Clients usually count permit time from the day of application. In reality the clock starts when you have exact dimensions, weight, centre of gravity and a support diagram. Without those the application is not accepted — and gathering them is often harder than the procedure itself.
Four stages you cannot skip
- A physical measurement of the cargo including packaging, not from the drawing
- Vehicle selection based on real weight and support points
- A route survey: bridges, overpasses, radii, gradients
- A separate application in every transit country
Three mistakes that cost weeks
First, dimensions taken from the drawing without packaging and lashings. Second, an “approximate” weight that turns out 8% higher on the weighbridge. Third, an application without an axle-load distribution diagram, which the road authority then requests again.
Each of those means resubmission, which costs five to twenty-one days depending on the country. That is why an engineering survey before the application is cheaper than any saving made by skipping it.