Sailplane/trailer moving?

Very often if you ask around through the soaring people you know, friends-of-friends connections etc ... you can often find somebody who will drive a rig for you -- how much they know and a few other important issues are yours to figure out ... or pay the consequences.

Last fall I drove a glider & trailer back from Redmond OR to Saratoga NY .... all the way across the country -- did it for free for a friend (he paid all the expenses ... and they added up to a bit less than $3500, including the rental U-Haul that pulled it).

There are a LOT of things to know, if you are trailering gliders. But absolutely right at the top of the list is inspecting the trailer -- wheel bearing must be recently repacked -- GOOD tires, structurally sound trailer, lights working ... and in most jurisdictions in the eastern US ... it needs a plate, or you will collect a lot of expensive tickets.

Oregon doesn't require plates on trailers, but that will NOT get you across the USA ... and I knew that. Pulled it across with a Hawaii trailer plate ... that had expired in 2012 ... got away with that.

The liability issues of pulling somebody else's trailer are a real issue worth thinking about ...

On Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 6:48:29 PM UTC-8, wrote:
Very often if you ask around through the soaring people you know, friends-of-friends connections etc ... you can often find somebody who will drive a rig for you -- how much they know and a few other important issues are yours to figure out ... or pay the consequences.

Last fall I drove a glider & trailer back from Redmond OR to Saratoga NY .... all the way across the country -- did it for free for a friend (he paid all the expenses ... and they added up to a bit less than $3500, including the rental U-Haul that pulled it).

There are a LOT of things to know, if you are trailering gliders. But absolutely right at the top of the list is inspecting the trailer -- wheel bearing must be recently repacked -- GOOD tires, structurally sound trailer, lights working ... and in most jurisdictions in the eastern US ... it needs a plate, or you will collect a lot of expensive tickets.

Oregon doesn't require plates on trailers, but that will NOT get you across the USA ... and I knew that. Pulled it across with a Hawaii trailer plate ... that had expired in 2012 ... got away with that.

The liability issues of pulling somebody else's trailer are a real issue worth thinking about ...

You actually DID do something that was illegal: operating a vehicle with a falsified license. That is a gross misdemeanor in Washington. Other states must acknowledge public records per the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution. If stopped, all you had to do is show that you are from Oregon.

I would get a written liability waiver from the owner before towing the trailer.

Tom