You can find the maximum allowed weight specific to your set up here Max axle weight calculator Note: Although the maximum legal truck weight for Federal Highways is 80,000 lb., specific maximum allowable axle weights for single, tandem, and other axle arrangements vary, sometime significantly, from one state to the next. In that case, it is the responsibility of the operator of the vehicle to be aware of the highway and non highway limits for the route of travel, and not exceed the established legal or maximum permitted able gross vehicle or axle group weights for the roads on which the vehicle is to be operated. Therefore, manufacturers build some trucks to haul the maximum permissible loads under any set of circumstances, i.e., a truck may be rated for a maximum gross vehicle weight well in excess of 80,000 lb. The fact is many trucks are capable of carrying significantly heavier loads than would be legally permissible. In most cases, the structural integrity of the truck is designed to carry at least the heaviest load that would be permissible by maximum loaded axle weights for the roads to be traveled. Truck manufacturers design trucks to be able to carry specific loads. That means Federal, State, and even city or county rules. You have to be aware of the rules established by each municipality. This could mean up to 10’s of thousands of dollars in fines, marks on your driving record, lost of your commercial driving license or potentially even jail time. Since the government spends so much money on developing and maintaining roads it established hefty overweight fines and penalties for those who willingly or unwillingly break the rules they have established. All states must allow trucks up to 80,000 pounds on designated Federal highways if they can pass the Federal Bridge Formula test (see Federal Bridge Formula Calculator) Many states allow heavier loads without requiring special Permits. The fact is the government spends 100’s of billions of dollars every year maintaining and building road ways and weight limitations are set primarily to limit road damage to the national highway system by over-weight vehicles.Įven though weight limits exist, they are not uniform across the United States. Weight affects the ability to maneuver the truck at highway speeds and its ability to stop. A 5 ton axle does not do 5 times as much damage to the road surface as a 1 ton axle, 5 ton axle apllies 625 times as much pressure on the road surface as a 1 ton axle.Īn argument can be made those heavier trucks pose increased safety risks on public highways. The primary reason is that the damage to the road surface does not scale linearly with the increased weight of the vehicle. There are a few reasons that trucks have weight limitations on roads and need to be properly weighed.
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