Guys, This must be the dumbest question you all have heard in a while! But to a newbie heavy hauler wannabe like me, it is a logical question and I hope to get better educated by your answer. From all the research I have done, it is pretty clear that federal rules say the the maximum gross combination weight for a tractor and trailer plying on the Interstate system is 80000 pounds. But heavy haul loads are, by definition, more than 80K pounds. So even after buying the overweight trip permit, does this mean that heavy haul loads cannot go on the interstate at all? Are heavy haul loads supposed to stay only on US routes, state routes, and county roads? Regards, Singh
I have two permits for a load tomorrow for Indiana and Ohio. I am routed on I465 & I70 in Indiana and I70 & I 75 in Ohio. I will only weigh around 85000 pounds total but I have hauled loads on those same routes before weighing much more than that. Normally when you buy a permit they will give you the route that you are to run. If California is anything like Ohio, you will get permits where the route you are given will make sense and other times you will get permits that make you wonder what are they thinking. I do have a blanket permit for Ohio and Kentucky. The OH permit covers me for 12 feet and under and less than 80000 pounds and the KY permit is good for 120000 pounds and 12 feet wide for all state routes and Interstate highways. So as you can see I run the interstates oversize all the time with a permit.
Dear Truck 505, Please accept my gratitude for your reply. It conclusively answers my question. Regards, Singh
What Truck505 said. We normally give the permit folks the route we want to run and they say whether or not it's okay to go that way. Which includes interstates.
If seen wind farm parts in the Interstate. The last nacelles that were hauled in were 160 ton, truck trailer and nacelle. Empty he weighed 80 ton. He had to be escorted both ways because of the over width, plus with all the axles on the ground due to the empty weight . I can't remember if he was over length.
GPC, HeavyLift: Your responses are appreciated very much! Singh
Western Regional Permit Conditions http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/456B12AA-AAA4-42B4-8B6F-8D732ACCBB02/0/WRPAppendixC.pdf Also Western Regional Permit Info http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/CommercialVehicle/westernregional.htm