Tuesday, January 29, 2008

ARIZONA

All information enclosed is acquired by the best possible means.
Here is the link for the Statues from Arizona on TRAILERS.
http://www.azleg.gov/SearchResults.asp?SearchedFrom=%2FArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp&SearchPhrase=trailer&x=0&y=0&Scope=%2Fars

ONCE AGAIN THE FAMOUS 3,000 POUNDS LIMIT KEEPS COMMING UP.

What is the difference of a TRAILER that is 2,999?

THEY DO ALLOW YOU TO BUILD ONE ON YOUR OWN... BUT ONCE AGAIN NO SPECIFICATIONS ON QUALITY OF THE TRAILER.

28-981. Vehicle equipment; safety requirement

A person shall not drive or move on a highway a motor vehicle, tow truck, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer or any combination of a motor vehicle, tow truck, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer unless:

1. The equipment on the vehicle is in good working order and adjustment as required in this chapter.

2. The vehicle is in a safe mechanical condition that does not endanger the driver or other occupant or a person on the highway.

28-952. Required brake equipment

(a) A semitrailer or trailer with a gross weight of less than three thousand pounds need not be equipped with brakes.

28-896. Towing trailer; lateral sway

A person shall not drive a vehicle towing a trailer or semitrailer at a rate of speed that causes the trailer or semitrailer to sway laterally from the line of traffic.

28-925. Tail lamps

A. A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer and pole trailer and any other vehicle that is being drawn at the end of a train of vehicles shall be equipped with at least one tail lamp mounted on the rear. When lighted as required by this article, the tail lamp shall emit a red light plainly visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear, except that in the case of a train of vehicles, only the tail lamp on the rearmost vehicle need actually be seen from the distance specified.

B. A tail lamp on a vehicle shall be located at a height of not more than sixty inches nor less than fifteen inches to be measured as provided in section 28-923, subsection B.

C. Either a tail lamp or a separate lamp shall be constructed and placed in a manner that illuminates with a white light the rear license plate and renders it clearly legible from a distance of fifty feet to the rear. A tail lamp or tail lamps together with any separate lamp for illuminating the rear license plate shall be wired to provide that the tail lamp or lamps are lighted whenever the head lamps or auxiliary driving lamps are lighted.

28-932. Reflector and lamp mountings

A. Reflectors that are required by section 28-929 shall be mounted at a height of not less than twenty-four inches and not more than sixty inches above the ground on which the vehicle stands, except that if the highest part of the permanent structure of the vehicle is less than twenty-four inches, the reflector at that point shall be mounted as high as that part of the permanent structure permits.

B. The rear reflectors on a pole trailer may be mounted on each side of the bolster or load.

C. A required red reflector on the rear of a vehicle may be incorporated with the tail lamp, but the reflector shall meet all of the other reflector requirements of this article.

D. Clearance lamps shall be mounted on the permanent structure of the vehicle in a manner that indicates its extreme width and as near the top of the vehicle as practicable. Clearance lamps and side marker lamps may be mounted in combination if illumination is given as required by this section with reference to both.

Monday, January 21, 2008

UNITED KINGDOM

Again... Very little regulations on homemade trailers and trailers under 3,000 pounds US.

Requirements for trailers

Requirements regarding trailers used on the road are given in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended and the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, as amended. The following is a summary of the main requirements.

Weight

In the case of light trailers, that is less than 3500kg maximum laden weight, there is not any specified relationship in UK law between the weight of the towing vehicle and the weight of the trailer.

For M1 category vehicles (motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and comprising not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat) the maximum permissible trailer weight is quoted by the vehicle manufacturer. Alternatively, the vehicle manufacturer may provide a maximum gross train weight (the laden weight of the trailer plus the laden weight of the towing vehicle). If this i

s exceeded it is possible that the Courts or Insurance Companies may take the view that this constitutes a danger.

The maximum laden weight of a trailer which may be towed by a light goods vehicle depends on both the stated gross train weight of the towing vehicle (GTW) and the vehicle manufacturer's recommended maximum permissible trailer weight. Neither the maximum permissible trailer weight or the maximum gross train weight (the laden weight of the trailer plus the laden weight of the towing vehicle) should be exceeded. It is possible that the stated gross train weight is less than the sum of the stated maximum permissible laden weight of the towing vehicle and the stated maximum

permissible laden trailer weight. In this case the towing vehicle and the trailer must be loaded such that each does not exceed its individual maximum limit and the sum of both does not exceed the maximum gross train weight.

