boat trailer question

[Garret]

Not sure if they got repealed, but Connecticut had 2 great laws:

It's illegal to kiss your wife on Sunday [is it illegal to kiss someone else though?]

It's illegal to make love in the kitchen. [try & counter that one!]

[Garret]

Sure. Breaking laws goes on all the time. I get it. I really do.

For the clarity of people with less experience to make up their minds on a topic, it's good to present the entire picture. Then they can do or not do as they see fit.

Kevin

Just wondering: I get that having just a light board is illegal, but is it illegal to have one in addition to permanently mounted lights? Pole trailers used by power companies have both mounted lights on the "trailer" and a 2nd set attached to the end of the pole. Does that mean most utility companies are breaking the law?

The MA cop who checked on me commented that all I needed for the beam was a red flag to be legal. I said I'd be driving up I91 in the dark & wanted people to see me. He said "That's smart". Now maybe he didn't know the law, but he sure approved.

[Canoeyawl]

So, I went to federal register. Tiny font. On my phone!!!!

S7, each lamp, reflective device, and item of associated equipment shall be securely mounted on a rigid part of the vehicle other than glazing that is not designed to be removed except for repair, in accordance with the requirements of Table I and Table III, as applicable, and in the location specified in Table II (multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, trailers, and buses 80 or more inches in overall width) or Table IV (all passenger cars, and motorcycles, and multipurpose passenger vehicles, truck, trailers and buses less than 80 inches in overall width), as applicable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

"Securely Mounted" could be rope, chains, webbing, glue, magnets or even fasteners such as nuts and bolts. It does not say "Permanently mounted"

The above posted link to the Federal Register is outdated, the correct link is here:

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-4...ection-571.108

[Gordon Bartlett]

The last sentence in that federal lighting requirements document posted up-thread (the one in the black rectangle) says:

"No part of the vehicle shall prevent an device from meeting its prescribed requirements unless an auxiliary device meeting all prescribed requirements is installed."

I suspect that is the part that makes light bars acceptable.
For our purposes, we could make a pretty good case for interpreting it to mean:

"The trailer must have permanently mounted lights. If the boat blocks the lights, a light bar must be mounted to the back of the boat."

[sp_clark]

"The trailer must have permanently mounted lights. If the boat blocks the lights, a light bar must be mounted to the back of the boat."

Be my argument!

MY trailer's lights are fine as supplied but given the nature of the boat I intended to haul on it, its lighting needs some augmentation to protect everything when being trailered.

That's why I rigged up a removable, un-pluggable light 'board' (hanger actually) that is hung on the rear-most part of my canoe when it's on the trailer & out on the road.

Common Sense dictates that something be added to illuminate the dimensions of the load being carried on said trailer if the as-supplied lighting's insufficient.

As long as the trailer's original lighting package is intact and 100% functional, who the heck would object to additional lighting being added that serves to define the load's extremities?

[stromborg]

There is quite an industry devoted to magnetic-mount lights for towing. Considering this and the anecdotes regarding lights mounted to boards being found acceptable by state troopers in many jurisdictions maybe we are taking the "permanently mounted" part too literally. Maybe what they don't want is lights dangling from wires pointing in various directions as they flop in the wind.

[MushCreek]

Y'all would lose your minds here in SC. Small trailers aren't titled or tagged, and it's common to see them on the road with either inoperable lights, or no lights at all.

[Breakaway]

"Securely Mounted" could be rope, chains, webbing, glue, magnets or even fasteners such as nuts and bolts. It does not say "Permanently mounted"

The above posted link to the Federal Register is outdated, the correct link is here:

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-4...ection-571.108

I see the wording has changed. It now reads " securely mounted on the vehicle." I take the vehicle to mean the trailer, not the item the trailer is carrying. It also speaks to being non-removable.


Screen Shot 2023-01-25 at 8.41.17 AM.jpg


It goes on to address temporary lights and distinguish those from the required lights mounted on the vehicle /trailer.

Screen Shot 2023-01-25 at 8.44.20 AM.jpg


Kevin

[Canoeyawl]

As long as the trailer's original lighting package is intact and 100% functional, who the heck would object to additional lighting being added that serves to define the load's extremities?

Those that do not want their boat crashed by an errant driver

I have always added side lights up near the front of the trailer expressly for the purpose of merging vehicles. Many drivers do not realize there is a trailer when they merge in behind you. Having been tagged once that way (with construction equipment, not a boat) and surprised people many times it seemed like cheap insurance to prevent someone from merging between the tow vehicle and the trailer...

[The Q]

UK boat trailer law..
Trailer size In addition to weight, trailer size is also subject to legal limits. Unless specific arrangements are to be made with the police the following dimensions apply:


Maximum trailer length 7 m, excluding coupling and drawbar.
Maximum trailer width 2.55 m. • Maximum load overall width 2.9 m.
Maximum load projection either side of the trailer 305 mm.
Rear load overhang of 1 – 2 m must be clearly marked.
Rear load overhang of 2 – 3.05 m must be indicated by a marker board (illuminated at night). ( Warning triangle)
The size of the trailer and / or its load may restrict reward vision from the vehicle. It is a legal requirement that adequate rearward visibility is maintained, which may require extensions being fitted to the vehicle wing mirrors.


Towing equipment
The trailer must be fitted with a number plate at, and visible from, the rear. It must show the same registration number as the towing vehicle.


The rear of the trailer must also be fitted with the following lighting and markers: ( these can be on a light board)


Two red sidelights
Two red stop lights
Two red reflective triangles
Number plate illumination light
Left and right amber turn indicators (including a warning buzzer / indicator in the vehicle indicating when the indicators are in use)
If the trailer is more than 1.6 m wide at least one red fog lamp

My boat on the trailer is right on the 2M overhang size so a few millimeters forward and it doesn't need the warning triangle, a few millimeters back it does.. so I've made one and the boat always wears it on the road.