Trucking questions, straight answers.

Flatbed trucking uses an open-deck trailer with no sides or roof, allowing freight to be loaded from the top, sides, or rear. It's ideal for oversized, heavy, or irregularly shaped cargo that cannot fit inside an enclosed dry van.

Choose flatbed when your load is too tall, too wide, or too awkward for a 53-foot enclosed trailer, or when it must be loaded by crane or forklift from multiple sides — for example steel beams, lumber bundles, or construction equipment.

Standard flatbed loads in Ontario top out around 48,000 lbs of payload on a 5-axle configuration. Heavier loads require multi-axle step-deck, double-drop, or permitted heavy-haul equipment, all of which Big Rig Hauling provides.

Flatbed rates in Ontario typically range from $2.50 to $4.50 per loaded mile depending on lane, fuel, permits, and tarping. Call (647) 945-8401 for a free same-day quote on your exact load.

Yes. Big Rig Hauling is a bonded Canadian carrier authorized to run flatbed loads into and out of the USA. We handle customs paperwork, ACE/ACI manifests, and border coordination as part of the rate.

Every Big Rig Hauling flatbed runs with tarps, edge protectors, straps, and grade-70 chains on board. Specialized tarping (steel, smoke, lumber) is available on request at booking.

Expedited trucking is a premium service where a dedicated truck picks up your freight on demand and delivers it directly — no terminals, no transfers, no consolidation stops. It's the fastest road-freight option available in Canada.

Big Rig Hauling typically dispatches an expedited truck within 60–90 minutes of booking. Most GTA-to-GTA runs deliver same day, and team-driver expedited service can cover Toronto to Edmonton in roughly 48 hours.

Expedited rates run higher than standard freight because the truck is dedicated to your load alone. Pricing depends on distance, equipment, and urgency — contact dispatch at (647) 945-8401 for a quote within minutes.

Choose expedited when a missed delivery means production downtime, contract penalties, or grounded equipment. It's also the right call for high-value or temperature-sensitive freight that can't sit on an LTL dock.

Yes. For long-haul critical freight we dispatch two-driver teams so the truck keeps moving 22 hours a day within hours-of-service rules.

Every Big Rig Hauling expedited load includes real-time GPS tracking plus driver check-calls at pickup, en route, and delivery.

Long-haul trucking moves full truckloads over distances of 500 km or more, typically between provinces or across the Canada–US border. Drivers operate under federal hours-of-service rules and stay with the same load from pickup to delivery.

Long-haul rates in Canada typically run $2.00 to $3.50 per loaded kilometre, plus fuel surcharge. Lane balance, equipment type, and fuel pricing all move the number — request a quote for your specific lane.

Palletize and shrink-wrap where possible, label every skid clearly, and confirm weight and dimensions before pickup. For flatbed long-haul, ensure load points are accessible for tarping and chain securement.

Yes — our Edmonton terminal anchors regular Ontario–Alberta and BC long-haul lanes, with backhaul capacity in both directions.

A standard single-driver run is 5–6 days under Canadian hours-of-service rules. Team-driver service can compress that to roughly 72 hours when freight is urgent.

Yes. Big Rig Hauling carries full cargo and liability insurance on every long-haul load — certificate of insurance available on request before dispatch.

LTL (less-than-truckload) means your freight shares a trailer with other shippers and you pay only for the space it occupies. FTL (full truckload) means the entire trailer is dedicated to your load. LTL is cheaper for small shipments; FTL is faster and safer for large ones.

LTL pricing is based on freight class, weight, dimensions, origin/destination postal codes, and accessorials like liftgate, inside delivery, or appointment. Density and stackability drive the freight class.

There's no strict minimum, but LTL is most cost-effective from one pallet up to about 10 pallets or 12,000 lbs. Below one pallet, parcel courier is usually cheaper; above 10 pallets, you should price a partial or full truckload.

Within Ontario, most LTL shipments deliver in 1–2 business days. Ontario to Western Canada typically runs 4–7 business days depending on lane and terminal handoffs.

Yes, both are available as LTL accessorials. Let dispatch know at booking so the right equipment is assigned to your shipment.

