North Carolina Truck Weight Limits

How much a truck can weigh in North Carolina

Gross caps at 80,000, but North Carolina writes its own axle numbers: single 20,000, tandem 38,000, higher than the federal 34,000 you are held to on the interstate (G.S. 20-118). A 10% tolerance covers axle groups only, never the 80,000 gross or the single/tandem limits. Penalties are per pound and bite fast on single- and tandem-axle overages: 4 cents, then 6, then 10 cents a pound.

Axles, off-Interstate, and permits

• Off the Interstate: 80,000 lb. North Carolina allows a heavier tandem than the interstate does: 38,000 lb (vs. federal 34,000). A 10% tolerance applies to the axle-group limits but not to the single-axle, tandem-axle, or 80,000 lb gross ceilings.
• Single axle: 20,000 lb
• Tandem axle: 38,000 lb on North Carolina roads (federal 34,000 lb governs on the interstate)
• With a permit: Annual/continuous divisible-load permits up to 112,000 lb; loads over 90,000 lb are barred from posted roads and bridges and need a specific route.
• Two consecutive tandem sets may each carry 34,000 lb without penalty if the outer axles are 36 ft or more apart. Weight enforcement in NC is civil, not criminal.

Posted bridge and road limits

Bridges and local roads post MUTCD 'WEIGHT LIMIT X TONS' signs (short tons). The posted number overrides the legal max. NCDOT runs every permitted load against the state bridge formula so the route clears each structure; loads over 90,000 lb cannot use posted roads or bridges at all.

What running heavy costs

N.C.G.S. 20-118 sets civil penalties by the pound. Axle-group over: 2 cents/lb for the first 2,000, 4 cents/lb the next 3,000, 10 cents/lb beyond 5,000. Single or tandem axle over: 4 cents/lb the first 1,000, 6 cents/lb the next 1,000, 10 cents/lb beyond 2,000. A permitted load is charged the same per-pound rate on weight over the permit; there is no doubling.

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