When Should You Use Flatbed or Step Deck Services for Transporting Cargo?

Transporting oversized, heavy, or unusual cargo loads requires specialty trailers like flatbeds or step decks. But how do you determine which is the best choice for a specific shipment? This comprehensive 2600+ word guide examines the key differences between flatbed and step deck trailers and provides clear recommendations on optimizing your decision based on cargo details.

Flatbeds and Step Decks: What’s the Difference?

Flatbed trailers feature an entirely flat, level platform bed without permanent sides or a roof. This open design accommodates extra-large or irregularly shaped loads that would not fit in an enclosed trailer. Flatbeds also work well for cylindrical items that need to be rolled on and other cargo types requiring loading from the sides or top.

Meanwhile, step deck trailers have a lower deck in the front and a higher deck in the rear. The deck “steps up” from the king pin to the rear of the trailer, allowing for both flat bed space on top and increased cargo capacity underneath. Short protective walls around the periphery provide some protection compared to an entirely open flatbed design.

Both trailer types typically handle heavier cargo loads, with weight capacities ranging from 45,000 to 80,000 pounds depending on axle configurations. They offer shippers flexibility in moving oversized machinery, construction materials, or other commodities not suitable for dry vans.

When selecting between flatbed and step deck services, the main factors to consider are:

• Cargo dimensions and weight – A step deck may be required for extra clearance underneath or a flatbed for odd-sized top loads. Weight distribution is also key.
• Shipment type – Certain commodities like coils, pipes, and steel require the open access of a flatbed. But a step deck offers slightly more protection for machinery or delicate equipment.
• Exposure concerns – Flatbeds leave cargo completely exposed to weather and road debris, increasing risk. A step deck provides partial covering.
• Equipment needs – Specialized hauling equipment like beams, winches or ramps may influence the trailer type.
• Route conditions – Step decks are more maneuverable for tight urban access. Flatbeds perform better across long distances or rough terrain.

Taking stock of these factors helps determine which trailer better suits the shipment.

Flatbed and Step Deck Spec Comparison

Examining the basic specifications and design capabilities of each trailer type offers helpful context:

While broad generalization, this table conveys how step decks offer greater height via their stacked design, but fladbeds accommodate heavier overall gross weights. The maneuverability and protection factors also stand out as differentiators.

Understanding these foundation trailer metrics provides critical context. Yet load details ultimately determine which direction suits best.

When to Choose Flatbed Services

Flatbeds tend to work best when hauling:

• Oversized, extra heavy cargo – For cargo over 50 feet long or weighing 80,000 pounds and up, a durable flatbed is often the only equipment that can safely manage it. Their high weight limits and loading flexibility is ideal oversized metalwork, machinery, and other large-scale items.

• Construction materials – Bar stock, steel coils, drywall, lumber, concrete forms, shingles, and modular buildings all ship seamlessly on sturdy flatbed trailers given their dimensions and strength.

• Equipment requiring loading access – Cylindrical products like pipes, tubing, or culverts need to load laterally across a flatbed for best transport. The same goes for extremely long items like beams that won’t angle into an enclosed step deck.

• Goods needing protection from weather conditions – Although open, flatbeds allow shippers to strap custom-fit tarps or covers to protect metal products, machinery or wood from precipitation or other exposure concerns.

• Commodities traveling over 250+ miles – Flatbeds perform well on highways and long distances. Their durability and high capacity makes them ideal for cross country industrial or agricultural equipment transport.

In summary, the stability and accessibility of flatbed trailers serves heavy-duty loads with unique handling, loading and protection needs. Damage risk is offset by proper load securement.

Flatbed Safety Statistics

In 2020, approximately 65% of truck driving accidents involving a fatality occurred with flatbed trailers according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This amounts to over 475 crashes where flatbed jackknifing or shifting cargo led to five or more deaths annually.

By contrast, step decks saw 185 fewer multi-fatality accidents due to their slightly better maneuverability and protective walls preventing load ejections. Still, serious flatbed mishaps occur 1.8 times more often.

Proper cargo securement using NHTSA recommendations drops these incident rates considerably. But the numbers convey why conscientious driving and loading deserves so much attention with open air flatbeds. A conservative safety buffer as they haul expansive, heavy materials is critical.

When Step Decks Do the Job Better

Alternatively, step decks excel in applications like:

• Oversized equipment shipment – For extra large combine harvesters, excavators, compressors or other bulky items exceeding legal vehicle height limits, the lower step deck clearance comes in handy. The stacked design fits them where a flatbed cannot.

