Maximum Weight of Load (TRC 621.101):

1. A vehicle or combination of vehicles may not be operated over or on a public highway outside the territory of a municipality or over or on a state-maintained public highway inside the territory of a municipality, or at a port-of-entry between Texas and the United Mexican States if the vehicle or combination has:
   1. an axle that carries a load heavier than:
      1. 16,000 pounds on high-pressure tires; or
      2. 20,000 pounds on low-pressure tires, including all enforcement tolerances;
   2. a tandem axle weight heavier than 34,000 pounds, including all enforcement tolerances;
   3. an overall gross weight on a group of two or more consecutive axles heavier than the weight computed using the following formula and rounding the result to the nearest 500 pounds;
      W = 500 ((LN / N-1 ) + 12N + 36 )
      Where:
      " W " = is maximum overall gross weight in the group;
      " L " = is distance in feet between the axles of the group that are the farthest apart; and
      " N" = is the number of axles in the group;
   4. a weight heavier than:
      1. 600 pounds for each inch of tire width concentrated on the surface of the highway on a wheel using high-pressure tires; or
      2. 650 pounds for each inch of tire width concentrated on the surface of the highway on a wheel using low-pressure tires; or
   5. a wheel that carries a load heavier than:
      1. 8,000 pounds on high-pressure tires; or
      2. 10,000 pounds on low-pressure tires.
2. Nothwithstanding Subsection (a)(3), two consecutive sets of tandem axles may carry a gross load of not more than 34,000 pounds each if the overall distance between the first and last axles of the consecutive sets is 36 feet or more. The overall gross weight on a group of two or more consecutive axles may not be heavier than 80,000 pounds, including all enforcement tolerances.
3. This section does not:
   1. authorize size and weight limits on the national system of interstate and defense highways in this state greater than those permitted under 23 U.S.C. Section 127; or
   2. prohibit the operation of a vehicle or combination of vehicles that could be lawfully operated on a highway or road of this state on December 16, 1974.
4. For the purposes of this section, the load carried on an axle is the total load transmitted to the road by all wheels the centers of which can be included between two parallel transverse vertical planes 40 inches apart, extending across the full width of the vehicle.