Conestoga.
Covered. Open Deck. No Tarping.
Flatbed loading from the top, side, and rear with a rolling tarp that seals the load against the weather. No climbing, no manual tarping. Vetted Conestoga carriers, instant rates in all 50 states.
Quote Your Conestoga Shipment
What is a Conestoga trailer?
A Conestoga is a flatbed fitted with a retractable rolling tarp on a sliding frame of bows. It gives you the loading flexibility of an open deck, top, side, and rear access by crane or forklift, with the weather protection of an enclosed trailer. The cover rolls open in two to five minutes from the ground, so the load is sealed without anyone climbing it.
The tarp floats on the bows and never rubs the freight, which is why finished metal, coated steel, glass, and machinery ride on a Conestoga instead of under a hand-thrown flatbed tarp. The trade is weight: the rolling system and bows add roughly 4,000 lbs, more on heavy steel kits, so usable payload lands near 44,000 lbs and usable height under the bows is about 8 feet. AFX Logistics runs Conestoga capacity in all 50 states.
A Conestoga is the right call when:
- ✓Cargo is finish or rust sensitive and a tarp rubbing against it is unacceptable
- ✓You need flatbed top, side, or crane loading and full weather cover in one move
- ✓Long or wet lanes where a hand tarp can shift, or where tarping in snow and ice is unsafe
- ✓High tarp frequency, where two to five minute deployment beats 30 to 60 minute manual tarping
- ✓Freight fits inside legal flatbed dimensions and under about 44,000 lbs
Run the tarp math before you book the lane.
A Conestoga removes the tarp fee and the tarping time from every load, but it costs you payload. Whether that trade pays off comes down to one thing: how often you tarp. Occasional open-deck freight is cheaper on a flatbed you tarp by hand. Recurring, weather-sensitive volume is cheaper under a rolling cover.
Enter your monthly loads, how many tarps each one takes, and the weight. The calculator shows the time and the tarp fees a Conestoga saves you in a year, the payload it gives back, and a straight verdict: Conestoga, tarped flatbed, or dry van.
Rolling-Tarp ROI Calculator
Your volume in, the verdict out: does a rolling cover pay for itself, or should you just tarp a flatbed?
Recurring, weather-sensitive volume that fits under 44,000 lbs. The rolling tarp pays for itself: $32,400 a year in tarp fees gone and 114 hrs of tarping reclaimed. Lock a dedicated Conestoga lane.
A planning estimate. Manual tarping runs about 6 minutes of rigging plus 18 minutes per tarp; the rolling cover runs about 4 minutes a load. The system weight, tarp fee, and your volume are yours to adjust. Real rates, tare, and tarp counts vary, and we confirm the right trailer before dispatch.
- Manual tarp, per tarp~18 min
- Rolling cover, full load~4 min
- Tarp accessorial avoided$50 to $150
- Payload give-back2,500 to 5,000 lb
- Usable height lost~6 in
The Tarp Floats on the Bows. It Never Touches the Load.
A hand-thrown tarp lies directly on the freight, so it chafes paint, scuffs polished metal, and traps moisture when it shifts on the road. A Conestoga cover rides on the frame, an inch off the cargo, sealed end to end. That is why it carries the freight a tarp ruins.
Coated & Finished Metal
Painted, polished, or plated steel that cannot be rubbed or chafed in transit.
Glass & Glazing
Side loaded between the rails and sealed without a tarp ever dragging across the surface.
Machinery & Electronics
Packaged equipment and finished machinery kept dry and dust shielded without a box.
Building Products & Steel
Drywall, insulation, lumber, coils, sheet, and plate that ship dry on long, wet lanes.
When a Conestoga is the wrong tool: over about 44,000 lbs or truly over-dimensional, tarp a flatbed to keep your payload. Taller than about 8 feet under the bows? A step deck or a step-deck Conestoga clears it. Need a sealed, tamper-evident, or climate-controlled enclosure? Ship a dry van.
Built to Scale.
Proven to Deliver.
Covered and Rolling in Four Steps
Quote It
Enter the lane and the load: dimensions, weight, and commodity. See a live Conestoga rate in about two minutes, weather protection already in the number.
Book It
Lock the rate online. Your specialist matches the load to a vetted Conestoga carrier with a maintained rolling-tarp system for the freight.
Load and Seal It
The driver rolls the cover open, loads from the top or the side, ties down, then rolls the tarp shut and sends photos before moving.
Track It
Follow the load on live GPS to delivery. The signed POD and load record land in your account automatically.
Conestoga vs. Flatbed + Tarp vs. Dry Van
Conestoga is the only one that gives you open-deck loading and weather protection at the same time. Here is the honest trade.
| Criteria | Conestoga | Flatbed + Tarp | Dry Van |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather protection | Sealed rolling cover, built in | Hand tarp, can shift in transit | Fully enclosed |
| Loading access | Top, both sides, rear | Top, both sides, rear | Rear dock doors only |
| Time to cover | 2 to 5 min, from the ground | 30 to 60 min, climbing the load | None needed |
| Touches the load? | No, tarp floats on bows | Yes, lies on the freight | No, freight sits inside |
| Max payload | ~44,000 lbs | Up to ~48,000 lbs | ~45,000 lbs |
| Usable height | ~8 ft under the bows | 8′6″ flat deck | ~9′2″ interior |
| Tarp fee | None, in the rate | $50 to $150 per tarp | None |
| Best for | Finished, weather-sensitive open-deck freight | Rugged or heavy open-deck freight | Sealed, dock-loaded freight |
Heavier than ~44,000 lbs or over-dimensional? Tarp a flatbed. Loading through dock doors only? Ship a dry van.
