An apparent increase in the enforcement of state and federal laws regarding towing trailers, specifically boat trailers, in the fall of 2007 was a shocking wake-up call to many fishermen, hunters and other boaters.
There weren’t any new laws, just an increase in the enforcement of existing ones. But many outdoorsmen were caught unaware. Unfortunately, it was an expensive lesson for several of them.
The outcry at the time and deadline pressure forced North Carolina Sportsman to give state transportation laws a quick study. We published a December Newsbreaker to make people aware of the laws regulating boat trailers. This column is a more in-depth look at the requirements, regulations, permits and licenses needed by individuals who transport their boats on public roadways.
Hopefully, this information will be helpful to those who have boats and tow them and possibly serve as a guide to people who attend this winter’s boat shows, perhaps intending to buy a boat.
Laws governing trailering aren’t new. They’re published in all code books. However, at places the codes aren’t that clear, are over-detailed in some instances and occasionally tend to be in conflict. Further complicating matters, these laws are mandated by one agency (the U.S. Department of Transportation), administered by three others (N.C. Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles Licensing, N.C DOT DMV Vehicle Registration and N.C. DOT Oversize/Overweight Permit Office) and enforced by yet another (N.C. State Highway Patrol Motor Carrier Enforcement Division). So the potential is great to confuse the average boater/tow-vehicle operator.
Several times people at these different agenices offered conflicting opinions to us. Once during a telephone interview, two workers at a N.C. license-plate office debated my question as I held my phone, waiting for a response.
The obvious reaction is if the people administering and enforcing regulations don’t understand them, how can they expect users to understand and comply with them?
One of the most confusing responses was to hear several times that certain rules were or might be the law, but agencies weren’t looking for them or weren’t enforcing them, so boaters shouldn’t worry too much.
While I’m sure these comments were offered as reassurances to avoid worry, they have exactly the opposite effect.
After sorting through information, talking to several officials of various agencies and re-reading regulations and explanations, I believe I may be able to summarize the basic principles of boat-trailering laws,
I asked a few new questions after researching the issue but didn’t get return calls in time to be included in this story, so I suggest using this account only as a guide. It’s best to verify questionable points with the officials where you purchase tags, get your licenses and at the permits office. You might even want to pose questions by mail or e-mail so you have a written record of official responses.
A sidebar, with links to several web sites and phone numbers with information on these regulations is included.
As I was investigating the topic, I received word several state legislators had been approached and are willing to examine the situation more closely in the short legislative session that convenes May 13, 2008.
House Representative Bonner Stiller (R-Brunswick) is a fisherman and owns a boat that exceeds some of the width and weight thresholds.
Several fishermen forwarded e-mails and told of similar conversations with their senators and representatives.
Rep. Stiller said he and several N.C. representatives have begun investigating the regulations and situations and planned to have legislation ready to introduce when the General Assembly convenes. However, no guarantees have been offered that changes will be made. It was interesting to note these representatives’ willingness to discuss boat-towing issues, and that they already are investigating.
Rep. Stiller said he also had received a copy of a letter by Todd Korker of Jupiter, Fla., which began N.C. Sportsman’s investigation last fall. Korker said he had to pay almost $2,000 for licenses, tags and flags in order to have his boat released by the N.C. Highway Patrol during October following a king mackerel tournament at Morehead City.
My suggestion is write your legislator and let him or her know how you feel about the issue. It would be wise to offer a solution, if you think you have a good idea. A list of the legislators and their contact information is available at www.ncleg.net.
The Division of Motor Vehicles Drivers Services Section is the N.C. agency responsible for issuing and tracking N.C. driver licenses. Its website is http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/driver_services/ and contains information about what types and categories of licenses are required for different types of driving.
Unless driving is a commercial venture, there are only three types of licenses. Commercial licenses have the letters “CDL” after the class designation. A Class C license is what most people have and allows towing up to 10,000 pounds. From the DMV web site, a Class C license is: Required to operate any vehicle with a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds that is exempt from CDL requirements and is not towing a vehicle with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds.
Most drivers are issued a Class C license to operate personal automobiles and small trucks.
The Class B license is the next step up and is primarily for driving a heavier vehicle. It has the same towing limit as a Class C license. Also from the DMV Web site, a Class B license is: Required to operate any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more that is exempt from CDL requirements, and any such vehicle while towing another vehicle with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less.
The Class A license is the top rung of non-commercial licenses. It covers single-vehicle weight ranges and adds the provision for towing trailers heavier than 10,000 pounds. The DMV says a Class A license is: Required to operate any combination of vehicles exempt from commercial driver license (CDL) requirements with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 pounds or more, provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is greater than 10,000 pounds. Also required for operating any combination of vehicles with a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds, if the vehicle being towed has a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds.
As far as towing boats, the difference between Class C and Class B licenses is the weight of the tow vehicle. Both are only allowed to tow trailers rated to 10,000 pounds. However, a Class A license is required to tow trailers rated heavier than 10,000 pounds.
It’s absolutely important to remember a Class A license is required of whoever is driving a vehicle towing a trailer rated more than 10,000 pounds. Even if the owner is present and has a Class A license, someone else can’t drive the towing vehicle. All drivers must have proper licenses.
Moreover, a special written test and a road test with the trailer are required to obtain a N.C. Class A license.
The DMV Vehicles Services Section is the N.C. agency responsible for issuing license plates for vehicles and trailers. Its web site is http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/vehicle_services/ and contains information on how to properly register trailers and towing vehicles.
The web site has lots of information, but some work is required to find some of it. The site would be much more informative if it had a section concerning recreational/non-commercial towing. But it doesn’t have such a secton.
Information about non-commercial towing requirements and requirements for weighted license plates is mentioned in a few sentences and included underneath other headings (which is why it’s difficult to find).
Many local license-plate agencies are contracted offices and don’t employ DOT workers. Some of these workers aren’t entirely up-to-date about license-plate and registration requirements for trailers, towing and tow vehicles.
Several local license-plate office employees didn’t think trailer weight needed to be included on the weight rating of a license tag. Oddly enough, this appears to be true with trucks licensed for less than 6,000 pounds and not exceeding a total towing weight (trailer and load included) of 9,000 pounds.
However, if the total weight exceeds 9,000 pounds, a weighted license tag for the entire weight is needed.
Some workers said personal passenger vehicles — including SUV-type vehicles such as Suburbans, Yukons and Excursions that are registered as station wagons rather than trucks — are exempt from trailer-weight requirements altogether. Still other DOT employees said the tow vehicle had to licensed for its total weight and any trailer it was pulling, regardless of the class of vehicle.
The following information regarding weighted-truck license plates is from the http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/vehicle_services/ web site, Page 9 of 391 of the Vehicle Registration Section Title Manual. It’s listed as an internet pdf file and is labeled as page vii in the document:
General Plate Information:
A self-propelled property carrying vehicle operated with a trailer shall include the empty weight of the vehicle plus the heaviest load to be carried. The gross weight of a trailer is not to be included when in conjunction with a self-propelled property carrying vehicle licensed for 6,000 pounds or less gross weight and the gross weight of the combination does not exceed 9,000 pounds.
An example would be a pickup truck of 5,000 pounds hauling a recreational trailer.
DOT employees suggested truck owners check their vehicle registration to see what weight their truck is licensed to carry. It seems many trucks are inadvertently licensed too light and sometimes even exceed their licensed weight with several people and clothing for a trip. A few have even been reported as being heavier than their tag weight with a full tank of fuel and a driver.
The weight a truck is licensed for is listed near the top right of the vehicle registration card. This box is labeled GROSS WT. The empty weight (as determined by the manufacturer) of the truck is about midway down on the left side. This box is labeled SHIPPING WEIGHT.
With weighted tags, the load a truck is licensed to carry and/or tow is the difference between the two, while with standard private truck tags it’s the difference between the shipping weight and 9,000 pounds.
This web site (http://www.osbm.state.nc.us/files/pdf_files/NCTaxGuide2005.pdf) from the N.C. Office of Management and Budget is helpful in determining vehicle licensing fees.
At page 63, it shows the boat trailer annual registration/license fee of $19. The section about Truck License Plates begins at page 65 and a chart at page 66 lists license plate (tax) fees for weighted licenses.
A private non-farm truck license plate costs $28 for a 4,000-pound truck, $43.50 for a 5,000-pound truck and $51.50 for a 6,000-pound truck. For weights of 7,000 pounds and more, fees are computed.
For non-farm vehicles, the rate varies from 59 cents per 100 pounds for vehicles up to 4,000 pounds to $1.54 per 100 pounds for vehicles weighing more than 19,000 pounds. A $3 fee is required for each license plate, regardless of truck weight.
The rates for farm vehicles, considered not to be used on roads as much as non-farm vehicles, are roughly half non-farm rates.
The preceding information should help get drivers and vehicles licensed properly. Now let’s take a look at oversize (over-wide) loads.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets and administers the width and weight regulations for trucks and towing across the United States. Section 658.15 of its web site (http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/) contains the following information regarding vehicle and trailer width:
(a) No State shall impose a width limitation of more or less than 102 inches, or its approximate metric equivalent, 2.6 meters (102.36 inches) on a vehicle operating on the National Network, except for the State of Hawaii, which is allowed to keep the State’s 108–inch width maximum by virtue of section 416(a) of the STAA.
(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this section do not apply to special mobile equipment as defined in §658.5
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any other provision of law, the following are applicable:
(1) A State may grant special use permits to motor vehicles, including manufactured housing, that exceed 102 inches in width; and
(2) A State may allow recreational vehicles with safety and/or non-cargo carrying appurtenances extending beyond 3 inches from the side of the vehicle to operate without a special use over-width permit.
This federal law specifies the maximum width for U.S. highway use (except Hawaii) as 102 inches or 8 1/2 feet. However, it also allows the state to grant special permits allowing overwide vehicles to use the roads.
North Carolina allows annual or single-trip permits for vehicles wider than 102 inches. With the permit, these vehicles, up to 12 feet (144 inches) wide, may travel all roads without an escort during daylight hours Monday through Saturday. They’re not allowed on roads from sunset to sunrise and from sunset Saturday to sunrise Monday.
Overwidth permits are administered by the Division of Highways Oversize/Overweight Permit Office. The web site is http://www.ncdot.org/doh/operations/dp_chief_eng/maintenance/permits/. It has links to the rules, applications, schedules and contact information and permit forms may be downloaded. Single-trip permits may be issued by fax for $12. Annual permits are $100 and require processing. They may be mailed in and are usually returned after a couple of weeks.
With the exception of a little confused wording, the basics of towing a boat are proper driver’s license, proper vehicle-weight registration, wide-load permits, flags and/or banners (where needed) and you can’t tow loads wider than 102 inches between sunset and sunrise (darkness) and on Sundays.
If you want more information, the web sites and contact information in the boxed sidebar should allow you to contact an office that can offer help.
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