Legal, non-oversized length

Not in this area it isn't. Then again, you can only pull a 45 foot trailer into this area, and I'm at a junction of two semi-major roads. Welcome to California!

 

CT would require a permit. Statute reads in short,

the trailer, load or load lifting device causes length over 53' req's a permit

 

Let me pose another question along the same line. If a liftgate is illegal, then would a reefer unit be illegal as well. While it does not add to the overall length of the combination vehicle, it does add to the 53 foot length of the trailer? I was looking at a reefer this morning and wondering about that. Shouldn;t matter whether or not the extension is on the front or rear, it is still in excess of the 53' rule.

By the way, I don't remember the source, but I think that his boss is right and the liftgate is not considered as part of the length. There is a provision that covers it that i have seen somewhere.

 

I've thought about that, too. Does a reefer unit add to a wagon's overall length? Of course it does. But states like CT and CA won't touch you if you're pulling a 53-foot refrigerated unit. This is because they know they'd have a hell of a fight on their hands if they tried to start cracking down on them. Drivers, trucking companies, even the outfits like Great Dane would go after the DOT if those wagons suddenly became pariahs.

The DOT will only bust you if it knows it can get away with it. This goes for anything it may pinch you for....brakes, lengths, weights, whatever. The name of the "game" is 'victimize the isolated, defenseless, drivers'. But this applies with just about anything in society. If the threat of class-actions loom, the law will back down every time. This is why punishments for things like DUIs are so lenient (relative to the risk) while stealing a pack of bubblegum will get you two weeks or more in jail. Lots of people drink and drive, not to mention our president is a convicted drunk driver, yet few people steal packs of Wrigley's. The system knows this and thus takes full advantage. So....a 53 foot reefer wagon is legal and will stay that way.