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john in la 10-13-2009 19:53:58 70.156.104.83 4019 Report to Moderator	As the others have said the marker light rule kicks in at 80 inches wide. Another rule that is not often enforced but you should be aware of is the fact that your 102 inch wide trailer is not legal on most state highways. You are only allowed to pull that trailer on the federal highway system. [Reply]   [No Email]
Mike n Mo 10-14-2009 15:03:48 69.29.82.58 4024 Report to Moderator	Re: Cab Marker Lights Required? in reply to john in la, 10-13-2009 19:53:58   According to the Missouri Drivers Guide, the maximum width is listed as 102 inches. It doesn't say anything about the 102 inch being restricted to interstates and certain designated roads like it used to. There are some weight and length limits that are listed as applying to only "interstates and certain designated routes" (map available)and up to ten miles away from those routes. Obviously each state will be different on what's allowed where. My $0.02 worth (before taxes). Mike   [Reply]   [No Email]
ScottyHOMEy 10-14-2009 03:17:51 71.241.200.196 4020 Report to Moderator	Re: Cab Marker Lights Required? in reply to john in la, 10-13-2009 19:53:58   Curious what it is about that trailer that would restrict it to federal roads.   [Reply]   [No Email]
edj856 10-14-2009 09:46:12 146.145.158.58 4021 Report to Moderator	Re: Cab Marker Lights Required? in reply to ScottyHOMEy, 10-14-2009 03:17:51   The width is what restricts it to federal roads. Some states will allow 102" on any road as long as the lanes are 12' or wider. Here in New Jersey the limit is 96", so technically I'm illegal with my gooseneck. However, you're allowed to go up to 10 or 20 miles (not sure the exact number) off of the interstates to make your delivery.   [Reply]   [Send Email]
ScottyHOMEy 10-14-2009 10:13:44 70.105.251.99 4022 Report to Moderator	Re: Cab Marker Lights Required? in reply to edj856, 10-14-2009 09:46:12   Thanks. If they had that rule here in Maine and enforced it, commerce (very nearly dead anyway) would grind to a complete halt. 20 miles off a fedral road would cut off 9/10 of the territory and half the population of the state. The kicker down here is weights. As it is, they allow 99k combinations (with tri-axle trailers) on the turnpike and state roads, but ban them from the Interstate. Problem is that that policy has beat the side roads all to snot, and we manage to kill a few folks every year as the BIG trucks travel millions of miles each year miles parallel to the Interstate but on the smaller, local roads with the pedestrians and turning traffic. One of the senators got aproval for a one-year test exemption from the 80k rule. We'll see how it goes.   [Reply]   [No Email]
john in la 10-14-2009 19:55:03 72.150.31.4 4029 Report to Moderator	Re: Cab Marker Lights Required? in reply to ScottyHOMEy, 10-14-2009 10:13:44   I did a post a while back explaining this but you must have missed it. Each state sets rules for length; height; width; and gross weight. Years ago truckers had problems because while legal in one state they might be over somewhere before they got to there destination. Such as lets say 80,000 lbs is legal in La and Tn. But to get to Tn you had to cross Ms where the gross weight was 78,000. You had real problems. So to cure this problem the federal government took matters in their own hands. They allowed 2 pups of 28' or less; 53' single trailers; 80,000 lbs gross weight; no overall length limit; and 102" wide. Some states had a fit. So the feds limited these standards to the Federal Hwy system. You are allowed to have anything within the limits above as long as you stay on the system. They allowed 1 mile off the system for access with a wavier that you had to get from the state if your terminal was over 1 mile from the system. Most states did not want to fool with the waiver so they just set the standard higher. Some only allow 3-5 miles while others allow 10 or more miles. So the short answer is...... Each state is allowed to set any standard they want to but they are not allowed to restrict access to the federal system if you follow the rules above. If you are old enough and can remember that far back you know right when this law went into effect. Everyone had cab over trucks and then overnight everyone started buying big hood trucks. That is because the overall length law went bye bye. The National Highway System State by State   [Reply]   [No Email]
RodInNS 10-14-2009 20:07:03 216.118.158.123 4030 Report to Moderator	Re: Cab Marker Lights Required? in reply to john in la, 10-14-2009 19:55:03   What I don't get is the 80K limit... Up here we'd gross at least 91300 on 5 axles and 137500 on a super B. 80K just seems low to me. It's hard enough to make money here without losing 5 ton of payload... There's 3 axle trucks that sneak around here with 80K on their backs... but they're a tad overweight. Rod   [Reply]   [Send Email]