Every US State That Won’t Let You Double Tow

So, you’ve got a camping trip coming up, which means you’ll need to take your camper trailer. But you’ll be fishing while you’re there, which means you’ll need to tow your boat, too. Now, you’ve got a conundrum. Or do you? The thought occurs to you: Why not just tow your boat behind your camper?

This practice is called “double towing” or “triple towing,” which is when two trailers are towed at once, and it’s done all the time. But before you start hitching your boat trailer to your camper, you might want to check the law first. Depending on where you’ll be driving, double towing could be illegal.

If you need to tow more than one trailer, you can forget about doing it on the East Coast. Recreational double towing is illegal in every eastern coastal state, from Maine to Florida, except for Maryland (oh, Maryland, you rebel). It’s also illegal in Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. Some of these states, like Florida, make exceptions for commercial rigs, as long as they stick to designated highways. North Carolina has similar laws, allowing double towing only on the National Network highways. Virginia allows double towing by special permit only and allows individual cities to set their own restrictions. In fact, federal law requires every state to allow twin-trailer commercial rigs on the federal network highways, as long as the combination does not exceed 65 feet in length or a GVWR, or gross vehicle weight rating, of 80,000 pounds.

In total, we counted 20 states where recreational double towing is prohibited by law. In alphabetical order, they are: 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, and West Virginia.