towing regulations???

[shineysideup]

Hello everyone, I came across this website - www.aaa.com/aaa/traveler/trailer.html while visiting another website. If you scroll down it gives a list of does and don'ts for various provinces and states such as being able to ride in the travel trailer while traveling and maximum unbraked trailer weights! I'm quite shocked at some of the things that you are allowed to do in various provinces and states. P.E.I. will let you ride in a travel trailer while being towed! And people think Canadians are conservative! I could just see me pulling up to a campground with my VAN and then my CHILDREN and wife climbing out of the trailer when we arrived! I have a feeling that people would be shamed into NOT taking advantage of this law (or lack of) and rightly so... can you imagine having to stop for an emerency with children in the trailer?

crazy,

shineysideup


EDIT: This is a good reference. Made it a "sticky".
BY: topspy/Mod-Squad

[robo5]

WOW that is crazy. Looks like someone needs to update that?? I did not read the "fine" print as there is none. I wounder if a utility trailer will pass?(it is a tow trailer) It is under the MAX. Load some people in and head down the road?

[jh818]

What's really scary is that if there is some emergency to a passenger in the trailer, the driver would have no way of knowing anything was wrong and keep on going...unless they have walkie talkies or call on their cell phones.

[brian_bp]

There are several summary lists; most of them are useful, and most of the content of each one is probably approximately correct... but there are typically outright errors and more subtle errors of omission. For instance, while there may be no explicit rule against riding in a trailer in PEI, there could be something else which would ban it... although, disturbingly, I could not find anything in the Highway Traffic Act. Apparently, if there are more people in a vehicle in PEI than seat belts (which is obviously the case if anyone is in the trailer), the extra people are still allowed and are just not required to wear seat belts!

To me, this just confirms that legal requirements are bare minimums, and that common sense and good judgement will often lead to better practices than just those which are legally allowed.

[brian_bp]

A couple of examples of more extensive lists:

Towing World - Towing Laws Listed by State
D-Brake - Towing Laws & Requirements

I am not endorsing either of these lists, or any list. They are starting points for further research, such as looking up the actual legislation and regulations in the jurisdictions where you plan to tow... almost every province and state has them on-line now.

[Texastrooper]

Hello everyone, I came across this website - www.aaa.com/aaa/traveler/trailer.html while visiting another website.

Holy sh*t.... Sorry for that but some of these limits scare the hell out of me. Kentucky and Missouri don't require trailer brakes at all and you can haul your family in your 10,000lb trailer which has no brakes......
I also don't like the fact that you can tow a car without brakes. Not so much a problem behind a huge 20,000 lb RV but I see all these Mexicans here in Texas hauling old cars back into Mexico. Fully (over) loaded car towing another fully (over) loaded car .... I don't want to be in front of them when they have to do an emergency stop....
This explains why most cars are not rated for towing. In Europe the limit for trailer brakes is about 1700lb and towing cars is illegal. You have to load the car on a trailer with brakes.

[topspy]

[begin thread hijack]

Here in SoCal...What gets me (and scares the bejeezes outta me), is when I see the 5story-high (I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea) stack of furniture and other household & clothing items stuffed into a '70s vintage pick-up bed swaying/bouncing/shifting around and obviously not properly secured and "overweight" on its way southbound. :o :o :o

I'm torn between calling 911 and getting the CHP to pull them over, or just leaving the poor (literally & figuratively) people alone because they have it hard enough already..... ~sigh~

[end thread hijack]

[sienna]

just stay away from the mentioned losers with clunkers, they are usually underinsured or uninsured with the vehicle not kept well maintained.. just take a drive up interstate 5 from northern to southern california and you'll see a bunch of older model pickups and minivans driven by a specific minority group (south of california's border) parked along side the shoulder of the interstate highway5.

A vehicle ahead (Ford Winstar) drive by mexicans blew a front tire and loss control. I was able to take evasive action once I saw the rubber fly into the air....i went into the open shoulder and skid back on the interstate. The other car behind didn't take or know how to avoid the collision and ended up colliding with the Ford Winstar. I pulled over to see if i could render some assistance, found out the mexicans did not have current insurance and registration. Yikes..... illegals...