Heavy Haul Resource Center
State by State Compliance
Arkansas Over-Size And Heavy Guide
This page is a guide to the general wide, tall and heavy transportation rules, regulations, and permits. We have sourced links at the bottom of this page to get our readers all of the information possible. Our goal and purpose is to enable any person to move high, wide and heavy loads throughout America. For more information or to request a quote, please click here.
Arkansas Width Guide
Legal Width Limit: Eight (8) feet and six (6) inches is the legal width for Arkansas.
Permit Width Range: Any width between legal above and eighteen (18) feet wide will require a permit. (Nothing over eighteen (18) feet is permitted across the state.)
Width Escort Qty : Loads wider than twelve (12) feet require one (1) escort car one in the front on two (2) lane roads.
Loads wider than fourteen (14) feet wide require one (1) escort car in the rear on four (4) lane roads.
Width Escort Qty 2: Loads wider than fourteen (14) feet require two (2) escort cars one in the front, and one in the rear.
Super Load: Any width over twenty (20) feet wide.
Special: An officer of command rank of the Arkansas Highway Police Division many require additional escorts as deemed necessary for the safety of traveling public. The permittee must obtain or furnish the escort vehicle(s) as prescribed in these rules. The maximum permitted width authorized to move on interstate highways is eighteen (18) feet.
Arkansas Height Guide
Legal Height Limit: The overall height of the load on the trailer cannot exceed thirteen (13) feet and six (6) inches.
Permit Height Range: Any height between legal height limit (above) up to seventeen (17) feet will require a permit.
Height Escort Qty 1: Loads greater than fifteen (15) feet will require one (1) front escort with a height pole with clearance that is six (6) inches past the permitted height.
Height Escort Qty 2: The State of Arkansas’s DOT does not specify a height where two (2) escorts are required but it is recommended to have two.
Survey and Bucket Trucks: Loads exceeding seventeen (17) feet in height require a bucket truck escort or a release from utility, as well as a route survey.
Super Load: Total height above seventeen (17) feet.
Arkansas Length Guide
Legal Length Limit: Legal length is sixty-five (65) feet. Fifty-three (53) feet and six (6) inch trailer on all highways.
Legal Overhang: Assuming overhang is within the legal length limit (above).
- Front: Three (3) feet.
- Rear: Six (6) feet.
Permit Length Range: If the overall length of the truck, trailer, and load combination does not exceed ninety feet (90′) and neither the vehicle, trailer, nor load exceeds the maximum width or height as provided in Arkansas Code Annotated 27-35-206 and 27-35-207, the vehicle may travel at any time by obtaining a permit.
IF the overall length of the truck, trailer, and load combinations exceeds Ninety Feet (90′), the vehicle shall only travel during daylight hours and on days not listed as holidays.
Length Escort Qty 1: Loads between seventy-five(75) and one hundred (100) feet in length require one escort vehicle on two (2) lane roads require one (1) rear escort.
Loads exceeding one hundred (100) feet in length require one escort vehicle on roads greater than two lanes.
Length Escort Qty 2: Loads exceeding one hundred and ten (110) require one (1) rear escort and one (1) front escort.
Length Escort Qty 3: Loads exceeding one hundred and thirty (130) feet require two (2) front escort and one (1) rear escort.
Front & Rear Police Escorts: Front and rear law enforcement escorts are required for lengths greater than 150 feet.
Super Load: Depends on the route. Consult with Arkansas DOT or SOS.
Arkansas Weight Guide
Legal Weight Limit: The Legal weight for the state of Arkansas is 80,000 pounds (36287.39 Kgs) Gross Weight. 20,000 lbs on steer axle, depending on the weight rating for the steer axle.
Permit Weight Range: Above 80,000 lbs and below 180,000 lbs. Please contact Arkansas DOT.
Super Load: Gross Weight Exceeds 180,000 lbs.
Special Instructions: Vehicles Transporting Cross-Ties
Pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated § 27-35-210, special overweight permits may be issued to certain five-axle vehicles transporting cross-ties from their first point of processing to the point at which they undergo creosote processing under the following conditions:
- The five-axle vehicle must be licensed with an Arkansas ”K” (Class 7) license.
- The permitted vehicle may not have a loaded weight exceeding 36,500 pounds on either of the two tandem acle configurations.
- The one-way mileage of the loaded trip shall not exceed 100 miles.
- No more than five of these special permits may be issued to the same person during the same calendar year.
- No portion of the trip may be on any part of the Federal Interstate Highway System.
- The fee for each one year permit shall be $100.
Travel Restrictions:
Movement allowed ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset, seven days a week. Continuous travel if heavy only and/or over length up to ninety (90) feet.
Exceptions: Sixty (60) foot steel beams, pipes, poles, etc. do not require a permit. Daylight travel only.
Contact And Reference
Fide Freight hopes you find this information helpful and valuable to your company or operation. If you would like to learn more, please visit our Heavy Haul Resource Center or our State by State Compliance Guide.
Click Here if you are looking for a quote to an over-sized or over-weight shipment.