Know the equipment.

Enclosed trailers protect freight from weather and theft, and they are the first choice for anything that loads through a dock. Every figure on this page is typical for common US equipment and varies by trailer and carrier; the legal limits further down are separate and decide when a load needs a permit.

A dry van is the standard box, so it is the easiest to find and the simplest to load. A reefer gives up a little payload to its refrigeration unit and insulation. A Conestoga gives up more to its rolling frame but loads like a flatbed. Pick the simplest trailer that protects the freight, because every added feature costs payload, availability or rate. If freight is dock-loaded, needs no temperature and fits under about 9 ft, the answer is almost always a dry van.

The 53 ft dry van is the standard enclosed trailer, the box that palletized consumer and industrial freight is built around. Typical inside dimensions are about 52 ft 6 in long, 8 ft 2 in wide and 9 ft tall. That holds 26 standard 48 x 40 in pallets loaded straight or 30 turned, with a typical payload of 42,000 to 45,000 lb; the pallet planner shows the arithmetic and checks your weight. Dry vans load at a dock with a forklift or pallet jack through rear doors, so they suit shippers and receivers with dock doors. They do not suit freight taller than the door, side-loaded freight, or anything needing a temperature. Steady shippers often keep empty vans at the dock through a drop trailer program. For one-off loads, a full truckload dry van gives you the whole trailer, dock to dock, with no terminal handling.

A reefer is an insulated van with a refrigeration unit on the nose that holds a set temperature, typically anywhere from about minus 20 F to 70 F. It carries up to 26 standard pallets and a typical payload of 42,000 to 44,000 lb, slightly less than a dry van because the unit and insulation add weight. Reefers carry fresh produce, frozen food, dairy, meat, beverages that must not freeze, and some chemicals. The unit can run continuously or cycle on and off, and the right mode depends on the product. Airflow shapes how a reefer is loaded, which is why the typical count is 26 rather than the 30 a dry van takes turned. Product should be loaded at temperature, because a reefer holds cold well but pulls heat down slowly. On our reefer service, the set point is confirmed before the wheels turn. For seasonal lanes such as Salinas greens, see produce and agriculture.

A Conestoga is a flatbed with a sliding tarp system on a rolling frame, which gives open-deck loading with van-like weather protection. Typical figures are 48 or 53 ft long and 8 ft 6 in wide, with about 8 ft of inside height and a payload of about 42,000 lb. The cover rolls back like an accordion, so a forklift can load from the side or a crane can lower freight from above. Once loaded, the cover pulls closed and the freight rides dry with no hand tarping. That suits freight that will not go through a dock door but cannot ride uncovered: finished machinery, coated steel, electrical gear, palletized building products for a jobsite without a dock. The trade-offs are payload, about 48,000 minus 42,000 = 6,000 lb less than a typical flatbed, and availability, since Conestogas are a specialty trailer. Book early, and confirm the inside height, because the frame sets a hard ceiling.

Open deck trailers load from the side, the top or the end, and they carry freight that is too big, too heavy or too awkward for a box. These are typical figures.

Freight height is how tall the cargo can be while the truck stays under typical state height limits. The difference comes from deck height: about 5 ft for a flatbed and about 3 ft 6 in for a step deck's lower deck. That 1 ft 6 in is exactly what lets a step deck take freight about 10 ft tall instead of about 8 ft 6 in. Payload runs the other way: the more specialized the deck, the less it carries, because the trailer itself weighs more. Choose a flatbed when height allows, and step down only when the freight demands it.

A flatbed is a flat, open deck with no sides or roof, typically 48 or 53 ft long and 8 ft 6 in wide, about 5 ft off the ground. It carries freight up to about 8 ft 6 in tall and a typical payload of up to about 48,000 lb, the most of the common trailers on this page. Flatbeds carry steel coils and plate, structural beams, lumber, pipe, machinery and building materials, anything that loads from the side with a forklift or from above with a crane. Every load must be secured under federal cargo securement rules, which set the minimum number of tiedowns (opens in a new tab) by article length and weight: two for an article over 5 ft and up to 10 ft long, for example. Tarps and edge protectors belong on the rate confirmation. Our flatbed service plans securement before the truck arrives, and the steel and metals page covers coil and plate rules.

