Towing double

[Dennis and Carol]

Does anyone know which of the western and mid-western states it is illegal to tow double. I am thinking of a small aluminum boat.

[Montana Sky]

Washington State does not allow double towing.

[pineranch]

Here you go;
http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm
Mike

[Alwims]

We've been double towing for years and use the link provided by pineranch and have never had any problems.

[snfexpress]

I'm my experience as a LEO, I never worried about "illegal" double towing, or other such things, such as not having the right endorsement on a license, unless there was a problem and I had to investigate it. Just my opinion.

[lasater]

Last spring I traveled from Arizona to SW Washington with a 14' boat behind the Monty. Prior to leaving, I called both the Oregon and Washington Highway Patrol offices. They both told me that only commercial rigs are allowed to double tow. RVers would be pulled over and ticketed if discovered. So, we double towed to the Oregon state line then rented a one-way U'Haul van to pull the boat on up to the the Vancouver area. What a pain! All the other western states allow a double tow with certain length restrictions; why not these last 2 states?

[Alwims]

The last time we were in Oregon we had no problems at all double towing. We even had a minor breakdown, outside of Bend, and an Oregon Highway Patrolman stopped to help. Didn't say a word about our setup. Sure you can get ahold of that one a$$hole cop that doesn't like the way you look or smell, but for the most part I think the Oregon police think if the big trucks can do it why not everyone.

Although I did mention to him, I had a Missouri CDL drivers license. Don't know if that had any bearing on anything, but we saw several LEO's on our trip through Oregon and not one gave us a second look. Just saying.

[RickW]

Washington, Oregon & California all 3 do not allow recreational doubles. In addition Oregon & California have a 65' max length limit, Washington is 75'. Most likely you will be over length in addition to towing double where not permitted. So you will have two things working against you in the event you are pulled over.

[hookman]

What size of boat and is it a car top boat. I have a 12 ft. and I am going to get a 14 ft. and load it over the cab of my truck as you can see on my picture. The rack is good for 16 ft. boat up to 400 lbs.

[mtheo]

Sorry to contridict Rich, but recreational double towing is legal in California and has been for as long as I can remember. Not to many years ago it was 75' for recreation vehicles. I know because I towed 72' combination and carried a comercial DMV book with me to show the officers. Which happened more than once.
You are required to have a commercial class A licence to do so

[RickW]

Mark - I stand corrected. My memory is not as good as it use to be, its hell getting older

[Gorgeguy]

I asked a friend who is a retired Oregon State Police about the double tow. He said if he was patrolling and saw it, the second tow would have to be dropped on the spot and another vehicle acquired to finish the tow. I suppose some are more lenient but others enforce the law the way it is written. He did say that he would not cite (unless they were nasty and stupid with him) but he would not allow the double tow.