If you’re planning a camping getaway where you’re towing a travel trailer, you may be wondering if can also bring your boat along the ride.
In this article, we’re answering the question “can you pull a boat behind a travel trailer?”, explaining the legal aspects of this action, and sharing tips on how to ensure your safety on the road. Let’s get started.
Can You Pull a Boat Behind a Travel Trailer?
To know if you can pull a boat behind a travel trailer, you need to first understand the technical term for it.
Towing a boat trailer behind a travel trailer is considered triple towing. In triple towing, you pull your travel trailer behind your vehicle and pull your boat trailer behind your travel trailer.
Triple towing is pretty common in a lot of regions, however, you need to go about it carefully. You should make sure that triple towing is legal wherever the area you plan on driving.
As long as it’s legal and safe in your location, you can pull a boat behind a travel trailer. Keep in mind that triple towing can be very dangerous unless you know what you’re doing.
This is the main reason it’s considered illegal in many states, and also why you need to be extra careful and take additional precautions.
Is Pulling a Boat Behind a Travel Trailer Legal?
While there are numerous exceptions, many states do allow towing two things behind a vehicle, which are a travel trailer and a boat trailer in today’s case. That being said, you’ll still need to adhere to multiple safety regulations and obligations to be compliant with the law.
For example:
- It may be required that the first trailer in the chain is only a 5th wheel trailer (or gooseneck) and not allowing the use of any bumper pull trailers in that position.
- Some states have limits on how long your entire load can be, whereas other states may measure the length by each may be brakes and safety chains needed for the first trailer according to the state’s laws.
- There may be speed limits to comply with when triple towing a boat. Not to mention, you’ll need to drive slower than that.
- The boat trailer may require brakes and safety chains depending on the overall weight of the boat and travel trailer. In general, exceeding 3,000 pounds will require you to install brakes.
As you can, this can be a real headache. To be on the safe side and avoid being pulled over, it’s important to double-check the state’s laws before going on any drive where you plan on pulling double trailers behind your vehicle.
If you’re not quite certain, you can call the Department of Motor Vehicles to get more information. For extra convenience, we’ve put together a simple list of states to help you check whether or not triple towing is legal in the places you’re planning to visit.
The following states are legal:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
The following states are illegal:
- Alabama
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
Tips for Pulling a Boat Behind a Travel Trailer
Once you’ve figured out if triple towing is legal in your state or the areas where you’re planning to drive through, the following tips will help you ensure a safe drive:
- Check the state’s laws for any special regulations regarding triple towing — When you contact the Department of Motor Vehicles to determine whether or not triple towing is legal, be sure to also inquire about any additional rules such as the maximum allowed length and load weight. Each state may have a different set of rules to comply with, which is why you need to check thoroughly if you’re planning on driving through multiple states while triple towing.
- Make sure your vehicle is capable of accommodating your load weight — You need to carefully consider the weight of your travel trailer and boat trailer when triple towing. Not only do you need to stay within the maximum load capacity of your vehicle, but you should also be aware that the extra weight can affect the pressure of the brakes. Also, avoid carrying a too heavy haul, otherwise, the hitch will probably snap.
- Tamale stops frequently — This allows you to inspect your trailers several times along the way. Check the hitch for looseness and the tires for low air pressure.
- Don’t drive too close to the other cars on the road — keep some distance between your vehicle and other cars beside, behind, and particularly in front of you. With the heavy load you’re pulling, the boat trailer will propel forward when you engage the brakes. Also, take extra care when changing lanes to avoid hitting another vehicle if the trailer swerves.
- Set up a rearview camera — If you’re triple towing, you won’t be able to see behind your vehicle, which makes spotting the cars behind you or beside you a near-impossible task. The best way to solve this issue is by setting up a camera in the back of your vehicle. From here, you can link the camera to a screened device and just be on the lookout or have someone keep an eye on it for you.
- Get insurance — Regardless of how prepared you are, accidents can still happen when double or triple towing. With such risk on the road, it’s smart to get insurance.
Wrap Up
So can you pull a boat behind a travel trailer? The answer is yes as long as it’s legal in the state you’re driving through and you comply with all the necessary safety regulations associated with triple towing in said state.