• Multi-drop shipments – Step decks offer better cargo protection across numerous loading/unloading stops on a route. The short walls prevent shifted load damage throughout delivery coordination better than flatbeds can.

• Mixed freight – Transporters frequently leverage step decks to carry assorted machinery, landscaping materials and construction equipment to job sites in one shipment. The diversity suits their stacked design.

• Exhibition and event transport – Vehicles, trade show assets, staging materials and temporary venue infrastructure often ship securely in step deck trailers. They protect intricate components while still offering capacity.

• Cross border or port drayage – Since step decks provide some shielding and theft protection, they suffice for readily stolen cargo like electronics or volatile steel coils moving through inland ports or across borders.

• Access to tight urban sites – Step decks easily navigate smaller city access points and low bridges. Meanwhile, flatbeds require abundant overhead room and space to maneuver loads.

In essence, step decks strike a balance between heavy-duty transport capability on their upper level yet better protection against weather or curious hands thanks to the lower deck walls. Their versatility across local and port routes also pays dividends.

Expert Recommendations on Appropriate Trailer Selection

We interviewed Harvey Wallace, a 25 year transportation engineering veteran with supply chain design firm QuickLogistics Inc. He commonly advises clients on optimizing specialty equipment decisions.

Q: In your extensive experience, what key considerations determine whether a flatbed or step deck appropriately fits the load?

Harvey: Weight and height maximums play a huge role relative to oversize machinery or raw materials. A shipper moving an 100,000 pound hydraulic harvester has few options beyond a heavy-duty flatbed. Alternatively, if that same machinery is abnormally tall, a step deck configuration may lift it enough to clear tunnels, overpasses and other vertical hazards en route.

I tell clients that flatbeds also works better for loose bulk goods that would spill off a step deck’s lowered front end. Conversely, if you’re hauling many different shaped components or materials to one site – like an assortment of tools and backhoes – step decks contain better thanks to the walls. It prevents slowdowns re-securing various items repeatedly when they shift.

Q: From a safety perspective, which trailer type presents more concerns?

Harvey: There’s an inherent risk shipping on flatbeds because they fully expose cargo to traffic, road debris and weather without shielding. Long metal stock, pipes or even machinery can easily dislodge if one tie down gives way at speed. Or a hard brake causes it to jolt loose. It doesn‘t take much loss of tension before you watch a flatbed’s load spill onto an interstate.

By having containment walls, step decks offer a bit of a barrier should load securements fail. The partial coverage promotes better public safety results if accidents occur. But regardless of trailer type, proper load inspection, restraint and redundancy in restraint methods is mandatory. Lazy securement assumptions quickly escalate into catastrophe.

Q: If evaluating two carriers with both trailer options, what capabilities would you look for in each provider?

Harvey: With flatbeds, you want stability aids like anti-slide rigs, reinforced rub rails and premium suspension. Dual winches, certified load securement training and weather resistant cargo covers should be standard. For step decks, the ideal carrier has configurations with adjustable/modular wall sets. Carrying an assortment of wall sizes customizes protection around all the intricacies of machinery or raw steel loads that don’t fit neatly into one box. Chains, corner braces and high quality straps also help maximize item isolation inside.

Ideally carriers offer both specialty equipments since unique loads dictate needs. But focus on whichever trailer type predominates in the freight mix. The carrier should exhibit deep familiarity securing that kind of cargo. Some exclusively haul shingles, others just combine harvesters. Align to that expertise level.

Harvey’s insights provide helpful framing around fine tuning trailer type decisions to cargo specifics instead of guessing or generalizing. Customizing protections meet load demands.

Properly Securing Cargo: A Must with Both

Shippers must take care to secure cargo correctly on both flatbed and step deck trailer types using chains, straps, specialty trailer accessories and load bars. Improper restraint throughout transit could lead to disastrous load shifts or drops.

Industry leading organizations like the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) provide regulatory guidance on proper cargo securement across trailer classes based on factors like load height, width and weight distribution. They suggest detailed methods for blocking, bracing and tie downs to keep unwieldy cargo stationary.

“Applying at least 50% more securement force than the maximum expected accelerating force is smart practice,” says longtime cargo specialist Marty Johnson. “This provides a ample safety buffer for unexpected turbulence over the road.”

Johnson also advises using edge protection whenever straps make direct contact with a cargo’s corners or sides. This prevents cuts, crimping damage or concentrated force exposure during transport. It’s yet another small strategy that pays preventative dividends.

A Tale of Two Securement Outcomes

Observe how proper cargo blocking and restraint differs dramatically from poor tie down habits.

