When you have a big item that needs transport, you hire experts that understand how to haul the big loads and yet comply with the law.
Every state has to comply with federal trucking weight limits. To protect their highways, each state has its own trucking limit laws as well.
What do you do, then, when you need to transport an extremely large item from one point to another point?
You hire a trucking company that specializes in over dimensional loads. By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you will understand the technical definition of an oversized load as well as what type of items qualify as over dimensional.
What Is an Over Dimensional Trucking Load?
Any vehicle with a load that exceeds at least one of the legal maximum dimensions of height, width, or length qualifies as an oversized load. These are all loads that consist of one main part that the transport company can not break down into smaller parts.
If you have an extremely large item, you first attempt to break it into parts that would fit within the normal load limits. The oversized load consists of an item that you cannot break down into individual parts.
Most over-dimensional loads exceed the width limitation set out by state and federal law. Because travel lanes are a minimum of 12 feet wide, your load may not be any wider than 8.5 feet wide. If you do have a wider load, such as a bulldozer with a 10-foot blade, then you must obtain a permit to travel with that load.
You should also use a trucking company that has experience hauling wide loads. Such a company will have proper support such as a lead car and follow-up vehicle that warns drivers of an upcoming wide load.
Excessive height and length can also determine if a load is oversized. There’s no single legal federal value for height or length. However, each state determines the maximum height and length allowance. For example, Texas highway officials limit loads to no more than 14 feet high.
If your load is any more than 14 feet high, you must obtain a permit. Likewise, Texas limits length to no more than 28.5 feet for both the truck and the trailer.
Your oversize load may be overweight, but you may not have an overweight load that is oversized. Overweight vehicles ultimately cause more damage than an oversize load. This is why highway officials limit loads based on the number of axels hauling the load.
What Affects Oversized Loads?
There are a handful of industries that have loads bigger than what the law allows. They have big pieces of machinery, equipment, or manufactured parts that cannot break down into more manageable pieces.
Defense and Commerce
The government, as well as commerce industries, require large pieces of equipment and construction assemblies. When a business is putting together a bridge, it will ultimately have big pieces. The Department of Defense will also have heavy defense equipment and armor that needs hauling to a place where heavy lift aircraft cannot operate.
Cities and Communities
Communities have a regular flow of traffic. Oversized loads can interrupt this flow and cause delays. Thus, many municipalities will restrict oversize loads from moving through their city during normal rush hours.
A good hauler with oversize experience will understand how to navigate a city to avoid such restrictions.
The Driving Public
The general public finds oversize vehicles annoying and restrictive not to mention a general hazard. As a result, the local government may restrict hauling oversize loads on weekends and holidays. The driving public thus dictates when you can haul an oversize load.
State Highway Departments
The individual state highway departments ultimately restrict and control oversized loads. They issue the permits which allow oversize loads to legally travel on their highways. They also establish regulations relative to the movements of oversized vehicles.
The Trucking Industry
Some trucking industries specialize in oversize and overweight trucks. They have their own regulations on what loads they will haul and who will drive their loads. They also contract the services and work directly with customers while keeping the loads and their drivers safe.
Common Overdimensional Trucking Loads
The actual loads in an over-dimensional trucking load will vary. Here are a few common things you’ll see on a wide load hauler.
Cooling Towers
Cooling towers are an essential part of industrial buildings. A hauler must take special care to ensure they function properly once they’ve arrived at their final location. An over-dimensional transport can haul a cooling tower efficiently and safely.
We can easily move this technology with over-dimensional transport. During the harsh winter driving conditions or any other time of the year, we can transport this machinery safely and efficiently.
Transformers
Transformers are large, technical, and susceptible to damage. This makes them a particularly delicate load. You need an over-dimensional trucking company that can haul big loads carefully.
Additionally, over-dimensional trucks are the one way to ensure the safe transport of a transformer. These drivers have experience and training to keep their largest loads safe.
Generators
Big buildings need big generators. First-party shipping companies struggle to handle the biggest of generators that would power an entire building. Thus over-dimensional truck companies will haul them.
The air ride suspension in over-dimensional trucks will keep the load safe as well.
HVAC Units
Big rooftop HVAC units also require over-dimensional transport. These large units will ultimately save buildings on energy and overall costs. But they need a truck to take them from their manufacturing plant to the large buildings that they will cool.
Boilers
Largeobilers will provide hot water throughout both residential and industrial buildings. But these machines are large and clumsy. They require an over-dimensional transport service.
Industrial Equipment
You cannot just drive a crane or bulldozer to their construction site. Such big equipment requires over-dimensional transport. Experienced transport companies will have trailers that also allow for the height clearance big equipment needs.
In addition to the traditional big equipment, manufacturing equipment, injection molding machines, steel beams, and wind turbines all need over-dimensional transport services.
Haul Big, Haul Safe
Professional trucking companies understand how to haul over dimensional loads. They have the trucks, trailers, and support staff to make sure your big load gets from point A to point B safely. So whether you have a backhoe, a wind turbine, a massive generator, or more, look for over dimensional hauling experts.
Are you a trucker with experience hauling all kinds of loads? If you need a place where you can find consistent loads, contact us for available loads. We can help you find work today.
