About those tickets

[dubob]

[#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]The 750 pound weight limit for trailers is not new this year. It's been that way since at least 2008 (the last year that section of the law was ammended). I don't know what exactly was ammended in 2008, so that weight limit could have been in effect prior to 2008.

What is new this year is enforcement of registration of boat trailers by either Park Rangers and/or local law enforcement. There have been several cases of tickets being issued at Willard and I know of at least one case at Lucerne Bay (Flaming Gorge).

To fight it, you will have to contact some agency from the State and determine who has the burden of proof of determining the weight of a given trailer. Do you have to prove it doesn't weigh 750 or more, or does the State have to prove it does? I'll go out on a limb here and guess that the burden of proof is not going to be with the State.

With regard to a boat trailer, are you willing to go to the hassle of removing the boat from the trailer and getting it weighed in a manner that the State will except as certified? I would think that it would just be easier to register the trailer, pay the license fee, and then enjoy the boating activities whatever they might be.

Here is a table that shows the age-based fees for non-commercial trailers.
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Other Trailers (Non Commercial)
Age of Other Trailer, Model Years, Uniform Statewide
Age-based Fee
Less Than 3 Years, 2014 - 2012, $30
3 or more years but less than 6 Years, 2011 - 2009, $25
6 or more years but less than 9 years, 2008 - 2006, $20
9 or more years but less than 12 years, 2005 - 2003, $15
12 or more years, 2002 & Older, $10
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You can add a registration fee of [/size][/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]$31 for each trailer or semitrailer over 750 pounds gross unladen weight to that Uniform fee in the table above. So in the case of my 2004 Tracker trailer, I paid $46 this year. It will never be less than $41. But compare that cost with the cost of a ticket, taking time off from work, driving to court, proving the trailer does or does not exceed 750 pounds, and the licensing costs don't look so bad.

I have no clue as to why the increased enforcement actions are taking place this year. And since my trailer has a plate on it, I don't have enough interest to look into further. Fishing is a lot more fun. [cool]
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