Semis are allowed double trailer on interstates and within a mile of an interchange.
I'm not sure of the legality of recreational doubles, but I do see them on occasion, usually campers, towing boats or golf carts up I-95.
My uncle tows doubles fairly often. Usually a horse trailer and a cattle clamp. Farm tags let him pretty much do what ever he wants.
Personally I don't have a problem with it as long as it's under control.
I see those convoys occasionally even here in DC. Usually some kind of large sedan towing anything from an SUV to car to whatever. I've only seen a tandem once, and it was a box truck pulling a minivan and a civic. Also have seen a box truck with a car in the back of it, and flat-towing a pickup.
IIRC they're usually coming from the auctions in New Jersey heading south to destinations unknown. Always strikes me as a bit sketchy, but they do seem to drive right at the speed limit in the right lane staying out of traffic.
give the driver a ticket and what are the chances he ever comes back to the state?
That is one of the justifications i heard when i was asking around.
It is legal in some states. I do know it's legal in Missouri, don't know what other states. So if that Caravan had Missouri plates (or wherever it's also legal) on it then he's legal wherever he goes. Not going to get into the smartness of it but I would have at least used the biggest vehicle as the tow vehicle.
I tow a 27' 5th wheel RV and a very small aluminum flat deck with my quad on it. I'm in Alberta. The 5th wheel obviously has electric brakes. I really don't notice the second tiny trailer. I pull it with a 2500 Silverado. Some guys get carried away with it though. The law in Alberta is that the lead trailer has to be a 5th wheel or gooseneck. In Saskatchewan both trailers can be ball hitch. That's scary IMO.
This is me in the green tow truck picking up a Western Star combo that had broken down on it's way to the northeast from the factory here in Portland.
Yes, I have a triples endorsement. I always thought that recreational doubles had to have a 5th wheel in the middle, maybe that's just here in Oh-re-gun....
Since you towed three trucks, can you charge triple?
Caravan towing isn't new... It's also legal as long as you're insured by Progressive Insurance!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3vQZQCZa_eQ
doc_speeder wrote: I tow a 27' 5th wheel RV and a very small aluminum flat deck with my quad on it. I'm in Alberta. The 5th wheel obviously has electric brakes. I really don't notice the second tiny trailer. I pull it with a 2500 Silverado. Some guys get carried away with it though. The law in Alberta is that the lead trailer has to be a 5th wheel or gooseneck. In Saskatchewan both trailers can be ball hitch. That's scary IMO.
That kind of thing is ok in Alberta because you don't have corners. Everyone in BC knows that you flat landers can't drive. 
Junkyard_Dog wrote: This is an older article but is sort of explains the Mexican car towing phenomenon. Article
Interesting. A good read.
In reply to JohnRW1621:
Yes, it is an interesting read.
But it doesn't address either why there is such a market for used cars, nor why so many would be flat towed.
When I was in Peru a few years back, the Sol had about 1/3 the purchasing power as the Dollar, but on billboards, car prices were listed in USD at higher prices than in the US. That would equate to a huge expense to an average family for even the cheapest new vehicle.
Taxes, tariffs, and dealer fees may make private sales of American cast-off vehicles much cheaper than less gray-are alternatives.
Mitchell wrote: Since you towed three trucks, can you charge triple?
What about this.
In November of last year Aduana (Mexico customs) added a new rule to tackle the pollution problem. As of November 20, 2011, in order for an automobile to be imported into Mexico the vehicle must have passed an emission test in one of the four US Border States no more than 6 months before entering Mexico.
Well, i guess that explains why all the convoys i see seem to originate from North of San Antonio in spite of our gigantic cheap-car market. We don't test emissions!
But that will change soon enough, since the TCEQ is completely unconcerned about shale play emissions putting Bexar County over EPA air quality standards on a continuous basis when we've only just been skirting by for the last few years. The other shoe is about to drop. At least millionaires are being minted elsewhere. I guess that makes it better.
bentwrench wrote:Mitchell wrote: Since you towed three trucks, can you charge triple?
The hardware, the training, the certification, and the salary that the certification can demand, all don't come cheap.
One of my friends' families had a towing service that had an airplane hangar sized building chock full of some of the most amazing tow, recovery, and rigging vehicles. Amazing contraptions that could not have been cheap to purchase, all just sitting there, waiting for the two or three times a year that they get used.
Double tows are legal in some states...doesn't make it smart.
FWIW, I never said they were Mexican. I was over 1700 miles from a Mexican border when I saw those, and all of the drivers were middle aged white guys.
Didn't ask what language they spoke. 
I really don't see the financial benefit for the dealers. If it was a short haul, a local tow would have been a lot easier. If it was a long haul, the time spent setting up the tow bars, plus paying 8 drivers for their time for 2 directions, plus hotels, fuel for 8 vehicles, perhaps 1 way airfare, food, etc., just doesn't seem like it would be worth the effort. Car haulers work cheap.
Unless the selling price at their destination was SIGNIFICANTLY more, I don't see much of a savings.
Oh, and they were all late model cars, not junkers.
I'd say none of them had a retail value under $10K.
That's a lot of cash for someone to front.
SVreX wrote: Oh, and they were all late model cars, not junkers. I'd say none of them had a retail value under $10K. That's a lot of cash for someone to front.
Makes you wonder if it's a easy way to get drug money back to Mexico or elsewhere. Hauling a lot of cash is a no no, ten cars, not a problem.
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