Trailer gate....Goodbye NHRA in Ca

[Toejam]

Did the other thread disappear in the last 5 minutes?

can a Moderator chime in, I hate this S**t!

 

[Nitrohelper]

.....this issue & thread is all about.....

There are around 67 illegal 56' trailers in the pits at Pomona that are going to have to be hauled out of state on lowboys with an over length permit if the state DOT is waiting at the gate Sunday night or Monday...

 

[Rajunz]

The only part that confuses me is, why build a trailer that's over the legal limit on the first place?

 

[Huge]

can a Moderator chime in, I hate this S**t!

It would be nice to know why they delete threads that acually has some truth in it, and shows what kind of problems a lot of the teams are having right now, but they will let a thread that is all rumors, lies, and BS run forever.

 

[Nitrohelper]

.... not RVs. So your Renegade Stacker can be 56' or longer... stating "Not For Hire" your good to go...

The motor home rule is 65' total length for both units... "not for hire" is not a legal statement when your sitting on the side of the road with a DOT officer... If the operator receives any compensation, then it is a business vehicle by DOT standards and rules... A trophy from a car show can be "compensation"... If the officer is having a sh*tty day, your not in for a good time with your illegal rig...

 

[Toejam]

The motor home rule is 65' total length for both units... "not for hire" is not a legal statement when your sitting on the side of the road with a DOT officer... If the operator receives any compensation, then it is a business vehicle by DOT standards and rules... A trophy from a car show can be "compensation"... If the officer is having a sh*tty day, your not in for a good time with your illegal rig...

Is this a recent change in the Law?

 

[big guy]

Is this a recent change in the Law?

No,it has been that way for years.When Mark Kinsela took His car there ,he got the permit long in advance.

 

[Paul]

It would be nice to know why they delete threads that acually has some truth in it, and shows what kind of problems a lot of the teams are having right now, but they will let a thread that is all rumors, lies, and BS run forever.

From what I can see a moderator didn't delete the thread which leaves the person who created the thread as the other person who could delete a thread.

 

[Speed1288]

Didn't this happen to KB back in the early 90's?

 

[Rodger]

Found this discussion with an email reportedly from Graham Light:
Drag Racing California laws

If the CHP is tracking race team trailers this closely, I now wonder how the teams with overlength trailers even made it to the Finals?

 

[Rajunz]

When looking at this picture, it makes it pretty clear that this is just a money grab from the State of California. These laws are in place for 2 major reasons. Safety, and protection of the infrastructure. How can this be any safer, and how can it be better for the roadways, CLEARLY that thing has more weight per axle.

 

[Nick]

Thank you to Michael & Steve (Torrence) for the explanation. I know nothing of these laws, as I am simply an NHRA fan.

What doesn't make sense to me is how can a lowboy trailer be legal hauling an illegal tractor trailer which was shut down for it's overall length?? The lowboy trailer would be many feet longer than the TT it is carrying, not to mention the tractor towing the lowboy. I'm seriously confused by this.

 

[sparky]

I tried my best to clarify this in its entirety, exactly what has taken place and why myself and team are not competing this weekend.

APPARENTLY SOMEONE DIDNT LIKE MY RESPONSE AND DELETED IT...

As we were all aware of, many trailers including mine are not in compliance with the laws of california because of length. I called CalTrans last week in efforts of obtaining a permit to avoid any problems with this issue and was notified that there "IS NOT and WILL NOT" be a permit given.

We were stopped at the scales, pulled over and inspected. This is where our trailer was measured and entire rig taken out of service and deemed illegal. Through many conversations and with CalTrans I was told that the only way that my trailer was allowed to leave the weigh station would be by hauling it out on on a lowboy trailer. There suggestion was to hire a crane company to come out, lift the trailer and load it to haul. But under no circumstance would we be able to move the trailer. Not even to get it to a better location for loading.

Through much help from a few other race teams, I was able to contact someone who had a stretch trailer that would be long and low enough to back our trailer onto. Unfortunately by the time we were able to get everything taken care of, we would not have enough time to make it to the track for qualifying.

I have no issue with paying a fine or buying any type of permit that would eliminate this problem. Being that we are in no type of points chase and using the last few races of this season as testing for next year. I made the decision that hauling my trailer "on a trailer" in and out of the state of california was not feasible nor something I wanted to do.

Steve Torrence

Steve , thanks for coming on here to clear the air , I think this sucks ! Our government at is worse ! All this and how many vehicles rolled by that weigh station carring illegal immigrants and drugs ?

