What we quote, and what this page is for
QuoteTheLoad is how you request a dry van or reefer quote from our Los Angeles–based team, including LTL when a few pallets do not need a dedicated trailer. We do not quote open-deck or flatbed equipment. That is worth saying up front, because many “dry van vs flatbed” searches are really asking: can this freight go in an enclosed trailer?
If it can, we can usually quote it. If it cannot — because it is too long, too tall, or has to be loaded from the side or the top, or it is loose pipe, steel, or lumber that has to ride on an open deck — you will need a different kind of provider for that shipment. We would rather help you sort that out than take a request we cannot cover.
When a dry van is the right trailer
A standard dry van is an enclosed 53-foot trailer. It is the right starting point when the freight is palletized, boxed, or crated, can be loaded with a forklift or pallet jack through the rear doors, and does not need a set temperature. That includes a wide range of goods that people sometimes assume need a special trailer: bagged or boxed building materials, fixtures, packaged hardware, consumer goods, packaging, and many crated machine parts, as long as they fit the doors and the cube and can be secured inside the van.
If the product cannot get cold, or needs freeze protection, a dry van may still work in mild weather, but a reefer on a protect-from-freeze setting is often the safer plan. See reefer vs dry van and our page on chemicals and paint freight for that case. If the product needs a held temperature, use a reefer, not a van.
Signs the freight would need an open-deck trailer instead
These are common reasons a shipment cannot go in a dry van. If any of them apply, we are probably not the right quote for that load:
- The pieces are longer or taller than a standard van door and interior will allow
- The freight has to be loaded from the side or the top, or with a crane
- The freight is loose pipe, structural steel, bundled lumber, or similar product that is typically secured on an open deck
- The shipment is a vehicle or a piece of equipment that cannot be driven or forklifted into a van
Oversize or permitted loads are also outside what we quote. If you are not sure whether a crate or a skid will roll into a van, send the dimensions and a short description. A photo note in the comments after we reply is often enough to settle it.
A few cases that surprise people
Palletized lumber, flooring, bagged mix, siding, and boxed fixtures often travel just fine in a dry van. Loose or oversized building materials often do not. Palletized or drummed packaged products, including many paints and household chemicals when they are properly packed and accepted for enclosed transport, may be quotable as dry van or reefer; bulk tank or open-deck chemical freight is not what we cover. See building materials freight for the palletized side of that work.
If a piece can be crated to fit a van, crating can turn a “maybe flatbed” shipment into a dry van shipment. Crating is your or your supplier’s decision; we can quote the van once the freight will fit and can be loaded safely.
What to send so we can tell you quickly
- Commodity and how it is packed: pallets, boxes, crates, or loose
- Length, width, and height of the largest piece, and the total weight or pallet count
- How it will be loaded: dock and forklift, or something else
- Whether it needs a temperature or freeze protection
- The origin and destination, and the ship date
Choose Dry Van if you believe it fits an enclosed trailer, Reefer if it needs a temperature, or “Not sure” if you want us to help. Our dry van freight in Los Angeles page is the service page for dedicated van truckload.