Step deck dispatch that measures twice and routes once
A step deck exists for freight that is too tall for a flatbed, which means every step deck load comes with a height question. Our step deck dispatch desk asks it before the load reaches you, plans the route around low clearances and truck routes, and finds a stop for the night that a tall load can reach. You say yes or no to every load.
Step decks, double drops and conestogas. Machinery, equipment and tall building materials. One fee schedule for every truck.
5% of gross for one truck, 4% for 2+, 7% while your MC is under 6 months. No haul, no pay.
Driver A plans a tall load, one decision at a time
Here is a hypothetical step deck run, told one decision at a time. Driver A is not a real person and this is not a real load. It is the kind of trip we plan every week, with the questions a careful step deck dispatcher asks along the way.
Open each stall to see the question and the call Driver A makes.
HYPOTHETICAL · STALL 01Measure the load before anything else
The broker says the machine is about 9 ft tall. Is that good enough?
No. Driver A asks for the exact height and measures again at the shipper with the machine chained on the lower deck. Overall height is the deck plus the freight, and the number that matters is the one with the load secured, from the ground to the highest point. It comes to 13 ft 2 in.
HYPOTHETICAL · STALL 02Check the height against every state on the route
Is 13 ft 2 in legal everywhere?
Height limits are set by each state, not by federal rules, and most fall between 13 ft 6 in and 14 ft. Driver A checks the states on the planned route and finds the load legal in all of them without a permit. If it had been taller than a state's limit, it would need an oversize permit, and the route would be the permit's route.
HYPOTHETICAL · STALL 03Pick the route for clearance, not for minutes
The shortest route uses a state highway through two small towns. Take it?
Driver A stays on interstates and designated truck routes, even though it adds 40 minutes. Legal height on paper does not help under an old railroad bridge posted at 12 ft 9 in. The truck GPS is set to the real overall height plus a margin, and the paper atlas is in the door pocket in case the GPS disagrees with the signs.
HYPOTHETICAL · STALL 04Plan the last mile with the receiver
The receiver's address is on a city street with a low underpass nearby. Now what?
Driver A calls ahead and asks which entrance trucks use and whether the street has posted limits. The receiver gives a back gate off a truck route. That call takes four minutes and avoids the worst kind of surprise, the one you find at the end of a dead-end street with a tall load behind you.
HYPOTHETICAL · STALL 05End the day near a stop with pull-through room
The day will run out about 90 miles short of the receiver. Where to stop?
Driver A picks a truck stop on the interstate with pull-through spaces, reached without passing under any bridge lower than the one already cleared on the route. Backing a step deck with tall freight into a tight space in the dark is how corners get clipped. The receiver opens at 08:00, so the plan leaves an easy 90-mile morning.
HYPOTHETICAL · STALL 06Tarp or conestoga
The shipper wants the machine covered. Tarp it, or book a conestoga next time?
This time Driver A tarps, which adds on-duty time at the shipper and in the wind. A conestoga's rolling tarp would have saved the hour, but it also limits the height and width that fit under the frame. For machinery that needs cover often, a conestoga can be worth it. For tall pieces, an open step deck stays more flexible.
POSTED: FHWA, Federal Size Regulations for Commercial Motor Vehicles (FHWA-HOP-04-022, Oct 2004) · checked Oct 2026
None of those decisions is complicated. What makes them hard is that they come at the wrong time: at a fuel island with the GPS beeping, at 20:00 with your hours running out, or at the receiver's gate when it is too late. A step deck dispatcher's job is to ask them on the phone with the broker, before the load is even offered.
That is also why a step deck load with a good rate can still be a bad load. If the only legal route adds three hours and the receiver closes at 15:00, the rate has to pay for the night it causes. We show you that before you decide.
New to the term? Read what a low clearance sign means and how to plan around one.
What we book on a step deck
Step decks haul the freight that will not fit legal height on a flatbed but does not need a lowboy. These are the loads we look for:
Machinery and equipment
Skid steers, compact loaders, forklifts, generators and factory machinery. Usually chained, often tall, and weight matters as much as height.
Building materials
Tall bundles of lumber, trusses, roofing and steel that would run over height on a flatbed. Often delivered to job sites with limited access.
