California Bound

[Tremor2020]

So I’m helping family out and need to head to California to pull one of their toy haulers back from California. I’ve pulled plenty up north but haven’t dealt with the laws down there. I have a standard DL no CDL. But I am pulling a 41ft toy hauler back on my 350 Super Duty.

Am I going to run into issues down there with the law?

 

[cntyguy]

So I’m helping family out and need to head to California to pull one of their toy haulers back from California. I’ve pulled plenty up north but haven’t dealt with the laws down there. I have a standard DL no CDL. But I am pulling a 41ft toy hauler back on my 350 Super Duty.

Am I going to run into issues down there with the law?

You shouldn’t have any issues. Assuming it loads and looks ok and meets specs, very little chance of a stop. Most everyone recreational pulls with a standard DL (including 95% of the officers and firefighters here, unless they drive commercially for their agencies). If you do happen to get stopped, the Utah DL will probably clue them in to leave you alone.

 

[SuperDutyF250]

55 mph while towing in the far two right lanes only

 

[Tremor2020]

55 mph while towing in the far two right lanes only

For hell sakes! 55? It’s 80 up here…..

 

[Donnie With A Dee]

For hell sakes! 55? It’s 80 up here…..

I certainly hope you are kidding....if not I think you answered the question of whether or not you should be towing a 41' 5th wheel with a standard license.

 

[911Tremor]

Sounds like a very nice (and helpful) road trip!

Over the years, I’ve taken side jobs towing boats and travel trailers for dealers that either need delivered to customers or to transfer to other sales locations, boat/RV shows, etc..
I’ve been towing stuff since I was 14 years old. To me, it’s a fun and sometimes exciting (in a good way!) experience!

If it’s classified as a personal recreational RV, you should be excluded from having to stop at the CHP inspection stations (Scales). And as long as you don’t have any commercial signage on your 350, you should be fine.
Of course, you are always subject to being pulled over for an inspection if the officers feel there are any visible safety or questionable load weight capacity issues such as the tow vehicle bottomed out or severely dropped due to the hitch weight, trailer tires appearing to be overloaded or very low air pressure, etc..

Another law that can get you in hot water with impatient drivers (sometimes with more severe penalties than the CHP!) is if you have five or more vehicles behind you, you need to pull over at the first safest location possible to let them pass, and certainly stay to the right lane in the posted Passing Lane sections. Unless, of course, you have to pass someone slower than yourself.

Make sure that all lighting is operational, that the safety chains are properly attached, the license plate is current (CA issues PTI lifetime plates, but make sure the stickers are intact), make sure it’s clean and not blocked by bikes on a rack or stuff loaded on a hitch carrier.

And finally, CA requires, at the minimum, liability insurance. So in addition to your vehicles registration, also have your insurance card and the registration papers for the trailer handy just in case you do get stopped. Side note- Our VC prohibits cell phone use without a Bluetooth (hands-free) connection. Don’t be seen with the phone up to your ear or even held in front of your face! And seatbelt use is required.

Failure to comply can result in a warning, citation, and in the case of a mechanical violation, orders to remain off the road until resolved or possible impoundment, so do yourself a favor and have everything in order ahead of time and you should have a stress-free trip!

Well, except for the price of our fuel!

Have a safe trip!

 

[cntyguy]

55 mph while towing in the far two right lanes only

I presumed you would be at the speed limit, but @SuperDutyF250 makes a great point. Speeding will definitely get you pulled over with a rig. And like it, love it, or hate it, the speed limit in California for a vehicle towing a trailer is 55. Heck, I was towing a four horse gooseneck with a sheriff department one ton black and white years ago, and had a chippie pull alongside, hit his siren, and emphatically wave me down to speed. And wouldn’t leave until I dropped to 55. That’s how seriously they take speeding with trailers. It’s an easy ticket and it does happen quite a bit.

 

[Tremor2020]

I certainly hope you are kidding....if not I think you answered the question of whether or not you should be towing a 41' 5th wheel with a standard license.

lol I have been passed by 5th wheels going faster than me who goes 80 on the interstate. Semi’s here are 75 mph too.

 

[idrivea2022tremor]

All of the above are great and valid points. I tend to find comfort in falling in behind a semi going about the speed I'd like to go. Most of the time cops don't pull over semis so I find them setting a pace and being in a group a good way to lessen attention to yourself.

 

[911Tremor]

Heed the postings about the towing limit of 55.

Even though they were late to the game, the CHP invested heavily into radar devices including the LIDAR radar equipment. Most radar detectors don’t “detect” the LiDAR system, which is a laser device that identifies the speed of specific vehicles.
CHP also has radar sensors that are mounted to the front and to the rear of their units, and they operate while stationary and moving, so whenever you see a CHP unit, you can figure they are checking your speed.
And you should check your speed, if it’s not already too late.

