Long Combination Vehicles Program

Equipment Requirements 

Truck Tractor:

1. Must be manufactured and equipped in compliance with the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Act standards (CMVSS) for at the time of manufacture.
2. Engine Retarder or Driveline Retarder (hydraulic type) must be equipped and fully functional with minimum rated retardation horsepower capacity equal to or exceeding 75% of rated engine nameplate horsepower.
3. All truck trailers must feature a maximum gross weight to power ratio of 150 kg per one horsepower.
4. The power unit must be adequately geared and powered to be able to maintain speeds at posted speed limits onlevel ground.
5. Must be equipped with an anti-lock braking (ABS) system.
   
   Must be equipped with:
   • an electronic log book recorder (elog), and
   • an onboard recording device or computer which measures the LCV’s speed and time.
     

Trailers:

1. Must be manufactured and equipped in compliance with the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Act standards (CMVSS)
   at the date of manufacture.
2. All trailers exceeding 8.6m in length must be equipped with lateral amber lights visible on each side to cross traffic
   and those lights must be spaced at intervals of approximately one-third of the total overall length of the trailer
   combination.
   

Coupling Devices:

1. C-Train LCVs must be equipped with a trailer converter dolly manufactured in 1993 or later that meets CMVSS requirements at the time of manufacture.
   
2. No-slack pintle hitches are required for connecting the C-Converter Dolly.
   
3. The trailers on A or C-train combinations shall be joined together by means of no-slack pintle hook(s), equipped with an air or hydraulic ram. The no-slack ram is to be incorporated in either the pintle hook or the pintle hook eye of the coupling apparatus.
   

LCV Combination:

1. LCVs must conform with the weights and dimensions described in Section D.
   
2. All equipment used in LCVs must be equipped with brakes that meet CMVSS 121 Standards.
   
3. The rear axle group of the power unit and all axle groups of the trailers and converters must be equipped with mud flaps or splashguards that are constructed to ensure that they remain in a rigid downward position at all times.
   
4. All tires must be radial.
   
5. Dual tires are required on all wheel positions, except the steering axle.
   
6. Jeep axles are prohibited in all LCV configurations.
   
7. A trailer converter dolly which is not equipped with an anti-lock braking system (ABS), when being operated on a highway without carrying a trailer, may have its service brake system disabled to prevent wheel lock-up.