D.O.T. Regulations

I'm sure that this has been cussed and discussed before, but I haven't had any luck finding what I'm looking for. What is the general heighth,width and length limitations of a vehicle and/or item on a trailer. A link to a website would be good. I'm looking at a truck with a corn sheller mounted on it. As it sits, on the ground, it is 12' tall. I can dismantle quite a bit off the top to reduce the heighth, but the sheller sticks out some on either side of the truck. I know that each state varies on rules and regs, and I would check with the states that I would be traveling through. Just wanted a general idea to see if hauling it was do-able or not. And before you say, just drive it, it is a '40's vintage truck that hasn't seen open road in decades. Even if it would make the 1200 mile trip without a hitch, I don't think I would want to drive it.

As far as I know heres what you need to know 13ft 6in tall is max ht and 8 ft wide on a 8 ft trailer is max width and 8ft 6 in is max width on a 102 wide trailer which equals 8ft 6in. On length I am not so sure. I think a 53 ft trailer is ok everywhere on the interstate systym, and as high as 60 ft for some places and for certain types of freight like auto transporters from the fractory. Permits are available for oversize loads. I believe if it is something you can dismantle and haul it legaly they will not issue a permit for you to haul it in one large piece. This info is from personal experience from a few years ago, and things may have changed some what.

Call the Highway Patrol HeadQuarters -- they can give you that information with OUT mistakes -- and//or give you the Headquarters of D.O.T. contact number ..

when I called -- I always ask for Pamplet or written discription sent -- just for the glove box ...

it been a few years, transceiver i think can issue all the permits , they fax em to ya with your route. 13ft 6 in high, not sure about 14.

also, over 10ft 6 in. wide needs escort, and wide loads only daylight hrs. take the thing apart!

You might want to pay to have this one hauled. Even a pro with a lo-boy would need some taken off the top to travel without height restriction.

Down and dirty (there can be a lot more to it) . . . as for width, anything over 7' wide and up to 102", requires three identification lights centered on each end (red to the rear, yellow to the front) on the trailer, and marker lights at each end (red and yellow, rear and front) within six inches of the extreme outside of the trailer or the load whichever is wider. Wider than 102", it depends on the state what permits/escorts . . . are required.

All states must conform to federal regs part 658 on interstate roads.
Legal highth is 13'6"
Legal width is 102" (8'6")
Legal trailer length is 48'
Legal over hang off rear is 4' but the load and trailer can not exceed 48'

For those that think 53' trailers are legal everywhere you are half true. 53' is legal only if you follow CGS 14-262.

Get 3 miles off the interstate system and you are now under state law. Some state hwys follow federal laws some do not.

Anything over the limits above requires a permit.
Most states follow the escort law of......
Anything over 12' wide needs a escort and anything over 14' wide requires a police escort.
Some trailers are exempt from police escort such as mobile homes.
DOT Part 658

Also, if over 10,000 pounds and a truck trailer combination vehicle you then need a CDL if going interstate. Farm Bureau is working on getting that changed, big article in the AFB newsletter last month.

13ft 6inches tall,102 inches wide on most roads,some state roads are only 96 inches wide.If its wider than 102 you need a permit,and I think if its over 14 feet tall.Most overpasses are 17 ft tall,and most electric wires are 17 ft tall.Telephone and cable wires are lower.Thats on main roads,in town can be a nightmare.If you have to have a permit,you might have to have a flag car,especially if its over 14 feet tall.Depending on how tall a permit load may have to travel hundreds of miles just to get under an overpass,then a hundred or more back to where you were,its complicated,and even then wires could be too low.I drove a flag car for a while and its not easy.Lots of times we lifted wires especially cable and telephone wires so a big tank would go under them.Nearly every town you get into that,and even some the power company has to cut,but that was with 17 foot tall tanks once they were on a drop deck.Wide loads arent as bad if its under 12 feet and you can take the Interstate,but in some states you might need a flag car maybe a flashing yellow light on the back of it maybe both.Its been a long time since I did that so some rules might have changed.Not every state has 17 foot tall overpasses,and some of the ones on the interstate arent that high.Detroit has a 14'2" on I75 if I remember right.Indiana seems like has low ones somewhere,and for sure up around Chicago,especially Joliet on some roads is 13'2".Kansas City has a low one on 24 highway,every big city and lots of towns have low overpasses,trees,sign posts,wires,lights,especially expensive traffic lights that hang off of power lines,that sag this time of year,and stuff you might not normally notice.The length is even different.I never was in on moving anything real long,so Im not sure about them,but if its very long,or sticks over the back of a trailer very far like 10 feet or something you might need a permit and a flag car.Most permits you can only move in daylight hours,you have to have insurance for it,and they give you the routes you have to take.If they catch you off of that route,even if you made a mistake,it could be a big fine.You can understand that though because if you come around a corner at 60 and there is a low overpass you cant stop for,lots of bad things can happen to your load,the bridge you run it into,and the traffic thats blocked for hours if not days or even weeks if you do enough damage.

kyhayman,
Are you referring to the weight of the load itself, or of the combined weight? The truck/empty trailer will come pretty close to the 10,000 limit. Here in KS, you can drive a vehicle up to 26M and juice brakes w/o CDL. Might be different in other states. Guess I had better do some more homework.

kyhayman;
Who told you that?????????????????

CDL laws kick in at 26,001 lbs gross weight.
DOT regs such as DOT #'s kick in at 10,000 lbs

DOT tends to be fedral stuff.

Your local state fellas are the ones that _enforce_ those rules.

Many rural states allow a lot of lee-way on farm equipment being driven within 150 miles of your home, if it is all your own farm business.

Now, if you are shelling corn for hire, that would not be your own farm stuff....

If you bought this thing and driving it home 120 miles, that might likely be perfectly ok in many states. Even tho it is outside DOT rules, the state fellas allow farm use exemptions.

Sounds like you would be outside of this, if you are working for hire, and crossing state lines. Then you are back to DOT rules.

--->Paul

my trailer is 9' 6" so I can haul without moving tractor tires ...local DOT man said OK as long as it's within yellow & white lines in MS....Kent

CDL rgs are 26,001# for truck, BUT trailer is 10,000#. Had a class B licence and that I turned in when I turned to SS age, needed to renew and for hasmat I was not going to go thru the mess of renewing it

You can pull a trailer over 10,000 with out a CDL as long as the total rig does not exceed 26,001 lbs.

My CDL was good for any size straight truck as long as it had hydrolic brakes but the trailer was only allowed to be up to 10,000 lbs. At 10,001 pounds it required a class A CDL. Mine was a class B for hauling fertilizer on the truck or pulling a fertilizer trailer but trailer could not be over the 10,000 lb., also had hazmat and tanker