Routing the load…
Two decks · the flatbed's taller sibling
Step-deck
transport, quoted to the line.
A flatbed with a dropped main deck — buys roughly 18 inches of legal freight height. The workhorse for loads just too tall for a flatbed and not heavy enough for a lowboy.
Lower deck height
~36–42 in
Lower deck length
37–43 ft
Freight height
to ~10 ft legal
Capacity
to ~48K lbs
How this equipment runs
Step-Deck Transport.
A step-deck (single-drop) carries its main deck about 3.5 feet off the ground instead of the flatbed's 5. Those 18 inches matter exactly when your freight is 9 to 10 feet tall: too tall to stay legal on a flatbed, nowhere near needing a lowboy. Compact track loaders, telehandlers, light agricultural machinery, crated industrial equipment — this is their trailer.
Step-decks are plentiful, which keeps rates close to flatbed on most lanes — meaningfully cheaper than RGN or lowboy. When a shipper asks us for a lowboy and the load is 9'6" and 30,000 lbs, the right answer is usually a step-deck and a smaller invoice.
Many step-decks take ramps for slow drive-on loading of small machines, and the lower deck makes forklift work from ground level easier than a flatbed at some sites. If your dock situation is unusual, tell the coordinator — loading method changes which trailers in the network can take the job.
Frequently asked
Step-deck questions.
Step-deck vs flatbed — when does the step-deck win?
Freight height. Legal overall height is typically 13'6"–14'; a flatbed deck eats 5 feet of it, a step-deck only ~3.5. If your freight is taller than ~8'6" but under ~10', the step-deck keeps it legal where the flatbed can't.
Can equipment drive onto a step-deck?
With ramps, yes — for machines that can climb them safely. Heavier or low-clearance tracked equipment should go RGN, where the deck drops to ground level instead of the machine climbing to it.
What loads are typical on a step-deck?
Telehandlers, skid steers and CTLs, small excavators, crated machinery, HVAC units, ag equipment. The 9-to-10-foot-tall class — too tall for flatbed, not heavy enough to justify RGN money.
Got a step-deck load?
Quote it now.
Line by line, no TBDs.
Two decks · the flatbed's taller sibling. Permits, escorts, and route checks included. A named coordinator quotes it the same day.