A stretch flatbed, also called an extendable, telescopes from about 48 ft retracted to about 80 ft extended, so long freight rides fully supported instead of hanging off the back. Typical payload is about 43,000 lb, a few thousand less than a standard flatbed because the extending frame is heavier. Stretch trailers carry long structural beams, utility poles, pipe, precast concrete and bridge girders. The deck sits at about flatbed height, so freight height runs to about 8 ft 6 in. The catch is length. Federal law sets no semitrailer length limit for most tractor-semitrailers, but states set their own (opens in a new tab) above a 48 ft floor, so a load at 70 ft can be routine in one state and restricted in the next. Once the trailer extends beyond what a state allows, the load needs a permit, often with escort vehicles, route restrictions and daylight-only travel. Plan the route and permits before you book the truck.

A step deck, also called a drop deck, has a short upper deck over the tractor and a lower main deck, typically about 43 ft long and about 3 ft 6 in off the ground. That lower deck takes freight up to about 10 ft tall within typical height limits, against about 8 ft 6 in on a flatbed, with a typical payload of up to about 46,000 lb. Step decks carry tall machinery, farm and construction equipment, tall crates, HVAC units and tall building material loads. Many carry ramps for wheeled or tracked equipment. The height arithmetic is simple: 3 ft 6 in of deck plus 10 ft of freight is 13 ft 6 in overall, inside the range states typically allow. Our step deck service covers the extra height without moving up to a lowboy. Step decks cannot load from the rear at a dock, because the upper deck sits in the way.

Heavy haul trailers drop the deck close to the road so tall, heavy equipment stays under height limits. These are typical figures, and payload means the legal load without a permit.

The well is the low section between the raised front and rear. Freight in the well can be about 11 ft 6 in tall: on a 24 in deck that is 2 ft plus 11 ft 6 in, or 13 ft 6 in overall. The Landoll is the odd one out: its whole deck slides back and tilts until the rear touches the ground, so forklifts, scissor lifts, non-running vehicles and skidded machinery drive or winch straight on with no ramp angle to clear. It solves loading, not height, and suits pickup sites with no dock, crane or forklift.

A double drop has a raised deck at the front over the tractor, a raised deck at the rear over the axles, and a low well between them, typically about 25 to 29 ft long and 18 to 24 in off the road. Freight in the well can be about 11 ft 6 in tall, which makes it the trailer for tall machinery that does not drive: transformers, industrial presses, large compressors, generator sets. Typical legal payload is about 40,000 lb. Freight must fit within the well, so a piece longer than it usually needs another trailer. Loading is by crane, or by forklift from the side, because the fixed front and rear block any drive-on approach; a detachable front is what separates an RGN from a double drop. Choose a double drop when a step deck cannot clear the height and the load does not drive on.

An RGN, or removable gooseneck, is a lowboy whose front section detaches so equipment can drive on from the front. With the gooseneck off, the front of the well rests on the ground as a ramp, and a dozer, excavator or loader drives straight onto a deck about 18 to 24 in off the road. The well is typically about 24 to 29 ft long, and freight in it can be about 11 ft 6 in tall. Legal payload is typically 40,000 lb, and RGNs with added axles carry more under permit. Lowboy is the broader name for any trailer with a deck this low; a fixed-neck lowboy loads from the rear with ramps, which suits shorter equipment. Both carry about 40,000 lb legally. Contractors and manufacturing plants moving production equipment use them most. Many RGN loads need a permit for height, width or weight, so plan the route before the truck.

