What qualifies as heavy haul or over-dimensional freight?

Any load exceeding standard legal highway limits — 8'6" wide, 13'6" tall, 53' long, or 80,000 lbs gross — requires oversize or overweight permits. The specific requirements vary by state and by how far you exceed each limit.

How long does it take to get oversize permits?

Standard oversize permits take 1–5 business days depending on the state. Multi-state moves require permits filed in sequence and may take 5–10 business days total. Superloads exceeding 16' wide or 200,000+ lbs can require weeks of state DOT review. Plan accordingly.

When are escorts or pilot cars required?

Requirements vary by state but generally: loads over 12' wide need a front escort, over 14'6" need front and rear, and loads over 16' wide or at exceptional heights often require law enforcement escort. We confirm escort requirements for every state on the route before dispatch.

What is a removable gooseneck (RGN) and when do I need one?

An RGN trailer has a detachable front section that allows heavy equipment to drive or be rolled directly onto the deck. It's used when the load is too heavy to crane-load onto a standard trailer, or when drive-on loading is faster and safer for the equipment being moved.

Can you move loads that are both oversize and overweight?

Yes. Loads that are simultaneously over legal dimensions and over legal weight are among the most complex moves we handle. Axle configuration, bridge formula compliance, and route analysis all have to work together. We plan these before quoting, not after.

Do you handle port-to-jobsite heavy haul moves?

Yes. Port pickup and inland delivery for oversized industrial equipment — transformers, pressure vessels, generators — is a core part of what we do. We coordinate with port terminals, customs brokers, and job site contacts to manage the full inland leg.

Heavy Haul Freight Broker | Oversize & Overweight Loads

Heavy Haul Is an Engineering Problem, Not Just a Rate

Most brokers treat heavy haul like a standard flatbed load with a permit attached. It isn't. Moving an over-dimensional or overweight load requires equipment selection, axle configuration, route analysis, multi-state permit sequencing, and often escort coordination — all before dispatch. Get any one of those wrong and you have a load sitting on the shoulder, a permit violation, or a missed delivery window on a job site that can't wait.

We approach every heavy haul move as a logistics problem first. Dimensions, weight, origin, destination, site constraints, and timeline all factor into how the move gets planned. We don't guess on equipment and we don't start the permit process after the truck is already booked.

Legal Limits & When Oversize Permits Are Required

Standard legal limits on U.S. highways are 8'6" wide, 13'6" tall, 53' long, and 80,000 lbs gross vehicle weight. Anything exceeding those dimensions or weight triggers permit requirements in every state the load transits. Width and height violations typically require pilot cars. Loads over certain thresholds require law enforcement escorts. Some states restrict movement to daylight hours only or ban travel on Sundays and holidays entirely.

Multi-state moves compound the complexity — each state has its own permit office, its own fee structure, its own routing restrictions, and its own escort requirements. A transformer moving from a Gulf Coast port to an Ohio substation may transit five states with five different permit packages and different rules at each border crossing.

Heavy Haul Equipment & Axle Configuration

Flatbed & Step Deck Standard oversize for loads that can't be enclosed. Step decks lower the deck height by 12–18 inches for taller freight that still fits under bridges without a double-drop.

Double Drop / Lowboy Two deck drops give you the lowest possible ride height — typically 18–24 inches from the ground. Used for tall machinery, large construction equipment, and industrial components that can't be disassembled.

RGN (Removable Gooseneck) The gooseneck detaches so equipment can drive or be rolled directly onto the trailer from the front. Standard for heavy construction equipment, transformers on wheeled skids, and large industrial machinery.

Multi-Axle & Stretch Trailers Additional axles distribute weight across more wheels, reducing per-axle load to stay within state bridge formula limits. Stretch trailers extend the deck for unusually long cargo — wind blades, bridge beams, structural steel sections.

Steerable Trailers Rear-steer axles on the trailer allow tight turns that a rigid configuration can't make. Required for some urban deliveries, job sites with limited turning radius, and certain port exit routes.

Beam & Pole Trailers Extendable trailers for extremely long cargo — structural beams, transmission poles, pressure vessel shells. The trailer extends to match the load length rather than the load overhanging a fixed deck.

Oversize Permit Coordination & Route Engineering

Permit procurement is not just filing paperwork. It starts with a route survey — identifying bridge weight restrictions, overhead clearances, road surface conditions, and any known bottlenecks on the proposed route. Some loads require bridge analysis letters from state DOTs before permits are issued. Others require pre-approved alternate routes when the primary path has a clearance or weight restriction that the load can't clear.

Single-state moves — one permit package, typically 1–3 business days depending on the state and load dimensions
Multi-state moves — each state permit filed in sequence, coordinated to align with a realistic transit schedule. Some states require 5–10 business days. Planning ahead is not optional.
Superload permits — loads exceeding 16' wide, 16' tall, or 200,000+ lbs require superload routing with state DOT engineering review in most states. Lead time is weeks, not days.
Travel restrictions — many states restrict oversize movement to daylight hours, prohibit travel on holidays, and require advance notice to utilities for line lifts on the route.

Escort & Pilot Car Requirements

Escort requirements vary by state and by load dimensions. As a general guide:

Over 12' wide — one front escort typically required in most states
Over 14'6" wide — front and rear escorts required in most states
Over 16' wide or exceptional height — law enforcement escort required in many states, sometimes with advance utility coordination for overhead line lifts
Interstate moves — escort handoffs at state lines must be coordinated in advance so the load doesn't sit at a border waiting for the next escort to arrive

We coordinate escort sourcing, briefing, and handoffs as part of our move management. Escorts are not an afterthought — they get booked before the truck does.

What We Move

Power & Utility Equipment Transformers, reactors, switchgear, and transmission infrastructure. Often port-to-substation moves with tight site windows and specialized offloading requirements.

Industrial Machinery Presses, mills, CNC equipment, industrial boilers, heat exchangers, and large fabricated components for manufacturing plant installations and relocations.

Construction Equipment Cranes, excavators, dozers, and other heavy construction equipment moving between job sites, yards, and rental depots.

Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Pressure vessels, distillation columns, storage tanks, and process equipment for refineries, gas plants, and petrochemical facilities.

Structural & Fabricated Steel Bridge girders, structural beams, fabricated modules, and large weldments moving from fabrication shops to job sites.

Renewable Energy Wind turbine components, nacelles, and tower sections. These are among the most logistically complex moves in the industry — long, wide, and heavy all at once.

How to Get a Heavy Haul Quote

The more information you provide upfront, the faster and more accurate the quote. Here's what we need:

Dimensions — length, width, height of the load (not the trailer)
Weight — total load weight, not including trailer
Origin & destination — full addresses including any access restrictions at either end
Timeline — pickup and delivery windows, and whether there's a hard deadline at the delivery site
Site constraints — overhead clearances, road surface, turning radius, crane availability, offloading method
Load description — what it is, how it's rigged, whether it can be disassembled

If you don't have all of this yet, call us anyway. We can help you figure out what you need before the quote process starts. For coordinated multi-load industrial moves, see project cargo. For inland legs on international shipments, see freight forwarding.

Heavy Haul &
Oversized Freight