RouteAllOversize Load Boards: How to Find Heavy Haul Loads
Last verified September 8, 2026 against 49 CFR Parts 371 and 387.
Oversize freight reaches you through four channels: load boards, freight brokers, direct shippers, and other carriers. A broker must hold a $75,000 surety bond under federal rule. That bond is the first thing to check before you haul for anyone.
This guide covers all four channels and how to vet each one.
In one minute: start on a load board to see what moves on your lanes, then build direct relationships. The money in heavy haul is in repeat work from shippers who know your deck and your permits.
Before you accept any load from a broker, check the bond and read the rate confirmation.
Where does oversize freight come from?
Four channels, and they overlap. Load boards list freight posted by brokers and by shippers, while brokers arrange transportation for a shipper without owning any trucks. Direct shippers post their own freight, and other carriers pass along overflow work they cannot cover themselves.
Most new drivers start on a board and move toward direct work.
- Load boards are searchable listings. They cost a subscription and the competition on them is heaviest.
- Freight brokers arrange transport for a shipper and keep a margin. They are federally regulated and bonded.
- Direct shippers pay more because no margin is taken out, but they take longer to find.
- Other carriers hand off overflow. This is the channel a new driver reaches through the yard, not the internet.
Heavy-haul freight is a smaller pool than dry van.
That works in your favor once people know your equipment.
How do you check out a broker?
Check the bond, then check the records. Federal rule requires every broker to hold a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000, and that money exists to pay carriers when the broker does not. Ask for the bond and the motor carrier number before you move the first load.
"A broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect." — 49 CFR 387.307. Verified September 8, 2026.
The bond exists to pay shippers or motor carriers when the broker fails to carry out its agreements. You are one of the parties it protects.
Can you see the broker's records?
Yes, and federal rule says so plainly. Every broker must record who shipped the load, which carrier moved it, and what the broker was paid for arranging it. Each party to that transaction may review the record, and you are a party to it.
"Each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review the record of the transaction required to be kept by these rules." — 49 CFR 371.3(c). Verified September 8, 2026.
Brokers must keep that record for three years, so a dispute six months old is still documented.
What should you ask before quoting?
Five questions, and the dimensions come first. You cannot price an oversize load without knowing what it measures, who buys the permits, and how many states it crosses. A rate that looks strong before permits and escorts can be a loss after them.
- Dimensions and weight. Get width, height, length and gross weight in writing, not by phone.
- Who buys the permits. Some shippers permit the load; often the carrier does. Confirm in the rate confirmation.
- How many states. Permits are per state and per trip, so a four-state run means four applications.
- Escorts required. Escort cost is real money and the threshold changes at each state line.
- Loading and unloading. Ask who provides the crane and who takes responsibility for securement.
Quote the total, not the line haul. Permits, escorts and curfew delays are all costs the load carries.
The escort threshold is the number most often missed. Read the pilot car requirements by state before you name a price.
How do you get repeat work?
By being the carrier who does not create problems. Heavy-haul shippers move the same equipment on the same lanes, so they remember who delivered clean. Deliver on the permitted route, show up with the right flags and banners, and answer the phone when the escort calls.
Three habits earn the callback:
- Send the permit to your escort before the move, not at the yard gate.
- Photograph the load secured, at pickup and at delivery. This ends most damage arguments.
- Report delays early. A curfew that stops you is not a surprise if you called it in first.
A shared RouteAll route opens for the escort with no account and no charge, so the escort reads the same roads you do. That is one fewer phone call before every move.
Specialize before you generalize. Two or three lanes you know well beat fifty you do not.
What should make you walk away?
Four warning signs, and any one of them is enough. A broker who will not name the bond, a rate that assumes no permits, dimensions that arrive verbally only, and a load already sitting on a trailer somebody else refused. Walk away is cheaper than a claim.
You must not move an oversize load on a promise that the permit is coming. The permit exists before the wheels turn, or you do not roll.
Ask for the dimensions in writing every time.
A load that measures 12 feet 4 inches when you were told 11 feet 6 inches is a different permit and a different escort bill.
The measurement is yours to verify at pickup.
Before you roll
Start on a board, but do not stay there. Check the $75,000 bond before you haul for any broker, and get dimensions in writing before you quote. The channel that pays best is the shipper who calls you back, and that relationship is built on clean deliveries rather than on the cheapest rate.
Common questions
Do I need my own authority to haul oversize?
You need operating authority to haul for hire under your own name. Driving for an existing carrier does not require it, because you run under their authority. The oversize part changes the permit and the equipment, not the authority question. Confirm your situation with FMCSA before you register.
How much bond must a freight broker hold?
Seventy-five thousand dollars. 49 CFR 387.307 requires every broker to keep a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect. It pays shippers and motor carriers when the broker fails to carry out its agreements, which means it exists partly to protect you.
Can I see what the broker was paid?
Yes. 49 CFR 371.3 requires brokers to record the compensation they received and who paid it, and gives each party to the transaction the right to review that record. Brokers must keep it for three years. Ask in writing if you believe a rate was misrepresented.
Who pays for the permits and escorts?
Whoever the rate confirmation says. There is no federal default, so it is negotiated on every load. Settle it in writing before you accept, because a four-state run means four separate permits and the escort bill can exceed the permit cost on a wide load.
Further reading
Sources
- 49 CFR 387.307, surety bond or trust fund for brokers.
- 49 CFR 371.3, records to be kept by brokers.
- 23 CFR 658.17, federal weight limits and permits for nondivisible loads.
RouteAll reads the permit you provide. It does not issue permits or guarantee compliance, and nothing here is legal or business advice. The driver remains responsible for the load. Rules change; verify against the current regulation before you contract.