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10-09-2022, 10:24 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 274
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Maximum RV + towed length
Now that I'll have a 45' RV my idea of using a trailer to tow the jeep looks to be problematic as to maximum vehicle combination length of 65' or less depending on the state. However, I see 45' RV's towing big stacker trailers all the time seemingly with no regard to the length restriction. Is this something that goes un-enforced? How many here travel with over 65' (RV+ Tow) rigs?
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2025 Entegra Cornerstone on order
2023 Entegra Cornerstone "Z"
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon in 20' enclosed trailer
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10-10-2022, 04:23 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SW FL
Posts: 31,717
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In the 20 plus years of owning class A's, I have never seen the 65 foot "law" inforced. However you might want to read the many post about towing a toad with a trailer. Being that you are going full time, towing with a trailer will limit you to many place you might want to enjoy, no room to park both a trailer and a toad. Hopefully the model Jeep you have will be towable 4 down. Then again the trailer might work perfect for you, but worth researching.
__________________
Chuck in SW FL
Digital 2021 Cornerstone "B"
A "Digital" 2019 Cornerstone "B" Traded
A "Classic" 2014 Anthem 42 RBQ---Sold
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10-10-2022, 04:28 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: "Murvul", TN
Posts: 1,665
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As you stated, the overall combined length law varies from state to state. My guess is that some states really do not enforce it and some states...maybe California?? and others might or will. If you are involved in an accident, it may potentially come into play...or not. If you are stopped for some other reason...taillight out...brake light not working, or maybe failure to use a turn signal....anything that attracts attention to your rig, might be a reason to check your rig for overall conformity to that particular state's laws on overall length. Last fall we did a National Parks trip and most every state we went through had a 65' overall length law, with the exception of Utah, which was 61'. My Crewcab Dually and 45' Momentum Toy Hauler are just over 61' combined and I had zero issues while traveling to both Zion and Bryce Canyon. So hopefully some others will comment here and provide further info for you, but that is what I experienced.
__________________
2016 F350 Crew Cab Dually Diesel King Ranch 4x4
2018 Grand Design Momentum 394M Toy Hauler
Excessive Payload Capacity is a Wonderful Thing!
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10-10-2022, 05:33 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Entegra Owners Club Spartan Chassis
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 2,010
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I agree that I have not seen or heard of the length laws being enforced. I am sure it has happened but it seems to be so rare that it would not concern me.
I have went back and forth on the advantages / disadvantages of a trailer. None of the pluses or minus are based on length law. Just extra weight, extra cost, park restrictions, etc…. Vs far more extra room, you can back up, you can bring a nice luxury car, etc….
But I have always just pulled 4 down and can hook up / unhook in minutes. It would be hard to do something less convenient. But we move a lot. If we stop bouncing around every week and go to more seasonal style RVing I might revisit the stacker trailer.
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Hal and Pam
2022 Entegra Cornerstone W
2020 Ford Edge ST
Sold 2017 Entegra Cornerstone B
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10-10-2022, 07:08 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 11,531
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Chuck makes an excellent point. I have also longingly looked at a big enclosed trailer as something I really might like to pull some of my other toys, but just as Chuck says, I keep running into the roadblock of what the hell do I do with that big trailer when I am traveling? I think Hal (above) and I think very similarly on this issue.
I have a buddy who not only has the big enclosed trailer but his rigging has an extra set of wheels in the front (the tongue) of the trailer so that his coach is not carrying the dead weight of the load of that big trailer and that makes his rig even longer. Now I have never really had "the talk" with him about what all that "stuff" does to him when he tries to stay at an average RV park while traveling, and I visited him a year or so ago in his winter location and my understanding that he was paying for two RV sites..... one for his coach and one for his trailer.
Double the cost and cutting down significantly on where I could visit has always kept me from writing the check and buying a trailer..... I think it is just too big a hassle and would be a real pain in Dee and my butt. What we most enjoy doing is traveling, seeing new sites, visiting lots of mid to large RV parks in lots of different places than we have been before, and I am pretty sure I just would soon hate having that restriction hanging on my shoulders.