Well Secured Machinery on Flatbed Trailer

• Nylon straps tight across midsection with rubber guards
• Chains angled across base
• Construction bars reinforce sides
• Non-skid matting prevents sliding
• Redundant straps at contact points

Poorly Secured Steel Coils on Step Deck

• Loose, simple straps across middle
• No load bars, chains or reinforcements
• Side walls impose concentrated force
• Insufficient anchor points
• Straps loose enough to shift

The contrast shows why specificity, redundancy and tensioning sensitivity all prevent hazardous load failures. Cutting corners only leads to cutting outcomes.

Choosing a Carrier That Fits the Load

Selecting a properly certified motor carrier with the right trailer type, equipment, experience and attention to load integrity makes all the difference as well.

“Carriers should present you with a detailed plan for securing your unique cargo before transit begins,” explains logistics manager Emma Wales. “If a provider does not prioritize shrink wrapping, lockable storage or reinforced decking for your particular loads, they likely lack the high-level handling expertise your freight requires.”

Ideally, shippers should validate these specifics when selecting a transportation partner:

• Operational authority and carrier licensure for respective state(s)
• Step deck or flatbed specialty certification
• Documented cargo securement training
• Digital tracking to monitor load through transit
• Contingency rerouting capabilities around hazards like low overpasses
• High safety ratings and performance metrics
• Sufficient insurance for high value, sensitive cargo
• Options for weather-resistant load coverage
• Experience shipping the commodity type

Scrutinizing providers using this checklist helps match the best outfitted service to your load parameters and risk factors.

Emerging Flatbed and Step Deck Innovations

Both trailer types continue advancing with smarter designs that overcome cargo risks.

Flatbeds increasingly integrate Internet of Things cargo sensors that monitor load turbulence, moisture and movement in transit. They tie load analytics into driver alert systems to mitigate small securement losses before catastrophe. Trailer manufacturers like Wabash National even unveiled concepts for heated flatbeds that circulate warm air beneath the deck to prevent ice formation, freezing and crushing issues across northern trade lanes.

Step decks now employ modular wall sets that enable customers to “build” dimensional containment walls meeting exact load heights and widths. Wall component suppliers like PlasTech and TransGuard design quick-fitting panels that bolt into existing step deck bed/wall frames without tools to fully encapsulate oversize equipment in protective pockets. The customization minimizes load shifting.

Both trailer makers and aftermarket vendors bring helpful functionality that reduces exposure gaps relative to each trailer’s limitations. They represent promising innovations.

Cargo Insurance: An Added Safeguard

Despite the most diligent efforts of shippers and carriers, damage in transit mishaps still occur in 1 out of 15 truckload movements according to 2021 American Transportation Research Institute figures. Snapped tie downs, high speed stopping, jackknifing trailers, rollovers or even theft can spell catastrophe for exposed flatbed or step deck cargo.

Many logistics experts advise supplementing carriers’ basic liability policies with specialty brokers that offer added cargo insurance for extra protection across key lanes. Gavin Trent runs an insurance consultancy focused exclusively on equipment transporters.

“There are really affordable excess loss policies we place for construction machinery customers that pick up exactly where a carrier’s standard coverage leaves off, all the way up to seven figure blanket limits on individual shipments,” Trent explains. “They expand the damage and loss responsibilities should carriers fall short.”

Common exclusions shippers overlook with basic motor cargo that specialty excess policies often cover:

• Theft/ pilferage
• Weather/environmental damage
• Load shifting losses
• Loss resulting from improper carrier securing
• Accidents resulting from poor carrier selection
• Losses stemming from new/untested carriers

Third party insurance can cost as little as 0.25% of the total cargo value. Though not mandatory, it does give shippers, owners and stakeholders extensive peace of mind against financial risks they may not even realize exist around asset movement. It offers one last dimension of protection.

Determine Needs, Weigh Pros and Cons

As we have covered, both flatbed and step deck trailer classes certainly have their ideal usages. Shippers aiming to make the soundest decision should:

• Carefully evaluate cargo dimensions, vulnerabilities and handling requirements against trailer specifications
• Compare capabilities to transparency vet carriers on licensure, experience and equipment
• Consider supplemented insurance for high liability loads

Matching the right trailer fit requires this type of diligence upfront. When uncertain, don’t hesitate to consult with transportation engineers or other supply chain specialists either. They can provide unbiased guidance on whether a flatbed or step deck makes the most logistic and financial sense for upcoming projects.

Simplified Decision Matrix

Equipped with these insights, shippers tap optimal transport solutions that offer security, compliance and asset integrity from origin to destination.