Wyoming Trailer Length Laws

In 1982, the U.S. Congress passed the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA), which included provisions regarding the length of tractors and tractor trucks on National System (NN) highways or in transit between NN highways and service sites or terminals. These provisions included: Long loads require a red light and reflector at each rear corner of the branch of a rear overhang. Night driving is only permitted for transporting loads less than 10 feet wide and less than 90 feet long on highways. The shipment must have yellow lights and appropriate banners for night movements. Oversized and overweight shipments can travel half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. Holiday travel is not allowed if you are accompanied on one of the following holidays; New Year`s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. If the holiday results in a 3-day weekend, you are not allowed to travel the day before or the day before the 3-day period. If the holiday falls on a Saturday and your shipment needs to be accompanied, you are not allowed to travel on Friday morning and travel will not resume until Monday morning.

If the holidays fall on a Sunday and you need to be accompanied, you must stop traveling on Friday evening and the trip will not resume until Tuesday morning. The STAA rules only apply to tractor-semi-trailer and tractor-semi-trailer combinations. Some specialized commercial vehicles (CMVs) are subject to different length rules. Notable special vehicles are automobile carriers, boat carriers and tractor-trailer combinations. The length requirements of these vehicles are as follows. (A) No vehicle shall exceed one hundred and two (102) inches in width when unladen or equipped with a load or loading device. However, the accessories of non-commercial RVs, caravans and RVs may be one hundred 102 inches wide if they do not extend beyond the exterior mirrors of the RV, towing vehicle or pickup truck, in the case of a truck RV, provided that these mirrors extend only for the distance necessary to create the required field of vision for the vehicle before the accessories have been installed. No doubt, the semi-trailers are impressive. You may be familiar with weight restrictions to some extent, but length restrictions for trailers are less well known. There are laws on the length of trailers at the state and federal levels. Before we get to the heart of the matter, let`s take a look at typical truck configurations in America. (A) No vehicle group shall consist of more than three (3) individual vehicles.

No vehicle shall have a total length of more than sixty (60) feet; Motorcycles are not allowed. The vehicle shall be equipped with a horizontally mounted rotating amber (or strobe) flashing lamp at least 4 inches in diameter, which shall be visible at an angle of 360 degrees from at least 500 feet. All pilot/escort vehicles must be equipped with a bumper or roof plate “OVERLOAD” visible from both the front and rear of the vehicle. The sign must be at least 5` long and 10″ high, yellow with black letters at least 8″ high and 1″ wide. The vehicle must have 2 red or orange colored safety flags and be at least 12 inches long and/or high, mounted at an angle of 40 to 70 degrees in the upper central part of the vehicle. Vehicles must be equipped with a CB radio or a 2-lane communication device, at least 1 to 5 pounds of Type A, B and C fire extinguishers, 3 reflective emergency road triangles and additional flags. Length: for trailers up to 60′ long. Width: 8` 6″ wide. Height: 14` wide.

Weight: 80,000 lbs total weight, 20,000 singles, 34,000 tandem. Overhang: No overhang limit specified. The following table is a summary of tractor-trailer length laws by state: Light commercial vehicles are a type of station wagon truck that only works in states where trucks over 80,000 pounds are allowed. These are combinations of three or four units that contain at least one complete trailer (48 feet or less) or three short trailers. At Remorques Hale, our commercial trailer experts are ready to help you throughout the trailer rental or purchase process. If you have any questions about length laws for semi-trailers, do not hesitate to contact us for more information. Semi-trailers are often the most cost-effective way to transport goods from one point to another. However, if you cross the borders of one state, a trailer length that is perfectly legal in one state could be prohibited in another. If you familiarize yourself with the length laws for semi-trailers by state, you won`t have any nasty legal surprises.

(B) In a tractor, no semi-trailer shall exceed sixty (60) feet in length. In the case of a combination of tractors, semi-trailers, trailers or double semi-trailers, the length of the semi-trailer shall not exceed forty-eight (48) feet and the length of the trailer or second semi-trailer shall not exceed forty (40) feet. The total length of the semi-trailer and trailer or semi-trailer shall not exceed eighty-one (81) feet, including the connecting mechanisms. For any other combination of vehicles, the total length shall not exceed eighty-five (85) feet; For the average person, tractor-trailers are highway giants that you don`t want to drive by. For children, they are a source of wonder and entertainment during long trips. For all of us, however, commercial followers are the arteries and veins that keep the earth moving. They are the channel through which your favorite cereal ends up on supermarket shelves, your Amazon delivery reaches you on time, and gas is available at your local gas station. Note that the length specifications for car and boat carriers exclude front and rear overhangs. No state may require a rear overhang less than 4 feet or a front overhang less than 3 feet.

Some states have been granted exemptions to federal length standards and have therefore been allowed to apply higher limits than the STAA standard. These exceptions are referred to as “grandfathering”; While federal laws require states not to be able to set trailer length below 53 feet on interstate and access highways, states are free to allow trailers under 53 feet on roads that are not funded by the federal government. (C) In the case of a combination tractor, semi-trailer, trailer or double semi-trailer, the heaviest towed vehicle shall be located directly behind the tractor and the lighter towed vehicle shall be the last if the difference in weight between successive towed vehicles exceeds five thousand (5,000) pounds. All information on this website – www.haletrailer.com – is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. Hale Trailer Brake and Wheel does not warrant the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take based on the information you find on this website is entirely at your own risk. Hale Trailer Brake and Wheel will not be liable for any loss and/or damage related to the use of our website. Better known as the 18-wheeler, the five-axle semi-trailer is the best-known utility vehicle in the United States.

The tractor (i.e. the engine) is either a sleeping cabin or a day cabin. Sleeping cabins have a berth or small saloon in the tractor. They are typically used for long-distance operations. Day cabins have a shorter wheelbase and are used for short-distance operations such as delivery and collection. The freight unit of a tractor-trailer usually ranges from 40 to 53 feet in length; However, some states allow semi-trailer lengths up to 59′6″. (H) Vehicles operating on major and secondary roads may be operated at the discretion of the operator in accordance with Table I or Table II as follows: Click here to access the Wyoming DOT website to obtain oversized and overweight transport permits. The port of entry can issue permits for routine transportation and is open 24 hours a day. You must call ahead.

L = distance in feet between the ends of a group of two (2) consecutive axes or more. (C) No wheel shall support a load exceeding ten thousand (10,000) pounds. No steered axle tire can support a load of more than seven hundred and fifty (750) pounds per inch of tire width, and no other tire of a vehicle can support a load of more than six hundred (600) pounds per inch of tire width.