Oversize & Overweight Loads, Permits & Escorts
Excavators, dozers, cranes, transformers, beams and modular buildings are often too wide, tall, long or heavy for normal legal limits. Moving them requires state permits, planned routes, signs and sometimes escort vehicles. Mistakes lead to bridge strikes, rollovers and crashes with the public.
- Truck drivers
- Heavy haul
- Construction
Photo: lowboy with an excavator, Oversize Load banner, flags and an escort vehicle
Legal limits (general)
| Dimension | Typical legal limit |
|---|---|
| Width | 8 feet 6 inches (102 inches) on most federal highways |
| Height | Set by each state, commonly 13 feet 6 inches to 14 feet |
| Length | Trailer length limits vary by state; 53-foot trailers are common |
| Weight | 80,000 pounds gross on the Interstate, with axle limits. See Weight Limits |
Anything over these needs a permit from every state (and sometimes city or county) on the route.
Permits
- A permit lists the exact load, dimensions, weight, truck, route and travel times.
- Follow the permitted route exactly. Detours can lead to low bridges and weight-restricted bridges.
- Carry the permit in the cab.
- Superloads (very heavy or large) may need engineering reviews of bridges and police escorts.
Route surveys
For tall or very wide loads, survey the route in advance: bridge heights, overhead wires and traffic signals, narrow lanes, tight turns, construction zones and railroad crossings where a low trailer could get stuck. Measure, don’t assume. Repaving and snow can reduce clearance.
Signs, flags and lights
- “Oversize Load” banners on the front and rear, as the state requires
- Red or orange flags at the corners and on projecting parts
- Warning lights, and lighting on the extremities if night travel is allowed
Escort (pilot) vehicles
- States require escorts above certain widths, heights or lengths. Some require certified escort drivers.
- Escorts warn traffic, check clearances with a height pole and communicate by radio with the driver.
- Agree on radio channels and signals before departure.
Before you roll
- Load measured and weighed; matches the permit
- Equipment chained at four or more points with its own attachments secured. See Cargo Securement
- Booms and buckets lowered and secured; height re-measured
- Permits for every jurisdiction in the cab
- Route surveyed; travel time restrictions known (many states restrict nights, weekends and holidays)
- Banners, flags and lights installed
- Escorts briefed; radios tested
Standards & references
Last updated: