Hey guys I was wondering can I haul regular dry van freight on a step deck dry van?? Im trying to figure out what I can and cannot haul?
Shouldn't have a problem hauling regular dry van freight. Toughest part is getting the trailer to dock level, either ramps at the shipper/receiver or jacks on the trailer. Never liked heavy loads on the 17" rims though.
Dry van shippers wouldn't load you. They aren't there to accommodate different trailer types. You need to show up with a standard height dry van or they'll send you away. Shippers and receivers don't have ramps laying around to get their forklifts into an odd sized van. Not to mention, how does a forklift get over the steps inside of the van? Those vans are made for moving furniture and household goods loaded by hand.
Surprisingly lots of those trailers used for auto parts with large racks and light parts. Bumpers, fuel tanks, fuel lines etc.
Don't forget food products. I knew a family owned snack food company that used single step single axle vans and 6 wheel tractors [class 7] because chips and other snacks would fill that space long before it ever got heavy enough and the food distributors were good with it.
Hauled chips in them for quite a bit. Very few shippers would work with us pulling those trailers. It's not the kind of thing you do broker work with. You're negotiating contracts with those type of trailers. That's a company that has a net revenue in the billions with way more resources than most have to try and track those loads down.
