Hauling trailers: how to choose the right trailer for the freight you want

Criteria first: how to choose a hauling trailer

The trailer decides your freight, your customers, your license and your costs. Before comparing trailers, answer these:

1. What freight is steady where you live? A trailer that suits your region's freight keeps empty miles down. Grain country, oilfields, ports and big cities each favor different trailers.
2. How heavy and how tall is it? The federal limits on the Interstate are 102 inches wide and 80,000 lb gross, with axle groups held to the bridge formula. Source Source Source Height is set by each state. Source Deck height decides how tall a load can be.
3. How is it loaded? Docks for vans, forklifts and cranes for flatbeds, drive-on ramps for equipment and cars, hoses and pumps for tanks, gravity gates for hoppers.
4. What license does it need? A combination rated 26,001 lb or more towing over 10,000 lb is Class A. Source Source Tanks over the size threshold add the N endorsement. Source
5. What does it cost to own and insure? Specialized trailers cost more to buy and often more to insure, especially car haulers and tankers.
6. How seasonal is the work? Hoppers peak at harvest, dumps in construction season, reefers with produce. Year-round work smooths cash flow.

Types of trailers for hauling, compared

The rig deck

Each card is one rig we dispatch. Flip it for the freight, the license, the rules and how it pays.

Enclosed trailers: vans and reefers

Dry vans carry the largest share of freight: boxed goods, pallets, retail and manufacturing loads. They are the easiest trailers to keep busy and the most competitive on rates. Reefers add a refrigeration unit to haul food, produce and medicines at set temperatures; the freight often pays more, but the unit burns fuel, food loads come with sanitary rules, and appointment times are tight. The 26 ft box truck is the straight-truck cousin of the van, built for regional deliveries, liftgate work and partial loads.

Open decks: flatbeds, step decks and lowboys

Open-deck trailers haul what won't fit through a van door: steel coils and beams, lumber, pipe, machinery and building materials. A flatbed has one level deck; a step deck drops behind the gooseneck to carry taller loads; a double drop or lowboy drops lower still, between the gooseneck and the rear axles, for the tallest machines. A removable gooseneck, or RGN, detaches at the front so equipment drives on. Open decks mean securement work, with chains, straps, edge protection and often tarps; heavy equipment of 10,000 lb or more needs at least four tiedowns. Source See heavy equipment hauling and heavy haul trucking.

Worked example: picking a deck for a machine EXAMPLE

A contractor needs an excavator moved that stands 10 ft 6 in tall. On a flatbed with a deck about 5 ft high, the load would be roughly 15 ft 6 in, over every state's legal height. On a lowboy with a deck under 2 ft high, the load is about 12 ft 6 in, legal in most states without a height permit. The trailer, not the machine, decides whether the move needs a height permit.

Trailers for hauling cars

Car haulers range from two- and three-car wedge trailers behind pickups to nine- and ten-car rigs. Stinger-steer car haulers put the fifth wheel behind the tractor's drive axles so cars ride over the cab; federal rules require states to allow them at least 75 ft overall, against 65 ft for traditional auto transporters. Source Enclosed car trailers protect high-value vehicles at higher rates per car. Every vehicle needs at least two tiedowns, front and rear. Source More in car hauler trailer types, car hauler semi trucks and car hauler capacity by trailer.

Tank and bulk trailers

Tank trailers carry liquids and gases: fuel in DOT 406 tanks, chemicals in DOT 407s, corrosives in DOT 412s, and compressed gases such as propane in MC 331s. Source Dry bulk pneumatic trailers carry powders and pellets and unload with air. Hopper bottoms carry grain and feed and unload by gravity through gates. End dumps and belly dumps haul aggregate locally. Dense loads reach the weight limit before the trailer is full, so payload, not size, decides what these trailers carry. See tanker trucks, pneumatic trailers and bulk hauling.

