Excavators, machinery, transformers and out-of-gauge freight, on our own RGN, lowboy, step deck and multi-axle equipment. Permits and pilot cars handled.
US DOT3388302
MC113242
SCACLRDP
Most freight fits on a truck. The freight that does not is where carriers start declining the call — too tall for the bridge, too wide for the lane, too heavy for the axles, or simply nothing on the yard that will carry it.
Long Road owns the equipment that carries it. Not brokered, not sourced from a partner network when the load books — RGN, lowboy, step deck, flatbed and multi-axle superchassis sitting on our own yard, serviced by our own repair shop. When we say yes to a heavy haul, the trailer already exists.
Picking the wrong trailer is the most common and most expensive mistake on a heavy haul. It is normally discovered at the loading site, with a crane already on the clock.
RGN — removable gooseneck. The front detaches and the deck drops to the ground, so tracked and wheeled machinery drives on under its own power. Lowest deck height, which is what buys you clearance under bridges. The answer for excavators, dozers, cranes and most self-propelled equipment.
Step deck. A lower rear deck than a flatbed, so taller freight stays legal without a height permit. Good for equipment that can be loaded by crane or forklift and does not need a ground-level deck.
Flatbed, including 4-axle. Steel, building materials, crated machinery, and containers too damaged to sit on a chassis. The 4-axle carries weight a standard flatbed cannot take legally.
Superchassis, 3, 4 and 5-axle. For overweight containers. More axles spread the load so a heavy box moves legally instead of being stripped at the port.
Top pick and forklift at the Tacoma yard. Loading and unloading out-of-gauge cargo that will not roll onto a trailer under its own power — a capability most carriers have to hire in.
Oversize, overweight, or both
The two words get used together and they are separate problems with separate paperwork.
Oversize is dimensions: over roughly 8'6" wide, over about 14' high, or longer than the legal limit. It brings permits, sometimes route surveys, and above certain widths and heights a pilot car — occasionally two, plus police escort.
Overweight is mass, and it is really about axles. Legal gross weight depends on how the load is distributed across the axle groups, not just the total. This is why a container that seems impossibly heavy often moves perfectly legally on a 5-axle superchassis, and why the same box on a standard chassis is a citation.
Plenty of heavy haul is both at once, which is when routing stops being a map question and becomes a bridge-by-bridge one.
Permits, pilot cars and routing
We handle the permits. Washington issues them by route, not in general, so the permit and the route are one decision — and the route that looks shortest often has a bridge, an overpass or a weight restriction that rules it out.
Cross-state and cross-border moves need permits from each jurisdiction, which is why an Idaho or Montana delivery takes longer to set up than the driving would suggest. Moves into Canada add customs on top — see cross-border transportation to Canada.
Pilot cars are arranged where the dimensions require them. So are night-move restrictions, curfews and holiday embargoes, which quietly decide the delivery date more often than the mileage does.
Permits are a route decision
Send the dimensions and both addresses to (425) 800-4609 and we will tell you what it needs before you commit to a date.
Construction and earthmoving equipment. Excavators, dozers, loaders, compactors, cranes. RGN work, normally driven on and chained down.
Industrial machinery. Presses, CNC equipment, generators, transformers, tanks and vessels. Usually crane-loaded, usually needing a route survey when they are tall.
Out-of-gauge ocean freight. Cargo that arrived on a flat rack or open top and has to leave the terminal on a trailer rather than in a box. We pull it off the terminal ourselves — see out-of-gauge and project cargo and how an OOG move runs.
Overweight containers. Heavy boxes on 3, 4 and 5-axle superchassis, with a scale ticket showing gross and axle weights supplied with the invoice.
Project cargo. Multi-piece moves where the pieces have to arrive in an order somebody has planned around a crane booking.
Why asset-based matters more on heavy haul than on anything else
On a dry van, a broker is a minor inefficiency. On heavy haul it is a real risk, because the specialised trailer either exists or it does not. A broker who books your excavator is promising an RGN they do not own, from a carrier they have not confirmed, on a date they are guessing at. When that falls through, there is no substitute sitting nearby — RGNs are not fungible with dry vans.
Long Road has been asset-based since 2020. USDOT 3388302, MC 113242. The trailers are on our yard, the drivers are ours, the repair shop is in-house, and the company that quotes the move is the company that runs it under its own authority and liability.
2020
Asset-based since
RGN
Owned, not brokered
5-axle
Superchassis for overweight
Top pick
On our own Tacoma yard
24/7
Capacity & in-house repair shop
Heavy haul questions
What counts as a heavy haul?
Anything that needs a permit — over legal width, height, length or weight. In practice that starts around 8'6" wide, 14' high, or a gross weight the standard 5-axle configuration cannot carry legally.
Do you own your heavy haul trailers?
Yes. RGN, step deck, flatbed including 4-axle, and 3 to 5-axle superchassis, all company equipment serviced by our own shop. That is the difference between a confirmed date and a hopeful one.
Do you handle the permits?
Yes, and the routing with them — the two are the same decision, because Washington permits a specific route rather than a load in the abstract.
Do I need a pilot car?
It depends on dimensions and on the states you cross. Send the measurements and we will tell you what the route requires, including whether it needs two, or police escort.
How much does heavy haul trucking cost?
Priced per move, because no two are alike: the trailer, the permit fees for each jurisdiction, pilot cars, the route, loading and unloading, and whether either end needs a crane or our top pick. Send dimensions, weight and both addresses for a real number.
Can you move an excavator?
Yes — standard RGN work. The machine drives onto the dropped deck and is chained down. Send the model, and the operating weight and transport dimensions with it, since those differ from the spec sheet once the bucket comes off.
Can you haul into Canada or across several states?
Yes. Each jurisdiction issues its own permit, so multi-state moves take longer to set up than to drive. Canada adds customs — see cross-border to Canada.
What if the freight is in an ocean container and too heavy to move legally?
Three options, and we will tell you which is cheapest: a superchassis with more axles, a permit, or stripping the cargo at our Tacoma container depot and moving it on an open deck. Most importers are never offered the third.
You call it, we haul it.
Dimensions, weight, both addresses. Call (425) 800-4609 and get a straight answer today.