Yes, when properly packaged. Crating, edge protection, and 'Do Not Stack' labeling all help — we'll advise at quote time if your freight needs special handling.

In Ontario, a load is oversized when it exceeds 2.6 m wide, 4.15 m high, or 23 m long, or when gross vehicle weight passes 63,500 kg on a standard configuration. Anything beyond those limits requires a Ministry of Transportation permit.

Each province issues its own permits and Big Rig Hauling secures them for you — Ontario MTO, Quebec SAAQ, and equivalents in every province on your route. Cross-border loads also need state-by-state US permits, which we handle.

Oversize pricing combines a base flatbed/step-deck rate plus permit fees, pilot-car fees, and any route-survey costs. Most over-dimensional moves in Ontario start around $4–$8 per loaded mile all-in.

Yes. Wide, tall, or long loads often require certified pilot vehicles by law — Big Rig Hauling coordinates them as part of the move so you have a single point of contact.

Provincial permits can take 1–3 business days, and US state permits 3–5. Book at least a week ahead when possible — rush permitting is available for an additional fee.

Yes. We routinely move loads up to and beyond 16 feet wide using multi-axle equipment, certified escorts, and pre-approved super-load routes.

Freight transportation is the commercial movement of goods by truck, rail, ship, or plane. For most Canadian businesses, trucking covers the first and last mile and the majority of inland moves — and Big Rig Hauling handles every truck-based mode in one company.

Look for proper licensing and authority, full cargo and liability insurance, equipment matched to your freight, lane coverage that fits your network, and a dispatch team you can actually reach. All five are baseline at Big Rig Hauling.

Freight rates vary by mode: LTL is priced per hundredweight, FTL and flatbed are priced per loaded mile, and expedited is priced as a dedicated-truck flat rate. Call (647) 945-8401 for live pricing on your lane.

Yes. Big Rig Hauling is a bonded Canadian carrier with US operating authority on dry, flatbed, and expedited freight.

Construction, manufacturing, oil & gas, retail distribution, and agriculture make up the bulk of our book — but any business shipping a pallet or a full trailer is in our wheelhouse.

Yes — dedicated lanes, weekly recurring runs, and contract pricing are all available. Ask dispatch about contract rate sheets.

Local trucking moves freight short distances — typically within a single metropolitan area like the GTA — and is usually billed by the hour or as a flat dock-to-dock rate. Drivers are home every night and trucks turn multiple loads per day.

Local trucking generally covers a 150 km radius. For Big Rig Hauling, that includes Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Airdrie, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Spruce Grove, and St. Albert out of our Alberta base, plus Milton and Toronto in Ontario.

GTA local rates typically run $95–$140 per hour for a straight truck and $130–$180 per hour for a tractor with trailer, with a 2–4 hour minimum. Flat dock-to-dock pricing is also available.

Yes. Same-day GTA delivery is our standard local product — book before noon and we can usually pick up the same afternoon.

Yes. Our flatbeds and dump-capable equipment handle steel, lumber, aggregate, and pre-cast drops at active job sites across the GTA.

Yes — daily, weekly, or by-route schedules are available with dedicated equipment and drivers.

A commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, and a customs broker's PARS (into Canada) or PAPS (into US) number cover most shipments. Regulated freight may also need a certificate of origin or product-specific permits.

Pre-cleared PARS/PAPS shipments usually clear in under 30 minutes at the border. Shipments referred for secondary inspection can take 2–8 hours depending on the crossing and time of day.

Cross-border rates depend on lane, equipment, and commodity. Toronto to Chicago full truckload typically runs CAD $3,200–$4,200; Toronto to New York around CAD $2,400–$3,200 — exact pricing on quote.

A bonded carrier is licensed by the Canada Border Services Agency to move in-bond freight that has not yet cleared customs. Big Rig Hauling's bonded status lets us move goods to inland CBSA offices and US-bound exports without delays at the border.

Yes. We coordinate directly with your broker, file ACE (US) and ACI (Canada) eManifests, and ensure PARS/PAPS labels are on the trailer before it leaves.

