Towing splitter+ cops???

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Just look at there cars anymore. They used to say to serve and protect but they took that off years ago. Now they need to put their real motto on "To Annoy and Harass" I have seen highway patrol cars pass by a pregnant mom eight months along with kids in the car trying to change a flat and never stopped:angry2:, but I sure did!

Holy crap. Those are not good police officers.

Glad you helped the lady. :cheers:
 
Im not seeing the necessity for lights on a splitter.In my case im pulling with a full size truck,the splitters only 4 feet wide at the tires,and mucn thinner everywhere else the trucks lights are 6 foot+ apart....you can easily see the lights on truck from any angle behind you.The splitter has reflective tape on it,and a warnign triangle,if you cant see it you shouldnt be driving...most splitters are only rated to be towed at 45 mph...LOL...like anyone listens.
 
59ford - Call the Wa. DMV and ask. Let us know. While the thoughts of others around the 50 states is interesting, it doesn't answer your question.

most often you can find the information at your states DMV website. if not, they have an email contact.
 
shhhhh-quiet new hampshire's dot cops do not need another revenue generator. They pull over anything with wheels in this state and there is no such thing as a warning. My luck the axle would not meet gvw and the lights were to close to each other and the paint was not an approved dot color. I trailer mine so we not run into a problem.
 
Last edited:
true. in NYS a "dedicated" trailer does not need plates, but i think you need lights.

i have brake/stop/running lights on my trailer. hell, for less than 30 bucks you can outfit a splitter with lights. if not to be legal, just for being courteous to others on the road.

in NY, a trailer that does not carry "cargo"; such as a splitter, cement mixer, light tower, portable welder, etc; does not need to be registered, insured, inspected, or have lights as long as the tow vehicles lights can be seen clearly from behind. this would fit the design of many splitters. i usually put two "oversize load" type orange flags on the back of mine just to be more visible, as i dont have lights or anything.

you have to watch out for using orange triangles for things that do go over 25mph. i got ticketed once by a orange county sheriff for having three NH tractors on my lowboy, each having a slow vehicle triangle. the truck and trailer were going 70mph, but the SMV signs "implied" the tractors were only going 25mph, and were in violation.......
 
I got ticketed once by an Orange county sheriff for having three NH tractors on my lowboy, each having a slow vehicle triangle. The truck and trailer were going 70mph, but the SMV signs "implied" the tractors were only going 25mph, and were in violation.......

I think I would have shown up in court and argued common sense on that one.

Ian
 
Just look at there cars anymore. They used to say to serve and protect but they took that off years ago. Now they need to put their real motto on "To Annoy and Harass"...

"To Harass and Collect" would be more accurate these days, it seems. :beat-up:
 
I think I would have shown up in court and argued common sense on that one.

Ian

Common sense is no match for the law, lol! I wish I could have seen the look on some zilch's face when the LEO was 'splainin' it to him.

I have found you can get out of tickets, though, simply by going to court and pleading not guilty. They don't want to waste time in court, they want you to send them a check.
 
Is there a school for that? LOL

Actually, the dumber they think you are, the more they are charmed by you. My I.Q. drops the longer they have me stopped, eventually they just want to cut their losses.

Never let them know that you knew you were out of compliance. They just may feel sorry for a fool though!
 
This may be of some help for WA folks:

http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/docs/cvd/170_129.pdf

Buried in this document is the statement that trailers, regardless of size, must have a license plate. I suppose there may be exceptions, but I couldn't easily find them by searching online.

Here's a handy Google search string that may be of some benefit:

site:wa.gov trailer

If you go to Google and use the above search term, it will search the wa.gov web site for "trailer"
 
outside of legality, If your towing your splitter regularly, you might want to consider a trailer or modifying the axle/wheel combo on your splitter, if its like most, its running like 8 to 10" tires, those wheel bearings are spinning around twice as fast as the ones on your truck. They are already built light since they are expected to be pulled around the yard, not 50 mph for an hour.
 
Just look at there cars anymore. They used to say to serve and protect but they took that off years ago. Now they need to put their real motto on "To Annoy and Harass" I have seen highway patrol cars pass by a pregnant mom eight months along with kids in the car trying to change a flat and never stopped:angry2:, but I sure did!

Did you ever think that maybe he or she was going to a call and could not stop but maybe called it in. I hope you never to but the next time you or one of your family needs the help of one of these guys, remember what you posted on here.
 
Serve it to Collect. I've heard that about having a call on something else only to find the officer pull into a coffee shop. I remember it because I got the summons in the mail and went to court a month later to ask why I wasn't pulled over and the answer was maybe the officer was on call. Guess what, I saw officer behind me after I made a right on red(no turn on red sign) I pulled into a shopping center and watched him pull into the coffee shop next to it. Served to Collect without getting pulled over. It's better to sit on idle long periods of time then to safely stop on red and turn when safe. He could have asked me to buy him coffee instead.

Now I also tow my splitter in town about 3 miles to and from where I split, any further or out of town I get it on a trailer with springs. I don't know the law but my splitter came ready for road use up to 45mph with lights and chains.

I should look into the farm equipment offroad use part to be ready if I ever do get pulled over in town. Splitter already has reflection tape but maybe some flags would be best, I can't see the splitter when I'm trying to back it up the driveway and flags pointed up and out enough to see in the mirrors without covering the vehicles lights would be great.
 
One bad officer can wreck the reputation of the whole department. If someone gets treated fairly and with respect, they're not likely to say much about it. Get the shaft and they'll scream it from the mountain tops. It's human nature.

Ian
 
One bad officer can wreck the reputation of the whole department. If someone gets treated fairly and with respect, they're not likely to say much about it. Get the shaft and they'll scream it from the mountain tops. It's human nature.

Ian

200% correct.
 
most often it depends on your license record. if you have a long history of traffic violations, you're almost certain not to get a break.
 
most often it depends on your license record. if you have a long history of traffic violations, you're almost certain not to get a break.

In the 700k+ miles on the road (mostly hauling 70k lbs) I've had 2 or 3 moving violations(2 pts each) going back 18 years for the first and the right turn on red was my last about 4 years ago. So it really depends on who is giving the break or not.
 
One bad officer can wreck the reputation of the whole department. If someone gets treated fairly and with respect, they're not likely to say much about it. Get the shaft and they'll scream it from the mountain tops. It's human nature.

Ian

It's human nature to EXPECT to be treated fairly. It's human nature to be upset when you get the shaft from those who have been given power and they abuse it.

You are not supposed to get the shaft from a LEO. Ever, and if it happens it SHOULD be shouted from the mountain tops.

EDIT: I apologize for thread drift enablement.. We plan to move our splitter on a trailer. If we ever take it anywhere.
 
Back
Top