Trailer specs and dimensions, flatbeds and vans

One of the most asked questions is, what are the specs and dimensions of trailers. So i have decided to write about it. As most people know, there are numerous styles of trailers and there for have different specs. Here is a quick run down of styles of trailers. Flatbed, Step deck, RGN, Double drop,Van, Reefer, Conestoga, Flatbed with a side kit, covered wagon. I am sure i am probably missing some, especially the ones that aren't that common, but these are the most widely used. Now for their specs.
Flatbed: Flatbed lengths come in 53', 48', 45', 40', 24'. The most common is the 48'. Even though 53' trailers are becoming more popular, they are still kind of rare. You will probably only encounter a 40' or 24' if you are dealing with a hotshot company(a hotshot is a truck and trailer combo that cant scale as much weight as a full 18 wheeler, for example a Ford F-350 with a 24' flatbed trailer behind it, they are usually used for smaller freight). The width of the trailers are usually always 102" wide, however, you might run into a trailer that is only 96", you will need to check and make sure what the dimensions are before you load your freight. The height of a flatbed is generally 60" off the ground. Your freight cant be any taller than 8'6". Any taller will be an over height load. Most all flatbeds can scale 48,000 pounds of freight, some can scale a little more, some a little less, just depends on how much their truck and trailer weighs.
Step deck: A step deck is similar, but it has a drop in the trailer to allow for higher freight. Most Step decks are either a 53' or a 48' long. There is usually 10'-11' on the top deck, and then it drops down about 24" and then the rest of the deck is 42'-43' on a 53' trailer and 37'-38' on a 48' trailer. The width is the same as a flatbed, usually 102". You can usually put freight that is 10' high on a step deck, sometimes higher, depending on what the exact dimensions of the trailer are. Step decks can't usually scale as much weight as a flatbed, only about 44,000 give or take a couple of pounds, once again depending on how much the truck and trailer weigh.
RGN: RGN stands for "Removable Goose Neck" these trailers are for loading large machinery. The goose neck that attaches to the truck uses hydraulics to separate the trailer from the goose neck allowing a piece of machinery to drive on. These trailers are usually pretty low to the ground (only about 24" off of the ground) allowing for a tall tractor or dozer to run as a legal load. However you will need to check and make sure what the height of the trailer is to see if it can accommodate you freight. The width is usually still 102" wide. RGN's usually have multiple axles allowing them to scale large amounts of weight. Sometimes up to 85,000 pounds. Before you load your product make sure you have the right amount of axles for your given weight.
Double Drop: A double drop trailer is similar to an RGN, however it doesnt disconnect from the goose neck. It has a top deck usually with 10'-11' and then drops down to a "Well" that can be any where from 26'-29' depending on the trailer, and then it goes back up over the rear wheels for a small deck around 8'-10'. Once again, a double drop is used to haul taller pieces of freight that cant be driven on. It will usually be loaded with a crane. You can usually load a piece up to 11'6" on it, but check with the carrier before loading it.
Van: A van trailer is probably the most common type of trailer. As you know that is what you see the most of going down the road. They are usually 53' or 48' long. Their width is still going to be about 102" and their inside height will be 102" as well. One thing to watch is if it has a "swing door" or a "roll door". If it has a roll door, you might not be able to get your product of 102" through the opening, you would then need a swing door. Vans are made for palletized freight. If you will notice, the dimensions of a standard pallet it is 48"x48"x48" which allows them to put two side by side and two high with a little extra room to spare. Vans can usually only scale about 44,000 pounds.
Reefer: A reefer is similar to a van, but it is insulated and has a cooling unit attached to the front on the trailer. This allows for carrying freight that needs to be kept at a constant temperature. It could be food, or even certain types of metal that cant be exposed to temperature changes because it could rust. The dimensions are the same as a van except, they are usually only 99"-100" wide on the inside. This is due to the insulation they put in the walls of the trailer to keep the right temp.
Conestoga: A Conestoga is a flatbed with retractable sides. Imagine an accordion, when you push a button, the sides of the trailer will retract to the front of the trailer. The sides are mounted on rails on the trailer which allows this to happen. They are handy if you are dealing with freight that needs to be tarped. One thing to look for is what the inside width and height is. The width usually will still be102" but the height might only be 96"-99" depending on the certain trailer.
Flatbed with a side kit: This is when a carrier will take their regular flatbed and put a "side kit" on it. There are usually 4' sides and then there are bows that go from one side to the other, allowing them to put a tarp over the top. These types of trailers are good for smaller product. The inside height is usually only 6' at the center of the bows, and usually only 4' on the sides. So as you can see, you will run into a height issue if you try to load anything that is over 6'. They can usually still scale close to the 48,000, however maybe a little less because of the sides.
Covered Wagon: A covered wagon is considered a van with soft sides. It will have the structural make up of a van usually with a swing door, but it will have soft sides that roll up allowing to off load from the side. You will sometimes see one going down the road, and the sides will be blowing in the wind. They will usually still have the same specs as a regular van.
Well there is a run down for you of different trailer types. Please only use this as a reference. Any time you are going to load freight on a truck double check everything. Especially the height of your product and weight. The last thing you would want is to have your driver get a ticket for being over weight or having too tall of a piece on and something happen.

