What “heavy haul” actually means.
In the US the regulatory line sits at 80,000 lb gross combined weight. Above that, the move is overweight and requires permits in every state it touches. Independently, a load becomes oversizewhen any dimension exceeds 8'6" wide, 13'6" tall (the height ceiling shifts by state — Texas is 14', California is 14', the Northeast routinely tightens to 13'6"), or 53' long. A superloadis the upper tier — typically anything above roughly 16' wide, 16' tall, or 200,000 lb. Those triggers vary state to state, and the cost of getting them wrong is a stopped load and a fine.
LASLINT books all three categories. Standard heavy haul, oversize permitted routes, and engineered superloads with route surveys and pilot escorts.
Equipment we run.
Equipment selection is the first cost decision. Putting a load on the wrong deck means a re-permit, a re-route, or a re-bid. Capacities below are typical ceilings; specific units vary.
See the full sortable catalog at /equipment/.
Permits, state by state.
Every state runs its own permit office, its own fee schedule, and its own approved-route system. On a Houston-to-Calgary RGN move you'll cross five to seven states. Each one needs to issue a permit, and several will require their own escort and route review. Stacking those lead times is the part that catches first-time shippers.
Lead times are typical for in-pattern loads. Superload reviews can stretch when bridge engineering is required. We confirm exact lead times in the quote.
Escorts, pilot cars, and police.
Three triggers determine escort requirements in most states: width, length, and total height. The thresholds shift slightly state to state, but the working rules are consistent enough that we quote them tight.
- Single pilot car (rear)Width 12’–14’, or length 90’–110’ depending on state
- Two pilot cars (front + rear)Width 14’–16’, or any time height exceeds 14’6” on a metro route
- Police escortWidth above 16’, certain bridge crossings, and most superloads
- Steerable rear-axle operatorLoads in the 200,000-lb-plus range that need active rear-axle articulation
Escort cost is part of the all-in rate we quote. There's no “TBD” line.
Route surveys and bridge engineering.
Above roughly 14' tall, every bridge between origin and destination has to clear. Above 16' wide, the entire road profile gets reviewed — shoulder grades, signal arms, overhead wires. Above 200,000 lb, axle loads are run against the bridge inventory in every state on the route. That work is engineering, not paperwork, and it's usually what stretches a superload quote from minutes to days.
On in-pattern superload moves we ship as a turnkey package — route survey, engineer stamp, pilot cars, bridge sign-off, and DOT coordination — coordinated through partners we've worked with for years.
Cross-border to Mexico and Canada.
Cross-border heavy haul stacks a customs operation on top of the trucking operation. Different countries, different rules, different liability. We handle it by partnering with named customs brokers on both sides of the line, running bilingual coordination on every load, and choosing the right crossing for the freight.
Active US ↔ Mexico crossings:
- Laredo, TX · highest-volume commercial crossing; full OD-friendly facilities
- Pharr, TX · agricultural and industrial freight, oversize-capable
- El Paso, TX · OD routing into central and northern Mexico
- Otay Mesa, CA · West Coast cross-border, BC-bound freight
- Eagle Pass, TX · alternate to Laredo when volume holds slow lanes
US ↔ Canada moves through the OD-friendly crossings (Buffalo–Fort Erie, Detroit–Windsor for freight that clears the tunnel; Pacific Highway for the Pacific Northwest). Quebec adds French- language paperwork on the customs side — we're set up for it.
Full cross-border service detail: /services/cross-border-mexico/.
Ocean heavy haul.
At some point the truck can't go further. Once iron has to cross water, the question stops being “flatbed or RGN” and starts being “containerized, break-bulk, or RoRo.” We work all three modes for project cargo and heavy equipment going to Latin America and Africa.
- FCL container · sub-40' equipment, dismantled cargo, packed components
- Break-bulk · oversize equipment that doesn't containerize — wind blades, transformers, structural steel
- RoRo (roll-on/roll-off) · wheeled equipment that drives onto the vessel
Named ports we currently route through:
Full ocean service details: Africa · Latin America.
Where AI fits — and where it doesn't.
Heavy haul has a math layer and a judgment layer. The math is permit lookups, bridge clearances, escort thresholds, fuel curves, carrier-vetting checks. The judgment is which carrier to call first when the rates are close, when to hold a load for a better trailer, when to call the customer because the route changed at 11pm.
We put AI on the math. That lets a senior broker spend their runway on the judgment — which is what shippers pay for. The output: faster quotes on in-pattern loads, sharper vetting on every carrier, and a documented load trail you can audit. Same hard problems, faster answers.
Frequently asked.
What counts as heavy haul?
In US trucking, any load above 80,000 lb gross combined weight is overweight. Loads wider than 8'6", taller than 13'6" (most states), or longer than 53' are oversize. Anything above roughly 16' wide or 200,000 lb is typically a superload, with state-specific thresholds. LASLINT routinely handles all three categories.
How long do permits take?
Single-state permits typically clear in 1–5 business days. Multi-state moves stack lead times — count 5–10 business days on a typical RGN load crossing 3–4 states. Superloads with engineered routing take 2–6 weeks because of bridge analysis and police-escort scheduling.
When does my load need an escort?
Pilot cars are typically required when load width exceeds 12 ft, length exceeds 90 ft, or in some states when height exceeds 14'6". A second escort or police escort is required above roughly 14 ft wide. The exact triggers vary by state — we map them into the quote so you see the cost up front.
Do you handle cross-border to Mexico and Canada?
Yes. Active US↔MX crossings at Laredo, Pharr, El Paso, Otay Mesa, and Eagle Pass. Customs broker partners on both sides, USMCA documentation handled, bilingual desk on every load. US↔CA via the major OD-friendly crossings.
What ocean ports do you serve for heavy or oversize cargo?
Latin America: named ports across Mexico, Central America, and the west and east coasts of South America. Africa: Lagos (Tin Can Island), Tema, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Casablanca, and Luanda. FCL for containerizable equipment, break-bulk for oversize, RoRo for wheeled cargo.
How fast can you quote?
AI-augmented intake returns a rate band in minutes for in-pattern loads (named lanes, standard equipment, no superload work). Superloads and engineered routes require a route survey and broker review — those quotes come back within hours, not days.