Long freight
How to Ship Long and Bundled Freight
Enter the bundle length, weight, how it is supported and how it loads. The Load Planner compares it against flatbed, step deck and other open-deck equipment in our library.
Long-freight details
Freight Command Center Freight load report
Jay Rock Freight Broker · UCW Logistics 520-394-7400 · jrock@ucwlogistics.com FreightCommandCenter.com
Your load
Correct anything in the shipment and rebuild the answer. Nothing else you entered is lost.
Use this load
The measurement behind the answer: the shipment as FCC read it, every check, every option in full and why some were ruled out.
What was checked
Everything the planner could settle from what you entered is marked as checked. Everything it could not is listed as requiring confirmation rather than assumed, and the two are never mixed.
Space used
A possible arrangement, not an instruction. It shows that the freight can be placed inside the published floor dimensions; the driver and carrier decide the actual load order, weight distribution and securement.
Equipment fit details
Every trailer in the library measured against this shipment, and what each one said about the freight physically. These are fit answers, not a second set of recommendations.
Requires confirmation
Where a figure is marked as requiring confirmation, it is because this site does not publish that measurement for that equipment -- most often the rear-door opening, which is a different measurement from the interior width.
Recommended planning fit, based on the information entered and the equipment figures this site publishes. Actual equipment specifications vary. Final loading, weight distribution, securement and legal compliance remain subject to the carrier, the driver and the actual equipment.
Your stops are already in it. Nothing you do in here changes the shipment above.
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How long freight is planned
Length comes first. A bundle longer than the deck overhangs it, and how far freight may overhang varies by state. Overall trailer length is not the whole answer either: step decks and drop decks carry freight on separate deck sections.
Support matters as much as size. Rigid bundles rest on dunnage; flexible freight such as long pipe or thin sheet may need continuous support; coils and irregular shapes need their own securement.
Most long freight is loaded from the side or from above by forklift or crane, which is why open-deck and side-loading equipment is common. Weather-sensitive material may need tarps, a Conestoga or a curtain side.
What we need to plan it
- What it is: pipe, beams, lumber, rebar, trusses
- How many bundles or pieces
- Length, width and height of each bundle
- Weight
- Rigid, flexible or a coil / irregular shape
- How it loads at pickup and unloads at delivery
- Whether it needs weather protection
Equipment to consider
Long freight rides on open-deck equipment, loaded from the side or above. Covered open-deck trailers carry it when it has to stay dry.
53' Flatbed
Steel, lumber, pipe, machinery, building materials and freight that loads from the side or overhead.
48' Flatbed
Steel, lumber, construction materials, pipe, machinery and general open-deck freight.
Step Deck / Drop Deck
Machinery, equipment and freight that is too tall for a standard flatbed.
Conestoga
Machinery, steel and sensitive industrial freight needing open-deck loading access with weather protection.
Curtain Side
Palletized products, building materials, lumber, beverages and freight that benefits from side access.
The planner compares your shipment against every equipment type in our library that carries this kind of freight. The result it gives you, not this list, is the answer — and actual equipment specifications vary by carrier.
What affects the price
- Length, and any overhang or permit it requires
- Weight
- Tarping or a covered trailer
- Loading and unloading equipment at each end
- Distance and the lane
- Lead time and current market conditions
Common mistakes
- Giving the length of one piece but not how many bundles there are.
- Forgetting the freight overhangs the deck.
- Assuming a longer trailer solves every length problem.
- Not saying whether the freight bends or needs continuous support.
- No forklift or crane at delivery.
Common questions
How long can freight be on a flatbed?
It depends on the deck length and how far a load may overhang, which varies by state. The planner screens your length against each deck; overhang beyond it needs carrier review and may need a permit.
Do lumber and steel need tarps?
When the material has to stay dry or clean, yes. Choose Tarp required or Enclosed required and the planner keeps that in the plan. More in How do I ship lumber by truck?
What does continuous support mean?
Freight that bends between support points, such as long thin pipe, has to be supported along its length rather than on a few pieces of dunnage. Choose Flexible / needs continuous support.
Can long freight go in a dry van?
Rarely. Long freight is usually loaded from the side or above, which a van cannot do, so the planner compares open-deck and side-loading equipment for it.
Related tools and guides
Ready to price this long-freight shipment?
Use the planner above, then send the shipment to us for an actual freight price. Once you have run a report, this button opens the quote with the shipment already filled in, so nothing is typed twice.