Please note that this blog gives general information and is for reference only. Freightadvice is not responsible for any damaged freight or any other situation that may arise. Since freightadvice doesn't know the exact dimensions of your trailer and every trailer is a little different you will need to check the certain trailer you have to make sure that everything will fit and be a legal load.

Freight Factoring and dealing with Freight Bills

A freight factoring company is a company that "Buys" freight bills for a fee. They are a good solution for a smaller trucking company who might not have the cash flow to wait 30-45 days to be paid. Most freight brokers will pay the carriers on a net 30 day billing, so by the time the carrier gets their invoice sent, it gets to the broker, it goes through their system, the check is cut and sent out, it could be 40 days from the time the carrier sent the invoice. The carrier will usually contact the freight factoring companies, they will send their paperwork to the freight factoring company and the freight factoring company will advance them any where from 90%-97% of the freight bill, they will then hold the rest until they are paid on the invoice from your customer. When they are paid the freight factoring company will cut you a check for the remainder, minus their fee. Some of the bigger factoring companies are Truckerfunds, Trancentral and Firstcommercialcredit. When choosing a factoring company, make sure you do some research because some freight factoring companies might hold you liable if they aren't paid by your customer. There are companies that will take the risk (usually for a higher fee) of collecting, and they wont come after you, but i would read, and re-read everything from a freight factoring company to make sure that you are protected.

Getting a Freight Quote

Well this post is for the other side of the spectrum, getting freight quotes for your freight. This is for people trying to get a quote on freight that they are trying to ship. There are numerous ways to get prices on larger items that need to be moved from point A to point B. Depending on the size of the freight a very affordable way is to use Fed-ex freight. They specialize in LTL (less than a load) shipping. You can visit their website and get a quote right online, and you will be able to track it and make sure it is scheduled to arrive on time. One thing to keep in mind when dealing with LTL shippers is that when they pick up your freight, it doesnt go directly to your destination. The freight will be taken back to their warehouse, moved around, even set aside for a little while and then put on a truck with other freight heading the same way as yours. It could take any where from 7-10 days for delivery. Also i should point out that if you are shipping some high dollar item, it might not be in your best interest to put it on a LTL shipper. With so much moving around, you have a higher percentage of your freight getting damaged. There are other LTL shippers that do the same thing like Mason Dixon, Roadway, and Yellow to name a few. There is a great site to visit named freightquote.com that will get you the best price to move your freight using LTL shippers. They can also get you a price on full truckloads as well. There are plenty of other companies that you can get online quotes fromm like getfreightquote.com, freightclick.com and freightrater.com. From my experiance in the trucking business, when you are dealing with full truckloads of freight that you need to move, an online rater is okay, but if you really want competitive pricing on your load, it is better to deal dircetly with a specialized agent who knows about the markets where the freight is picking up and delivering to. The reason why, is there are certain times of the year when there are more trucks in certain areas and not enough freight which creates a chance to get a cheaper prices since there are more available trucks, but on the flip side is there are certain times of the year when there are fewer trucks in certain areas and plenty of freight to go around, so you have to pay more to beat out the competition. This is really hard to account for when using an online rater, so it is best to talk to an experianced agent.

Where to find trucks for your loads!!!

As most people know the transportation business is a very competitive market, if you are a freight broker or freight forwarder you need to be able to find a truck for you freight in a hurry. If you are unable to cover your freight in a small amount of time it is likely that your competition will end up moving the load. After being in this business for some time i have found numerous approaches to work. The best and easiest way is to subscribe to a posting service that will post your freight on load boards all over the country like Direct Freight and 123Loadboard to name a few. I would always recommend posting your freight the second you confirm the load is ready. Also you will need to do some work yourself to gain that extra advantage. There are numerous sites you can go to, to search for trucks like Getloaded and Truckstop are two popular sites. There are desktop versions that are great as well like DAT Partners. Almost all of these sites will require some type of subscription, but don't worry, it isn't very much.