R permits

R means restricted . It means that the truck is permitted(he paid for a permit) and is carrying over 80,000 pounds to 100,000 pounds. He is restricted to certain highways where there are stronger bridges and roads.

Trucks that are overweight need an R permit. You'll occasionally see signs before a bridge that says "No Trucks with R Permit." That means that the bridge cannot safely support the load of an overweight truck.

 

https://www.dot.ny.gov/nypermits/repository/perm61.pdf

 

SS is on the money....Used to haul wood chips to the pulp mill, 3 loads a day....One road in & out....State used to set up and hammer us, easy pickens.....Hard wood chips were always 90-110k, soft wood might be legal if not packed full....State would give us an OW ticket and tell us to make a copy and keep it in the truck, as it was good for a month....Asked the boss one time, hey, why not just get an R permit and be done with the OW tickets?....Well, it would cost more to permit each tractor and trailer yearly with the R, than just pay the OW ticket once a month.....Of course that was back before computers, dac, sac, csa, or any other nonsense they have now.....You see, it was a $$$ generator then, just like it is now, only bigger.....

 

Are R permits for a load or for a prepaid length of time and any number of loads?

 

They are truck/trailer specific. Ie guy has a tractor and 3 axle dump trailer, gets annual R permit to carry more weight. Also why bulk rates in states with R permits aren't based on gross weights of 80k