Flatbed Load Rates: What to Check Before You Book
Open-deck freight prices differently from dry van, and the number a broker quotes first is rarely the number you take home. Before you accept a flatbed load, work through these five checks.
Start with the all-in number
Line-haul is only part of it. Ask what the rate includes and what it doesn't: tarp pay, extra stops, layover, detention after free time, and lumper or crane fees at either end. A load that looks strong on line-haul can fall apart once you add two hours of tarping and a 90-mile deadhead to the pickup.
Price the tarping separately
Tarping is labour, and labour is time. Steel, lumber and machinery all tarp differently, and a full tarp job in bad weather can eat an hour or more at each end. If a broker won't state tarp pay up front, price the load as though it isn't coming.
Count the deadhead in both directions
Deadhead to the pickup is easy to see. The harder question is what happens after you tip. If the delivery drops you in a market with thin outbound open-deck freight, the real cost of the load includes the empty miles you run to get back into a lane that pays. Look at the destination market before you look at the rate.
Check the securement the freight actually needs
Securement is a legal requirement, not a preference. Under 49 CFR 393.106, the combined working load limit of your tiedowns has to be at least half the weight of the cargo. 49 CFR 393.110 sets the minimum count: one tiedown for an article 5 feet or shorter and 1,100 pounds or lighter; two if it is 5 feet or shorter but heavier than 1,100 pounds, or between 5 and 10 feet at any weight; and for anything longer than 10 feet, two tiedowns plus one more for every additional 10 feet or fraction of it. If the straps, chains and corner protection for that freight are not already on your truck, the rate does not matter.
Know when it stops being a flatbed load
Most states cap legal height at 13 feet 6 inches. A standard flatbed deck sits around 5 feet off the ground, which leaves roughly 8 feet 6 inches of usable freight height before you need a permit. Taller than that and you are looking at a step deck load, not a flatbed load. Catching it before you book saves a cancelled pickup and a wasted day.
The 60-second pre-book checklist
What is the all-in rate, and what is excluded from it?
Is tarp pay stated in writing?
How many miles to the pickup, and what is the outbound market at delivery?
What securement does this freight need, and is it on the truck?
What are the dimensions and weight, and does the freight clear legal height on your deck?
How much free time at each end, and what is detention after that?
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