Heavy Haul Trucking: What You Need to Know

Heavy haul loads come with higher pay, but also higher risk. From oversized equipment to wide and overweight freight, heavy haul trucking requires more planning, more paperwork, and far more precision than standard freight.

Demand for heavy haul trucking continues to be driven by energy, construction, aerospace, and infrastructure projects, but growth alone doesn’t guarantee profitability. Each load brings variables that can make or break margin, including permit requirements, escort needs, route restrictions, and state-by-state regulations.

Understanding what qualifies as a heavy haul load, how permits and escorts factor in, and how carriers evaluate jobs before booking is critical. This guide breaks down what you need to know about heavy haul trucking—and what to consider when finding and pricing heavy haul loads.

What is heavy haul trucking?

Heavy-haul jobs include anything beyond conventional dimensions, including oversized freight, wide loads, and heavy equipment. As the name suggests, heavy-haul loads are often both overweight and oversized. Conventionally sized loads that are overweight also fall into this category.

Beyond size and weight, heavy haul trucking is defined by the planning involved. Permits, escorts, and route approvals vary by state and often determine whether a load is viable, or profitable, before a truck ever moves.

The challenges of transporting oversized and overweight goods require experienced, qualified, and specially licensed operators and companies. The best heavy haul trucking drivers are aware of the legal limits of U.S. and Canadian highway networks. Shipping large cargo can mean special routing, escorts, lifting power lines, moving obstructions out of the way, or all of the above.

Heavy hauling operators need to be skilled in operating the trucks and trailers that transport large loads and in dealing with the detailed planning and permit process involved in the specialized shipping industry.

What constitutes a heavy load?

Loads that are beyond the regulated legal limit on most roads are considered heavy loads. While numbers vary from state to state, anything past 8.6 feet in width, taller than 13.6 feet in height, longer than 53 feet, or that exceeds 80,000 pounds of gross weight is generally considered a heavy load. Legal limits vary by state and route, which is why most heavy haul loads require permits even when they appear close to standard dimensions.

Heavy-haul trucking operators can transport anything from heavy-duty mining or military equipment on a step-deck or drop deck to airplane parts or wind turbine blades. Heavy loads often require specialized trailers and vehicles for transport, and there are different kinds. Some look like a conventional tractor-trailer with a removable gooseneck (also known as an RGN trailer). Others come in multiple sections, with driven pusher wheels at the very rear, or in different sections of articulated trailers.

Heavy haul trucking axle restrictions

Whether your heavy haul trucking trailer is a flat deck, step-deck, or double-drop, the axles are what determine your legal load capacity. While federal axle limits provide general guidance, actual allowable weights depend on state permits, axle spacing, and approved routing.

Adding axles lets you haul more weight, which is why heavy-hauling equipment comes in 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and 20-axle options. Where an axle is located, how many of them are near each other, and their role all affects the weight they are legally allowed to support.

Per-axle weight limits may vary by state and road type, but here are some general guidelines based on overall federal restrictions:

Steer axles: Weight limit 12,000 pounds

Steer axles are the first axles on the truck and some articulated trailers. They cannot carry more than 12,000 lbs.

Single axles: Weight limit 20,000 pounds

Any time a trailer has a lone axle at the front or rear, that single axle can only support 20,000 lbs. under federal law. On trucks with multiple axles, if the axles are spread more than 10 feet apart, they are considered single axles and are legally rated for 20,000 lbs.

Drive axles: Weight limit 34,000 pounds

The drive axles, often on the tractor but occasionally fitted to the rear of heavy-duty trailer setups, can generally support 34,000 lbs., as long as they are in a tandem setup (two axles no more than five feet apart).

Tandem axles: Weight limit 34,000 pounds

Tandem axles are when two sets of wheels are positioned close together (within five feet of each other). When we talk about tandem axles, we are usually referring to the axles in the rear of the trailer, although on a step or a double-step, you might see tandem axles close to the lip of the step. They can support no more than 34,000 lbs. under federal law.

How to get heavy haul permits

One of the most important skills for a heavy haul operator is understanding how to work with state, municipal, and county authorities to secure the proper movement permits. Every state requires permits for heavy loads, and those permits reflect local terrain, population density, infrastructure limits, and state-specific regulations. Most permits are issued within three to five days and apply to a single load, route, and time window.

Permit requirements often go beyond size and weight. Many include escort vehicles, approved routes, and restricted travel windows, all of which vary by state and load type. Some states prohibit weekend or holiday movement, while others impose seasonal restrictions, especially during winter months.

Missing one of these details can delay a move or erase margin entirely, which is why experienced carriers evaluate permits, escort needs, and routing together before committing to a heavy haul load.

To apply for a permit, carriers typically submit a movement plan, cargo details, and estimated travel times. Permit documentation should always be kept accessible during transit and available for inspection by authorities when requested.

Additional permit requirements

Most shipping permits for heavy jobs include one or more of these safety components:

Guide cars: Wide loads, in particular, are usually accompanied by a pilot vehicle. These are also known as escorts or guide cars. These vehicles are clearly identified and help manage traffic surrounding wide loads, particularly in populated areas and highways.

Safety Flags: Vivid orange or red flags at the four corners of the loaded hauler are required for oversize loads to help mark the vehicle’s extremities while moving.

Lights: Flashing yellow or rotating yellow lights signal to other drivers that a load is oversized or overweight and might be traveling at a slower pace than surrounding traffic.

Banners: Most states require conspicuous “Oversized Load” or “Wide Load” banners at the rig’s front and rear to help identify a heavy load to other road users.

Finding quality heavy haul loads

Heavy haul loads demand more than experience behind the wheel. Permits, escorts, axle limits, and route approvals all factor into whether a job is worth taking—and whether it stays profitable.

As heavy haul trucking jobs become more complex, carriers need tools that reflect how these loads are actually evaluated. Truckstop.com’s Heavy Haul Load Board Pro is built specifically for oversize and heavy haul freight, bringing permit quotes, escort details, and route considerations into one place so carriers can price and book with confidence.

Instead of juggling multiple tools and assumptions, carriers can see the critical details that matter most before committing to a load.

GET STARTED TODAY