extending bed / overhang. Legal??
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From: Tampa / Wachula
extending bed / overhang. Legal??
My F800 has a 20' flatbed with 6.75' overhang past the rear axle, (237" wheelbase) I'm wanting to extend it as far as possible without moving the axle, say 6 more feet but I can't find and regulations for that and Florida DOT hasn't been of any help.
Anyone know where to look?
Thanks for any help!!
Anyone know where to look?
Thanks for any help!!
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Vehicle code. I don't have time to look this over, but it may be here:
http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/cve/2013TruckingManual.pdf
http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/cve/2013TruckingManual.pdf
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Well, I looked through that and other sites--nothing other than you are limited to 40' on a straight truck in Florida. You can hang a forklift on it and be 50'. There are other provisions for loads that extend beyond the bed but that's not the question here.
The only limits I found were European, NZ, and the state of Washington, where you can only go 15' beyond the centerline of the rearmost axle.
Your plan would seem to be just short of 15'.
You will have so much "swing" with that that, imo, it will be a constant hazard in anything other but straight line highway running.
And you will need to watch your axle loading depending on what you are hauling.
Best I can do....
The only limits I found were European, NZ, and the state of Washington, where you can only go 15' beyond the centerline of the rearmost axle.
Your plan would seem to be just short of 15'.
You will have so much "swing" with that that, imo, it will be a constant hazard in anything other but straight line highway running.
And you will need to watch your axle loading depending on what you are hauling.
Best I can do....
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From: Tampa / Wachula
Thanks for the responses / help!
I went looking online for trucks for sale and looking here in Tampa and quickly found some with overhangs up to 14 feet, saw some motorhomes too. Seems odd there looks to be no rules covering this.
As was said here, in town traffic will be an issue as I plan on delivering palm trees with this rig to nurseries. Taking someone's roof off in the next lane while turning would be none productive. Like everything there is always a trade off. Maybe the thing to do here is add 6 foot of PCV pipe to the rear and see how much I hit with it then decide how much to add on. I am planning on this additional bed section being removable via pins.
I did take note of 6 foot of cargo overhang past the bed being legal if flagged but in my case this would only be palm fronds tied together and centered. So currently at 29.4' long, add 6' of bed then add 6' of flagged fronds adds up to 41.4 feet total, well then, is it 40 foot max length or 40 foot plus 6 past that if flagged? Sounds pretty long doesn't it?
I went looking online for trucks for sale and looking here in Tampa and quickly found some with overhangs up to 14 feet, saw some motorhomes too. Seems odd there looks to be no rules covering this.
As was said here, in town traffic will be an issue as I plan on delivering palm trees with this rig to nurseries. Taking someone's roof off in the next lane while turning would be none productive. Like everything there is always a trade off. Maybe the thing to do here is add 6 foot of PCV pipe to the rear and see how much I hit with it then decide how much to add on. I am planning on this additional bed section being removable via pins.
I did take note of 6 foot of cargo overhang past the bed being legal if flagged but in my case this would only be palm fronds tied together and centered. So currently at 29.4' long, add 6' of bed then add 6' of flagged fronds adds up to 41.4 feet total, well then, is it 40 foot max length or 40 foot plus 6 past that if flagged? Sounds pretty long doesn't it?
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Check the link I posted. Iirc Florida has specific rules for what you are doing. I'll try to look it up later today also.
On Edit: Nope, I can't find it. I find all kinds of pictures of people hauling palm trees on trailers, or shorter ones on trucks. I just can't recall where I read about the trees and overhang etc. Sorry.
You can also, from that link, get info on the oversized load permitting process. They issue permits up to 12 months at a time. If you called them I bet you would either get the "yes, we permit palm trees all the time" or the "huh, never heard of it", in which case just haul a few loads and see what happens.
On Edit: Nope, I can't find it. I find all kinds of pictures of people hauling palm trees on trailers, or shorter ones on trucks. I just can't recall where I read about the trees and overhang etc. Sorry.
You can also, from that link, get info on the oversized load permitting process. They issue permits up to 12 months at a time. If you called them I bet you would either get the "yes, we permit palm trees all the time" or the "huh, never heard of it", in which case just haul a few loads and see what happens.
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