Towing in California

[flyu2there]

We enjoyed a night stay in Big Sur this spring on a car trip. Could you get in there from the north with a bus reasonably? Any decent place to stay once there?

45, no, its on the no no list for that length. There is a decent place in Monterey, believe it is associated with a Motel, then drive in.....course there is always the Elks club as well.

John

[Steve Bennett]

There are a couple of parks in Monterey, and one park where we have stayed in Carmel that can take 45' coaches. You can get to Big Sur from the North, (technicaly you are not to be on Hwy 1 with an over 40' coach) but there are not any campgrounds, and very limited parking for a large coach. The better option would be to stay in Carmel, and take the toad.

[Petervs]

Well, we drove the length of Hwy 1 from Pismo Beach to Carmel in our 45 towing a car, nobody bothered us, and realistically, there were only about 5 hairpin turns that required me to use the opposite lane.

Better only do it when traffic is light. I think we saw maybe 15 oncoming cars in a 2 hour period. It was a weekday in February or March I think.

Sometimes you just have to do stuff to prove you can!

[flyu2there]

Well, we drove the length of Hwy 1 from Pismo Beach to Carmel in our 45 towing a car, nobody bothered us, and realistically, there were only about 5 hairpin turns that required me to use the opposite lane.

Better only do it when traffic is light. I think we saw maybe 15 oncoming cars in a 2 hour period. It was a weekday in February or March I think.

Sometimes you just have to do stuff to prove you can!

Your very lucky that the Highway Patrol was not one of those 15 cars, not only is that road sporting, it is also quite illegal for a 45.......

John

[Petervs]

I am pretty sure the sign said the road was not recommended for large vehicles, or some such wording. It was a yellow cautionary sign, and I did not take it as an absolute hard law. Is California going to give tickets to out of stater visitors and wreck the tourism business there? I doubt it. I think the Highway patrol has bigger fish to fry.

Now, had i made an accident, it might well be different.

[flyu2there]

I am pretty sure the sign said the road was not recommended for large vehicles, or some such wording. It was a yellow cautionary sign, and I did not take it as an absolute hard law. Is California going to give tickets to out of stater visitors and wreck the tourism business there? I doubt it. I think the Highway patrol has bigger fish to fry.

Now, had i made an accident, it might well be different.

Peter,

The short answer to your question, YES, ABSOLUTELY or SI, if you prefer!



Here's Your Sign..........kpra.gif

You may find these two links helpful to your pocketbook next time you pass thru California.

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/tr...motorhomes.htm

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/tr...45-bus-map.htm


Someone on another thread was mentioning Olema in the Redwoods, looks like that one too is not available for 45's.

John

[Petervs]

OK so begins my life of crime then.

I also drove all over California before they passed all those laws in 2001 and 45 foot motorhomes were completely against the law back then.

I would drive the route again even knowing what you have told me here.

And I stand by my comment that the Highway patrol will not start killing the tourism business, and that they have better things to do. Plus, I bet most of them can't tell at a glance it the coach is 40 or 45 feet. They would have to have pulled you over for something else first.

[flyu2there]

Peter,

Please do not take my remarks as a personal affront however, my advice is sage! First, the California Highway Patrol does not care how many times you will be stopping at Denny's, how much money you plan on spending at Disneyland or if you will ever have the opportunity to see the Redwoods; their mandate is to enforce the laws of the State, with particular emphasis on the vehicle code and motor vehicle safety. You mentioned that you only got into the opposite lane of traffic five times, that should have been your clue. Also remember that driving on these roads is considered a moving violation that can impact your insurance rates, drivers license renewal not to mention the fine itself, far greater than being stopped for overlength on I-10. Hope that it is a cruiser that stops you because California also has a large fleet of DOT Highway Patrolmen that motivate around in utility vans and trucks, equipped with all of the lights, sirens, and black and white paint....they can and will make your life miserable if prevoked.

I will close out on this one with a quote..

"Ignorantia juris non excusat or Ignorantia legis neminem excusat (Latin for "ignorance of the law does not excuse" or "ignorance of the law excuses no one") is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely because he or she was unaware of its content."

[hhoppe]

I'm amazed at the number of non California resident POG members spouting off on what's good or bad conduct to use when visiting our state. On the above question, it's one of safety first. You are not allowed to cross the double yellow line morraly or by law. Antics like that will get you and others killed. There are many roads in California that cannot be brought up to freeway status. The mountainous terrain dictates what degree these roads can be advanced to. Come here and enjoy yourselves. View the beauty, obey the law and we'll pay the taxes. We will do the same for you when we are guests of your states. Thanks for your considerations.

[phorner]

Harry,

Well said. If I'm ever in the neighborhood, you can bet I'll be paying close attention to the local regs.

Once upon a time, in a career far, far away, I was the traffic engineer for our city, and was a member of our State Safety Council.

Traffic warning signs are there for a purpose...... 'cause without them somebody's butt is probably on the line. It usually pays to pay attention to them.

And, technically (and legally), there's a difference between a warning sign and a regulatory sign..... but that's another story for another time.

Personally, I find it's much easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble.