Maximum trailer tongue length?

[screwloose]

I went this past weekend to pickup a Craigslist find and was on my way home with a boat and trailer.
The boat is a 14' aluminum v hull and the trailer a bare bones Venture trailer with two bunks on a stamped steel frame about 4' wide, 4' long. Most of the trailer is tongue. The boat fits the trailer well, loads easily, (it weighs only a few hundred pounds at best), and all the lights work). The way the trailer is made, the tongue beam runs from the rear of the trailer all the way to the ball, there's roughly 13' of tongue beyond the trailer 'frame'.

To make a long story short, an officer pulled me over at 2am on my way home, probably thinking I stole the thing and after he checked out all the paperwork came back and said that the trailer was illegal, the tongue is too long. He insisted that the tongue of any trailer can be no more than 5' long.
I can find no such law on the books, he didn't write a ticket but when I called the police here they also said that a trailer tongue technically cannot be longer than 5' long. This is in NJ.
I don't think I've ever owned a boat trailer with a tongue shorter than 10'.
The tongue on this trailer extends about 3' beyond the bow of the boat, the boat sits about two inches up on the rear bunks and there's a bow roller both at the point where the frame ends and about midway up the tongue. The boat don't way enough to be of any concern, its light enough to car top if I cared to.

Has anyone ever heard of any such law? I can find nothing of the sort online. I think it was just BS so he could pull me over and check out what I was doing that night.
If it is the law, then 90% of all boat trailers are in violation.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I would of asked what the law number is. I sure have a very limited knowledge of trailer laws but I sure wont drag my boat through NJ. And if that's true then just about any one in NJ has a pending law suit with ever trailer maker.

I have a 20 foot pontoon sitting on a 29 foot trailer, I measured it for a indoor storage place.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I did a quick google search and found several references but nothing that really defined anything


they were worded like "tongue length is to be twice the track width of the axle not to exceed 6 feet" now how many 3' wide trailers do you see on the road... others said similar but said not more than 6' from axle to end of tongue. Some said 4 feet instead and I found a couple mentions of "most states have limits of 4-6 feet.... I didn't find anything that makes sense but while I would simply disregard the officer as being mistaken, I believe he just didn't understand the law (I don't either) rather than made it up to get at you. He MAY even be exactly right too... I dunno:facepalm:

 

[tazrig]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I was a cop in MA for 10 years. First I've heard of that one but every state has it's own laws. Are you from NJ? Each state must honor the traffic laws of the state of which the vehicle is registered. For example if it's legal in MA and you are from MA driving through NJ then they have to honor the MA law. This doesn't mean however, if the speed limit is 65 in MA and it's 55 in NJ you can drive 65 in NJ. It means that if MA says you can have tinted windows on your vehicle and NJ says you can't and you get stopped in NJ they can't write you up for it. If however, you have something that is easily removable and is illegal such as a radar detector then you are expected to remove it. Hey don't yell at me I didn't write the laws I just used to enforce them... :lol:

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I find this one interesting. I have a tilt trailer and the tongue is 8' long. Approximately 2' is inside the frame channel. So how long is my tongue legally? 8', 6' or something else. The law has to state measurement parameters so an officer can actually lay a tape on it from the ball or the frame to somewhere to say it exceeds the limit. Otherwise it is unenforceable. Just my take on it, for what it's worth. Oh, I'll be avoiding the Garden State.

 

[tazrig]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I find this one interesting. I have a tilt trailer and the tongue is 8' long. Approximately 2' is inside the frame channel. So how long is my tongue legally? 8', 6' or something else. The law has to state measurement parameters so an officer can actually lay a tape on it from the ball or the frame to somewhere to say it exceeds the limit. Otherwise it is unenforceable. Just my take on it, for what it's worth. Oh, I'll be avoiding the Garden State.

I would think the tongue would start at the ball hitch and end where it enters the frame of the trailer. Then it would become part of the frame. Even with your tilt trailer, when it is in the down position it is bolted or latched to the tongue yes??? :noidea:

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

Interesting... My home-grown jon boat trailer has about 12' of tongue. I built it like others I had seen, something like this...

Luckily, I don't have to tow through NJ in the near future. :joyous:

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

Well while it is interesting I really doubt any trailer manufacturer would sell a trailer that is illegal to use. If they did it would open them up to a lot of law suits. How ever it may be one of the old out dated laws on the books. One of our more famous one here is that some one must walk 25 feet in front of a car with a lantern at night.

