Flat towing legality

vanguard

vanguard

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Location
Apex, NC
This question isn't for me, I will continue to rock the tow setup I always use and bask in Rich's envious glare. My friend is thinking of flat towing and I have it stuck in my head that the rig your towing needs to be tagged, insured, etc. Is that right or can you pull a trail rig with no tags, title, etc. just like you could with a trailer?

Does it change if you go from flat towing to a tow dolly like this one?
demco-tow-dolly-car-trailer.jpg
 
I BELIEVE that flat tow/tow dolly requires the rig to be registered with a plate. Due to a tow dolly etc not carrying a plate. That being said.

I have logged around 2000 miles towing my rig on a dolly in the past 3 years. Neither having a plate and have never been stopped. Don't know if that makes it ok or not, take this info with a grain of salt.

Maybe someone else has a little more concrete information.

Hope this helps. -Tim
 
From what I know both need tags. I know the tow dolly counts as a trailer and you can load something on it so it must have lights and tags. If I remember from talking to DMV it rig is covered the same as flat towing and must have tags in both cases if the person towing it does not have a towing license like a tow truck.
 
So in theory, the vehicle being towed (on a duly tagged dolly) does not have to be tagged then.

If the vehicle being towed IS tagged, then the dolly does NOT need to be (Uhaul rents em by the hundreds of thousands per day with NO tags)

And finally, in my ignorance, I towed about 5000 miles with a dolly and 2000ish of those the vehicle had no tag, nor did the dolly. Never got a 2nd look, had lots of various state troopers drive right by me.

SO, if the vehicle cannot be tagged for whatever reason, spend the cash and tag the dolly.

Sam
 
Oh, and forgot my usual speech here about SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY.

I would be very very very very very careful if flat towing. If the rig you are pulling has bigger tires than the tow rig, IT has MORE traction than the tow rig!! SO it can and will push the tow rig around so any turns must be done at a CRAWL.

I nearly jacknifed when flat towing my YJ on 35x12.5s with my ZJ. I hammered the gas hard to yank the YJ back behind me but missed wrecking very narrowly.

I put the YJ on a dolly and towed a BUNCH with ZERO issues.

OBXfisherman on here bought my dolly and towed his XJ. I had to watch as he changed lanes, causing the XJ to start fishtailing and wreck on 52N. (He was pulling with a Waggy) In that case, I think the coils on front of XJ vs my YJ had leafs was the main factor.

Finally....the young man that bought my YJ a couple years ago flat towed it home to Florida. A week later he was flat towing it somewhere on I-95, was cut off by another driver which caused him to fishtail/lose control and he did NOT SURVIVE the accident. (Towing with a v8 Ford Explorer)

So please, be careful. I have heard stories of folks flat towing safely all over the world and I personally tow dollied with no issues but you must match the tow rig to the vehicle being towed.
 
SHINTON said:
So in theory, the vehicle being towed (on a duly tagged dolly) does not have to be tagged then.
If the vehicle being towed IS tagged, then the dolly does NOT need to be (Uhaul rents em by the hundreds of thousands per day with NO tags)
And finally, in my ignorance, I towed about 5000 miles with a dolly and 2000ish of those the vehicle had no tag, nor did the dolly. Never got a 2nd look, had lots of various state troopers drive right by me.
SO, if the vehicle cannot be tagged for whatever reason, spend the cash and tag the dolly.
Sam
Click to expand...
If the tires are on the ground it needs tags. (dolly) if not then no tag (trailer)
Sam you need to remember that Uhaul falls under a different set of rules and may never have a truck or trailer with tags that come from NC and are always from a different state because that is the base of opps for them.....Lots of states still say trailers don't need tags. Thats whats cool about big corps like that. I worked for one sometime back and all our tags on the trucks were from Ohio and not NC, No tax and less cost to them plus they could keep up with them in one state and not 4 to 5 states and all the different taxes and regs.
Just because you see it does not make it so.......
 
Back
Top