 

[sammi]

First, hasn't anyone at NHRA thought to monitor transporters (in an advisory role only) and help racers with permits and compliance? No transporter, no race car, no show--even an MBA would understand that. Doesn't the NHRA have a lawyer or three on retainer?

Second, we citizens of California really need to place pressure on our legislators to address these issues. If we can't get satisfaction, we need to stop voting for incumbents until this and the other 1000+ or so anti business laws and regs are removed. Have you ever considered what the economic impact of Steve Torrance's visit to California might be? Fuel, truck stop purchases, truck wash, gas for tow car, food for crew and driver, accommodations for driver and crew, entry fees, parts purchasing for car, convenience store runs, dining at and around the track....this is only one team, but the impact is significant, maybe $30,000-50,000? All lost to the SoCal economy because one CHP officer decided this was the day to enforce a ridiculous regulation.

 

[clwill]

Mark while I agree with your rant about the law, it would also be wise to consider why it's there. Clearly there is some safety aspect: how long is too long. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

But I'm betting there is something else there, and as usual it's a "follow the money" kind of thing. Is the length limit on trucks to help the truck drivers (shorter trucks mean more trips == more income for truckers)? Is the limit because of tolls (again, more trips == more tolls)? Is the limit there simply to provide CalTrans some way to generate revenue when they know there are overlength trucks?

It would be important to know who's on the other side in this fight. I certainly can't think of a legitimate reason why the photo above of Steve's trailer on a trailer is any better than the original. But I bet someone can. And they're the ones pushing for this law to stay in place.

 

[skidaddy]

here is the deal. be legal or stay home. twice on this 5 week trip. we have been stopped for level 3 dot inspections. first in florida. he thought we were over 65 feet. actually we were only 57 feet. being painfully legal, we were cleared to go in about 30 minutes.
second stop was texas on a very remote hiway 190 in west texas. ozona area.this patrolman was just courious. 30 minutes later we were on our way.
we have a million miles driving showcar rigs for nascar and nhra. in the 20 years we have been on the road, we have been both legal and illegal. its more fun to be legal. stop at the scales, keep log book , medical cards, fed inspections. etc.

one thing i have done only once is go into a california weight scale. the sign says no pickups. we don't go there. the one time i went into the cal dot scales , it took 1.5 hours to get through. let 'em chase me.
the bottom line is follow the rules or vote someone into office to change them.

 

[Rajunz]

here is the deal. be legal or stay home. twice on this 5 week trip. we have been stopped for level 3 dot inspections. first in florida. he thought we were over 65 feet. actually we were only 57 feet. being painfully legal, we were cleared to go in about 30 minutes.
second stop was texas on a very remote hiway 190 in west texas. ozona area.this patrolman was just courious. 30 minutes later we were on our way.
we have a million miles driving showcar rigs for nascar and nhra. in the 20 years we have been on the road, we have been both legal and illegal. its more fun to be legal. stop at the scales, keep log book , medical cards, fed inspections. etc.

one thing i have done only once is go into a california weight scale. the sign says no pickups. we don't go there. the one time i went into the cal dot scales , it took 1.5 hours to get through. let 'em chase me.
the bottom line is follow the rules or vote someone into office to change them.

So this brings up my original question. Why would teams build a trailer that's over legal limits in the first place?

 

[clock guy]

When looking at this picture, it makes it pretty clear that this is just a money grab from the State of California. These laws are in place for 2 major reasons. Safety, and protection of the infrastructure. How can this be any safer, and how can it be better for the roadways, CLEARLY that thing has more weight per axle.

From what I understand they had to take wight out of their trailer and haul separately to keep the set up at legal weight.

 

[Bob K.]

It's now a weight issue. Calif. has an 80,000 lb. weight limit. I was in the trucking and Asphalt business in Calif. for 35+ years. It slowly became harder and harder to be in business in Calif. Race car haulers are not even close to the weight limit, they are just over length by 3 feet. Why they need the extra three feet is beyond me but they are legal in the majority of states. Why they can't get permits is also a mystery, I never had problems getting permits to move Cat D-10's or whatever, and they are way overweight. If you want to see how crazy Calif. has become check out KILLCARB.ORG -

 

[Deuce]

So this brings up my original question. Why would teams build a trailer that's over legal limits in the first place?

I agree Lance. The law is Ca. is 53ft trailer with a king pin to rear axle lenght of 40'. There is a motorsports exemption that allows a larger trailer as long as the king pin to rear axle length is 46' or less. Why not build a trailer that meets that requirement?