It is not a requirement to display a notice of the unladen weight of the trailer or the towing vehicle, unless the towing vehicle is either a motor tractor or a locomotive, as defined in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.

Dimensions

If the towing

vehicle has a permissible gross weight in excess of 3.5 tonnes the maximum width and length of the trailer are 2.55 metres and 12 metres respectively. If however the gross weight of the towing vehicle is 3.5 tonnes or less then the maximum permissible width and length are 2.3 metres and 7 metres respectively. In both cases the overall length of the towing vehicle and trailer must not exceed either 18m or 18.75m depending on the type of towing vehicle.

Brakes

Braking requirements are prescribed in Regulations 15 and 16 of The Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations 1986 as amended and essentially require a trailer with a maximum design laden weight of more 750 kg to be braked and allow an inertia (overrun) type braking system to be used up to a maximum permissible laden weight of 3500kg. In use it is not permitted to use an unbraked trailer the laden weight of which exceeds 50% of the kerbside weight of the t

owing vehicle. For trailers up to 1500kg laden weight it is permitted to use a secondary coupling, which in the event of separation (NOT failure) of the main coupling will retain the trailer attached to the towing vehicle, prevent the nose of the trailer from touching the ground and provide some residual steering of the trailer. Above 1500 kg laden weight the trailer must be fitted with a device to stop the trailer automatically in the event of separation (NOT failure) of the main coupling and this is normally achieved by a breakaway cable attached to the parking brake mechanism - the trailer becomes detached from the towing vehicle.

Lights

The requirements for trailer lighting can be found in The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 as amended. A copy can be obtained from The Stationery Office, or see Section 5 below.

Legislation

The Regulations ref

erred to above may be obtained through the Stationery Office under the references, SI 1986 No.1078 for the Construction and Use Regulations and SI 1989 No. 1796 for the Lighting Regulations. However, there have been many amendments to these base Regulations and it is important to obtain all of these in order to have the current situation. As an alternative, you may find it easier to visit a good, city based, reference library where there may be a copy of The Encyclopaedia of Road Traffic Law and Practice, published by Sweet and Maxwell. This publication tracks the amendments to legislation and presents them in an up-dated form. One of the volumes will contain both the Construction and Use and Lighting Regulations.

Other considerations

The above information relates to basic construction requirements and some aspects of the use of trailers. In addition it is recommended that you check that you have the appropriate Driving Licence entitlement and whether the vehicle or combination of vehicles requires a tachograph to record driver's hours. The latter will apply to most vehicles and combinations of vehicles above 3500kg gross weigh

t where used for commercial purposes.

Contacts

For Driving Licence en

quiries contact:
DVLA Customer Enquiries, Telephone 01792 772151

For Tachograph requirement enquiries contact:
DTLR Road Haulage Branch 1, Telephone 020 7944 2756

Fact sheet issued by

DTLR Vehicle Standards and Engineering Branch VSE 4, Telephone 020 7944 2078.

Policy, guidance and research

ALABAMA

ALASKA

ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

FLORIDA

Once Again we have a loophole...

I spoke to this person and they allow homemade trailers.
They do not check the quality of the construction of the Trailer.
Once they get the vin number it's up to the owner to keep it in good
working order.
No rules on Safety Chains...
No rules on the Safety Pin....

Once again it is almost like anything goes on trailers that are just under 3,000 pounds.


Dear Ron,

Utility trailers are required to be registered. They are required to
have operable brake lights, tail light and turn signals. In addition,
tag lights are required to be visible up to 50 ft and of a white color.

Florida statute does not address inspection of hitches.

Thank you for writing and for your interest in traffic safety.

Office of Public Affairs

Law Enforcement Support Services

Florida Highway Patrol

2900 Apalachee Parkway, MS 44

Tallahassee, FL.  32399-0500

Office: 850.617.2301
Fax: 850.617-5108

www.fhp.state.fl.us

GEORGIA

HAWAII

IDAHO

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

I simply cannot believe this.......

Ron,
Trailers under 3000 pounds Gross weight (total weight of trailer and
load) are not subject to brake requirements. However, if over 80" in
width they are required to meet the lighting requirements such as
taillights, brake lights, turn signals etc; provided the trailer is not
utilized in any commercial operation such as farm, mowing service etc,
it will not fall into the Federal Regulations. However, without knowing
what exactly the vehicle is going to be used for I can't provide you
with more specific information.


M. L. Kipp MCI ADM
Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division

IOWA

KANSAS

KENTUCKY

LOUISIANA

MAINE

MARYLAND

MASSACHUSETTS

MICHIGAN

MINNESOTA

MISSISSIPPI

MISSOURI

MONTANA

Below is just amazing...........

It is my guess that Montana does not have any requirements for trailers under 3,000
pounds.

Look at this!!!
In the past few weeks, I have participated in three separate threads on trailer brake and safety chain requirements.

Here are some links to information from the web on trailer safety requirements, weight restrictions, hitches, lights, towing tips, trouble shooting, etc.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/trailer_brakes.htm

http://www.championtrailers.com/brkart.html

http://www.sherline.com/lmbook.htm

I found a lot of useful information including a diagram showing crossed safety chains.

The following is copied from the first link:

"Federal law requires all trailers with brakes to have some type of emergency "breakaway" system that will automatically apply the brakes should the trailer accidentally separate from the vehicle that is pulling it. On trailers with electric brakes, this means having an emergency battery backup system that can energize the brakes, and a breakaway switch or pull pin connected to the tow vehicle to activate the brakes if the trailer comes loose. With surge brake systems, a cable or chain connected to the tow vehicle is typically used to apply the trailer brakes in an emergency."

I find this very interesting because I built a 14,000 GVW goose neck trailer last summer.
The trailer was inspected, titled and licensed.

They checked to make sure my trailer had brakes and lights but no one said any thing about safety chains or a brakeaway system.

And yet even more

Originally Posted by Ron Melancon View Post

If you choose to make a homemade trailer or buy one and use the
Wrong size ball...........
Wrong size hitch...........
Don't put on the Safety Chains...........
Don't use reflector tape (My law in Virginia where the companies tried to kill)
Don't maintain it...........
Have bald tires................
Have stuff flying off..............
Use substandard wires............
I certainly agree with you on the need for regulations for all trailers.

When I took my trailer in to get it inspected, it did not have the safety chains or the brakeaway on it ( I had called and the thay said it just needed lites and brakes ).

He checked a little square on his check sheet for lites and and another square for brakes.

He just "asked' me if the axles had brakes. He never checked to see if the lites or brakes actually worked.
He never looked at he rating tag on the hitch.
Never checked the thickness of the frame or how it was braced underneath.
Never checked any of my welds.

As I stated, I built my own trailer.
The axles are 7,000 lb each and the tires are 3,600 8 ply.
All 4 wheels have electric brakes with a battery powered brakeaway system installed.
It has 2 tail/brake lites on the rear and 2 more tail/brake lites on the upright beams for the goose neck hitch.
It also has 3 (2 bulb) side marker lites on each side.
My safety chains are rated at 15,000 pounds.
The trucks ball is rated at 25,000 pounds.
I built my own hitch plate for the ball, and you'll rip the frame out of the truck before that hitch plate will brake loose.

I realize that I'm bragging but the point is, a lot of people just do not build things like I do.

I have built things all my life and I feel you can't make something to strong, you can only make it to weak!

I've seen "home made" trailers that don't have any lites and probably no brakes.

Some of them look like absolute crap and some are bowed over the axles because the frame isn't made of heavy enough material.

Why are these allowed to be on the road?

My cousin built his own goose neck hitch for his truck. He bought a "chrome" 2-5/16 ball for it. That ball is only rated at 7,000 pounds.

I harassed him about it and he says it will work just fine, and besides the 25,000 pound ball cost more!

Originally Posted by jdcrawler View Post
My cousin built his own goose neck hitch for his truck. He bought a "chrome" 2-5/16 ball for it. That ball is only rated at 7,000 pounds.

I harassed him about it and he says it will work just fine, and besides the 25,000 pound ball cost more!

How did he get a ball rated for 7,000 pounds to thread into the base? It is my understanding that only the larger (I think 1.25" shank rated for 25,000 lbs) will work in a gooseneck application.