March 28, 2024

Law

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Oversized, Overweight Trucks and RV’s Need to Know Government Regulations on All Roads

Oversized/overweight trucks must obtain a permit to travel in the United States and Canada. The permits are issued by the state, city, or county or the province (Canada). Trucks get authorization to travel in specified jurisdiction for a certain amount of time. The permit will list the hauler’s name, dimensions and description of the load and what route the driver plans on taking. Permits may be obtained from permit service, which is a company that is specializes in transportation, or by the jurisdiction in which the truck is traveling.

A vehicle or load that is wider than 8 feet 6 inches, in the United States, is considered an oversized load. The load must be indivisible, which means it cannot be broken down in smaller parts to get a permit. The maximum length for an RV that is towing a vehicle is 65 feet. Motor homes traveling cannot exceed 45 feet and 8 feet 6 inches in width for trailers. Height cannot exceed 13 feet 6 inches.

Travel trailers are amongst the larger vehicles that are traveling on our Florida roads. The width of an RV is what makes it comfortable for traveling. The problem is that most RV’s are too wide to travel on state roads. Interstate traveling with an RV is both safe and legal, but some states have stricter rules and you could run into trouble.

Large luxury RV units and class A motorhomes are a standard size of 102 inches, which equals eight and a half feet. Some states cap the width at eight feet. Florida has a vehicle size limit of eight and a half feet. If you are operating a vehicle over the eight and half foot limit in Florida, you would need to get a florida oversize permits to travel.

Interstate roads are federally controlled roads. Years ago, the U. S. Department of Transportation increased the width limitations on the interstate roads. The increase went from eight feet to eight and a half feet. The department decided that the interstate highways could handle the larger vehicles because the interstate roads themselves were larger. Travel trailer and RV wholesalers saw this as an advantage to make wider RVs and travel trailers. What they did not take into consideration was that the state roads were still smaller and did not increase their restrictions on the size of vehicles that could travel on their state roads.

There are no government regulations on bridge height requirements or on giving clearance warning signs to travelers. Each state has their own right to post or not post low bridge warning signs. Some states give travelers plenty of warnings about an upcoming low bridge. This way the traveler has the chance to change course and avoid any trouble. Other states give no warnings and the traveler finds out at the last minute that the bridge is too low for them to go under. Cross country travelers have to check into the height policies of each state in order to avoid low bridge problems. If they run into a bridge, it’s their fault, and it could be an expensive problem.