting pulled over in most states with that size boat is pretty low.....
With falling tax revenues is a trend of increasing fines and violations. These various governments are trying to make up the revenue shortfalls any way they can. Where I live in North Texas I'm seeing traffic cameras going up all over the place and recently read that Dallas receives over half of it's annual revenues in traffic violations. Just food for thought, but you may want to consider whether or not you really want to make yourself a target. Good luck !
To me a bigger issue would be would whether or not you would be covered under your insurance if there was an accident that impacted the truck and/or boat, and you were pulling without a permit.
Agree. Even if not your fault. It's like pulling an 8000 lb boat with a vehicle rated to tow 6200 lbs. Be involved in an accident, and even if you are not at fault, you will soon discover that your insurance policy will not cover you. - and property damage is not the problem with no insurance coverage - think liability.
Thanks for the comments. All good advice and I agree 100% with everyone. However, Maryland is out of line regarding the permitting process. Virginia has a $100 annual fee to cover this with the necessary flags and signs and NC will allow up to 120" with flags and amber lights as per their standards without a fee but for Maryland to only give a 5 day one way permit and make you use an outside permit service company ( additional fee ) are saying we recreational boaters are commercial. I have spoken to MD State Police and Enforcement Officers at the scales and they do not want to see you on the scales unless your permit requires it. 108" oversize permit is not required to stop at the scales. If there is a bridge to cross they will require an additional charge for the escort service to cross a bridge.
It would be nice if boaters would call their local representatives that we vote and put into office that make our laws and let them know how we boaters are put into a commercial standard when RVers are considered Recreational that carry weight as much as and are larger than most boats. I feel we are equal to the RV industry regarding highway travel and should be treated the same. Any comments on that are welcome. I also have the names of people in Maryland that are looking into this law on the books to see if there is any relief that might be put on the books next year to help support boaters in this situation. If interested please email me and I will send my contact list to you.
It's like pulling an 8000 lb boat with a vehicle rated to tow 6200 lbs. Be involved in an accident, and even if you are not at fault, you will soon discover that your insurance policy will not cover you. - and property damage is not the problem with no insurance coverage - think liability.
I disagree. Your insurance is to cover the things you do wrong, not the things you do right. If you run a red light, you have violated the law, yet your insurance covers you. I have read nothing in my policies that makes any statement about towed ratings vs. towed weight. If you have such a statement in you coverage declarations, I'd like to know who the company is. We've gone over this before............
Every State in the US requires red flags, strobe lights on front and rear and sign in front and rear saying [wide load] for vehicles that are over 8'6", and most residential areas are 8'.
Plus you should also know that a oversize move can only be done during daylight hours, half day on saturday, and no moves on sunday.
I believe those regs change from state to state, for example some only allow travel at night. I might be wrong, but I don't think so...Unfortunately I hate our shipping guy here at work, so I won't bother to ask , and I dunno where to find that info on the 'net.
__________________ The Flying Wasp - Carolina Skiff 238 Semi-V
When i sell a trailer to a customer who has a wide beam..they contact the hauler..the hauler has to get permits in all states that the trailer is getting towed in....north carolina is a togh state as well as the north east states i sell trailers in...i tell my customers buying trailers to contact the the haulers of there choice and get a price on permits.....the fines can be expensive....i have even heard the boats can be told not to move from the spot where the violation was written at....its better to be legal in the states than take chances
But the difference is that when you sell a trailer to a customer and you are using a hauler, you are a business and using a commercial hauler.
Once the trailer gets to your customer, that is where some of the states and regulations do not favor the recreational boater. We are still getting the rates as a commercial hauler and have not benefit from any state regarding a boat being towed as recreational as a RVer does.
What is funny is that Motor Coach that is 43' long pulling his 18' fishing boat behind his unit and he does not even have to stop at the scales or run a DOT LOG BOOK. Yet I bet his weight is far over the CDL weight of 26,001 lbs which requires you to have a commercial drivers license.
The same fairness is not given and boaters are being considered commercial.
I disagree. Your insurance is to cover the things you do wrong, not the things you do right. If you run a red light, you have violated the law, yet your insurance covers you. I have read nothing in my policies that makes any statement about towed ratings vs. towed weight. If you have such a statement in you coverage declarations, I'd like to know who the company is. We've gone over this before............
I agree. Your insurance covers you. They may cancel it afterwards, but you are covered.
Best bet is to actually read the policy to see if there are any exclusions.
I believe those regs change from state to state, for example some only allow travel at night. I might be wrong, but I don't think so...Unfortunately I hate our shipping guy here at work, so I won't bother to ask , and I dunno where to find that info on the 'net.
Good point A Taylor, i use the strobe lights all the time but in fact Georgia is the only southern state that requires it, and the only State that has night moves that i have traveled in is New York.
8' 6" or 102 inches is the most widely acceptable width State wide for towing a boat without permitting.
Question > My Beam on my boat is 9' 2" Would you permit this for a North Carolina to Maryland State travel ? What do you guys out there do in this case?
I see many boats heading down to Outer Banks and no amber lights or wide load signs and I have never seen a boat pulled over by police. This is so close ( 6 inches or 3 inches on each side ) that the mirrors are wider on my truck than the beam width of my boat.
Maryland wants $50 fees one way for a 5 day trip. Virginia has a $100 blanket permit and North Carolina wants the red flags and amber lights.
You have a couple of choices. You can either pay the fees, sell your boat and get one with a 102" beam, or even take it over the water to where you are going. If you bought a boat that large you should have known what the regulations were before buying it, if you did know the regulations before you bought it then stop your whinning and pay the fees. You knew or should have known what you were getting yourself into when you bought the boat.
But the difference is that when you sell a trailer to a customer and you are using a hauler, you are a business and using a commercial hauler.
Once the trailer gets to your customer, that is where some of the states and regulations do not favor the recreational boater. We are still getting the rates as a commercial hauler and have not benefit from any state regarding a boat being towed as recreational as a RVer does.
What is funny is that Motor Coach that is 43' long pulling his 18' fishing boat behind his unit and he does not even have to stop at the scales or run a DOT LOG BOOK. Yet I bet his weight is far over the CDL weight of 26,001 lbs which requires you to have a commercial drivers license.
The same fairness is not given and boaters are being considered commercial.
Boaters are not being considered commercial, the over width rules are for everyone!
This subject has had many threads and i can tell you that no State will change the laws because its a safety issue, and the 8'6" limit is Intrastate, so you have three choices, break the law, get the necessary permits, or buy a new boat.
NC seems to be more relaxed than most States on oversize loads
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deep Run
Boaters are not being considered commercial, the over width rules are for everyone!
This subject has had many threads and i can tell you that no State will change the laws because its a safety issue, and the 8'6" limit is Intrastate, so you have three choices, break the law, get the necessary permits, or buy a new boat.
20-116. Size of vehicles and loads.
(a) The total outside width of any vehicle or the load thereon shall not exceed 102 inches, except as
otherwise provided in this section. When hogsheads of tobacco are being transported, a tolerance of six inches is
allowed. When sheet or bale tobacco is being transported the load must not exceed a width of 114 inches at the
top of the load and the bottom of the load at the truck bed must not exceed the width of 102 inches inclusive of
allowance for load shifting or settling. Vehicles (other than passenger buses) that do not exceed the overall width
of 102 inches and otherwise provided in this section may be operated in accordance with G.S. 20-115.1(c), (f),
and (g).
(m) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a boat or boat trailer with an outside width of less than 120 inches may be towed without a permit. The towing of a boat or boat trailer 102 inches to 114 inches in width
may take place on any day of the week, including weekends and holidays, and may take place at night. The towing of a boat or boat trailer 114 inches to 120 inches in width may take place on any day of the week,
including weekends and holidays from sun up to sun down. A boat or boat trailer in excess of 102 inches but less than 120 inches must be equipped with a minimum of two operable amber lamps on the widest point of the boat and the boat trailer such that the dimensions of the boat and the boat trailer are clearly marked and visible.
So after checking with the State of Virginia, I can tow my 9'3 boat and trailer through that State with a blanket oversize permit for $85.00 for two years. No lights needed of flags or oversize banners needed.
It is still Maryland that is the problem. So if anyone is from Maryland, I would like to know if you have been hassled with these rules if you boat is over sized and obtaining a permit in Maryland.
A 5 day one way permit for $30 each way is a bit over prices compared to NC and VA. I have spoken to the people in Maryland that make up our laws and I know when the house is back in session in January there is some relief on the books that might possibly give us some relief from the current system... Please add your info or comments. I would love to hear more from Maryland and if you think the current system is fair in Maryland. Thanks
Donzi 9' 2" Beam or 108" towing question
, and I dunno where to find that info on the 'net.
