OVERSIZE AND HEAVY HAUL DISPATCH

Oversize load dispatch where permits and escorts are priced before you say yes

In heavy haul, one load can make your month and a bad permit plan can sink it. Our oversize load dispatch prices the permits, escorts and route before the offer reaches you, so the number you approve is the number you keep. Every load is your call, and the rate con goes straight to you.

Dispatch my heavy haul

LINEHAUL: yours
PERMITS: in writing
ESCORTS: in writing

UNIT 02

Permits and escorts: who arranges them, who pays, how long they take

Most of heavy haul dispatch is permit and route work. Get it wrong and the truck sits at a state line.

A load becomes oversize when it goes past the legal limits: wider than 102 inches on the National Network Legal width on the National Network102 inches (8.5 ft)23 CFR 658.15(a): vehicle width on the National Network is limited to 102 inches. Wider loads move under state oversize permits.23 CFR 658.15Checked Oct 2026, heavier than 80,000 lb gross or the axle limits on the Interstate Interstate weight limits80,000 lb gross; 20,000 lb single axle; 34,000 lb tandem23 CFR 658.17: 80,000 lb maximum gross vehicle weight on the Interstate System (the bridge formula can lower it), 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem. Heavier loads need state overweight permits.23 CFR 658.17Checked Oct 2026, or taller or longer than a state allows. From there, every state on the route issues its own permit. There is no federal oversize permit Oversize and overweight permitsIssued by each state; the federal government issues noneFHWA: states may permit nondivisible loads that exceed size or weight limits; the federal government does not issue oversize or overweight permits, so carriers apply to every state on the route. A load is nondivisible if splitting it would ruin its use or value, or take more than 8 work hours to dismantle. FHWA keeps a list of state permit contacts.FHWA, Size and Weight permitsChecked Oct 2026, so a five-state move means five permits, five sets of travel-time rules and five escort requirements.

Escort rules change at state lines too. One state may want a single front escort at a width where the next wants front and rear, or a height pole, or police. Travel is often limited to daylight, with no movement on weekends or some holidays, and city curfews add more limits. All of that changes the transit time, which changes what the load should pay.

BEFORE THE OFFER
Dimensions and weights confirmed
Piece and loaded dimensions, axle weights on your trailer, not just the cargo's weight.
BEFORE THE OFFER
Route and permit plan
States crossed, likely permit costs and lead times, travel restrictions, escort count.
ON THE OFFER
Who pays what, in writing
Linehaul, permits and escorts as separate lines, or one all-in number. You see it before you decide.
AFTER YOUR YES
Permits ordered, escorts booked
Through a permit service or the states directly, with receipts saved to the load file.
ON THE ROAD
Changes handled
Weather holds, closed routes and permit amendments, with you told first.

Your trailer's numbers, once

Permits are written for the whole combination, not just the cargo. Send us each unit's tare weight, axle count and spacing, deck heights and lengths, and any jeeps or boosters you run. With those on file, the desk can check axle weights and overall dimensions on every offer instead of guessing, and permit applications go out right the first time.

Superloads are a different job

Past a state's superload threshold, permits can need route surveys, bridge analysis, utility moves and police escorts, with lead times measured in weeks. We'll tell you when a load is heading into superload territory and whether your equipment and experience fit it. Plenty of good heavy haul fleets never take one, and that's a fine business choice.

Escorts and permit services

Escort vehicles, height poles and permit services are separate businesses with their own rates. Good ones are booked early, and in busy months they're scarce. The desk keeps a list by region, books them once you accept, and puts their confirmation in the load file so your driver knows who is meeting the truck, where and when.

FHWA keeps a list of state permit offices for anyone planning a route. We're not a permit service and we don't give legal advice; the states' permit terms are the rules your driver follows, and the permit rides in the cab on every trip, printed or on a device the state accepts.

UNIT 03

Heavy haul unit P&L: a month, load by load

Enter a month of loads with their permits and escorts, then your payments and insurance. Remove one load to see how thin the margin really is.

Loading the heavy haul P&L

Two lessons show up in almost every real month. First, pass-throughs only wash out when they're billed back. Fold a $1,600 escort into an all-in rate without raising it and you've paid for the escort out of your linehaul. Second, fixed costs are large: a lowboy or RGN with a heavy tractor carries payments and insurance that don't care whether the month had three loads or one.

For a longer view with your whole fleet, use the trucking profit calculator and plan for the slow month, not the best one.

EXAMPLE An excavator from Houston to Oklahoma City on a lowboy, 12 ft wide, two states. Linehaul $4,800, permits $420 and one escort $950 billed back at cost. The desk confirms the route avoids a low bridge on the direct path, adds half a day for travel restrictions, and brings you the offer. Dispatch on the linehaul at 4% is $192. Your call.

Our opinion: heavy haul is a poor place to learn trucking. If your first truck is a lowboy, go slow, take loads you fully understand, and grow from standard step deck work toward permit loads. Our step deck dispatch is where many heavy haul fleets start.

Drivers matter more here than anywhere. A heavy haul driver reads permits, plans fuel and parking for a truck that can't use most truck stops, and secures loads that weigh more than the tractor. Pay them for that skill. A cheaper driver who gets one permit wrong costs more than the difference in a single week, and the desk can only route around a driver's gaps if you tell us what they have and haven't hauled.

UNIT 04

Heavy haul dispatch questions

Lowboys, RGNs, multi-axle trailers, stretch decks and step decks running permit loads all dispatch at the same fee as any other equipment we handle. Your drivers need the CDL class for the combination CDL Class AGCWR 26,001 lb or more, towing a unit over 10,000 lb GVWR49 CFR 383.91(a)(1): a combination with GCWR of 26,001 lb or more where the towed vehicle's GVWR is over 10,000 lb.49 CFR 383.91Checked Oct 2026, and the rest of the checks happen on every load.

What you pay, when it steps down, and the exact fee basis written into your agreement are all on the dispatch rates page and the first call.

Is a heavy haul fleet profitable?

It can be, but the margin is lumpy. A single load can cover most of a month's costs, and a missing load can erase it. Equipment and insurance cost more than in standard freight, so the profit depends on keeping trucks booked and on getting permits and escorts paid for. Put your own month into the P&L above before you buy a second lowboy.

Who pays for permits and escorts?

The rate con decides. Many oversize loads bill permits and escorts back to the shipper or broker at cost, separate from the linehaul. Others fold them into one all-in rate. The desk gets it in writing before you accept, because a permit and escort bill you didn't expect can wipe out the load.

Is the dispatch fee charged on permit costs?

Your dispatch agreement states exactly what the percentage applies to, and we go over it with you on the first call, before you sign anything. The P&L above shows your month both ways so you can see the difference in dollars.

How long do oversize permits take?

It depends on the state, the size of the load and the route. Routine permits in many states come back quickly through online systems, while superloads can need route surveys, engineering reviews and weeks of lead time. We build permit time into the pickup date we quote you instead of promising a number.

How much does heavy haul dispatch cost?

5% for one truck, 4% per truck from the second truck, and 7% while your MC is under 6 months old, dropping automatically. No setup fee, month-to-month, 30 days notice to cancel.

Heavy haul loads, priced to the last escort

Tell us your trailers and permit experience. A dispatcher calls back with oversize loads where every cost is on the offer before you decide.

4% for 2+ trucks, 5% for one, 7% while your MC is new