Flatbed & Step Deck Load Board
Oversized, palletized, or awkward-shaped freight that needs a real deck under it — post what you've got, or browse the board if you're hauling.
— loads open on the board right now
New to the board? What flat-rate booking means for your pay
Flatbed freight covers everything from steel and lumber to machinery and building materials — anything that loads from the top or side instead of through trailer doors. Post a load or get an Instant Quote in seconds, or browse the board directly if you're running flatbed, step deck, or conestoga equipment. Every carrier on the board has verified their own FMCSA authority before they can book or post.
What qualifies
Post it or find it, free
Shippers post a load or get an Instant Quote in seconds; carriers browse and book directly — no broker markup, no listing fee.
Every carrier is verified
Every carrier on the board has verified their own FMCSA authority before they can book or post — no guessing who's showing up.
Track it the whole way
Real GPS from pickup to delivery, plus one chat thread tying shipper, carrier, and driver together — no calling around for updates.
Getting flatbed & step deck freight moved
Four things decide how fast this books and what it costs. Work through them in order and the posting will be right the first time.
- 1
Measure before you pick a deck
Length, width, height and weight decide everything that follows. Height is the one people skip: a standard flatbed deck sits about 60 inches off the ground, so anything over roughly 8 feet 2 inches tall needs a step deck to stay legal.
- 2
Choose flatbed, step deck or conestoga
A 48 or 53 foot flatbed suits steel, lumber and palletized freight. A step deck buys you about two and a half more feet of height. A conestoga is a flatbed with a rolling tarp, for freight that has to stay dry but still loads from the side.
- 3
Say who tarps and who straps
Tarping is work, and carriers price it. State whether the load needs tarps, how many, and whether you are supplying them. The same goes for coil racks, chains over straps, and any securement the commodity requires.
- 4
Post it, or price it first
Post the load to the open board and let verified carriers come to you, or run an Instant Quote to see the number before you commit to anything.
What decides the rate on this equipment
Rates are not arbitrary. On this kind of freight these four are what a carrier is actually pricing.
Height, before width
Anything over 8 feet 6 inches wide is oversize in most states, but height is what forces a different trailer entirely — and a step deck is a smaller pool of trucks than a flatbed.
Tarping
A tarped load is physical work in whatever weather the driver has. Expect it to carry a premium, and expect a bigger one for multi-tarp or wet-weather loads.
Securement and permits
Coil racks, chain requirements and oversize permits all narrow the set of carriers who can legally take the load, and a narrower pool costs more.
Whether the lane comes back loaded
A flatbed heading into an area with little outbound open-deck freight prices in the empty return. Lanes between industrial regions quote better than lanes into one.
What usually rides on it
If your freight looks like one of these, this is the right board for it.
- Steel coil, beams and plate
- Lumber, drywall and roofing bundles
- Construction machinery and attachments
- HVAC units and generators
- Pipe, rebar and structural steel
- Crated equipment too tall for a van
Questions people ask about this equipment
When do I need a step deck instead of a flatbed?
When the freight is taller than roughly 8 feet 2 inches. A standard flatbed deck sits about 60 inches off the ground and the legal overall height in most states is 13 feet 6 inches, which leaves you a little over 8 feet of usable height. A step deck's lower rear deck sits around 40 inches, buying you roughly two and a half feet more.
Who supplies the tarps and straps?
Most open-deck carriers carry their own tarps, straps and chains, and price tarping into the rate. Say in the posting how many tarps the load needs and whether anything unusual is required — coil racks and chain-only securement are worth stating up front rather than discovering at pickup.
Does an oversize flatbed load need a permit?
Generally yes, once it passes 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches tall or 80,000 pounds gross, and permits are issued per state along the route. Post the exact dimensions and weight and carriers running that lane can tell you what the route actually requires.
This equipment is booking loads today
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