RouteAllYour First Oversize Load: What to Expect
Last verified September 8, 2026 against the federal and state rules linked in the Sources section.
An oversize load is any load wider than 8 feet 6 inches (8'6"), and most states add a height limit near 13 feet 6 inches (13'6"). Pass one of those numbers and you need a permit before you move. The permit names the exact roads you may use.
Nothing about the truck changes. What changes is that a piece of paper now decides your route, your hours and your speed.
What is different about an oversize load?
Four things change: you carry a permit, you follow a named route, you move inside set hours, and above a state threshold you travel with an escort vehicle. Everything else about the drive is the same job you already do.
Learn those four in order. They stack on each other.
- Permit — a document from the state allowing one specific over-dimensional move. Without it the move is illegal.
- Route — a list of highways written on the permit. Those roads were checked for your dimensions.
- Hours — printed on the permit too. Many states allow daylight movement only, and add rush-hour curfews.
- Escort — a pilot car driving ahead of you or behind you, warning traffic and watching for low clearances.
Who gets the permit and who pays?
The carrier or the shipper normally buys the permit and bills the cost onward. Fees are set per state and per trip. Texas sets a base permit fee of $90 under Transportation Code section 623.011, while Oklahoma charges $40 for a single-trip oversize permit.
Ask who is paying before you accept the load.
Get that answer in writing, because it is the one that costs you money.
Fees and payment responsibility are covered in full in What oversize permits cost and who pays.
You must not start the move on a promise that the permit is coming. The permit must be in hand and readable before the wheels turn.
Why can I not just use my usual map app?
A map app routes to an address. Your permit names roads. Those are different problems, and the app does not know your load is 12 feet wide. It will happily send you under a 13-foot bridge to save four minutes.
The state chose your roads for a reason.
Bridge heights, lane widths and construction were all checked against the dimensions you declared.
The longer version is in Why Google Maps cannot follow your permit. RouteAll reads the permit you upload and drives the route it names, so the roads on the screen are the roads on the paper.
When am I allowed to move?
Many states allow daylight movement only, and the exact window is written into the rule. Georgia permits movement from thirty minutes after sunrise to thirty minutes before sunset. New Mexico uses the wider window of thirty minutes before sunrise to thirty minutes after sunset. Your permit prints the hours for your move.
The two states above differ by roughly one hour at each end of the day. Read the permit rather than assuming.
"movement of a permitted load will take place only from thirty (30) minutes after sunrise to thirty (30) minutes before sunset Eastern Standard Time or Eastern Daylight Savings Time" — Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 672-2-.03. Verified September 8, 2026.
Georgia adds a wind and visibility rule on top. A load over 12 feet wide must not move when visibility is under 600 feet or ground wind is over 25 miles per hour.
Holidays and rush hours are separate restrictions again. New Mexico blocks named routes on weekdays from 7 to 9 in the morning and 4 to 6 in the afternoon.
Two neighbouring states can run different clocks and different escort triggers on the same load. The table gives both numbers for three states, with a link to each rule.
| State | Travel window | Escort at width over | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset | 12 feet | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 672-2-.03 |
| New Mexico | 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset | 14 feet | 18.19.8 NMAC |
| Utah | Set by the permit and the road class | 12 feet on secondary roads | Utah Admin. Code R909-2-18 |
Full state detail is in Travel-time and curfew restrictions by state.
Will I have a pilot car?
Yes, above a width the state sets. The trigger is commonly 12 feet, but it is 14 feet in Texas and in New Mexico. The pilot car drives ahead of you or behind you, warns traffic, and on tall loads carries a pole that tests clearances before your load reaches them.
Talk to your escort before the first mile. Agree the radio channel and send them the permit.
What the escort actually does, minute to minute, is in What a pilot car actually does.
What does the day actually look like?
Six steps, in this order. Measure the load yourself, then read the permit against those measurements and read the route road by road. Check today's hours, fit the signs and flags the permit names, and confirm your escort holds a copy. Then drive the named roads and nothing else.
None of these steps is optional:
- Measure the load yourself, on the trailer, at its widest, tallest and longest point. Do not use the shipper's number.
- Read the permit against those measurements. If a single number disagrees, stop and get the permit corrected.
- Read the route road by road, and note where it leaves the interstate.
- Check the hours and the curfews for the states you cross today.
- Fit the signs and flags the permit requires, then confirm the escort has a copy of the permit.
- Drive the named roads. If a road is closed, stop and call the permit office rather than routing around it.
Common permit errors, and how to spot them before you roll, are listed in The 12 most common errors on oversize permits.
What if something goes wrong?
Stop moving and make a phone call. That is the whole procedure. A wrong turn off the permitted route means the permit no longer covers you in most states, and improvising a way back makes it worse rather than better.
Stopping costs you an hour. Guessing can cost a bridge.
The consequences by state are set out in What happens if you leave your permitted route.
Before you roll
Measure the load yourself, then read every number on the permit against what you measured. The permit is the rule for the move, and it beats habit, the dispatcher and any map app. RouteAll does not issue permits or guarantee compliance. If a number on the paper does not match the trailer, the move does not start.
Common questions
Do I need a special licence for an oversize load?
No separate oversize licence exists. The load needs a permit, not the driver, so you still need the licence class the truck itself requires. Some states certify pilot car drivers, but that is the escort's certificate and not yours. Read the permit conditions for the state you are entering.
Who buys the oversize permit, me or the company?
Usually the carrier or the shipper buys it, and the cost is billed on. Ask before you accept the load, because the answer decides whether you pay out of pocket. Get the answer in writing. The permit must be in hand before the wheels turn, not bought at the scale.
Can I run an oversize load at night?
Often not. Georgia allows movement only from thirty minutes after sunrise to thirty minutes before sunset. New Mexico runs the opposite window, thirty minutes before sunrise to thirty minutes after sunset. Your permit prints the hours that apply to your move.
What happens if I take a wrong turn off the permitted route?
In most states the permit stops covering you the moment you leave the roads it names. You are then an illegal oversize load on a road nobody surveyed for it. Stop, do not improvise a way back, and call your permit office for instructions.
Further reading
Sources
- United States, 23 CFR 658.15, width limit. Read September 8, 2026.
- United States, 23 CFR 658.17, Interstate weight limits. Read September 8, 2026.
- Georgia, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 672-2-.03, daylight movement, wind and visibility. Read September 8, 2026.
- New Mexico, 18.19.8 NMAC, travel hours and peak-hour restrictions. Read September 8, 2026.
- Texas, Tex. Transp. Code § 623.011, base permit fee of $90. Read September 8, 2026.
- Oklahoma DOT, Permit Fees, addendum to OAC 730 Chapter 50. Read September 8, 2026.
- Utah, Utah Admin. Code R909-2-28, pilot escort vehicle requirements. Read September 8, 2026.
RouteAll reads the permit you provide. It does not issue permits or guarantee compliance. The driver remains responsible for the load. Rules change; verify against the permit and the issuing state before every move.