"Truck" detours?

[oldryder]

On a recent road trip (not in my DP) I encountered a detour specifically for trucks. Question is do I need to follow the "truck" detour?

thx to anyone taking the time to offer advice.

mark in MN

 

[Arch Hoagland]

I don't know if you HAVE to but I always take it.

 

[dktool]

The ones I have been on I stay in them if I'm pulling a trailer or if I know I won't be able to keep up with the traffic flow in the "normal" lanes.

 

[Larry N.]

Just keep in mind why it is a "truck detour," and not for everyone. Height, width, length (hard to turn) and weight, or maybe more than one of these, is the reason, so if you ignore that it might cause you problems, depending on your rig. Still, you have to judge each one individually.

 

[tlmgcamp]

That is a poorly worded sign. "Truck" could mean anything from a Ford Maverick pick up truck to a semi truck. Unfortunately, traffic control signs need to get there message across in the time a driver can read it as he drives by. This situation might have been better handled with multiple signs in sequence. The first might have been "Narrowed Lanes Ahead" or "Reduced Height Clearance Ahead", or something else to give a clue as to why the detour was required. Instead of simply saying "Trucks", it may have been better to state a max GVW, height, width, etc. Something like that would aid in the decision making process.

That all said, a DP is a pretty big vehicle and, if it were me, I would assume that any difficulty that they were trying to communicate to trucks would also apply to a DP or any Class A. If it were a Class B, I would probably be inclined to ignore the detour.

 

[Domo]

Many truck routes are defined by the local residents - to keep big trucks away from neighborhoods and/or center of town, etc. And yes, many are also to avoid physical restrictions (height, bends, etc.)

If you have large dimensions I'd take the truck route since the branches of trees, etc. on the residential route have not already been "trimmed" by big trucks whacking the offending branches and bushes...

 

[Skookum]

I follow truck routes and signage just to be safe. Minus weigh stations.

 

[John From Detroit]

There are two or 3 reasons to detour trucks and not cars
One. Something happened that makes the longer vehicles unable to negotiate a turn
Two: The road or a bridge can not support the weight.
Three. other issues make it hard or impossible for a truck to get through
In these days of some SERIOUS storms a road surface may become weakened due to a wash out under the road bed. a 5000 pound Jeep. no problem at 25000 pound motor home... Not sure. a 80,000 truck NO WAY.

 

[A Traveler]

You are driving a vehicle the size of a large, 40-foot long straight truck.

Absolutely take the truck detour!! You are as big as a truck!

 

[Ray-IN]

Just keep in mind why it is a "truck detour," and not for everyone. Height, width, length (hard to turn) and weight, or maybe more than one of these, is the reason, so if you ignore that it might cause you problems, depending on your rig. Still, you have to judge each one individually.

Yup; when we had a dually and 40' 5er one time I ignored the truck detour sign. About 5 miles later I saw a sign, "caution, 10 foot clearance. Looked ahead to see a concrete bridge clearly marked 10' clearance. Thankfully there was a construction lot between me and the bridge. The bridge was being torn down so lots of heavy equipment in the lot.
I pulled off, turned around and the very heavy slow traffic let me out of the lot so I could go back to the truck detour..
I vowed never again to ignore a truck detour, and haven't.

 

[JudyJB]

I am still confused by what a "truck" is, especially when it comes to road signs. For example, weigh stations on interstates say all trucks must stop there, but they really do not mean RVs or pickup "trucks."

Recently in Nevada, I saw a sign for a weigh station that only specified "commercial vehicles." Now, if I am driving a pickup truck owned by my employer and it has all sorts of advertising signs on it, do they really want me to stop and get weighed??

Ditto for speed limit signs that give a different maximum speed for cars and "trucks." Some also specify trucks and vehicles pulling trailers. But I do not tow anything with my motorhome, so I guess it is not a "truck."
And what about "truck routes" through cities? Do any of you follow them?

Interestingly, I have found that some toll roads charge my vehicle by the axle, not number of tires or weight or length. So they consider me a car, I guess, because i have only two axles.

I have an RV GPS, one of the older Rand McNally ones, sold through Camping World. Basically, I just follow its directions as it knows my vehicles weight, height, width, etc. (I can set it for my RV or a car, if I choose, and it often picks a slightly different route as an RV to avoid low bridges and weight restrictions.) There is a short truck detour on Route I-5 near Santa Clarita in southern California, but my GPS never tells me to follow it, so I just follow the regular route, along with everyone else with RVs. It has does a pretty good job over the years keeping me away from low bridges and other dangers.

It would be nice for the road signs to say "All commercial vehicles weighing more than 20,000 pounds" or something similar.

 

[Contributor]

To me, a truck "detour" is a temporary lane control. Usually the "detour" signs are for construction or other issues with the roadway. The normal signs for permanent truck lane control are "truck lane", "truck bypass", "truck connector".

If I'm towing my trailer, I will usually take the truck lanes.

