University of Minnesota
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Overview | Workshops | Weight Charts & Other Resources | Training Videos & Presentations | County Weight Information

Minnesota Truck-Weight Education Training

This training promotes voluntary compliance to reduce damage to public roads and highways from overweight vehicles. Its goal is to teach you how to haul the most legal weight without violating truck-weight laws.

You'll learn about road-weight regulations during various times of the year, including the winter load increase and spring load restrictions. How trucks are configured—with proper axle spacing and tire size—makes a difference.

Instructors will provide professional, easy-to-understand take-home materials to assist you with your own configurations and options. The training is updated to reflect changes in truck-weight legislation.

Date and Locations

This workshop is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.) at the specified location on each of the dates listed below.

Registration

  • Register
  • Cost: There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. Coffee breaks and program materials will be provided.
  • Please note: There is a limit of 35 students per class. Registration of more than three members from the same company requires instructor approval. Please call Tom Nelson, training coordinator, at 320-828-1809.
  • Registration contact: Jackson Piper, piper129@umn.edu.

Please let us know how we can ensure that this workshop is inclusive to you. What accommodations or access needs can we help facilitate? Contact Jackson Piper when you register to help us provide you with the best access.

Who Should Attend

Trucking entities who want to load to the maximum legal weight possible. Scale operators, farm truck owners and operators, aggregate haulers, truck manufacturers who configure truck axles and tires, township and county authorities who influence truck route weights, any company representative who influences the purchase or alteration of new trucks, out-of-state companies who need to understand and comply with Minnesota's legal weight limits, and truck driving students.

Please Note: This is not a “permitting” class for those who haul over-dimensional or overweight equipment that requires an oversize permit from either the state or county agencies. The class does cover the permit requirement for harvest and timber commodities and the 10 percent winter-load-increase (WLI) permit for trucks operating on Interstate highways.

Topics Covered

  • Update of road weight limits and differences between the state and local systems
  • Laws governing gross weights, axle weights, tire weights, road-restriction weights, and seasonally increased (winter and harvest) weights
  • Road damage issues: how overweight trucks cost us all
  • Overweight truck issues go beyond gross and axle weights
  • Classroom exercises to help you identify concerns in your own trucks
  • What’s different in axle spacing? Do I have the right tires for the weight?
  • Issues to consider when purchasing a new truck or altering a current truck
  • Introduction and demonstration of the new Minnesota truck-weight calculator, an online resource to help training attendees determine weights based on vehicle configuration

Course Staff and Instructors

  • Tom J. Nelson, Technical Program Manager and Instructor
  • Paul Robischon, Instructor/Portable Scale Weighing

This course was originally developed by Greg A. Hayes in 2001 to help anyone understand the technical criteria of the truck-weight laws in Minnesota. For questions regarding course content, please contact Tom Nelson, 320-828-1809 or Tom.Nelson51@gmail.com.

Credit

Contract Training

We offer a contract version of this training to organizations interested in training multiple staff. Our instructors will come to you, holding the training on-site at your organization and tailor the content to meet your industry needs and standards.

Organizations are responsible for providing classroom space, presentation technology, and equipment for hands-on demonstration. The fee for this service is contingent upon the number of participants in the training.

To learn more or schedule a session, contact Katherine Stanley at sell0146@umn.edu.

Informational Contact

With questions regarding course content, please contact tkweight@umn.edu.

Sponsors

This program is funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and administered by the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota.