Just thought I would put this here since a lot of you are from Cali. For the past week I have been driving across the US with a buddy of mine that just got out of the Marine Corps to help him move his stuff to Auburn, WA. We went south from NC to the I-10 and Across into Cali and up the I-5. It was the long way, but we wanted to visit friends along the way.
Here is the gripe. We left Chico, CA Thursday morning to head north knowing that the mountain passes in NorCal were getting snow and that we would need chains. We stopped at a truck stop to get the chains for the 26ft Penske truck. I ask the guy where we need the chains and he pulls out the California law on it. We only needed the outer drive wheels chained if we needed to put them on. The trailer with the car on it did not require chains b/c it was under 10,000 lbs.
We start driving and get to the chain check point 10 miles north of Redding. It took us 3 hours to go 3 miles b/c they had 3 lanes of traffic choked down to one lane where a single person was asking every vehicle if they have chains.
We start climbing the hills and get to a sign telling us we need to put on chains b/c we where a single drive axle and towing. So we stop and put on chains along with every other big rig on the side of the road. We continue on the drive thinking the roads are going to start getting bad... The never do. Then we get to another chain check point where they are checking to make sure we have chains on. We get stopped and asked if we have a chain on the tailor. I say its not required b/c its under 10k lbs, The extremely intelligent CalTrans worker says I do need a chain and that I need to pull off the road and buy some. I was about to give her the bird and keep on driving when my buddy says he'll just buy one. So we pull off and put a single chain on one wheel of the trailer. We keep driving up the hill thinking the roads must be really bad if they are checking for chains... Nothing, not one spot of ice, only one place where the snow got thick enough to build up in the tire tracks. Hardly bad enough for chains. Plus they said we needed the trailer chain so the trailer doesn't slide out... we had chain on the truck, its not like we where setting any speed records.
All this has taught me is the next time CalTrans tries to tell me something I know is not needed I'll just keep driving and let them send a state trooper out after me. All in all that leg of the trip was 225 miles and took just over 11 hours.
Here is the gripe. We left Chico, CA Thursday morning to head north knowing that the mountain passes in NorCal were getting snow and that we would need chains. We stopped at a truck stop to get the chains for the 26ft Penske truck. I ask the guy where we need the chains and he pulls out the California law on it. We only needed the outer drive wheels chained if we needed to put them on. The trailer with the car on it did not require chains b/c it was under 10,000 lbs.
We start driving and get to the chain check point 10 miles north of Redding. It took us 3 hours to go 3 miles b/c they had 3 lanes of traffic choked down to one lane where a single person was asking every vehicle if they have chains.
We start climbing the hills and get to a sign telling us we need to put on chains b/c we where a single drive axle and towing. So we stop and put on chains along with every other big rig on the side of the road. We continue on the drive thinking the roads are going to start getting bad... The never do. Then we get to another chain check point where they are checking to make sure we have chains on. We get stopped and asked if we have a chain on the tailor. I say its not required b/c its under 10k lbs, The extremely intelligent CalTrans worker says I do need a chain and that I need to pull off the road and buy some. I was about to give her the bird and keep on driving when my buddy says he'll just buy one. So we pull off and put a single chain on one wheel of the trailer. We keep driving up the hill thinking the roads must be really bad if they are checking for chains... Nothing, not one spot of ice, only one place where the snow got thick enough to build up in the tire tracks. Hardly bad enough for chains. Plus they said we needed the trailer chain so the trailer doesn't slide out... we had chain on the truck, its not like we where setting any speed records.
All this has taught me is the next time CalTrans tries to tell me something I know is not needed I'll just keep driving and let them send a state trooper out after me. All in all that leg of the trip was 225 miles and took just over 11 hours.
Some of the crap that state pulls is simply amazing.
