Ontario Canada WB Question

I know there was a company hauling stuff up to Alaska got to the first scales in BC and got told they couldn't go any further with their trucks that were longer than 244" WB and were forced to bring trucks out of Alaska to continue the load up.

 

Indeed, at least we have the STAA down here. While some individual states have some oddball regulations,( Pennsylvania and California come to mind) at least on the interstate system there is some uniformity. Clearly that isn't the case in Canada.

 

Sure it is... 244" WB and you're good to go. What's so hard about that?

 

Canada does have some goofy ones.

A 10'1" spread trailer is only allowed in Ontario and Quebec, you need to close the tandems to run west.

In Ontario, they don't even print the weight reg's in the big truck map books, there is so many quirky rules depending on the # of axles and type of axles etc. Very hard to figure out!!

Bill

 

So, given your knowledge of the subject, why 244", why not 200" or 210" or??? I'd love to know how the genius who came up with the number arrived at it, that's all. I couldn't care less, as I'm not going to Ontario or anywhere else in Canada

 

244 IS THE MAXIMUM. Heck, you can have a 100" if you like. 244 is an agreed upon size under RTAC specs.

 

True, but that's no different than CA KPRA length, or multi-axle setups you see in MI, or other state-specific rules. Those are regional rules based on whatever the regulators deemed appropriate. To say there isn't a "standard" in Canada isn't true.

 

I have not bothered to look into the rational for picking 244", I wish they would have gone a bit longer, like 260". I don't know if that would have made any significant difference from a workability perspective with respect to road conditions, but it would be nice from a practical perspective. I have a FL Classic XL (long nose) with an APU and I don't really have anywhere easily accessible to hang chains. I think my next truck will have a set-back front axle.

 

That's what I've been driving at in a very poor way. I see the Canadian trucks down here in the states and the trailer is right up against the back of the sleeper, the fuel tanks are right up against the quarter fenders and there's no room to slide the 5th wheel and very little swing clearance for a reefer unit. Just seems very impractical in the real world. Not picking a fight, I just don't understand it.

 

I think there are impracticalities on both sides of the border. I can have 38000 lbs on a tandem and 53000 lbs on a tridem legal here in Canada but when I go to Alaska I can have 38000 on a tandem but only 44000 on a tridem.

Or take on the fact that a 6 axle setup in Canada we can be 102k lbs legal with no special permits or nothing run around every day like that but you guys can only be 80k lbs. And someone can correct me if I am wrong as I very rarely cross borders so don't know 100% but it is what I gather from reading here and seeing everyone talk about 80k lbs GVW limits.

I haven't seen a regular trailer that couldn't be pulled with a 244" WB truck so it seems like an alright rule to me.