How Fast Does Conestoga Move?
A solo driver legally covers about 500 miles a day under hours-of-service rules. A rolling cover adds no tarping delay at pickup or delivery.
The Conestoga Partner
Finished Freight Trusts.
Weather-sensitive freight is unforgiving: one shifted tarp and a coated-steel load is a claim, not a delivery. AFX runs vetted, finish-proven Conestoga carriers, one accountable specialist, and pricing that holds from quote to invoice, with the cover built into the rate.
Conestoga Capacity Where You Ship
Daily covered open-deck coverage in all 50 states, with deep capacity in the busiest markets.
Conestoga freight by industry
The Covered-Deck Playbook
Three guides for sharper rates and smarter equipment calls.
Flatbed vs. Step Deck
When open-deck freight outgrows a flat 5-foot deck and has to drop lower to clear legal height.
Read the guide SavingsHow to Cut Freight Shipping Costs
Lead time, tarping, and the booking habits that quietly lower every open-deck invoice.
Read the guide Mode StrategyLTL vs. FTL: Which Mode Wins?
How full covered-deck capacity compares to shared freight, and when each one pays off.
Read the guideConestoga Shipping FAQs
A Conestoga is a flatbed fitted with a retractable rolling tarp that slides on a frame of bows along the length of the deck. It gives the open-deck loading of a flatbed, top, side, and rear access by crane or forklift, with the weather protection of an enclosed trailer. The cover rolls open in two to five minutes from the ground, so the freight is sealed against rain, snow, and road grime without anyone climbing the load or hand-throwing a tarp.
A Conestoga carries freight that needs an open deck and weather protection at the same time: coated, painted, or polished steel, glass and architectural glazing, building products like drywall and lumber, finished machinery, packaged equipment, and rust- or finish-sensitive cargo. Because the tarp floats on the bows and never rubs the load, it is the standard choice for freight that a hand-thrown tarp would chafe or that cannot ride exposed.
A Conestoga runs 48 to 53 feet long, with about 46 to 51 feet of usable deck, and 102 inches wide on the outside. Usable interior height under the bows is roughly 8 feet, a little lower near the rails where the tarp arches. Usable width under the cover is about 96 to 100 inches, because the track rails steal 2 to 6 inches off the bare 102-inch deck. Always check tall or wide freight against the inside-bow numbers, not the open-deck numbers.
A Conestoga carries roughly 42,000 to 44,000 lbs, about 2,000 to 5,000 lbs less than a bare flatbed, because the rolling-tarp system itself weighs around 2,000 to 2,500 lbs and heavier steel kits weigh more. That payload give-back is the main reason not to use one on the heaviest loads: a 45,000 to 48,000 lb steel load that is legal on a flatbed can be overweight under a Conestoga. Confirm the specific trailer tare before you commit a heavy load.
About 8 feet under the bows on a flatbed Conestoga, which is lower than the 8 foot 6 inch load height of a flat deck because the frame and tarp eat roughly 6 inches, and a little more near the rails where the cover arches. Freight that fits flat on a flatbed may not fit under a Conestoga. Taller pieces move on a step-deck Conestoga, which carries roughly 8.5 to 9.5 feet, or on an open step deck when they do not need cover.
It depends on how often you tarp. A Conestoga removes the 30 to 60 minute manual tarping job and the 50 to 150 dollar per-tarp accessorial from every load, and it ends the fall risk of climbing freight, but it costs you payload and runs a 10 to 25 percent rate premium. For recurring, weather-sensitive volume that fits under 44,000 lbs, the rolling cover pays for itself. For occasional open-deck loads, or freight near the deck weight limit, tarping a flatbed is cheaper. The calculator on this page runs that exact math.
A Conestoga uses a rigid, structural sliding frame of bows that supports the cover and stands up to load shift, and it loads from the top because the whole cover retracts. A curtainside uses lighter side curtains on a fixed roof, so it loads from the sides only, not the top, and the curtain is not load-bearing. A Conestoga is the better fit for top-loaded or crane-loaded freight and for heavier open-deck cargo that needs a sturdier cover.
Yes. The rolling-tarp system weighs about 2,000 to 2,500 lbs, and older steel kits can exceed 3,000 lbs, so usable payload drops to roughly 42,000 to 44,000 lbs from a flatbed 48,000 lbs. On rate, a Conestoga commonly runs about 10 to 25 percent more than a flatbed, or roughly 15 to 50 cents a mile, because the equipment costs more and the capacity pool is thinner. We price your exact load in real time so you see the real number, with the cover built into the rate.
No. That is the point of the trailer. The rolling tarp is part of the trailer and slides closed over the load in two to five minutes from the ground, so there is no hand tarping, no climbing, and no separate tarp fee. The cover is lockable, but note it is not a hard-sided enclosure: it gives weather protection and modest security, not the sealed, tamper-evident, climate-ready box of a dry van.