(a) Forestry machinery.

1. (1) Pursuant to Arkansas Code § 27-35-209:

(a) Forestry machinery shall be exempt from the width and height limitations imposed by this subchapter, and all other statutes limiting the width and height of vehicles operating upon the state's highways. (b) This section shall have no application to forest machinery traveling on federal interstate highways.

1. (2) Forestry machinery shall be defined as machinery which is an integral part of planting, harvesting, or crop maintenance for a forestry operation, when traveling directly from or directly to a forestry plot.

(b) Log truck exemption.

1. (1) A truck-tractor/pole trailer combination with a total number of five (5) axles, no more and no less, transporting logs from their first point of severance to the location where they first undergo preparation for processing or processing is not required to have a permit under the following conditions:

   1. (A) Logs being transported may extend past the rear of the pole trailer no more than twenty-five feet (25') measured from the center point between the two (2) axles of the rear tandem axle group to the end of the logs extending furthermost from the rear of the pole trailer;
   2. (B) The logs shall maintain a minimum clearance of two feet (2') above the surface of the roadway whether stationary or when traveling;
   3. (C) During daytime movement, one (1) eighteen-inch red or fluorescent orange flag must be on each rear corner of the load; and
   4. (D) During nighttime movement, one (1) steady burning red lamp must be mounted on each rear corner of the load.
2. (2) The exemption under this subsection shall not apply to those vehicle combinations utilizing flat-bed trailers equipped with bunks, bolsters, or stakes which are transporting logs in multiple stacks or logs that are not stacked in a single vertically aligned stack, or if the load may be reducible in length by means other than reducing the length of individual logs by removal of part of the main body (trunk) of the log.

(c) Farm equipment/special cargoes. Pursuant to Arkansas Code § 27-35-210, it shall not be necessary to obtain a permit nor shall it be unlawful to move any vehicle or machinery in excess of the maximum width prescribed in Arkansas Code § 27-35-206 used for normal farm purposes only, such as, but not limited to, hay harvesting equipment, plows, tractors, bulldozers, combines, etc., where:

1. (1) It is hauled on a vehicle licensed as a natural resource vehicle; or
2. (2) The vehicle or machinery is being transported by a farm machinery equipment dealer or repairman in making a delivery of new or used equipment of machinery to the farm of the purchaser; or
3. (3) The vehicle or machinery is being used in making a pickup and delivery of such farm machinery or equipment from the farm to a shop or a farm equipment dealer or repairman for repairs and return to the farm; and
4. (4) The movement is performed during daylight hours within a radius of fifty (50) miles of the point of origin thereof and no part of the movement is upon any highway designed and known as a part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways or any fully controlled access highway facility.

(d) Round bales of hay.

1. (1) It shall not be unlawful nor shall it be necessary to obtain a permit to transport round bales of hay upon any public highway or road that is not a fully controlled highway or road if the load does not exceed twelve feet (12') in width.

2. (2)

   1. (A) Permits may be issued authorizing the transport of round bales of hay on controlled highways provided the load does not exceed ten feet (10’) in width.
   2. (B) The permit shall be issued without fee or other charge and shall expire three (3) days after the date of issuance.

(e) Compacted seed cotton vehicles.

1. (1) Pursuant to Arkansas Code §§ 27-35-206 and 27-35-208, vehicles utilized to transport compacted seed cotton from the farm to the first point at which such seed cotton shall first undergo any processing, preparation for processing, or transformation from its compacted state may operate upon all highways of this state, with the exception of federal interstate highways, with widths not exceeding one hundred eight inches (108") and lengths not exceeding fifty-five feet (55') without a permit.
2. (2) However, such vehicles must be equipped and operated in compliance with the traffic laws of this state as well as all safety rules and regulations of the United States Department of Transportation and the State Highway Commission.

(f) Poles, pipes, machinery, or objects of a structural nature.

1. (1) Length limitations shall not apply to vehicles operated in the daytime when transporting poles, pipes, machinery, or other objects of a structural nature which cannot readily be dismembered, nor to vehicles transporting objects operated at nighttime by a public utility or its agent, or electric/telephone cooperatives or their agents, when required for emergency repair of public facilities or properties or when operated under permit as provided by law.

2. (2) Specific examples are as follows:

   1. (A) If the load is flush or longer than the trailer (regardless of the length of trailer), the load is exempted from permit during daylight hours;
   2. (B) If the load is shorter than the trailer and if the trailer is over fifty-three feet six inches (53' 6"), an oversize permit is required for the trailer;
   3. (C) If the load is exempted from a permit, it is exempted from all requirements of an escort, etc.; and
   4. (D) Poles, pipes, things of a structural nature, or machinery transported at night are treated as any other combination of permit load.