 

[UTTransplant]

I have a 40’ MH towing another 20, behind me, and I am 13’ tall. I consider myself a “truck” unless it is something associated with commercial transports. There have been a few times I have found myself on a “truck detour” when I could see the obstruction, but other times I take it on faith that professional road engineers put that detour sign there for a reason. I take “truck routes” in cities for the same reason.

 

[Jkoht]

One other reason for truck detour that hasn't been covered is if your current route goes through a tunnel. In some places they have ruled that tunnels aren't supposed to have any vehicles hauling propane or other reactive chemicals in. Technically the propane tank on your tongue or built in your motorhome would count, but realistically I doubt most regular cops would enforce that on you. They're mainly talking about tankers or other commercial haulers.

 

[RNS]

Just had some bridge work done down the road from us. Had a truck detour sign, which we never went on. Being "locals" we were well aware of shorter routes. One which was a rutted dirt road, the other so twisty a snake would get a crick. Both the trees and overhangs were farm equipment height. Would I have taken my classC on them, not a chance.

 

[Ray-IN]

For my purposes, now my definition of "truck" is anything wider, longer, taller, and heavier than a dually pickup, when choosing a route.

 

[Oldgator73]

We were headed to Maine via NYC and had to take a toll road with a tunnel. I was in the far left lane on what seemed like a fifty lane road when I came upon the toll booth. The young lady looked back at our little RV and asked if I had propane in it (No hazardous chemicals/gas allowed in the tunnel). I said no and paid my million dollar toll and headed for the tunnel. My wife looked over and said I lied. I said no I didn’t because the propane tank was not on the RV. It was in the back of the truck. We made it through the tunnel without inspiring an HBO movie where the plot centers around a tourist lying about hazardous gas in a tunnel that ignited and leveled most of the north east coast.

 

[CityGuy]

There's an African cousin of an antelope, don't remember the name of it, that can jump eight or so feet high but won't jump a visual barrier it can't see over. I think there might be a lesson there.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Twice now I've driven into a No Trucks area I would've been more than happy to avoid had I known about it 50 feet sooner. The No Trucks sign past the point you can divert or turn around isn't especially useful. Sometimes they only apply to commercial trucks and while I'm nowhere near that GVW I'm not always sure if it applies to me or not. Same with bridges, they'll have a sign sometimes no trucks over XXX tons but that isn't until you're usually beyond the point of stopping or turning around.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Skookum]

I am still confused by what a "truck" is, especially when it comes to road signs. For example, weigh stations on interstates say all trucks must stop there, but they really do not mean RVs or pickup "trucks."

Recently in Nevada, I saw a sign for a weigh station that only specified "commercial vehicles." Now, if I am driving a pickup truck owned by my employer and it has all sorts of advertising signs on it, do they really want me to stop and get weighed??

Ditto for speed limit signs that give a different maximum speed for cars and "trucks." Some also specify trucks and vehicles pulling trailers. But I do not tow anything with my motorhome, so I guess it is not a "truck."
And what about "truck routes" through cities? Do any of you follow them?

Interestingly, I have found that some toll roads charge my vehicle by the axle, not number of tires or weight or length. So they consider me a car, I guess, because i have only two axles.

I have an RV GPS, one of the older Rand McNally ones, sold through Camping World. Basically, I just follow its directions as it knows my vehicles weight, height, width, etc. (I can set it for my RV or a car, if I choose, and it often picks a slightly different route as an RV to avoid low bridges and weight restrictions.) There is a short truck detour on Route I-5 near Santa Clarita in southern California, but my GPS never tells me to follow it, so I just follow the regular route, along with everyone else with RVs. It has does a pretty good job over the years keeping me away from low bridges and other dangers.

It would be nice for the road signs to say "All commercial vehicles weighing more than 20,000 pounds" or something similar.

A loose definition of "truck" is something that is 10,000lb gross or more for a single vehicle, or 10,000lb gross combined when towing in combination (a pickup pulling a travel trailer, for example). The definition varies by state but that's a good rule of thumb. Also, stated above: if you're bigger than a large pickup, pay attention; many "truck" signs will start to apply to you as a general precaution, including a lot of "truck"-specific speed limits.

Yes, I follow "truck routes" through cities. The chance that there's a low-height situation, or an intersection where something having an exceptionally long wheelbase can't be safely accommodated is very real. Not to mention all the stupid landscaping and crap they put along sidewalks and medians. Straddling lanes to avoid encroaching vegetation on tight city streets makes other drivers irate. Been there, done that. They don't understand.

Thankfully, "commercial vehicles" are concisely defined at the federal level. Most people driving commercially are very aware of their status, and if not, they find out very quickly. Commercial licensing requirements for personally owned/operated RV's does vary by state, however.

Charging by axle....unfortunately, light passenger vehicles towing trailers take it in the pants. But those laws are designed to make heavy vehicles pay. Because of Bridge Law, you can't have a 100,000lb dump truck with just two axles. They legally have to have 7 or 8 axles because of their weight and length. But a 40,000lb delivery truck or RV with just 2 axles scoots right on through. They're heavy, but not that heavy.