What counts as project freight
Project freight is anything you cannot drop on a 53-foot dry van and call it a day. Excavators, transformers, generators, presses, prefab modules, wind blades, drilling equipment. If it is wider than 8'6", taller than 13'6", longer than 53', or heavier than 80,000 lbs gross, you are in oversize/overweight territory and the rules change.
Once you cross any of those numbers you need permits in every state you cross, and possibly escorts, route surveys, structural engineer sign-offs on bridges, and travel time restrictions (no movement at night, no movement on weekends or holidays in many states).
Permits: what they cost and how long they take
A single-state Texas oversize permit runs $40 to $200 depending on dimensions and weight, issued same day if you file before noon. Add Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and you are looking at $300 to $800 in permits per leg, 2 to 5 business days lead time, longer if a state needs a bridge analysis.
Superload permits (>16' wide, >16' tall, or >150,000 lbs gross) take 2 to 3 weeks. The state engineering office reviews every bridge and overpass on your proposed route. If they reject the route, you re-file. We have seen a Houston-to-Calgary superload take 6 weeks of permit work before the first wheel turned.
Pilot cars and police escorts
Most states require a front pilot when you exceed 12' wide, and a rear pilot when you exceed 14'. Over 16' wide and you usually need a height pole car checking overhead clearance. Pilots run $1.75 to $2.50 per loaded mile, plus a daily minimum (usually $400 to $500) and dead-head if they are coming from out of area.
Police escorts kick in for very wide loads (typically 16'+) or movements through major metro areas. Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago all have police escort requirements for certain dimensions. Cost: $75 to $125 an hour with a 4-hour minimum, scheduled through the local department, often only available in specific time windows.
Route surveys
For anything taller than 15' or wider than 14', most carriers will run a physical route survey before the move. A driver or surveyor drives the route in a pickup with a height pole and a tape measure, photographing every overpass, low wire, narrow turn, and construction zone. They mark detours where the official route does not work and submit the corrected path back to the state for re-permitting.
Route surveys cost $1.50 to $2.25 per mile and take 1 to 3 days for a single-state move, longer for multi-state. Skip this step on a tall load and you will find out the hard way that the AASHTO bridge data is sometimes 5 years out of date.
Equipment and what each one does
- Step-deck (drop-deck): 48' or 53' deck, 41" deck height. Handles loads up to 10' tall on the well. Good for tall machinery that would top out on a flatbed.
- RGN (removable gooseneck): The gooseneck detaches so you can drive equipment onto the deck. 29' main well, 18" deck height. Standard for excavators, dozers, loaders, anything that rolls or tracks.
- Lowboy: Heavy-duty RGN with extra axles, rated 60,000 to 150,000+ lbs payload. Used for transformers, generators, large industrial equipment.
- Multi-axle trailers: 7, 9, 13-axle configurations for super-heavy loads. Spreads weight across more bridges so the per-axle weight stays under bridge formula limits.
- Schnabel/dual-lane: Specialty trailers where the load itself becomes part of the trailer structure. Used for very long or very heavy items like wind blades and reactor vessels.
Crane scheduling at origin and destination
If your equipment cannot drive on or off the trailer, somebody has to lift it. A 50-ton hydraulic crane with operator runs $300 to $500 an hour with a 4-hour minimum. Bigger lifts (200+ ton) need to be booked 2 to 3 weeks ahead and cost $1,500 to $4,000 a day plus mobilization.
The most common project freight failure is showing up at delivery and the crane is not there, or it is too small to lift the load. We confirm crane schedules in writing with origin and destination before we dispatch a truck.
What we need to quote your move
Email or call with:
- Exact dimensions: length, width, height, gross weight in pounds
- Pickup and delivery zip codes (or full addresses if jobsite)
- Whether the load rolls/tracks on its own, or needs to be lifted
- Photos of the load if you have them. Saves a lot of back and forth
- Required delivery date and any operational deadline tied to it
- Site access notes: low wires, narrow gates, soft ground, escort requirements you already know about
If a broker quotes you a heavy haul without asking for dimensions in writing, they are guessing. The number will change once permits come back. Ask the questions up front and the price stays put.