Livestock and log trailers

Livestock trailers, often called cattle pots, have ventilated sides, internal gates and decks to keep animals safe in transit, and every run is planned around the federal 28-hour limit on confinement. Source Log trailers use bunks and stakes to cradle logs from the woods to the mill. Both trades run on relationships with ranchers, sale barns, feedlots, loggers and mills. See cattle hauling and the logging truck guide.

Small hauling trailers and hotshots

Small hauling trailers, such as bumper-pull and gooseneck flatbeds behind a heavy pickup, are the cheapest way into hauling. They carry partial loads, small equipment and urgent parts. Watch the combination rating: once the truck and trailer are rated 26,001 lb or more with a trailer over 10,000 lb, the driver needs a Class A CDL. Many hotshots stay just under that line, which limits load weight. Price runs with the hotshot rate calculator.

Tractor hauling trailers: matching truck and trailer

The tractor has to match the trailer. Heavy haul trailers need tractors with more horsepower, heavier drivetrains and often three drive axles. Tankers and dry bulk trailers often need a wet kit or blower on the tractor to run pumps and blowers. Car haulers use tractors with headracks built to carry cars over the cab. Reefers need nothing special on the tractor but are hard on fuel budgets. When you buy a trailer, check that your tractor's ratings, fifth wheel height and equipment fit it.

New, used or leased

A new specialized trailer is a big purchase, and used ones vary widely in condition. Before buying used, check the frame, suspension, brakes, tires and floor; for tankers, the test dates and spec plates; for car haulers, the hydraulics and decks; for lowboys, the neck and the deck crossmembers. Leasing a trailer, or running power only on customers' trailers, lets a carrier test a type of freight before buying. See power only dispatch.

Hauling a trailer safely

Pulling a loaded specialty trailer is different from pulling an empty van. Heavy and high loads shift the center of gravity, liquid loads surge, livestock move and open-deck freight catches wind. Leave more following distance, slow down before curves and ramps, and plan stops where the rig fits. Recheck securement after the first miles and at every stop; the federal rules require it, and loads settle. Know the trailer's length when turning, especially with long car haulers and lowboys that track inside the tractor's path.

Specs to check before you buy

• Empty weight: every pound of trailer is a pound less payload under 80,000 lb gross.
• Deck height and length: they decide how tall and how long a load you can carry without permits.
• Axle setup and spread: more axles and wider spacing allow more weight under the bridge formula.
• Suspension: air ride protects fragile freight; spring suspension is simpler and lighter.
• Material: aluminum saves weight; steel is cheaper and tougher on rough work.
• Loading gear: ramps, hydraulic decks, pumps, blowers and gates all need upkeep.

Trailers and insurance

The trailer changes the insurance bill as much as the truck. Cargo coverage has to match the value of what you haul, which is why car haulers, reefers with high-value food loads and tankers often pay more. Physical damage coverage depends on the trailer's value. Some customers require higher limits than the federal minimums before they will load you. Get insurance quotes for the trailer type before you buy it, not after, because the premium can decide whether a trailer pays.

Maintenance by trailer type

Every trailer needs brakes, tires, lights and the annual inspection, but each type adds its own work. Reefers need their unit serviced. Tankers need valve checks and the scheduled tank tests. Car haulers need hydraulic cylinders, hoses and decks kept tight. Hoppers need gates and seals cleaned. Lowboys and RGNs need the neck and hydraulics maintained. Livestock trailers need floors, gates and vents checked and washed out after every load. Build these into your cost per mile.

Trailer hauling and your rate

Every trailer has its own cost per mile and its own rates. Judge each load on all its miles, loaded and empty, with the rate per mile calculator. Longer runs between terminals are covered in line haul trucking, and the wider picture in our hauling guide.

Whichever trailer you pull, we dispatch it. We find loads that fit the trailer, negotiate every rate, call you before booking and send the rate confirmation straight to you. See dispatch for owner-operators.