What freight needs a step deck?

Freight that's too tall for a standard flatbed but doesn't need a lowboy: machinery, tall crates, industrial equipment and some building components. The lower deck lets taller cargo stay under legal height limits, which vary by state.

Do step decks get paid more than flatbeds?

Often, because they carry taller freight and there are fewer of them, but it depends on the market and the lane. We don't promise a premium; we negotiate each load with the securement work, any permit limits and the deadhead counted.

What does a step deck dispatcher need from me?

Your deck dimensions and heights, securement and tarp gear, weight ratings, whether you'll run permitted loads and in which states, your authority and insurance documents, and your lanes and home time. With those, we can match loads to what your trailer can legally carry.

Can a new MC get step deck loads?

Yes. Some brokers want history or higher cargo limits for machinery, so early loads lean on brokers who work with new authorities. We set up your packets and build clean history. New MCs pay 7% for 6 months, then 5%.

Step deck dispatch that plans the permit clock and your clock together

Step decks haul the freight that's too tall for a flatbed: machinery, equipment, tall crates and building components. Some of those loads run legal; some need an oversize permit, and a permitted load runs on two clocks at once. The permit decides when you're allowed to move. Hours of service decide how long you can drive. Our step deck dispatchers plan both before a load ever reaches your phone, and every load still comes to you as a rate confirmation for your yes or no.

Dispatch my step deck

RATE CON · 06:00

PERMIT: DAYLIGHT ONLY

MOVE 06:00-20:00

PLANNED

EXAMPLE

BOARD 02ONBOARDING CHECKLIST

Step deck onboarding: what we need from you

Most of a good step deck plan is in the details you give us on day one. Have these ready and we can start matching loads to your trailer right away:

Deck dimensions

Upper and lower deck length, deck heights and any ramps. These decide which machinery and tall loads you can legally carry.

Securement and tarp gear

Chains, straps, binders, tarps and edge protection, or a Conestoga rolling-tarp system. Loads that need gear you don't have never reach you.

Weight ratings

Your legal gross and axle weights, so we can see quickly which loads run legal and which would need a permit.

Permit preferences

Whether you want to run permitted loads at all, and which states you're comfortable in. Some carriers prefer legal-only loads; that's fine.

Authority and insurance

MC and DOT numbers, W-9, and a certificate of insurance with the cargo limits brokers ask for on machinery.

Lanes and home time

Where you like to run and when you need to be home. Tall freight has regional patterns, so this shapes the whole plan.

BOARD 03TWO-CLOCK CHECKLIST

The two-clock checklist: permit window vs your 14

Move the sliders. The amber band is an EXAMPLE daylight-only permit window, running from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. The blue band is your 14-hour window, starting when you come on duty. The green band is the overlap, the only time a permitted load can actually move. Start your day too early or too late and you lose drive time you're legally allowed, simply because the permit won't let you use it.

PERMIT WINDOW · STATE RULES

Route on the permit, followed exactly
Allowed travel hours (often daylight only)
Weekend, holiday and rush-hour limits
City curfews along the route
Signs, flags, lights and escorts the permit requires

§ FHWA: state permit offices · checked 2026-10-05

HOS WINDOW · 49 CFR 395.3

14-hour window from the start of your shift
11 hours of driving at most
30-minute break after 8 hours of driving
10 consecutive hours off before the next shift
60/70-hour cycle across the week

§ 49 CFR 395.3 · checked 2026-10-05

TWO CLOCKS, ONE DAYEXAMPLE PERMIT RULE

Sunrise06:30

Sunset19:30

You come on duty09:00

OVERLAP: 09:00-20:00
USABLE DRIVING: 10:30
DRIVE TIME LOST: 00:30

Example rule only: travel from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Your permit and each state set the real hours, weekend and holiday limits. HOS limits per 49 CFR 395.3.

The practical lesson: on a daylight-only permit, come on duty close to when the permit window opens. A 05:00 pre-trip for a load that can't move until 06:00 costs you an hour of window for nothing. We plan the start time with the permit, not against it.

BOARD 04PERMIT CLOCK VS HOS CLOCK

Permits set when you move; hours of service set how long

Oversize and overweight permits are issued by each state, not by the federal government. Each state sets its own rules for when a permitted load can travel, and they can include daylight-only travel, no travel on weekends or certain holidays, rush-hour restrictions in cities, and route-specific limits. A load crossing three states can carry three different sets of travel rules. FHWA keeps a directory of every state's permit office, and the permit itself is the document that counts.

Hours of service don't change because a load is permitted. You still have 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window, a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and 10 hours off before the next shift (49 CFR 395.3). When the permit window is shorter than your 14, the permit wins and some of your legal driving time simply can't be used that day. When a weekend or holiday restriction lands mid-trip, the load waits, and so do you.

