Double Towing in Kansas

Beware of towing two units through Kansas!    We were towing a Jeep Wrangler through Kansas and were stopped by a Kansas Trooper about 100 miles east of the west side of the state.  The regulations allow 65 feet and we were 67 feet long with our Dodge pickup, fifth wheel camper and Jeep.  The trooper gave us a ticket and made us unhook the Jeep at a truck stop.  The Jeep is a standard and my wife doesn't drive standards so we took the camper 250 miles to the Oklahoma border and left it at a KOA.  The next day we went back with the pickup and made a 500 mile roundtrip to bring the Jeep to the camper.  It appears the ticket will cost about $200.00.  Kansas sucks.

Seems unfair to blame the state of Kansas when you admit you were violating the law.  ???

The laws on double towing and overall length vary from one state to the next so it's our responsibility to see that we conform with the laws of the states we drive through.  There is no reciprocity for these restrictions as there is for the drivers license.

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

This link saved me when I checked it about speed limits while towing too, made me keep it down to 65 mph towing in Idaho, I thought it was 75 mph like it is in Utah. The Dodge and 5th wheel that went steaming past me caught the highway patrol officers attention, at about 78 or so. 

Gary RV Roamer said:

Seems unfair to blame the state of Kansas when you admit you were violating the law.  ???

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You are right.  I shouldn't blame Kansas just because they have one jerk of a trooper.  I had just purchased the Jeep in Colorado and was simply trying to get it home.  I have double towed boats, etc. all over Texas and New Mexico and not once was I stopped to be measured.  Also, no excuse, but I didn't know how long I was.  Colorado has a limit of 70 feet and, as you know, there are dozens of passes to go over. 

The trooper even kept giving me a lecture about the carrying weight I had registered my Dodge 2500 for, the type of driver's license I had, the method my hitch on my trailer was installed (professionally installed), threatened to make me do a stop test, and tried to make an issue about the braking system in my Jeep.  I showed him my Buddy Brake and he commented that he had never seen one of them.  I remained polite and calm through the whole ordeal for fear that he would make up other things to ticket me for. 

I talked to the owner of my local RV dealer and they had never heard of anyone ever being stopped to be measured.  They have towed over the limit for over 10 years.  The trooper knew I was going to have to drive 500 miles to get the Jeep out of Kansas and you would think he could have given me a warning ticket and told me to get out of Kansas as soon as I could and never come back double towing. 

Seems to me it might have been easier to give your wife a quick lesson in driving a stick, especially if it was mostly interstate you were crossing.

She just didn't feel comfortable suddenly having to drive my Jeep, and.....................after being happily married to her for 45 years, I didn't want to push the issue.

What Gary and Ned said. You play by the rules or pay the price.  :

Ned said:

The laws on double towing and overall length vary from one state to the next so it's our responsibility to see that we conform with the laws of the states we drive through.  There is no reciprocity for these restrictions as there is for the drivers license.

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Interesting - I always thought the home state prevailed with items like double towing & length. Good to know it does not. A coworker retired last year, bought an F450 and 5er and also tows his Harley. He registered in SD with double towing being one of the reasons. He was actually back here in NY last month. I guess he does not realize the full extent of the laws, either.

SoEzzy said:

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

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Cool chart - thanks - gave me something to do on break today!

RoyM said:

What Gary and Ned said. You play by the rules or pay the price.  :

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Goodness folks!  I thought a person just did whatever one wanted.  Thanks for the wisdom.

Watch coming to California.  We have a 65' total length; and no double towing unless you have a commercial driver's license.  California state troopers will pull you over and measure the length, as well as, have you drop that "stinger" (boat, small car) as a 3 rd vehicle if you are not a commercial driver.

Marsha~

This link saved me when I checked it about speed limits while towing too, made me keep it down to 65 mph towing in Idaho, I thought it was 75 mph like it is in Utah.

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And, to add to Marsha's comments about California, an RV towing anything falls into the truck category where speed is concerned and 55 mph is the speed limit for us in California!  There are signs everywhere so you can't plead ignorance.  As you enter California there are big signs specifying campers, trucks, motorhomes, etc. that tow are restricted to the 55 mph limit.  I see lots of towing RVs speeding past us, but I prefer to let them get the speeding tickets.

ArdraF

Why did she not drive the RV across the state line with you following in the Jeep?? Is the RV manual trans. too??

SoEzzy said:

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

This link saved me when I checked it about speed limits while towing too, made me keep it down to 65 mph towing in Idaho, I thought it was 75 mph like it is in Utah. The Dodge and 5th wheel that went steaming past me caught the highway patrol officers attention, at about 78 or so.

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Thank you for the link very helpful!

SoEzzy said:

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

This link saved me when I checked it about speed limits while towing too, made me keep it down to 65 mph towing in Idaho, I thought it was 75 mph like it is in Utah. The Dodge and 5th wheel that went steaming past me caught the highway patrol officers attention, at about 78 or so. 

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I would treat that chart with more than a grain of salt!  It states that it is legal to triple tow in California as long as the total length of tow is under 65 feet.

That is wrong!

Triple tows are legal in CA only if the driver has a Class-A commerical drivers license with a special double trailer endorsement.  Otherwise towing more than one trailer is illegal.

Carl, I think it would be useful to have our nomenclature agree with the commercial world, so there's less confusion when interpreting the rules.

In commercial trucking, Triple Towing means having three trailers behind the power unit and is only permitted on designated routes in a few states.

Towing Doubles (what some RVers call Triple Towing) is having two trailers behind the power unit, and is legal in most but not all of the states.  But there may be restrictions on each trailer's length (not more than 28 ft. per trailer in some states), you cannot exceed the power unit's GCWR (gross combined weight rating) and you still have to be within the state's overall length limit.

Lou Schneider said:

Carl, I think it would be useful to have our nomenclature agree with the commercial world, so there's less confusion when interpreting the rules.

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I would love to see that. 

In commercial trucking, Triple Towing means having three trailers behind the power unit and is only permitted on designated routes in a few states.

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One state that absolutely prohibits it is California.  See the CA DMV Commercial Drivers Handbook.

Towing Doubles (what some RVers call Triple Towing) is having two trailers behind the power unit, and is legal in most but not all of the states.

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As I have said, California permits that only if the driver possess a commerical DL with a special endorsement for towing double trailers.  Thus most of RV drivers around here would not be legally able to tow double trailers in California  - even those with CDLs. 

But there may be restrictions on each trailer's length (not more than 28 ft. per trailer in some states), you cannot exceed the power unit's GCWR (gross combined weight rating) and you still have to be within the state's overall length limit. 

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Absolutely.

As far as I am concerned, the simplest way to solve the problem is to specify towing of double trailers and triple trailers being towed behind a power-unit/tractor.  "Double towing" or "triple towing" are too easy to confuse people.

I love seeing photos of the Australian Road Trains. Would really love to see one in person!

I think the best solution would be for everyone to get together and come to regulations that were the same across the board. Would make things so much easier for everyone. Wouldn't matter where you lived or where you were going there would be one set of rules.

In the Towing World chart, what's the difference between the Combined Length & the Two Vehicle Length?  For some states it's the same, but some states like mine (PA) have a combined length of 60' & a Two Vehicle Length of 65'.  DC has a combined length of 60' & a Two Vehicle Length of 55'  ???

Mike Wagner