Heavy Haul Axle Weight Calculator
The axle weight limits exist because of the huge damage that overweight vehicles cause to the road surface and the vast expense to each state to maintain and reconstruct its roads and infrastructure. Since the weight of the vehicle is never perfectly distributed between the front and rear axle and due to the small contact areas between the wheels and the road, the lion’s share of the weight is forwarded against those small patches, putting tons of stress that most public roads are unable to handle.
Existing Weight Limits
Manufacturer Axle Limit:
All truck and trailer manufacturers mark their vehicles with the maximum per axle weight they can handle safely. Such axle load ratings state the maximum allowed weight the truck and trailer can’t carry even if the higher weight is permitted.
Tire Rating:
Like truck and trailer manufacturers, tire manufacturers keep their customers aware of the maximum weight the tire can handle. Exceeding the tire rating may result in a tire blow-up and lead to a collision.
Maximum Legal Axle Weight Limit:
Any load under the weight of the federal bridge formula and the state legal axle limit does not require any permit to be transported on public roads. The federal authorities regulate the maximum legal axle weight, which, however, do not issue any permits by themselves.
According to the Federal law:
– 80,000 pounds is the maximum legal gross vehicle weight
– 20,000 pounds is the maximum legal single axle weight
– 34,000 pounds is the maximum legal tandem axle weight
Maximum Permitted Axle Weight Limit:
Mainly referring to superloads, the maximum permitted axle weight is the maximum weight the state allows for transporting on public and interstate roads. Any weight exceeding the maximum permissible axle weight limit is prohibited from transporting.
Everything between the maximum legal axle weight limit and the maximum permitted axle weight limit requires a permit to be transported.
State Axle Weight Limits:
While Federal law determines the maximum legal axle weight, the maximum permitted axle weight varies from state to state. You must adhere to both limits when transporting overweight loads on the public roads of a specific state.
Most states will not issue a permit for divisible loads, excluding some specific loads and the ones that can’t be disassembled easily.
Truck axle weight calculator
Express Permits has gone the extra mile to give you a user-friendly tool to check if your load is balanced correctly and within legal limits to comply with federal and state axle weight regulations.
To use the truck axle weight calculator, you need to input several vital parameters, including:
Gross vehicle weight rating: the maximum permissible weight of the fully loaded truck, including its cargo, passengers, and any additional equipment.
Wheelbase: the number of axles and the distance between the centers of the front and rear axles, as measured along the vehicle’s longitudinal axis.
Load weight: the weight of the cargo being carried by the truck.
State: the specific state you’re going to drive across
The calculator provides the following information:
Legal compliance: Whether the weight distribution is within the legal limits set by the jurisdiction. If any axle or axle group exceeds the allowed weight, the calculator will indicate the violation.
Permitted compliance: Whether the weight distribution is within the maximum permissible axle weight limit.
Trailer axle weight calculator
Express Permits’ trailer axle weight calculator is another tool to determine the weight distribution on a trailer’s axles. It serves the same function as the truck axle weight calculator and requires similar input data to check if the trailer is legal to haul or requires a permit.