DECK
Flatbed and Specialized Freight
Flat deck, step deck and specialized equipment for building materials, machinery, and freight that will not fit a dry van.
What Flatbed / Specialized actually means
Open-deck equipment for freight that has to be loaded from the side or overhead, or that is simply too tall for a van. Flat deck handles lumber, steel, and building materials; step deck adds height clearance for machinery; and loads that run over legal dimensions move on permits with the routing arranged in advance.
What you get
- Flatbed, step-deck and RGN equipment
- Oversize permitting assistance
- Pilot car coordination
- Heavy haul specialists
Is this the right service for your shipment?
Reach for it when
- The freight cannot be loaded through the back of a trailer
- The load is over-height, over-width or over-length
- It is machinery, steel, lumber or building materials
- Crane or forklift access is needed to load or unload
What we need to quote it
- Exact dimensions and weight, including how the load sits
- How it will be loaded and unloaded at each end
- Whether tarping is required
- Pickup and delivery postal codes, and ready date
Who moves freight on Flatbed / Specialized
Related services
FTLFull TruckloadDedicated trailer capacity for shipments that fill a trailer, or that need to travel direct with no transfers along the way.
RAILIntermodalContainers moving by rail for the long middle of a lane, with trucks handling pickup and delivery at either end.
DGHazmat & Dangerous GoodsRegulated freight moved on carriers certified to carry it, with the placarding, documentation and driver certification the class requires.
Flatbed / Specialized, answered
The questions shippers ask before booking this service. If yours is not here, call dispatch and ask.
When the load is taller than roughly 8 feet 6 inches. A step deck sits lower to the road, which buys about two more feet of legal height before the load needs oversize permits and special routing.
The carrier secures it and is legally responsible for the securement, but the shipper has to load it so that it can be secured. Send dimensions and weight distribution at quote time so the right equipment and enough straps are on the truck.
If it cannot get wet or is sensitive to road debris, yes. Tarping is an accessorial, it takes the driver real time at pickup, and it belongs on the quote rather than being raised at the dock.
Anything past the legal limits of the provinces or states it crosses, broadly 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high and 53 feet long, though the limits vary by jurisdiction. Oversize means permits, sometimes pilot cars, and a route chosen around the load.
Have freight to move? Let’s get it moving.
Tell us what you are shipping, where it is going, and when it needs to move. We will take it from there.