But it will be interesting to find out.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I wonder what he would do with this? LOL

 

[tazrig]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I wonder what he would do with this? LOL

OH BOY!!! Now you've done it here come the New Jersey undercover trailer tongue cops. :spy::spy::spy::spy: I'm going to go hide out in another thread until the heats off!!! :lol:

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

Yup, NJ is sort of funny about boats and trailers . . . I'm not sure why, because they have plenty of them

They are one of the few states that have an 8' beam limit. Not sure about the trailer tongue though. when I was looking at boats in NJ (and I bought my first boat in NJ), I came to understand that they don't even title the trailers. :noidea:

My thoughts are that the law/regulation may be about the bow stop to the coupler distance, not the overall length of the tongue

 

[steelespike]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

My Load Rite trailer is fitted to my 18 ft Crestliner utility,its maximum length as it came from the factory.
The tongue measures 10 ft from where it enters the frame.Haven't measured it but it must be 14ft from the axle to the ball.
Tongue is a big box beam.
My chinese utility trailer has a triangle shape frame like tongue 42" from frame to ball about 8ft from axle to ball.

 

[Bronlonius]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I think if you just get some angle iron, and make two gussets that connect the tongue beam to the rear of the trailer, so that the tongue is only 5 feet long, that will solve the problem, and also make the trailer stronger. What probably got this law into effect was a trailer with a weak tongue beam breaking. These things rust from the inside out, it's assumed that the tongue beam will be submerged from 5 feet back when you dip your trailer in the water, making that part the most likely to get weaker from rusting out over time.

It should be noted that even with the gussets in place, the length of the tongue beam itself is still very important. If the tongue beam doesn't go back far enough and make a "T" with the frame rails, the trailer will eventually break.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

Also, a long tongue may be ok for light tin boats but not heavy hulls. If you put a heavy fiberglass boat with console or dashboard steering on one of these, there is no good way to adjust tongue weight since the wheels can not be located or relocated far enough forward. Additionally, the tongue--unless it is a massive box beam will bend. During road towing it will also be "whippy" or "bouncy" possibly compromising the integrity of load attachment.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

Did he wright you a ticket? If so the code violation sec should be on there. The officer probably had nothing better to do and couldn't find anything wrong and had to give some type of reason. If not just keep on doing what your doing until you find out otherwise. I doubt that you are in any violation unless the trailer is home made. The builders know what the laws are. Hook it up go fishing and enjoy the boat. Address the issue when you get a ticket.

Department of Transportation
1035 Parkway Avenue
Trenton, NJ 08625-0600
(609) 530-3536 | www.state.nj.us/transportation

Maximum of 1 boat or general utility trailer may be towed behind passenger or pleasure vehicle. Total length of both not to exceed 62 feet.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I can't help but wonder if this is one of those obscure obsolete laws that simply became outdated and never removed from the books, so technically yes it is against the law but is no longer enforceable and why you did not get a ticket. Problem is you could also find that Officer that writes the ticket and lets the Judge determine enforceability(which is the way things are), Cops do not write the law they only enforce it, your elected officials make laws and remove obsolete laws(Sometimes they forget this part of their responsibility), and judges determine the rest, Enforceability and Constitutional issues. I sure would hate to be the test case!!!

If you get a chance google obsolete laws and enjoy, there are some pretty funny laws still on the books in various states..

 

[Part-time]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

Go see a DOT officer, maybe pull in at a truck weight station... Get a clear copy of what is legal on paper and keep it in the glove box of your tow vehicle.

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

Interesting... My home-grown jon boat trailer has about 12' of tongue. I built it like others I had seen, something like this...

Luckily, I don't have to tow through NJ in the near future. :joyous:

I don't know what CA law is in this regard - but, I see a lot of trailers that look like this sitting in the parking lots at San Diego launch ramps.

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

I don't know how accurate this is - but it makes some sense: How Long Should a Trailer Tongue Be? | eHow.com

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Maximum trailer tongue length?

After some thought on the matter.......

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the INTENTION of the law is to limit tongue length IN FRONT of the cargo carrying (wide) portion of the trailer or load.... IE long enough to allow 90 degree turning but no longer than needed.
What would make sense would be HALF of the track width not to exceed 6'

On a boat trailer that measurement would be from the coupler to the forward most point of the winch stand. You should be able to jackknife the trailer without getting the boat/winch stand into the tow vehicle.

I think the definition of "tongue" is the key here... I don't believe it has anything to do with the type of construction of the trailer but rather is the portion of the trailer that is designed ONLY to attach to the tow vehicle and not to carry cargo.

SO on the trailer above, although it is one continuous piece of steel, I think that the "trailer tongue" stops at the winch stand and from there back it is "trailer frame"