Truck weight limits
Maine
✓ Sources verifiedEditorial review pending credentialed reviewer3 primary sources
Maine is a grandfathered state and diverges sharply from the federal baseline: 22,400 lb on a single axle and 38,000 lb on a tandem, with a tri-axle unit allowed 48,000 lb. Gross weight is a schedule by configuration, running from 34,000 lb for a two-axle vehicle up to 100,000 lb for a three-axle truck tractor with a tri-axle semitrailer; five-or-more-axle combinations are held to 80,000 lb.
At a glance
Max gross weight100,000 lb
Max single axle22,400 lb
Max tandem axle38,000 lb
Permit (width)102 in
Permit (height)13.5 ft
vs. federal gross+20,000 lb
1 Limits and thresholds
| Property | Value | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Max gross weight | 100,000 lb[1]Three-axle truck tractor with tri-axle semitrailer. Five-or-more-axle combinations: 80,000 lb — § 2353(1)(D). Six-axle provisions in § 2354 allow 90,000–100,000 lb subject to spacing. | § 2353(1)(E) |
| Max single axle | 22,400 lb[1]Well above the 20,000 lb federal Interstate figure, which governs on Interstates. | § 2353(4)(A)(1) |
| Max tandem axle | 38,000 lb[1]Tri-axle unit: 48,000 lb — § 2353(4)(A)(3). | § 2353(4)(A)(2) |
| Oversize permit above (width) | 102 in[2] | § 2380 |
| Oversize permit above (height) | 13.5 ft[2] | § 2380 |
| CDL disqualification — first major | 1 year for a first conviction while operating a CMV or a non-CMV; 3 years if operating a CMV transporting placarded hazardous materials. Applies to alcohol/controlled-substance influence, 0.04+ BAC in a CMV, test refusal, leaving the scene, using the vehicle in a felony, driving while disqualified, and causing a fatality by negligent operation.[3]Federal floor. A state may impose longer periods but may not go below this; verify state law before relying on it. | § 383.51(b), Table 1 |
| CDL disqualification — lifetime | Life for a second conviction of any combination of the Table 1 major offences in a separate incident. A state MAY reinstate after 10 years following an approved rehabilitation programme — § 383.51(a)(6) — but not after a subsequent disqualifying conviction. Felony manufacture/distribution of a controlled substance, and severe forms of human trafficking, draw life with NO 10-year reinstatement.[3]Federal floor. The 10-year reinstatement is permissive — states are not required to offer it. | § 383.51(a)(6), (b) Table 1 items (9)–(10) |
2 Sources
- 29-A M.R.S. § 2353 — Weight limits — Maine Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- 29-A M.R.S. § 2380 — Height and width restrictions — Maine Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- 49 CFR § 383.51 — Disqualification of drivers — U.S. Government Publishing Office
Review record
Every figure above was transcribed from the primary source cited beside it and carries a pinpoint locator. Editorial review by a credentialed reviewer is pending.