RouteAllDriver guides
Plain answers for oversize and overweight haulers — permits, permitted routes, pilot cars and escorts. Written to be read on a phone, in a cab.
New to oversize
Start here if this is your first permitted load.
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New driver
Your First Oversize Load: What to Expect
Your first oversize load, step by step: the four numbers that need a permit, who buys it, the daylight rule, and what the escort does.
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New driver
Oversize Load Terms Every New Driver Should Know
Oversize load terminology in plain language: non-divisible, superload, height pole, envelope permit, bridge formula and 20 more terms defined.
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New driver
What a Pilot Car Actually Does
What does a pilot car do? The lead and chase positions, the height pole, the radio, the equipment states require, and how the escort gets your route.
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New driver
What Oversize Permits Cost and Who Pays
Oversize permit cost, from published state fee schedules: Texas $90, Oklahoma $40, Virginia $250 a year, plus who actually pays and what else gets billed.
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New driver
Do You Need a Special CDL for Oversize Loads?
No federal CDL endorsement covers oversize loads. 49 CFR 383.93 lists five, and none is for a wide load. Rated weight decides your class.
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New driver
Oversize Load Equipment: Flags, Banners, Lights
Oversize load flags are 18 inches square under federal rule. Banner size and lights change by state: Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah and South Dakota compared.
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New driver
Oversize Load Boards: How to Find Heavy Haul Loads
Four channels carry heavy haul freight: load boards, brokers, direct shippers and other carriers. Check the broker's $75,000 federal bond first.
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New driver
Planning Your First Permitted Route
Your permit names the roads, and they are rarely the shortest. Oklahoma can void a permit for leaving the route. Seven steps from measuring to first mile.
Working as a pilot car
Your first job, and how you get paid for it.
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Pilot car
Your First Pilot Car Job: A Checklist
A first pilot car job checklist from a working height pole operator: call the driver, set the time, agree the meet, and what to carry before you roll.
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Pilot car
Pilot Car Pay and How Billing Works
How pilot car driver pay is structured: per mile, day rate, deadhead and detention, plus invoicing, insurance minimums and what the BLS data does not show.
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Pilot car
Pilot Car Requirements by State
Pilot car requirements by state: the width, height and length that trigger an escort in eight states, each linked to the state rule itself.
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Apps
Your Escort Driver Shouldn't Need a Subscription
A pilot car route sharing app should be free for the pilot car. How the permitted route reaches your escort, and what a free shared route does.
Permits
When you need one, what it says, and what voids it.
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Permits
Do You Need an Oversize Permit? The 4 Numbers That Decide
You need an oversize permit when you exceed one of four numbers: 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, your state's length limit, or 80,000 pounds.
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Permits
How to Read a Texas TxDMV Oversize Permit: Every Field Explained
How to read a TxDMV oversize permit field by field on a real Texas single-trip permit: dates, dimensions, axle table, route and travel rules.
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Permits
The 12 Most Common Errors on State Oversize Permits
Oversize permit mistakes that void the permit: wrong dimensions, missing amendments, an unsurveyed route and nine more, each linked to the state rule.
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Permits
Annual vs Single-Trip Oversize Permits: Which Apps Support Annual
An annual oversize permit names no route, so route-following apps have nothing to read. What annual permits cover, and which apps actually support them.
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Permits
Superload Permits: When Your Load Is Too Big
A superload starts at 15 feet wide in Delaware and 201,000 pounds in Pennsylvania. Seven state thresholds, each linked to the regulation it came from.
On the road
Routes, hours and the rules that follow the load.
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Routes
What Happens If You Leave Your Permitted Route (And What It Costs You)
Leave the route on your oversize permit and in most states the permit is void. Fines and bridge-strike liability by state, regulations linked.
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State rules
Travel-Time and Curfew Restrictions by State
Oversize load travel time restrictions in eight states: the daylight rule, the rush-hour curfews and the six holidays, each linked to the state rule.
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State rules
Oversize Load Width Limits by State (2026)
Oversize load width limits by state: the federal 102-inch line, the states that drop to 96 inches, and the permit width ceilings, each linked to the rule.
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State rules
Oversize Load Sign and Banner Requirements by State
Oversize load sign size, letter height and when the sign comes down, in twelve states including Colorado and Montana, each linked to the rule.
Apps and paperwork
What the tools do, and what the state wants back.
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Apps
Free Oversize Permit Route Apps Compared
ProMiles is free but works in three test states. PermitPath is $3.99 a month and you build the route. What each oversize permit route app actually does.
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Apps
Why Google Maps and Trucker Path Cannot Follow Your Permit
Truck GPS for oversize loads: why a map app routes to an address while your permit names roads, and what a 1,500-foot deviation rule really means.
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Money
IFTA Mileage for Oversize Haulers
IFTA counts every mile of your permitted route, taxable or not. The due dates, the seven record elements and the four-year rule, quoted from IFTA.
In your language
Permits are issued in English. What the fields mean.
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Language
Oversize Permit Guide for Punjabi-Speaking Drivers
Oversize permits are issued only in English. What each field means, which terms have no Punjabi equivalent, and where language help actually exists.
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Language
Oversize Permit Guide for Spanish-Speaking Drivers
Oversize permits are issued only in English. What each field means, which terms translate badly into Spanish, and where language help actually exists.
RouteAll reads the permit you provide. It does not issue permits or guarantee compliance — the driver remains responsible for the load. Always verify against the permit document and the issuing state.