2013 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 56 - Motor Vehicles
CHAPTER 5 - UNIFORM ACT REGULATING TRAFFIC ON HIGHWAYS
SECTION 56-5-4140. Gross weight of vehicles, combinations of vehicles, and loads; exceptions.

(A)(1) The gross weight of a vehicle or combination of vehicles, operated or moved upon any interstate, highway, or section of highway shall not exceed:

(a) Single-unit vehicle with two axles35,000 lbs.

(b) Single-unit vehicle with three axles46,000 lbs.

(c) Single-unit vehicle with four axles63,500 lbs.

Except, on the interstate, vehicles must meet axle spacing requirements and corresponding maximum overall gross weights, not to exceed 63,500 lbs., in accordance with the table in (b) plus tolerances.

(d) Single-unit vehicle with five or more axles65,000 lbs.

Except, on the interstate, vehicles must meet axle spacing requirements and corresponding maximum overall gross weights, not to exceed 65,000 lbs., in accordance with the table in (b) plus tolerances.

(e) Combination of vehicles with three axles50,000 lbs.

(f) Combination of vehicles with four axles65,000 lbs.

(g) Combination of vehicles with five or more axles73,280 lbs.

The gross weight imposed upon any highway or section of highway other than the interstate by two or more consecutive axles in tandem articulated from a common attachment to the vehicle and spaced not less than forty inches nor more than ninety-six inches apart shall not exceed thirty-six thousand pounds, and no one axle of any such group of two or more consecutive axles shall exceed the load permitted for a single axle. The load imposed on the highway by two consecutive axles, individually attached to the vehicle and spaced not less than forty inches nor more than ninety-six inches apart, shall not exceed thirty-six thousand pounds and no one axle of any such group of two consecutive axles shall exceed the load permitted for a single axle.

The ten percent enforcement tolerance specified in Section 56-5-4160 applies to the vehicle weight limits specified in this section. However, the gross weight on a single axle operated on the interstate may not exceed 20,000 pounds, including all enforcement tolerances; the gross weight on a tandem axle operated on the interstate may not exceed 35,200 pounds, including all enforcement tolerances; the overall gross weight for vehicles operated on the interstate may not exceed 75,185 pounds, including all enforcement tolerances except as provided in (4).

(2) Enforcement tolerance is fifteen percent for a vehicle or trailer transporting unprocessed forest products or only on noninterstate routes.

(3) Enforcement tolerance is fifteen percent for a vehicle or trailer transporting sod only on noninterstate routes.

(4) Vehicles with an overall maximum gross weight in excess of 75,185 pounds may operate upon any highway or section of highway in the Interstate System up to an overall maximum of 80,000 pounds in accordance with the following:

The weight imposed upon the highway by any group of two or more consecutive axles may not, unless specially permitted by the Department of Public Safety exceed an overall gross weight produced by the application of the following formula:

W = 500 (LN/N-1 + 12N + 36)

In the formula W equals overall gross weight on any group of two or more consecutive axles to the nearest 500 pounds, L equals distance in feet between the extreme of any group of two or more consecutive axles, and N equals number of axles in the group under consideration.

As an exception, two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of 68,000 pounds if the overall distance between the first and last axles of the consecutive sets of tandem axles is 36 feet or more. The formula is expressed by the following table:

Distance in feet between Maximum load in pounds carried on any group

the extremes of any of 2 or more consecutive axles

group of 2 or more

consecutive axles

2 axles 3 axles 4 axles 5 axles 6 axles 7 axles

4 35,200

5 35,200

6 35,200

7 35,200

8 and less 35,200 35,200

more than 8 38,000 42,000

9 39,000 42,500

10 40,000 43,500

11 44,000

12 45,000 50,000

13 45,500 50,500

14 46,500 51,500

15 47,500 52,000

16 48,000 52,500 58,000

17 48,500 53,500 58,500

18 49,500 54,000 59,000

19 50,500 54,500 60,000

20 51,000 55,500 60,500 66,000

21 51,500 56,000 61,000 66,500

22 52,500 56,500 61,500 67,000

23 53,000 57,500 62,500 68,000

24 54,000 58,000 63,000 68,500 74,000

25 54,500 58,500 63,500 69,000 74,500

26 55,500 59,500 64,000 69,500 75,000

27 56,000 60,000 65,000 70,000 75,500

28 57,000 60,500 65,500 71,000 76,500

29 57,500 61,500 66,000 71,500 77,000

30 58,500 62,000 66,500 72,000 77,500

31 59,000 62,500 67,500 72,500 78,000

32 60,000 63,500 68,000 73,000 78,500

33 64,000 68,500 74,000 79,000

34 64,500 69,000 74,500 80,000

35 65,500 70,000 75,000

36 68,000 70,500 75,500

37 68,000 71,000 76,000

38 68,000 71,500 77,000

39 68,000 72,500 77,500

40 68,500 73,000 78,000

41 69,500 73,500 78,500

42 70,000 74,000 79,000

43 70,500 75,000 80,000

44 71,500 75,500

45 72,000 76,000

46 72,500 76,500

47 73,500 77,500

48 74,000 78,000

49 74,500 78,500

50 75,500 79,000

51 76,000 80,000

52 76,500

53 77,500

54 78,000

55 78,500

56 79,500

57 80,000

(B) Except on the interstate highway system:

(1) Dump trucks, dump trailers, trucks carrying agricultural products, concrete mixing trucks, fuel oil trucks, line trucks, and trucks designated and constructed for special type work or use are not required to conform to the axle spacing requirements of this section. However, the vehicle is limited to a weight of twenty thousand pounds for each axle plus scale tolerances and the maximum gross weight of these vehicles may not exceed the maximum weight allowed by subsection (A)(1) for the appropriate number of axles, plus allowable scale tolerances.

(2) Concrete mixing trucks which operate within a fifteen-mile radius of their home base are not required to conform to the requirements of this section. However, these vehicles are limited to a maximum load of the rated capacity of the concrete mixer, the true gross load not to exceed sixty-six thousand pounds. All of these vehicles shall have at least three axles each with brake-equipped wheels.

(3) Well-drilling, boring rigs, and tender trucks are not required to conform to the axle spacing requirements of this section. However, the vehicle is limited to seventy thousand pounds gross vehicle weight and twenty-five thousand pounds for each axle plus scale tolerances.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-664; 1952 Code Section 46-664; 1949 (46) 466; 1963 (53) 76, 122; 1967 (55) 561, 1024; 1970 (56) 2041; 1976 Act No. 569 Section 1; 1980 Act No. 500, Section 2; 1983 Act No. 151 Part III Section 28B; 1985 Act No. 199, Section 2; 1986 Act No. 373, Section 3; 1993 Act No. 164, Part II, Section 92; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1433; 1996 Act No. 459, Section 192; 1996 Act No. 461, Section 5; 2008 Act No. 234, Section 3, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on May 22, 2008); 2009 Act No. 60, Section 1, eff June 2, 2009.