Flatbed.
Open Deck. Locked Down.
Open-deck capacity for steel, lumber, machinery, and anything too big for a box. Vetted flatbed carriers, securement done to federal standards, instant rates in all 50 states.
Quote Your Flatbed Shipment
What is flatbed shipping?
A flatbed is an open deck with no walls and no roof, built for freight that cannot fit on or inside an enclosed trailer. Because the deck is open on every side, a crane or forklift can load from the top, the side, or the rear, which is the only practical way to move steel, lumber, machinery, and oversized industrial freight.
A standard flatbed runs 48 or 53 feet long and 102 inches wide, carries up to about 48,000 lbs, and keeps total height under the 13 foot 6 inch legal ceiling. The work is in the securement: straps, chains, binders, edge protectors, and tarps, applied to federal standards on every load. AFX Logistics runs flatbed capacity in all 50 states through carriers who do exactly that, with spot rates and dedicated contract lanes.
Flatbed is the right call when:
- ✓Steel coils, plate, beams, rebar, or pipe
- ✓Lumber, plywood, and dimensional building materials
- ✓Heavy equipment: excavators, dozers, forklifts, and attachments
- ✓Pre-cast concrete, slabs, panels, and masonry
- ✓Anything too tall, too wide, or too awkward to fit through trailer doors
Know the securement before the carrier arrives.
Open-deck freight lives and dies on securement. Federal rules set both a minimum number of tie-downs and a minimum rated capacity, half the cargo weight, and a load has to satisfy whichever is greater. Get it wrong and the load gets red-tagged at a scale house, or worse, on the road.
Drop in the weight, length, and height of your freight and pick a strap or chain. The planner runs the real federal math, shows the tie-downs across the load, and tells you whether it even belongs on a flatbed or needs a lower deck.
Flatbed Securement Planner
The freight in, the federal tie-down math out: how many straps, and how much rated capacity.
Weight drives it: half of 44,000 lbs is 22,000 lbs of rated capacity, so you need 5 of these tie-downs, more than the 3 the length rule asks for. Clears 13′6″ on a standard flatbed deck. No height permit needed.
A planning estimate from FMCSA 393.110 and 393.106, assuming over-the-top tie-downs on an article not blocked against forward movement. Metal coils, machinery, and other commodities carry extra rules, and the driver makes the final call. We confirm securement before dispatch.
- Up to 5 ft, under 1,100 lb1 tie-down
- Up to 5 ft, over 1,100 lb2 tie-downs
- 5 to 10 ft2 tie-downs
- Every extra 10 ft+1 tie-down
- Aggregate WLL≥ 50% of weight
Five Ways to Run Open Deck
When freight outgrows a standard flatbed, the deck drops to meet it. We quote the right equipment for the dimensions, not just whatever is closest.
Standard Flatbed
Up to 8′6″ tallThe open-deck workhorse. A level 5-foot-high deck for legal-height, legal-width freight loaded from any side.
Step Deck
Up to ~10′ tallA lower bottom deck drops the floor, so taller freight clears the 13′6″ ceiling without a permit. Also called a drop deck.
Double Drop / RGN
Up to ~11′6″ tallA recessed well between the axles for the tallest and heaviest pieces. The RGN gooseneck detaches so equipment drives on.
Conestoga
Tarp-free coverA retractable rolling tarp system gives enclosed weather protection with open-deck access. No manual tarping required.
Stretch / Extendable
Freight to ~80 ftAn extendable deck supports beams, poles, blades, and pipe that overhang a standard trailer, flagged and permitted as needed.
Built to Scale.
Proven to Deliver.
Deck to Job Site in Four Steps
Quote It
Enter the lane and the load: dimensions, weight, and commodity. See a live flatbed rate in about two minutes, tarps and permits included.
Book It
Lock the rate online. Your specialist matches the load to a vetted carrier with the right deck, securement, and tarps for the freight.
Secure It
The driver loads, blocks, and ties down to federal securement standards, tarps when the weather calls for it, and sends photos before rolling.
Track It
Follow the load on live GPS to delivery. The signed POD and securement record land in your account automatically.
Flatbed vs. Step Deck vs. RGN
When freight gets taller or heavier, the deck has to drop. Here is how the three open-deck options compare.
| Criteria | Flatbed | Step Deck | RGN / Lowboy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deck height | ~60 in (5 ft) | ~39 to 42 in | ~18 to 24 in (well) |
| Max load height | 8′6″ | ~10′2″ | ~11′6″ to 12′ |
| Max payload | Up to 48,000 lbs | Up to ~44,000 lbs | ~38,000 lbs, multi-axle more |
| Loads onto deck | Crane, forklift, side | Crane, forklift, ramps | Drive-on, detachable neck |
| Best for | Legal-height open-deck freight | Taller freight, no permit | Tall, heavy machinery |
Taller than 8′6″? Step up to step deck. Tall and heavy? See specialized and heavy haul.
