Trucking services · Step-deck
Step-deck: tall freight, legal height, no drama.
A step-deck is a flatbed with a lower main deck — the drop buys the clearance that keeps tall freight legal instead of oversize. Same open-deck loading as a standard flat, same securement discipline, run by our CDL-A division and quoted per lane.
Have a load that fits? Quotes are per lane, in writing, from a person.
Trucking services / Step-deck
When the step-deck is the answer
The cue is height. Legal height is commonly around 13′6″ — set by state, not one federal number — and once your freight on a standard flatbed would break it, the step-deck's lower main deck is what keeps the load legal, permit-free, and moving on a normal schedule. Machinery, equipment, tall crates, and coils that sit high are the everyday cases.
- Machinery and equipment that rides too tall for a standard flat
- Tall crated freight and fabrications
- Loads near the height line where a permit would otherwise loom
- Side-, top-, or crane-loaded freight — the drop changes the height, not the loading
Step-deck, flatbed, or permit?
Measure first, book second. If the freight rides legal on a standard flat, our flatbed service is the simpler quote. If it's tall but clears on a drop, the step-deck keeps it routine. If it's over the line even on a drop — genuinely oversize — that's permit territory: quoted per lane, with lead time, and with who orders permits and plans routing agreed in writing before the load moves. Send exact dimensions and the desk sorts it the first time.
How tendering works
Dimensions decide everything here, so lead with them: length, width, height, weight, and how it loads. Pricing comes back quoted per lane on a written rate confirmation with accessorials — tarping included, if the freight needs weather protection — named up front. ELD tracking on every truck, claims to 49 CFR Part 370, and the authority is MC #1800150 on SAFER, where you can read the safety record before you tender.
Step-deck questions, answered
How tall can my freight be on a step-deck?
It depends on the specific deck height and the route's state limits — legal height is commonly around 13′6″ but set by state. Send the exact freight height and the lane, and the desk answers with the real clearance math, not a rule of thumb.
What if my load is oversize even on a step-deck?
Then it's permit territory: state permits, possibly escorts, quoted per lane with lead time. Raise it early — who orders the permits and plans the routing is agreed in writing before the load moves.
Is pricing different from a standard flatbed?
Every load is quoted per lane on a written rate confirmation — deck type, tarping, and any accessorials named up front. We don't publish rate tables because a real number depends on the lane, the season, and the load.