Transporting an empty trailer with no tag

Or if you drive a tow truck. Even a tractor marked as a Tow Truck can pull a trailer with no lights, no tag, technically doesn't even have to be road worthy if it's "In tow"

 

In California if the wheels are on the ground it is supposed to be registered or have a trip permit. Got a warning years ago (becore cdl) at the Cottonwood scales when towing an unregistered car using a 2-wheel dolly.

 

With a tow dolley.... it's not that way in georgia but California is its own little bag of nuts.

That's why I enjoy the Tow Truck laws here. But I have a friend that runs a wrecker service here that is from up north, he said up there like on the Jersey Turn Pike he had to flat-tow all semi trucks. Meaning unlike here you can't pick the wheels of the truck up. So he would have to stop at the toll booths and all and let the wheels down on the ground, then drive through and pick the wheels back up on the other side.

 

Not entirely true. In some states (Illinois, for example) a tow truck is issued 3 registration tags. 1 for the front of the truck, 1 for the rear of the truck, and 1 to be displayed on any "unregistered" vehicle which might be towed behind the wrecker. That 3rd tag is really no different than a dealer tag or a transporter tag in that it is intended to be moved from vehicle to vehicle, but allows identification of the person/company responsible for the vehicle's movements.

 

A dealer who i have dealt with down near the Mass border was complaining about how temp tags had become an issue for Mass customers. Couldn't remember exactly so i looked it up:"A Massachusetts resident who purchases a motor vehicle in another state must apply for and attach valid Massachusetts registration plates to the vehicle before he/she can drive the vehicle back to Massachusetts." Nonresidents can travel through Mass with valid temporary plates, on the way someplace else, but residents must actually register. Dealer curcumvents law by allowing use of dealer plates for the trip. If you want to be legal, check with your state DMV.

 

Wow.. Glad it's not that way here... In Georgia it doesn't matter what it is.. If it is "In tow" By any type of tow truck it doesn't need lights, registration or even be road worthy, as long as it's being pulled by a registered tow truck and has a light bar on the back.

 

The tow truck is supposed to have tow lights to put on the back...and you can tow vehicles that otherwise would not be roadworthy. You just have that 3rd tag to display on the rear of the towed unit in case it lacks registration of its own. Usually you don't get hassled (or at least WE never did) but the extra tag was in the side box just in case.

 

I just purchased a semi in Colorado and need to drive it back to NC. They didn't give me a temp tag but I do have a bill of sale. Will it be okay for me to pick a load up going back without a tag on my tractor?

 

No. Needs a tag.

 

Why would you a ask your broker?