 

[MikeF-3FiveO]

So I’m helping family out and need to head to California to pull one of their toy haulers back from California. I’ve pulled plenty up north but haven’t dealt with the laws down there. I have a standard DL no CDL. But I am pulling a 41ft toy hauler back on my 350 Super Duty.

Am I going to run into issues down there with the law?

You’re good but I’ll echo what everyone else has said about speeding in California. Most of the time the CHP will leave you alone if you’re towing under 65mph but on a slow day, they might take a harder look at you. I was once pulled over for 60mph in a 55 zone. The CHP did a cursory check of my 5th wheel and chains and gave me a warning to slow down. I’ve been towing 5th wheels for years and this is the only time i’ve ever been pulled over. I think it was a slow day for the cop.

 

[mds2004]

Yep, like others said speed limit is 55, but I tend to go about 62ish depending on the big rigs. I5 they go 65 or so.

Other than that, let er rip tater chip.

Where is your destination in CA?

 

[Winterized]

Sounds like a very nice (and helpful) road trip!

Over the years, I’ve taken side jobs towing boats and travel trailers for dealers that either need delivered to customers or to transfer to other sales locations, boat/RV shows, etc..
I’ve been towing stuff since I was 14 years old. To me, it’s a fun and sometimes exciting (in a good way!) experience!

If it’s classified as a personal recreational RV, you should be excluded from having to stop at the CHP inspection stations (Scales). And as long as you don’t have any commercial signage on your 350, you should be fine.
Of course, you are always subject to being pulled over for an inspection if the officers feel there are any visible safety or questionable load weight capacity issues such as the tow vehicle bottomed out or severely dropped due to the hitch weight, trailer tires appearing to be overloaded or very low air pressure, etc..

Another law that can get you in hot water with impatient drivers (sometimes with more severe penalties than the CHP!) is if you have five or more vehicles behind you, you need to pull over at the first safest location possible to let them pass, and certainly stay to the right lane in the posted Passing Lane sections. Unless, of course, you have to pass someone slower than yourself.

Make sure that all lighting is operational, that the safety chains are properly attached, the license plate is current (CA issues PTI lifetime plates, but make sure the stickers are intact), make sure it’s clean and not blocked by bikes on a rack or stuff loaded on a hitch carrier.

And finally, CA requires, at the minimum, liability insurance. So in addition to your vehicles registration, also have your insurance card and the registration papers for the trailer handy just in case you do get stopped. Side note- Our VC prohibits cell phone use without a Bluetooth (hands-free) connection. Don’t be seen with the phone up to your ear or even held in front of your face! And seatbelt use is required.

Failure to comply can result in a warning, citation, and in the case of a mechanical violation, orders to remain off the road until resolved or possible impoundment, so do yourself a favor and have everything in order ahead of time and you should have a stress-free trip!

Well, except for the price of our fuel!

Have a safe trip!

This is really useful info, it fits nicely with what I remember from almost 25 years ago when I made several trips between CA <--> MT towing a small enclosed box trailer to move my remaining possessions from storage to home.

I was fortunate not to have issues with CHP during the CA portions of those trips back then, but if I may ask, what should I expect if towing a medium (16' 7k GVWR) or large (24' 10k GVWR) enclosed cargo trailer these days in terms of needing to stop at weigh stations or getting hassled? These are not campers, just boxes on wheels, no commercial markings on them or the truck. Assume properly functioning equipment/hookup and I'd be shocked if I could get either trailer to even half of its GVWR when fully loaded for the return trip. Cruise control wherever practical will be my 55mph guardian to prevent speed creep. Need to pick up some personal effects of a passed relative that now belong to me.

 

[idrivea2022tremor]

This is really useful info, it fits nicely with what I remember from almost 25 years ago when I made several trips between CA <--> MT towing a small enclosed box trailer to move my remaining possessions from storage to home.

I was fortunate not to have issues with CHP during the CA portions of those trips back then, but if I may ask, what should I expect if towing a medium (16' 7k GVWR) or large (24' 10k GVWR) enclosed cargo trailer these days in terms of needing to stop at weigh stations or getting hassled? These are not campers, just boxes on wheels, no commercial markings on them or the truck. Assume properly functioning equipment/hookup and I'd be shocked if I could get either trailer to even half of its GVWR when fully loaded for the return trip. Cruise control wherever practical will be my 55mph guardian to prevent speed creep. Need to pick up some personal effects of a passed relative that now belong to me.

You don't need to stop and you won't have any problems. The scales are for Semis and rental trucks (box trucks specifically, not the Uhaul F150 type thing).

I have a 28' + v nose (35' overall) enclosed trailer that I pull pretty regularly. I live next to a scale and have never stopped and never been bothered. I'll push it up to about 70 going between temecula and corona. CHP doesn't seem to care all too much unless you're being dangerous about it.