We plan for both from the start. Before you see a permitted load, we check the permit's travel hours, the states on the route and any weekend or holiday limits in the delivery window, and we only offer it with a schedule that fits both clocks. This isn't legal advice; your permit and each state's rules are what you follow on the road.

STATE 1Daylight only · no Sunday travel

STATE 2Daylight only · metro curfew 07:00-09:00

STATE 3No travel on holiday weekends

EXAMPLE ONLY · YOUR PERMIT LISTS THE REAL RULES

BOARD 05FREIGHT WE BOOK

The step deck freight we book

Construction and farm machinery

Skid steers, excavators, tractors and attachments that are too tall for a flatbed but fit legal height on a lower deck.

Tall crates and industrial equipment

Generators, compressors, tanks and boxed equipment that need the extra clearance a step deck gives.

Building components

Trusses, structural steel and prefabricated components, sometimes tarped, sometimes permitted for width.

Conestoga freight

High-value or weather-sensitive loads where a rolling tarp system protects the cargo without hand-tarping.

Conestoga: tarp protection without the tarp work

A Conestoga trailer is a flatbed or step deck with a rolling tarp system that slides open for loading and closes over the cargo. For shippers it means weather protection without a van's loading limits. For you it means far less time throwing and strapping tarps, which is on-duty time saved on every load.

Conestoga freight often pays a premium because fewer carriers run the equipment, but it also comes with careful loading requirements and shippers who expect the cargo to arrive dry and clean. We look for Conestoga loads that match your trailer's inside dimensions and that don't need the side access a Conestoga can't give.

BOARD 06WHAT THE DESK HANDLES

What a step deck dispatcher handles

Height and weight checks first

Every load is checked against your deck heights and weight ratings before it's offered, so legal loads stay legal.

Permit timing

For permitted loads, travel hours, weekend and holiday limits and curfews are built into the schedule before you see the load.

Loading time at the shipper

Machinery loads can take a while: ramps, chains, blocking. We ask how long loading usually takes and plan the day around it.

Tarp and Conestoga terms

Tarp pay, Conestoga requirements and detention terms confirmed on the rate con before you accept.

The next load out

Machinery moves are often one-way into job sites. We shop the reload from the delivery area before you unload.

A step deck week, planned around two clocks

EXAMPLE, one owner-operator with a 48 ft step deck based near Kansas City. Monday: a legal-height excavator to a job site in Oklahoma, with loading time quoted by the shipper and planned in. Tuesday: tall crates out of Tulsa on a Conestoga request the driver passed on, because the trailer has no rolling tarp; a legal machinery load went instead. Wednesday: a permitted wide load with daylight-only travel, so the driver came on duty at 06:00 to match the permit window instead of 04:30. Thursday: a holiday weekend restriction in the destination state meant delivering Thursday afternoon instead of Friday, planned before the load was accepted. Friday: a load home. Every one reached the driver as a rate confirmation first.

Plan my step deck week

BOARD 07RATES, FEE & FAQ

Do step decks pay more than flatbeds?

Often, but not always. Step decks can carry taller freight than a flatbed, there are fewer of them, and permitted loads carry extra work, so many step deck loads pay more per mile. On the other hand, a step deck's lower deck gives up some length, and in a soft market the gap shrinks. We don't promise a premium. We negotiate each load on its own terms, with the securement time, the permit limits and the deadhead to the next load counted. A permitted load that can only move in daylight, sits through a holiday weekend and needs an escort in one state isn't the same job as a legal load on the same lane, and the rate we ask for reflects that. If a broker won't pay for the extra days, we tell you so and you decide.

What step deck dispatch costs

Same fee for every truck we dispatch: 5% of gross for one truck with authority older than 6 months, 7% while your MC is under 6 months, and 4% for fleets of 2 or more trucks while the fleet rate lasts. No setup fee, no minimums, month to month, and nothing on a week you don't haul. Full pricing

one truck, authority 6+ months: 5%
new MC, first 6 months: 7%
fleets of 2+ (limited time): 4%
setup fee or minimums: $0

Often, yes. Each state sets its own rules for permitted loads, and many limit travel to daylight hours, restrict weekends and holidays, or ban rush-hour travel in cities. The permit for your load spells out the rules. Hours of service still apply on top of them, so both clocks shape the day.

Two clocks, one plan, your call

Apply in about 2 minutes. Every load waits for your yes.

Start step deck dispatch

DRIVE 11

SHIFT 14

CYCLE 70

EXAMPLE · 49 CFR 395.3 · checked 2026-10-05