What's with all the axles?

Yeah, up in North Idaho they put on road restrictions (frost limits), usually from early February through the end of March/middle of April. Up here they give you 250 pounds per inch of tire width (basically means you can't haul anything) on county roads and state roads lower you (I think) to 14,000 pounds per axle and 35 MPH. And yes, they do (although sporadically) enforce it up here.

 

Yeah, I ran a load into Chestermere, AB for a while, and when I turned off the main highway (9, iirc), two miles from the customer, there’s a breakup limit sign with some ridiculously low limit on it. The steers were almost double the limit alone. Needless to say, I did not drive 13 hours back, loaded.

 

Alberta road bans don't apply to steer axles.

Bans are marked 90% or 75%, meaning that is the percentage of legal/permitted weight allowed.

 

I've often wondered will a 16 wheel jeep or 16 wheel bed be able to haul more than a regular tandem jeep or tandem bed during road bans?

 

Sure it does.
And it would help if these states used the tax money they collect for roads to actually go to road maintenance.

 

Roadata Services Ltd. - Overweight Loads

Alberta Ban Season Combinations​

 

I’ll throw a wrench in the whole “more axles more weight.”

In Kansas City (and other city’s) we have what’s called the commercial zone, that’s covers most of the metro area. In the commercial zone trucks are allowed 22,400 pounds per axle with no maximum. Mostly dump trucks use this exemption but I ran a 4 axle straight truck hauling 72k gross.

We would get gravel deliveries grossing 88k on 4 or 112k on 5 axles, both straight trucks. I would occasionally load out a 3 axle truck and three axle dump trailer with 45 tons of salt, he was under gross but we couldn’t physically fit anymore in the trailer.

 

we can actually get 73000 gross on a regular 10 wheel dump truck in MA If the truck is spec’d right, triaxle is 77k, or 81 of you “don’t have a scale ticket”(you never do!) it’s an extra couple bucks to get the overweight for the turnpike still as well even though all highways are mass DOT now and not different

 

The day you think you know it all, you learn even more