So, I continue to pull my little 2013 Honda CR-V "four down". It has ~ 60,000 "motorized miles" on it, and maybe 100,000 "pulled" miles on it, and it runs like new, so it is still performing admirably. Now, I always have to think about anything I am contemplating doing through from the standpoint of "Can I do it without the need of backing up, even one inch, while I am doing it", but I have found that additional consideration about anything I am contemplating on doing with the coach is a fairly minimal amount of cognitive "work".
In about 8 years of motorcoaching, I have gotten myself into a situation where I had to crawl out, disconnect the toad, and then complete what I was trying to do with the Honda disconnected and then reconnect it again (I made a wrong turn, got on a small rural road with a short bridge with a maximum load rating far, far less than my coach would have weighed, and I felt it was best not to even try to cross that bridge, so disconnected and turned around.)
Your choice ........ and people do it, so give it a lot of thought before you invest the money. For me, the pluses and minuses always came out as a net minus.
Gary
__________________
Gary and Dee, Zowie and Bowie (traveling cat sibs)
2019 Cornerstone 45B, X15-605hp, Imperial, Spartan K3,
2013 Honda CR-V toad, Demco Excali-Bar II,
Demco Baseplate, Demco Toad Light system, 73 de W5FI
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10-10-2022, 07:36 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 274
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brobox
In the 20 plus years of owning class A's, I have never seen the 65 foot "law" inforced. However you might want to read the many post about towing a toad with a trailer. Being that you are going full time, towing with a trailer will limit you to many place you might want to enjoy, no room to park both a trailer and a toad. Hopefully the model Jeep you have will be towable 4 down. Then again the trailer might work perfect for you, but worth researching.
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It must not be enforced...even here in CA. We stopped at the last rest area in CA right before the Nevada boarder late yesterday in route to NIRVC in LV and the number of over 65' setups I could see going by out the window was amazing. Although we will be towing a new to us 2020 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, I was leaning to trailering for many reasons...wear on the tires and drivetrain, the additional storage option, being able to back up, etc.. Originally we were going to completely rebuild our 2002 wrangler which is 30" shorter than a 2020 unlimited and this is where the length issue popped up. My thinking was that if an RV park could handle 45'ers, a 16' trailer wouldn't be an issue. A 16' trailer and a Wrangler Unlimited are basically the same overall length. So, my possibly flawed reasoning was if the RV and trailer fit into the spot and additional parking was not available, I could park the jeep on the trailer. Not having been out there full time and only having limited knowledge with access to places, I could be completely wrong in my reasoning.
__________________
2025 Entegra Cornerstone on order
2023 Entegra Cornerstone "Z"
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon in 20' enclosed trailer
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10-10-2022, 08:06 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 274
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RVFunlovers
I agree that I have not seen or heard of the length laws being enforced. I am sure it has happened but it seems to be so rare that it would not concern me.
I have went back and forth on the advantages / disadvantages of a trailer. None of the pluses or minus are based on length law. Just extra weight, extra cost, park restrictions, etc…. Vs far more extra room, you can back up, you can bring a nice luxury car, etc….
But I have always just pulled 4 down and can hook up / unhook in minutes. It would be hard to do something less convenient. But we move a lot. If we stop bouncing around every week and go to more seasonal style RVing I might revisit the stacker trailer.
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I agree it is much more easier to go 4 down than loading a trailer, tying down the vehicle, securing the ramps, etc.. I really like the idea of backing up now that well be jumping up to a 45'er from a 38' unit. I target shoot (1000 yrds +) and have steel targets and all the gear that goes with setting up target. Had planned to have all this gear, my tools and other items go in steel job boxes on the trailer. Guess Ill spend some time while at NIRVC today looking at a CS storage bays.
__________________
2025 Entegra Cornerstone on order
2023 Entegra Cornerstone "Z"
2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon in 20' enclosed trailer
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10-10-2022, 08:25 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Montana, Arizona
Posts: 1,384
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We purchased our trailer with the hope of keeping under 65', just to be legal. When we are all hooked up we are right at 65' although if we have the bike rack on the Jeep, we're just over. After seeing all the over length rigs out there, I've quit worrying about the bikes. If you go with the trailer, you can get them with surge brakes or electric. The surge brakes simplify set up if you don't have a 7 pin on the back of your rig. The downside for us would be tongue weight. Four down your tongue weight is negligible. We have had to unhook the Jeep once to turn around. That would have been a much bigger issue with the Jeep on a trailer.
