Legal size and weight limits

Legal limits

Application

Ontario has made vehicle weight and dimension reforms that were introduced over four phases designed to cause a gradual migration to vehicles designated as Safe, Productive and Infrastructure-Friendly (SPIF). The reforms ensured that heavy vehicles are designed to perform safely on Ontario highways and within an acceptable amount of space. The reforms also helped to better protect bridges and pavement from excessive wear. Changes include a move to self-steering axles in place of rigid lift-axles and a requirement that all semitrailer axles automatically load-equalize.

The first three phases of these reforms dealt with tractor-trailer combinations and all changes have now been proclaimed into law under Ontario Regulation 413/05. The fourth phase dealt with commercial trucks, trailers, and buses. The fourth phase of reforms was adopted and was effective July 1, 2011.

Portions of the following information was taken from Ontario Regulation 413/05 and is copyrighted by Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2014. The following text is not the official version of Ontario's regulations. For official text, refer to http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca.

Vehicle weight limits

Tires

The tires of a designated vehicle or vehicle combination must be at least 150 millimetres wide.

Axle weight limits

The axle unit weight for a designated vehicle or combination is that specified in the corresponding Schedule.

The axle group weight for a quadruple axle in a designated tractor-trailer combination 6 or 7 is that specified in the corresponding Schedule.

Liftable axles

A designated vehicle or designated vehicle combination may have axles in addition to those specified in the corresponding Schedule, but the additional axles must remain in the raised position.

A designated truck or a tractor in a designated combination may not be equipped with or have controls, whether remote or manual, that would allow the driver from the cab of the truck or tractor to lift, deploy, or alter the weight on a self-steering axle of the truck or of any drawn trailer unless:

The truck, truck-trailer combination, or tractor-trailer combination is designed to carry raw forest products; or
The controls:
- Do not activate unless the emergency four-way flashers are activated;
- Contain a device that prevents lifting the axle or altering the axle weight when the truck or vehicle combination is travelling at a speed over 60 kilometres per hour; and
- In the case of a tractor-trailer combination, operate only on the most forward self-steering axle of the semi-trailer.

The tractor in a designated tractor-trailer combination 12 may not be equipped with or have controls, whether remote or manual, that would allow the driver to lift, deploy or alter the weight on the tandem or tridem axles in the combination, unless the controls:

Operate only on the forward axle of the lead trailer's tridem axle;
Do not activate unless the emergency four-way flashers are activated; and
Contain a device that prevents lifting the axle or altering the axle weight when the combination is travelling at a speed over 60 kilometres per hour.

A designated truck may be equipped with:

Manual controls mounted outside the cab of the truck to lift or deploy its self-steering axle or forced-steer auxiliary pusher axle;
Manual controls mounted outside the cab of the truck to alter the weight on its self-steering axle or forced-steer auxiliary pusher axle, but only for use outside of Ontario;
Automatic controls that lift its self-steering axle when reversing and deploy it again when moving forward; and
Automatic controls that lift or deploy its self-steering axle or forced-steer auxiliary pusher axle, depending on whether the truck is heavily or lightly loaded.

A trailer in a designated combination may be equipped with:

Manual controls to lift or deploy its self-steering axles;
Manual controls to alter the weight on its self-steering axles, but only for use outside Ontario;
Automatic controls that lift its self-steering axles when reversing and deploy them again when moving forward; and
Automatic controls that lift or deploy its self-steering axles, depending on whether the trailer is heavily or lightly loaded.

Load equalizing

The following designated vehicles and vehicles within designated combinations must be designed to load equalize:

Designated trucks 3 and 5;
The semi-trailer in designated tractor-trailer combinations 2 to 7, 9, 10, and 15; and
The pony trailer in designated truck-trailer combination 2.

A vehicle load equalizes if:

In the case of designated truck 3, the weight of the auxiliary self-steering axle or forced-steer auxiliary pusher axle is not more than 500 kilograms greater or less than 33 percent of the weight on the tandem axle;
In the case of designated truck 5, the weight of the self-steering axle is not more than 500 kilograms greater or less than the average weight per axle of the tandem axle;
In the case of the semi-trailer in designated tractor-trailer combinations 2 to 7, 9, and 10, the weight of each self-steering axle is not more than 500 kilograms greater or less than the average weight per axle of the tandem, tridem, or quadruple axle;
In the case of the semi-trailer in designated tractor-trailer combination 15, the weight of the tandem axle is not more than 500 kilograms greater or less than 67 percent of the weight of the tridem axle; and
In the case of the pony trailer in designated truck-trailer combination 2, the weight of the self-steering axle is not more than 500 kilograms greater or less than the average weight per axle of the tandem axle.

Non-designated combinations

The maximum allowable gross vehicle weight for non-designated vehicles and combinations, other than B-train combinations, is the amount listed below (Gross Weight Table 32):

Base length (m)	Number of Axles
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8+
Less than 8	15,000	21,500	27,000	28,000	32,000	36,000	36,000
8 to less than 10	15,000	21,500	28,000	31,000	33,000	36,000	36,000
10 to less than 12	15,000	21,500	28,000	34,000	37,000	39,000	39,000
12 to less than 14	15,000	21,500	29,000	36,500	42,000	43,000	43,000
14 to less than 15	15,000	21,500	29,000	36,500	45,000	46,000	46,000
15 to less than 16	15,000	21,500	29,000	36,500	46,000	47,000	48,000
16 to less than 18	15,000	21,500	29,000	36,500	46,000	48,000	50,000
18 and over	15,000	21,500	29,000	36,500	46,000	50,000	52,000

The maximum allowable gross vehicle weight for non-designated B-train combinations is the amount listed below (Gross Weight Table 33):

Base length (m)	Number of Axles
	4	5	6	7	8+
less than 15	27,000	28,000	32,000	36,000	36,000
15 to less than 16	29,000	36,500	45,000	48,000	49,000
16 to less than 18	29,000	36,500	46,000	50,000	51,000
18 to less than 19	29,000	36,500	46,000	53,000	54,000
19 and over	30,000	37,000	47,000	54,000	57,000