Six configurations cover nearly every HGV on a UK road, and each has one gross-weight ceiling and one drive-axle limit. The table is short. Most of the trouble comes from the axle line, not the gross line, and from loads that were legal where they were put on and are not legal here.
| Configuration | Max gross weight | Drive axle |
|---|---|---|
| 2-axle rigid | 18 tonnes | 11.5 tonnes |
| 3-axle rigid | 26 tonnes | 11.5 tonnes |
| 4-axle rigid | 32 tonnes | 11.5 tonnes |
| 4-axle articulated | 38 tonnes | 11.5 tonnes |
| 5-axle articulated | 40 tonnes | 11.5 tonnes |
| 6-axle articulated | 44 tonnes | 11.5 tonnes |
Source: HGV maximum weights, GOV.UK. The legal basis is the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and the Road Vehicles (Authorised Weight) Regulations 1998. A vehicle complies with one set or the other, and most modern fleets run under the 1998 regulations, which follow EU Directive 96/53/EC.
44 tonnes applies to a tractor with three axles pulling a semi-trailer with three axles, with road-friendly suspension on the drive axle. Five-axle artics stop at 40, four-axle artics at 38. On rigids, the 32-tonne four-axle figure is the one most tipper, mixer, refuse and tanker operators work to, the 8×4 chassis being the standard for those jobs. Two-axle rigids run to 18 tonnes, three-axle to 26.
The drive axle is limited to 11.5 tonnes on every configuration above, and it is the limit that operators hit first on rigids and on part-loaded tankers, because the load sits over it. A single non-driving axle is limited to 10 tonnes. A tandem group runs up to 20 tonnes on road-friendly suspension with the axles 1.3 to 1.8 metres apart, less when closer together. A tri-axle group runs to 24 tonnes. The spacing and suspension conditions are in Schedule 4 of the 1986 regulations.
The 7.5 tonnes is the gross vehicle weight, truck and load together. Subtract the unladen weight of the vehicle with its body, and the payload is usually between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes depending on the body and equipment fitted. The exact figure is on the manufacturer’s plate in the cab.
For a particular vehicle, on the manufacturer’s plate in the cab or on the trailer chassis. For the law, in Schedule 4 of the Construction and Use Regulations 1986 and in the Authorised Weight Regulations 1998, summarised on the GOV.UK HGV maximum weights page.
44,000 kg gross for a six-axle articulated combination, 40,000 kg for five axles, 38,000 kg for four. Payload is the gross figure less the unladen weight of the tractor and trailer.
Maximum Authorised Mass, the heaviest the vehicle or combination is allowed to weigh with its load, as shown on the plate. It is the same figure as plated gross weight, and for a combination it is the gross train weight.
An overloaded axle is an offence under the Construction and Use Regulations even when the gross weight is inside the limit. At a DVSA check it attracts a graduated fixed penalty of £100, £200 or £300 depending on the percentage over, a prohibition until the load is corrected, and court prosecution above 30 per cent or five tonnes over. The vehicle also steers and brakes worse and wears tyres and suspension faster.
Beyond the fine and the prohibition, overloading is recorded against the operator’s licence and counts at a Traffic Commissioner public inquiry, where repeated offences put the licence itself at risk. Insurers ask about prohibitions at renewal.
Indivisible loads that cannot be carried within the standard limits move under the Special Types General Order (STGO), in three categories: Category 1 up to 50 tonnes, Category 2 up to 80 tonnes, Category 3 up to 150 tonnes. Each category sets its own axle limits, notification periods to police and highway authorities, and escort requirements. Above 150 tonnes, movements need a Special Order from the Department for Transport.
DVSA examiners stop vehicles at fixed check sites and with mobile units, using ANPR to target operators with poor compliance histories and vehicles flagged by weigh-in-motion sensors. A truck that is selected is taken to a weighbridge or weighed on portable pads, and the examiner’s reading is the legal evidence. The DVSA annual report gives the volume of checks and the proportion of vehicles found overweight. The procedure at the roadside is on DVSA roadside weight checks.
The UK 44-tonne ceiling is lower than Ireland’s 46 tonnes on a 3+3 artic with EBS and ESC, and lower than the 50 tonnes the Netherlands allows on a domestic 5-axle combination. France allows 44 tonnes on five axles with 12 tonnes on the drive axle, half a tonne more than the UK. Germany allows 44 only on combined transport and 40 otherwise. So a trailer loaded to local limits in Ireland, France or the Netherlands can be over the UK limit, on gross or on the drive axle, the moment it lands, while a UK 44-tonne load into Germany is over the German one. The Europe hub has the five countries side by side. The EU’s revised weights and dimensions directive, which would require on-board mass monitoring on zero-emission HGVs from December 2029 under the Council’s position, is covered on the EU on-board mass-monitoring explainer.
The axle line is the one that gets written up, and it is the one a driver cannot judge by eye. An in-cab reading as the load goes on shows each axle group against its own limit, so a tipper that has taken on two extra buckets at the quarry can drop them before it reaches the road instead of at a DVSA check. The record of that reading, timestamped, is part of what an operator puts in front of a Traffic Commissioner to show the systems it runs. iWeigh for Trucks fits the 8×4 rigids in tipper, mixer and tanker work, where the drive axle is the limit reached first; the pillar guide covers the rest of the range.
For rigids, tippers and tankers
One module covers every axle group on a rigid, air or mechanical suspension, and shows each group against its own limit in 10 kg steps on the in-cab display or the free Air-Weigh app. The drive-axle figure is on screen before the truck leaves the quarry. SAE J1939 and CAN output, over-the-air updates, 3-year limited warranty.
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