Shear Horror !
John:
After reading your thread on mountain directory east and west, I thought I'd mention a book I use for a different problem: Low clearances. Low clearances are defined as structures lower than the statutory height of 14'0". You might also define them as "shear horror" as they will shear off anything that rises above them.
I found your thread on the topic so I'll stick with it. The link by America's Independent Truckers' Association has been changed since your post, so I'll add it here:
http://www.aitaonline.com/Info/Road/Low%20Clearances.html#New%20York%20Low%20Clearances
I also keep a copy of
Professional Drivers' RoadAtlas by
UniversalMAP in the truck to plan routes and watch out for low clearances. After driving around New England and Upstate New York goggle-eyed and white-knuckled scanning bridge signs and doubting every overpass, I pulled into a truckstop and bought this book.
The northeastern states are absolutely delightful to visit--especially if you take back roads and see the countryside. We plan to visit again this summer. But the older bridges were not designed for our high-altitude gear. You can find hundreds of bridges in the 10' to 11' range that won't stop with the roof A/C. They'll clean you off at the clothes hangers. We're not without our couple of dozen in Tennessee (even a couple in the 8' range!), but check out New York: about 220 low clearances. Forty-five in New York City alone! (As if you didn't need another reason to keep your camper out of NYC.) That will keep you awake, you betcha! New York knows I'm not picking on them; my childhood State of Connecticut has its share. They started building highway bridges while we were still chipping wheels out of rock.
Anyway, with these two sources--the
AITA Online and the
Professional Drivers' RoadAtlas--you should be able to keep from using your camper as a bridge cork.
--Rick
