Michigan RV's + Trailer Length Warning

[Mackie Family Racing]

Chuck,

no problem... plan to keep you all posted, for what it's worth... and I realize some of the crowd isn't interested in what happens 'cause they're not concerned about important people (or something like that...)

I spoke to the Court today, and they hadn't rec'd the ticket... although when I referenced the regulation the officer put on the citation, she said "$240".... ouch, but perhaps not as bad as some states I've heard. Will be confirmed when she actually has the tickie in hand...

Best part is that the Court clerk claims I can fight it thru an informal hearing with a magistrate and the officer (no thanks), or a formal hearing with a Judge -- which is preceded by a negotiating call from the Prosecutor -- at no extra charge (i.e., court costs). I'll likely take option #2 just to press the point of having them explain to me what the law supposedly is -- and where it is spelled out in the reference document.... Rock gave me the number today for the DoT folks... will also call them.

Easy route is to just pay the fine, but maybe I can make some progress and/or set a precedent that might be helpful to others passing thru our fine state.


srm

[SS Engine Guy]

Originally Posted by Mackie Family Racing

costs).
Easy route is to just pay the fine, but maybe I can make some progress and/or set a precedent that might be helpful to others passing thru our fine state.


srm

Thank you for your time! Hang in there!

[sst1988]

This is just a money maker for these broke states.......Damm shame..

[Jim B]

Mackie Family Racing - you have a PM

[BlueOval Ralph]

I'm not trying to be a smart ***** BUT it seem like there are a bunch of racers out there that should have checked State & Fed laws before having built thier rigs. Sorta like building have built a race car that dosen't match the rule book!

[FED 387]

I kinda agree with Blue oval ----you hafta check the laws for BIG RIGS like this----each state has its own set of regs --no matter how crazy they may seem to a non resident you just can't go and run say a 80 foot long toter/trailer down the hiway when the reg says 60-65 feet long is the max and hope you don't get a ticket, but when u do u can't say "I did not realize that" for an excuse- Ya wanna run a BIG RIG then you'll hafta get a CDL and play by their rules/regs--I really am surprised that a lot more people don't get stopped/tickets !!!! Looking at the length of some of these rigs they make an 18 wheeler look like a pick up truck/trailer combo!!! as they always say " Ignorance of the law is no excuse." check into the regs BEFORE u buy that humongeous 42 foot motorhome and 32 foot tag only to find out that you are 10 feet too long for a whole lotta states and even 12-15 for most. my 2 cents. Comp

[Tim Kish]

Considering the one portion of the regulation which states 65ft on interstate and only 55ft allowed on secondary roads then almost every motorhome/trailer combo is over. My 34ft Class A with 24 enclosed is 64.5ft overall with the hitch and tongue contributing to the length.

Basically there isn't a class A / trailer combo out there that should be "legal"

Based on the advertised dimensions of a Chevy crew cab dually they are 21.5ft long, add my 24ft enclosed trailer (which does have the longer than standard tongue option) plus a protrusion of the trailer hitch and you are about 52ft long.

[FED 387]

That length might be good in Mich. but some nearby states are only allowing a total length of in the MID 50's to 60 feet COMBINED OVERALL LENGTH of motorhome tow vehicle & trailer--so if you have a 24 ft box trailer with a 4 ft drawbar total length of 28 feet and the regs say 59 feet overall, your tow vehicle/motorhome can only be 31 feet long---you need a SHORTER tow vehicle/motorhome OR a shorter trailer-- a 40-45 ft motorhome pulling a 32 ft stacker trailer is OBVIOUSLY over length by a bunch--I do not comprehend how racers cannot understand the regs. as written---C'mon fellas this is no surprise the rules for each state are published for everyone to see no surprises here---What it comes down to is if you want to use a 40 foot long tow vehicle and a 30-50 fot long trailer or something that weighs an awful lot , your gonna hafta get the proper drivers license(maybe a CDL) and registration/tags/plates for that vehicle to be legal---anything else your just kidding yourself--get legal or suffer the consequences it's that simple--Comp

[Ed Fernandez]

My Dakota 17'-6" Trailer 18'=4' tongue=35'-10".Gets 9-10 MPG average.Trailer serves
as home away from home,with most conveniences.Very frequently gets priority parking.Good enough for this old fart.Oh,and it's fun occasionally beating up on guys with rigs and cars worth more than I would dream of spending,even if I had it.

[SS Engine Guy]

Couple of post there that are kinda like BS. Before I bought my first rig I took pictures and specs to my state DOT office. No Problem. No CDL (I have had one for many years anyway) Rec. vehicle tags as they didn't want to congest weigh stations and it was registered by the state as such being that its fits their description and the federal one. Plenty of physical records as I have an FAA physical once yearly anyway. Don't need them. Gave me a copy of the state and federal codes on OTR trucks. I have had several of these trucks over the years and never had a problem until last year. Since then I have had citations, tried to make me pay 1k for another driver (that they conveiniently had on hand) to drive to the next state line. That didn't work since I asked for proof of insurance covering him and my multi thousand dollar rig and payload. Then it was ok for me to drive. I have been to court 5 times either had ticket thrown out or won and successfully sued to recoup my out of pocket. Last time I threatened a harassment and unlawful detention suit against the officer/officers, county and state. That went over really well when my "out of state" lawyer (that dosen't eat at the same trough as the rest of the pigs) made that statement. The officer refused to testify knowing that there was a possibility that his ***** might be nailed to the wall over a 25k a year job.

What this boils down to is that it is not about saftey it is about money and using a pot metal badge and a rental uniform to extort money out of people that either won't fight it or are scared to fight it. Most of the officers I delt with didn't even have the proper certification to inspect a truck and they were working for various DOT's. You find that out in "disclosure" when it goes to court. Training and certifying these guys costs state money so it sometimes gets tossed I guess. Most I delt with didn't act like they even had a working knowledge of what the law actually said and couldn't find what they ticketed me for in their own state or federal guide lines when pressed. We, as racers need to fight this in every legal way possible as well as the sanctioning bodies need to fight this but apparantly they won't until it hits their pocketbook. I am all for abiding by the law but I also ask that law enforcement and states abide by it also. If we, as law abiding citizens continute to "lay down" instead of testing issues that affect us pretty soon nothing else matters.