How Fast Does Flatbed Move?
A solo driver legally covers about 500 miles a day under hours-of-service rules. Add time when a load needs permits, escorts, or daylight-only travel.
The Flatbed Partner
Serious Shippers Keep.
Open-deck freight is unforgiving: a missed strap or the wrong deck is a safety problem, not just a delay. AFX runs vetted securement-proven carriers, one accountable specialist, and pricing that holds from quote to invoice.
Flatbed Capacity Where You Ship
Daily open-deck coverage in all 50 states, with deep capacity in the busiest markets.
Flatbed freight by industry
The Open-Deck Playbook
Three guides for sharper rates and smarter equipment calls.
Flatbed vs. Step Deck
When freight outgrows a 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 open-deck capacity compares to shared freight, and when each one pays off.
Read the guideFlatbed Shipping FAQs
Flatbed shipping moves freight on an open deck with no walls or roof, so it can be loaded from the side, the top, or the rear by crane or forklift. It is the standard mode for freight that is too tall, too wide, or too awkward to fit through the doors of an enclosed trailer: steel, lumber, machinery, pipe, pre-cast concrete, and building materials. A standard flatbed is 48 or 53 feet long, 102 inches wide, carries up to about 48,000 lbs, and keeps total height under the 13 foot 6 inch legal ceiling.
Flatbeds haul steel coils, plate, beams, rebar, and pipe; lumber, plywood, and dimensional building materials; heavy equipment like excavators, dozers, and forklifts; pre-cast concrete, slabs, and panels; roofing, drywall, and masonry; and oversized or irregular freight that cannot ride enclosed. If a load can be loaded and secured on an open deck and stays within legal dimensions, a flatbed moves it.
Federal rules set two requirements. First, a minimum number of tie-downs: one for an article up to 5 feet long and 1,100 lbs, two up to 10 feet, and one more for every additional 10 feet. Second, the combined working load limit of all tie-downs must be at least half the weight of the cargo. You use whichever number is greater. The Securement Planner above runs both rules against your load and shows the result. Heavy machinery and metal articles carry additional commodity-specific rules.
The working load limit (WLL) is the maximum load a strap or chain is rated to hold in normal use, usually one third of its break strength. Federal rule 49 CFR 393.106 requires that the combined WLL of every tie-down on a load add up to at least 50 percent of the cargo weight. So a 40,000 lb load needs at least 20,000 lbs of aggregate WLL: at a 5,400 lb WLL per 4-inch strap, that is four straps for the weight rule, before the tie-down-count rule is even applied.
A standard flatbed carries up to about 48,000 lbs, a little more than a dry van because the open trailer weighs less. Legal dimensions are 102 inches wide and 13 foot 6 inches tall overall, which leaves roughly 8 foot 6 inches of load height on a 5-foot flatbed deck. Freight beyond those limits moves on a step deck, a double-drop or RGN, or under an oversize permit with route surveys and escorts.
A standard flatbed has a single level deck about 5 feet off the ground, which caps legal load height at about 8 feet 6 inches. A step deck, also called a drop deck, has a lower bottom deck, so taller freight up to about 10 feet clears the 13 foot 6 inch ceiling without an oversize permit. If your freight is taller than 8 foot 6 inches, a step deck usually saves the cost and delay of permitting.
A removable gooseneck (RGN), or lowboy, has a deep well between the axles that sits close to the ground, so it carries the tallest and heaviest pieces, typically up to about 11 feet 6 inches tall, and the detachable front lets equipment drive right on. It is the right call for tall, heavy machinery, like large excavators and cranes, that would exceed legal height on a flatbed or step deck.
Tarping protects weather-sensitive freight like lumber and certain steel, and it typically adds about 150 to 300 dollars to the rate depending on tarp size and how complex the load is to cover. Lumber tarps, steel tarps, and smoke tarps each suit different cargo. A Conestoga trailer, with its retractable rolling tarp, gives the same protection with no manual tarping. We quote tarps into the rate up front so there is no surprise on the invoice.
Flatbed full truckload is priced per mile for the whole trailer: a linehaul rate plus a fuel surcharge, with tarps and any permits added in. The biggest factors are the lane, the season, the dimensions and weight, and where the open-deck spot market sits that week, which runs tighter than dry van. Rather than relying on published averages, we price your exact load in real time and show you the number in about two minutes.
Flatbed transit is governed by drive distance and federal hours-of-service rules, so a solo driver covers roughly 500 miles a day. A 500-mile lane is usually next day, a 1,000-mile lane runs about two days, and a coast-to-coast move runs four to five. Add time when the load needs permits, escorts, or daylight-only travel. Because a full truckload moves direct, flatbed transit is faster and more predictable than shared freight.