Transporting a mast over the road

[Steve W]

I recently purchased a 38ft mast which is located over 1000 miles from home and need to go pick it up. I was originally thinking of modifying a trailer to shoot the mast over the tow vehicle, i have done this before to carry the 44ft mast from my old cat and it worked well but have decided to carry it on the top of my pickup truck instead. The truck is a 97 F250 4 door so it has a long roof,about 6ft so it has a good spread for my Yakima rack bars, i have added a front reciever hitch and am building a bracket to slide in which will come up to the same level as the roof rack and also have a rack that goes at the very back of the box. This will give 4 supports spread over 20ft leaving 9ft of mast protruding out each end which dosnt seem too much to me and it will be almost 7ft above the ground putting it well above most vehicles behind me. I am also planning on putting a tail/stop light and a red flag on the aft end and an amber clearance light on the fwd end. The mast weighs an estimated 300 lbs(probably less) so that will be less than 75lbs on each bar. Im pretty happy with the settup but am not sure of the legality, im sure the rules vary from state to state and was wondering if there is a one stop place to check this out. Again,i will have 9ft past the truck at each end.

Steve.

[gonzo]

Search "trucking permits" and you will get hundreds of sites for people that take care of all the permits, routing, etc.

[philSweet]

Depends on the states you are driving through. A general rule of thumb that is found in some VC's is that loads such as pipes and poles must not overhang the end supports by more than 2/3 the wheel base. With a 158?" wheelbase, this gives you nearly 9'. I'd try to get your supports out that far. It's unlikely you will be bothered. If the load is 7' up, I'd run a huge wad of 6' tickle tape streamers off it though.

[bntii]

Cut the spar in half and knit up again at destination.

[philSweet]

Wouldn't it be nice if the US would publish something like this.

http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publication...rief-guide.pdf

[philSweet]

I did just find a tighter restriction in Utah

Overhang

3' Front

A vehicle or combination of vehicles, as defined in UCA 41-1a-102, may not carry any load 6' Rear extending more than 3 feet beyond the front of the power unit or more than 6 feet beyond the rear of the bed or body of the vehicle.

So it's pretty much all over the map. The way the measurements are taken seem to all be different even if the rule reads the same- ie. 60% (66%, 75% etc) of wheelbase measured from point of support. The point of support is 1. not defined. 2. rearmost axle. 3. bogie center.

I have found some states that limit front overhang to 4' max. May or may not apply to Federal Highways.

[PAR]

38' is within the normal trailering limits of all states, drop it on a trailer and haul it home. Yep, it's a big trailer, but not bigger then the 55' box an 18 wheeler drags around. I'm not sure what rental on a 35' trailer would be, but it eliminates any permitting and over hang issues.

On the other hand, it wouldn't be terribly difficult to modify a boat trailer to carry this stick. You'll need one long ass tongue extension (maybe a trussed extension), but you could use some angle stock to support it, full length and not have any legal issues. The weight is meaningless so any single axle (except the real small Harbor Freight stuff) will do. Truss it up, bolt or weld to the trailer frame and drag it home.

[gonzo]

You could simply attach the axle to the mast, add lights and tow it. That is the way log trailers work.

[PAR]

You would get stopped by every cop in route, with a mast tied to a trailer axle. If I was a cop I'd stop you.

[Steve W]

Thats an interesting idea gonzo, i wonder how you would licence it though. I actually have a trailer that is 37.5ft from hitch to the back but it seems like way overkill for a 300lb mast. Seems like sending an elephant to do a mouses job. It would however be legal. I also have a PWC trailer which i could modify but a big long trailer while legal would be a pain in the ass compared to carrying it on the roof.

Steve

[mydauphin]

Find yourself a friendly trucking company that is already moving cargo between these two locations and ask to carry it for you. I have move them for like $400, cheaper than all the trouble you will be going thru.

[mydauphin]

Also there is no law on how much you can carry in front of you. So if you can move it forward 3 feet, and then risk the trip. But you wont be able to turn into any streets or gas stations.

[Frosty]

Its 38feet so stick it in a 40 foot container. This is a competative market and some containers may be going that way empty ., take your time and search.

[Steve W]

I actually want to pick it up myself as i need to get some specific measurements off the boat it came off. Carrying it on the truck is ideal as the only modifications i need to make is to install the front hitch (which i have already done) and build the support which slides into it, i already have a pair of Yakima rack bars on the roof and a rack that goes at the back of the box.I really like that it puts the mast 7ft off the road well above almost anything following behind, it just isnt really a big deal except it may not be legal.

Steve

[mydauphin]

Tell us when you get back if you got a ticket, jail time or worse.