An end dump is an open-top tub on a trailer that lifts at the front so bulk freight slides out the back. Typical length is 36 to 40 ft, typical capacity about 22 to 25 tons, and typical payload about 40,000 to 45,000 lb. A ton is 2,000 lb, so a tub rated for 22 to 25 tons could hold 44,000 to 50,000 lb, more than the typical legal payload, which is why weight, not tub size, usually limits a dense load. End dumps carry aggregate, sand, gravel, asphalt millings, demolition debris and scrap. Loading is by loader or conveyor from above. Unloading needs firm, level ground and overhead clearance, because the raised tub is very tall and can tip on soft or sloped ground. End dumps do not carry palletized freight or anything that must arrive intact. If the delivery site has power lines or soft ground, say so when you book.

Power only means the carrier brings a tractor and driver and pulls your trailer instead of its own. You own or lease the trailer, a dry van, reefer, flatbed or specialized unit, and the carrier supplies the power. That helps when you have trailers but not enough drivers, when empty trailers need repositioning between facilities, or when loaded trailers sit in your yard waiting to move. The trailer's maintenance and registration are yours, so it must be roadworthy before the driver hooks it: lights, tires, brakes and annual inspection. Weight still counts against the 80,000 lb gross limit, and your trailer's empty weight sets how much freight fits. Power only pairs naturally with drop and hook programs, where trailers wait at docks and tractors swap them. Our power only service brings the truck and the driver for your trailer.

Federal law sets width, sets the minimum semitrailer length states must allow, and leaves height to the states. These limits apply on the National Network, which includes the Interstates.

The FHWA width rule (opens in a new tab) is why decks are 8 ft 6 in wide: freight wider than the deck makes the load oversize. Height works by arithmetic. A flatbed at about 5 ft plus freight at about 8 ft 6 in is 13 ft 6 in overall. A step deck at about 3 ft 6 in plus about 10 ft of freight is the same 13 ft 6 in. That shared total is why each trailer's typical freight height is what it is. Always plan to the strictest state on the route, not the most common limit.

Federal law caps a vehicle on the Interstate at 80,000 lb gross (opens in a new tab), with 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem. The gross includes the tractor, trailer, fuel and driver, so heavier trailers leave less for freight. That is why typical payloads differ: up to about 48,000 lb on a flatbed, 42,000 to 44,000 lb in a reefer, about 40,000 lb on a lowboy. The bridge formula, W = 500 (LN / (N-1) + 12N + 36), adds a third check: it limits the weight any group of axles can carry based on the number of axles (N) and the distance in feet between the first and last of them (L). Short, heavy axle groups can fail it even under 80,000 lb. Heavy haul trailers add axles and spread them out, which is how they carry more under permit. On a flatbed or van, spread weight along the deck so no axle group goes over.

You need an oversize or overweight permit whenever a load exceeds legal width, height, length or weight and cannot be divided. The federal government issues no such permits; each state does (opens in a new tab), so you contact every state on the route, and a load from Texas to Ohio needs a permit from each state it crosses. Permits are for nondivisible loads: freight that would take more than 8 work hours to dismantle, or that would lose its function if taken apart. A load of steel plate that could go on two trucks does not qualify for an overweight permit, because it can be divided. A single transformer too heavy for any legal axle setup does. Each state attaches its own conditions, such as routes, travel hours, escort vehicles, signs and flags. Permit time adds to transit, so a wide machine on a step deck or a tall excavator on an RGN starts with the permit plan, not the truck.

Most loads have one obvious trailer once you know the freight's size, weight and loading method. This table pairs common freight with the trailer to ask for first, before any special equipment.

When the freight sits between two choices, ask about both, because the cheaper trailer on paper is not always the one available on your lane that week. A machine at 9 ft fits a step deck easily but a flatbed only with a height permit. Palletized building materials can ride in a van to a dock or on a flatbed to a jobsite without one. Tell us how the freight loads and unloads, plus its dimensions and weight, and we will match the trailer before quoting a rate.