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<br />manufacturers regarding physical dimensions of the <br />equipment in which he is interested. <br /> <br />Size and weight information which is necessary for <br />determining vehicle length, using the procedure pre- <br />sented in Appendix I, can be obtained from the <br />"Summary of Size and Weight Limits" chart. The infor- <br />mation necessary to use the procedure can be obtained <br />from that half of the chart which names the states and <br />has them grouped into regions. It should be noted that <br />in the other half of the "Summary of Size and Weight <br />Limits" chart is a table called "Tables for Allowable <br />Loads (in 1000 Ibs.)." That is called a bridge table. <br />I t represents a method states use to assign weights and <br />vehicle axle spacings in a manner which each state feels <br />will place the least stress on bridges located in that parti- <br />cular state. This table says, in effect, that to be able to <br />haul X number of pounds on a vehicle you need Y <br />number of feet between the axles of that vehicle. In <br />some states the table applies only to placement of the <br />first and last axle of a vehicle, and in other states to the <br />placement of all axles. It is this table to which a truck <br />operator must refer when he specifies the distance <br />between axles of the vehicle he will purchase. To deter- <br />mine accurately the exact wheelbase of tractor and semi- <br />trailer to be used in a state which uses a bridge table, one <br />must know the weight to be hauled, how much is to be <br />loaded on each axle, and equipment parameters which <br />physically limit the placement of axles. Since architects <br />generally do not have all that information available to <br />them, particularly the information regarding physical <br />parameters set by equipment, it would be very difficult <br />for them, through use of bridge table data, to determine <br />tractor and semitrailer wheelbase dimensions for the <br /> <br />vehicle requiring most maneuvering space in any particu- <br />lar state. <br /> <br />The procedure presented in Appendix I assumes <br />architects do not have available to them the information <br />which would be necessary fo! using the bridge table to <br />determine tractor and semitrailer wheelbase dimensions <br />for that vehicle requiring maximum maneuvering space <br />in any particular state. Since the tractor-semitrailer is <br />usually the vehicle which will require most space for <br />maneuvering, the procedure for determining vehicle size <br />presented in Appendix I is basically for determining the <br />tractor-semitrailer which will off track most and which, <br />hence, will require the most space to maneuver. <br /> <br />For a tractor-semitrailer combination, the factor con. <br />tributing most to off track is the semitrailer wheelbase. <br />The factor next in importance is tractor wheelbase (wb). <br />Consequently, to obtain the tractor-semitrailer combina- <br />tion which gives the most off track in a particular state, a <br />se m i trailer incorporating the maximum semitrailer <br />wheelbase possible in that state must be coupled with a <br />tractor of maximum wheelbase compatible with that <br />semitrailer. The procedure presented in Appendix I is for <br />determining that combination of tractor and semitrailer. <br /> <br />I t is possible that the tractor-semitrailer developed, <br />using the procedure presented in Appendix I, will not be <br />one which is used most generally in a particular state. <br />The vehicle developed will, however, be one which might <br />be found in that state and would be the tractor. <br />semitrailer which, in that state, would require the most <br />space to maneuver. <br /> <br />4 <br />