The other thing to know; the Explorers and Crown Vics can get you for speeding but it's the dudes in the F250s you really need to watch for. They're commercial enforcement and they have portable scales. They typically go for those marked as CDL trucks (semis, hot shots, not for hire, pretty much anything with a CA number on the side). For the most part they leave personal vehicles and trailer alone, especially RVs, unless you are clearly towing a 45' which would put you into a different license. RVs are a special class of vehicle in CA and are in a category of their own with most of the heavy duty vehicle laws.

Commercial Enforcement Truck:

The CA number they tend to look for:

Anecdotal story, I drove from Chicago to my home in San Diego in the following setup and wasn't bothered at all. Drove by 3 different scales and they didn't even bat an eye (26' penske and 28' trailer):

 

[911Tremor]

Nice! You can move two houses worth of stuff with that setup!

Yes, great info! One other required item within the Commercial Vehicle Registration Act that goes along the with numbers are the CVRA weight limit decals that are displayed on each side of the vehicle. The decals display the max GVWR/GCWR ratings to make it easier for the CHP or any other entity to determine the info for that specific vehicle.

A buddy of mine was assigned to commercial enforcement in the Livermore/Dublin area and I see those CHP Super Duty’s all the time. In addition to the various commercial vehicle violations, the scales are right there at the base of the Altamont Pass and they watch for guys trying to take the Old Altamont Pass Rd and S. Vasco Rd surface streets to avoid the scales! They keep busy!

They’re a mobile commercial inspection station that, in addition to the scales, also carry all kinds of other equipment such as safety road signage, tape measures, general tools, brake inspection tools, ladders, and various scanners (OBD2, etc) all within the confines of those camper shells! Oh yeah, and a creepy crawler to climb right up your azz! They are also equipped with CB radios.

Even though they concentrate on commercial vehicles, the Super Duty’s have been known to stop cars and light duty vehicles when they see a blatant violation, or when a wise guy thinking they can’t initiate a traffic stop because they aren’t driving a Crown Vic or Exploder, blows past them doing 80+ and laughing about it! But not for long!
Yes, they certainly can stop and cite them. And do a whole lot more to them, if necessary.

 

[Hunterman]

My rule of thumb is if the semis are speeding you can push the speed limit a little. The truckers talk and they seem to know when to slow down because of CHP in the area. I usually stay under 65 when the limit is 70 (with no trailer) if the big rigs are going faster than 55. On I-5 going 55mph is hard to do even though that’s the legal limit.

Years ago I was riding with my mom who drives slower than the speed limit. We had a CHP pull up next to us and got on his loud speaker and told us to speed up. We were in the right lane going around 55 on a 65mph highway so go figure….dammed if you do dammed if you don’t

 

[idrivea2022tremor]

Years ago I was riding with my mom who drives slower than the speed limit. We had a CHP pull up next to us and got on his loud speaker and told us to speed up. We were in the right lane going around 55 on a 65mph highway so go figure….dammed if you do dammed if you don’t

CA has an impeding-the-flow-of-traffic law. If you're going too slow and causing safety issues you can be cited. They don't post minimum speed limits, like some states, so it's hard to determine. But you'll know you've caught their attention when they pull up next to you and tell you speed up over the PA.

 

[911Tremor]

CA has an impeding-the-flow-of-traffic law. If you're going too slow and causing safety issues you can be cited. They don't post minimum speed limits, like some states, so it's hard to determine. But you'll know you've caught their attention when they pull up next to you and tell you speed up over the PA.

Yes!

The only times I was ever involved with CVC 22400A was when we had “cruising” night issues with guys and gals slowing and/or stopping on the strip (which was a main thoroughfare thru town) to meet each other and decide where they wanted to park and get to know each other better! Otherwise, there wasn’t much we could do to disperse the crowds when they got rowdy. Same with the low riders with bicycle tires that drove ten mph in a 35 business district backing up traffic and causing chaos on the road behind them.

But I totally understand the above scenario with the CHP wanting to keep the freeway traffic going at a steady pace! Nothing gets drivers hotter under the collar than seeing an empty road ahead but someone finds it necessary to drive ten or more back of the limit and hold up traffic for miles.

There is a local nightmare rd that is about 15 miles long and a main commuter route that due to being under built years ago with just one lane in the n/b direction with very little legal passing sections available, and either a big rig lumbering along or ma and pa kettle doing the same can create a miles long backup that has impatient drivers wanting to try and pass just to end up behind another batch of cars going ten to twenty below the limit! Numerous fatalities have occurred due to unsafe passing and drivers distracted by sexting, falling asleep or while DUI! There should have been a concrete center divider installed when it was originally built, but as usual, the ones planning projects like that do it in an ivory tower no where near what they are designing, let alone drive the area or learn more about it themselves to see what it is all about before putting pen to paper!

 

[Nazz112]

Plenty of reasons listed here on why not to live in Cali

 

[911Tremor]

Plenty of reasons listed here on why not to live in Cali

Yep.
And I have four+ very good reasons that keep me here.
My four kids and their families with some grandkids mixed in.