Agricultural equipment
Tractors, implements and grain equipment, with strong seasons in spring and fall.
Conestoga freight
Freight that needs cover and flatbed-style loading, from crated machinery to building products that must stay dry.
What a step deck dispatcher checks before the offer
- Exact height, width, length and weight of every piece, from the shipper, not a guess
- Overall height on the deck against each state on the route
- Truck routes and posted clearances to the receiver, including the last mile
- Loading method: forklift, crane or drive-on, and whether ramps are needed
- Tarp requirement and whether tarp pay is on the rate con
- Receiver hours, especially daylight-only sites
Conestoga dispatch
A conestoga is a step deck or flatbed with a rolling tarp system. It loads from the side or the top like a flatbed and covers the freight like a van, so it opens loads that need protection without the time spent tarping. The trade-off is that the frame limits height and width, so we need your inside dimensions to pitch freight that fits.
Conestoga loads often pay well because fewer trucks can take them. We look for them when you run one, and we look for flatbed-style loads that fit when conestoga freight is thin.
Some step deck freight is taller, wider or heavier than the legal limits. Those loads need permits, sometimes escorts, and their own route, and we cover how we handle them on our oversize dispatch page. If you also pull a flatbed, our flatbed dispatch page explains how we plan around securement and tarping.
A step deck offer, start to finish
This is how an offer from your step deck dispatcher reads. It is an EXAMPLE, not a real load. Accept or decline it to see what happens next.
LOAD OFFER · EXAMPLE
from your dispatcher
Peoria, IL to Denver, CO
- Miles
- 860
- Rate
- $2,650
- Per mile
- $3.08
- Pickup
- Mon 07:00
- Delivery
- Wed 08:00 to 15:00, daylight
A compact track loader and attachments, 38,000 lb. 12 ft 10 in overall on the lower deck, under the posted limit on the planned route. The receiver unloads by forklift in daylight only.
Your call. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
What a step deck dispatcher costs
Step decks and conestogas pay the same tiers as every truck we dispatch. A new MC starts at 7% and drops automatically at month 6. The details are on the fees and terms page.
YOUR TIER
Standard (1 truck, MC 6+ months)
5%of gross
- Weekly gross (1 truck)
- $6,000
- Dispatch fee
- $300
- You keep (before costs)
- $5,700
Month-by-month table
| MC month | Fee |
|---|---|
| 12 | 5% |
| 13 | 5% |
| 14 | 5% |
| 15 | 5% |
| 16 | 5% |
| 17 | 5% |
| 18 | 5% |
| 19 | 5% |
| 20 | 5% |
| 21 | 5% |
| 22 | 5% |
| 23 | 5% |
Same tiers for every equipment type. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice. EXAMPLE math, not a promise of revenue.
Step deck dispatch questions
How do I avoid low bridges with a tall load?
Know your real overall height with the load secured, set your truck GPS to that height plus a margin, and stay on interstates and designated truck routes. Read the posted clearance signs, which are the final word, and call the receiver about the last mile. We check routes and clearances to the receiver before we offer a tall load.
How much does step deck dispatch cost?
7% of gross while your MC is under 6 months old, 5% for one truck after that, and 4% per truck when you run two or more. No setup fee, no minimum and no contract, and nothing owed in a week you do not haul. The fee is the same for step decks, conestogas and every other truck.
Can a new MC get step deck loads?
Yes. Some brokers will not book a very new authority, and machinery shippers may ask for higher cargo coverage, so we check your insurance first and start with brokers who work with new carriers. A new MC pays 7% until month 6, then steps down automatically. The first weeks can be slower, and we tell you that plainly.
Do step decks get paid more than flatbeds?
Often a little more, because step deck freight is taller and fewer trucks can take it. But it depends on the lane, the season and the load, and some weeks flatbed freight pays as well or better. We never promise a rate. We compare each offer on the full trip, including tarp time, route and the night it causes.
Do you handle oversize permits?
We book oversize loads and work with the broker or a permit service on the permits, routes and any escorts the load needs. The permit sets the route and often the travel hours, so we plan the days around it. Your truck and trailer still need to be set up for oversize work, with the flags, signs and lights the permits require.
Dispatch my step deck
Tall loads checked for height, route and the night stop before you say yes.