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2016 Arctic Fox 27-5L
2022 Chevy 3500 Duramax
2018 JLUR
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10-10-2022, 08:48 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Peoria IL
Posts: 2,085
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I pull a flat bed that has a 22 ft deck and a 5 foot tongue. I love pulling the trailer! I've only had a couple of times where having the trailer was a hassle. I can pull any car or truck and there a lot less wear on the toad. No worries and few hassles.
I'm about 70 ft in total length, I have a hitch on the motor home that also has a weight scale. I put 1,000 pounds on the ball and the coach rides better than when we pulled 4 down. Now I can back up with ease and no worries about the tow bars breaking. My trailer is a 14,000 GVW and it has electric brakes.
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2023 Ram 3500 H.O.
2020 DRV
2015 Entegra Aspire RBQ SOLD
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10-10-2022, 09:13 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club Forest River Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 3,329
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While full time we were a little under 70’ needing a 75’ pull thru to be comfortable. I always found a space. Certainly not in any park but in locations I wanted to be. Not a real fan but KOA seemed to be my “go to” for parks with long pull thrus while I traveled. With a little extra preplanning it wasn’t a serious problem. With 5 years of full time we didn’t disconnect much unless we had a long stay planned , the places we did had always storage lots or places to drop the trailer ( after taking the car out ). I never paid for an extra space. Yes , It’s not as simple as just the towed but I had a workshop , car protected and storage of my DW work materials plus “stuff”
I never was questioned or stopped for over length including quite a bit of California. I have heard car racer’s with stickers all over the trailer have been ( considered commercial operation)
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2023 Coachmen Encore 325SS
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10-10-2022, 09:17 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Posts: 1,801
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As a Trooper on regular patrol we did not carry a measuring tape. When I worked "truck enforcement" we did measure and weigh trucks but never once did we stop an RV. When we tow the Silverado we are over 65' and are not concerned about our length.
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Jeanie, Ed & Slade the GSD(RIP)
Cape Cod, MA
2017 Entegra Aspire RBQ & Silverado Crew or GC
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10-10-2022, 01:46 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Posts: 3,122
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xrated
As you stated, the overall combined length law varies from state to state. My guess is that some states really do not enforce it and some states...maybe California?? and others might or will. If you are involved in an accident, it may potentially come into play...or not. If you are stopped for some other reason...taillight out...brake light not working, or maybe failure to use a turn signal....anything that attracts attention to your rig, might be a reason to check your rig for overall conformity to that particular state's laws on overall length. Last fall we did a National Parks trip and most every state we went through had a 65' overall length law, with the exception of Utah, which was 61'. My Crewcab Dually and 45' Momentum Toy Hauler are just over 61' combined and I had zero issues while traveling to both Zion and Bryce Canyon. So hopefully some others will comment here and provide further info for you, but that is what I experienced.
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Interesting comment about Utah. We frequently stay at a nice RV park in Heber City and regularly see TRIPLE-TRAILER trucks rolling through the main drag in town. Most of them are tanker trailers, but they are definitely more than 61 feet long!
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Larry & Amy Beckner
Scottsdale, AZ
2022 Newmar Super Star 4061
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10-10-2022, 02:01 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: NH and FL
Posts: 352
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We had a 45' motorhome with a 30' stacker trailer that we towed for many years. Had a car, two motorcycles and a workshop in the stacker. We never had a problem finding campgrounds with long pull thru's. If we were going to a specific campground that didn't have a long pull thru they usually had a spot to drop the trailer.
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21 Tiffin Wayfarer 25 TW
15 Mini Cooper S sold
21 Nissan Versa
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10-10-2022, 04:01 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Thornville, Ohio
Posts: 3,685
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It does not seem to be enforced. I saw one mh coming into Ohio pulled over by a state trooper with the trooper walking back to his car pushing one of those measuring wheel things.
But if you are in a bad wreck, I'm sure they will measue and get weight, etc...
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Art & Joyce
Thornville, OH
Kia Soul pushing a 36' DP Endeavor
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