Any time you drive a commercial vehicle with a load above the legally accepted totals, an overweight permit is required. As long as you take these measures when getting one, you'll avoid delays and other complications.
Understand What's Legal First
Before you go through the motions of obtaining an overweight permit to haul cargo in a commercial truck, you want to first find out what is considered legal in the area that you're driving in. Different areas have different regulations as far as weight totals and dimensions for cargo.
Check your area's legal weight and dimension limits, and then you can respond accordingly. This will keep you within your rights as a commercial trucker wherever your travels take you in this industry. Just make sure that if you exceed these legal limits, you respond with an overweight permit as quickly as possible.
Review Travel Restrictions
Even when you receive an overweight permit, there may be some travel restrictions that you have to abide by. For instance, some cities will have certain hours that you can be on major roads. Or maybe there are road conditions that are deemed potentially hazardous for the type of truck you're driving and the weight it will be hauling.
You need to know about all of these travel restrictions so that you can plan the right routes and drive during the appropriate hours. There are logistics companies that can help you plan out these things when obtaining an overweight permit.
Consider a Regulation Consultation
If you're new to the trucking industry and are taking your first load that exceeds the legal limits, then you might be better off using regulation consultations. They're available to help you navigate the overweight permitting process, saving you time and future legal complications.
You can speak to a specialty trucking advisor who will assess the type of load you're carrying and where you're traveling to. They can then recommend an appropriate overweight permit and break it down so that you know exactly what regulations you need to abide by from the time you leave to the time you show up at your target destination.
If you're traveling with a huge load that weighs a lot in a commercial truck, overweight permits may become relevant. Just make sure you understand how they work and perform the necessary steps when applying for them. Then you can start your trucking journeys off on a positive, stress-free note.