Trailers come in all shapes and sizes, as do items being shipped. So, how can you be sure you’re choosing the right equipment to haul with precision. A trailer can impact a number of factors, increasing or decreasing time, costs, or damage risks.
If you’re new to shipping, a 3PL company can be incredibly helpful in guiding you in the best direction regarding the most efficient trailers, vehicles, and logistics services to use. However, it never hurts to do your own research.
In this blog post, we share our basic tips to know when selecting the right trailer for your shipment.
The most important and obvious factor for choosing a trailer is the size of the load. Remember that federal regulations maximize load capacity at 80,000 lbs, but most trailer load capacities fall below this. That’s why special care must be taken to weigh items, including any packaging or pallets that are used.
Don’t forget to consider dimensions. Some items may not fit inside a standard dry van, needing a flatbed trailer for heavy haul.
You’ll want to take into account the facilities where loading and unloading will occur. The trailer needs to be in close proximity to the loading dock, so transloading is fast and efficient. If the trailer is too low to the ground or too high, it makes movement challenging.
Generally it is the supply chain managers responsibility to measure the loading dock height and width for clearance.
You may think that going for the largest trailer gives you more flexibility, but it can actually work against you. Large trailers tend to carry higher upfront costs, including extra fees for the number of axles it has.
Larger trailers are typically used for oversized loads, which also puts you in the realm of possibly needing oversize permits, depending on the state you’re operating in. This is another duty of the supply chain manager, as well as checking axle numbers with fees for toll roads that may be traveled on en route to the destination.
True Carriers Group is a non-asset based group of carriers that has been helping drive America’s supply chain for over 40 years. We offer a full range of logistics services, including Intermodal, Reefer, Van, Flatbed, Brokerage, LTL and Heavy Haul.
