Overpass Clearance

Just wondered, it looks like I'm on a run tomorrow that entails going under an overpass that's 13.10, my trailer is 13.6. I have 4" to play with. Is this the norm, or am I taking major chances? Thanks!

Normal. I went under a 13’7” the other day. Have a safe trip!

Driven under 13'6" too. Just dropped the bags lol! Trucks thankfully don't grow taller with weight.

As long as the bridge is posted 13' 6" or more, your good to go. There's a bridge like that near Tuscaloosa AL, that says 13' 6". All the times I've gone under, I slow down, flashers on and all that. But never scraped!

I have never experienced any issues getting under 13'6" overpasses. Not even in North Jousie. Granted I know all of them in my Wally territory, the ones that visually appear lower, I pop the four-ways and slow down.

I do NOT recommend dumping the air for reasons I offered in a previous thread. This will raise the rear, top edge of the door frame. More pronounced when the tandems are set closer to the front of the trailer. If you can get under it with the air dumped, you'll also fit without dumping the air from the tractor suspension. This is fact..

For example, the below photo depicts an older Walmart store built in the early 80s with a dock plate designed to align with older trailers with a higher deck height before the advent of hi-cube designs. Once docked I dump the air to raise the rear of the trailer to better align with the dock. Depending on how the tandems are set, this raises the trailer rear over an inch.

Notice the light poll,...about 2 feet of clearance at the base, on the blind side no less. Tough store due to very limited set-up space; again due to the fact the store was built a decade before 53' trailers became pervasive, 40s and 45s being the norm in that era. Fun times...

Alright guys out of curiosity, do the GPS systems used currently for Semi truck route travel, list bridges that have already been tested for height, ensuring safe passage? Or do they just display a path of recommended travel without current measurements of bridge height? Hope this aint a stupid question, ive never seen what information is exactly displayed on these Truck GPS systems...

Martin asked:

Alright guys out of curiosity, do the GPS systems used currently for Semi truck route travel, list bridges that have already been tested for height, ensuring safe passage? Or do they just display a path of recommended travel without current measurements of bridge height? Hope this aint a stupid question, ive never seen what information is exactly displayed on these Truck GPS systems...

Not always. Especially true when detoured or missing a turn; the dreaded recalculating has (attempted) rerouted me over a 5-ton Bridge and under a 10' Bridge (Huler Road in Reading PA).

Two things prevent disaster; close attention to road signage and double checking restricted routes in the Rand McNally Truckers Atlas when trip planning.

In my experience (TomTom), if my route has a restriction (weight/ height/ rules), I get a route that looks funny, since the routing software will go around the restriction, and I don't get any message.

And yes, like G-Town, I have "forced" a route when the restricted place is the only path form A to B.

Be very careful when going under 13'6" especially if there is a sharp dip. Go slow so that trailer doesn't bounce. As a clue I'll look for scrape marks at the top and skid marks on the pavement too.

To clarify.. when going underneath an overpass marked at 13'6". Never go under anything marked less than 13'6".