Primarily the Ambassador Bridge (Windsor–Detroit), Blue Water Bridge (Sarnia–Port Huron), Peace Bridge (Fort Erie–Buffalo), and Lewiston–Queenston — chosen by lane and current wait times.

Heavy haul trucking moves loads that exceed standard legal weight or dimensional limits — typically construction equipment, industrial machinery, or oversized structures. It requires specialized trailers, permits, and often pilot escorts.

Heavy haul pricing combines a per-mile equipment rate, permit fees per province or state, pilot-car costs, and any route survey or engineering required. Loadout time at job sites is usually billed separately.

Lowboys and RGN (removable gooseneck) trailers for tracked equipment, multi-axle step-decks for tall loads, and heavy-duty flatbeds for steel and precast. Multi-axle extendables handle long structural pieces.

Ontario regulates heavy hauls through the Ministry of Transportation's permit system, with limits on axle weights, dimensions, travel times, and required escorts. Big Rig Hauling holds the permits and routing knowledge to keep your move compliant.

Yes. Our drivers are experienced with tight job-site access, soft ground, and crane offloads — call ahead so we can confirm site readiness.

Yes. Inter-provincial heavy hauls between Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta are a regular part of our book, with all permitting handled in-house.

Refrigerated (or 'reefer') trucking moves freight inside an insulated trailer with a powered cooling unit that holds a precise temperature set point — anywhere from –20°C frozen to +14°C cool — throughout pickup, transit, and delivery.

Our reefer fleet runs reliably from –25°C through +18°C, with dual-zone trailers for mixed produce and frozen loads on the same run. Set points are logged continuously and shared with the consignee at delivery.

Yes. Our refrigerated trailers run on a documented wash and inspection schedule, drivers carry FSMA-aware training, and we can provide temperature logs and chain-of-custody paperwork for CFIA, FDA, and GDP-compliant pharma shipments.

Reefer rates run roughly 15–25% above dry van for the same lane because of fuel for the cooling unit and additional handling. Exact pricing depends on temperature, distance, and any special securement — call dispatch for a same-day quote.

Yes. We run bonded reefer lanes into Michigan, Ohio, New York, and California — with PARS/PAPS labels, temperature logs, and any required USDA or FDA paperwork pre-staged on the trailer.

Every reefer unit has 24/7 telematics. If a temperature alarm fires, dispatch is notified immediately, the driver diverts to the nearest service point, and we contact you within minutes — protecting the load and your customer relationship.

Drayage is short-haul container trucking — typically the first or last leg between an ocean port, rail intermodal terminal, and the shipper's or consignee's warehouse. It's how a container that arrived by ship or rail completes its journey by road.

We pull and deliver containers at CN Brampton Intermodal Terminal, CN Vaughan, CP Vaughan, and run drayage lanes to the Port of Montreal and Port of Halifax. In Alberta, we cover CN Edmonton and CP Calgary intermodal yards.

Yes. Ontario's tri-tri (tri-axle tractor + tri-axle chassis) configuration is standard for our overweight port and rail moves, keeping you compliant with MTO weight regulations without splitting the load.

Standard appointment moves are booked the same day. Hot containers waiting at the ramp can usually roll within 2–4 hours of release notification — call dispatch the moment the container becomes available.

Yes. As a CBSA-bonded carrier we can move sealed in-bond containers from port directly to inland CBSA examination warehouses or to bonded warehouses for customs clearance.

Drayage is the local move to or from the rail/port. Long-haul intermodal is the rail leg in the middle. Big Rig handles both ends of the move and coordinates the rail booking when needed.

No — Big Rig Hauling is a CBSA-bonded carrier, not a licensed customs broker. We work alongside your broker (or recommend one) and handle every trucking-side requirement: eManifest filing, PARS/PAPS labels, in-bond movements, and CBSA reporting.

ACI (Advance Commercial Information) is Canada's mandatory pre-arrival manifest filing with CBSA; ACE is the US equivalent with CBP. Both must be filed and accepted before a truck can present at the border. We file both in-house at no extra charge.

PARS (Pre-Arrival Review System) is the Canadian pre-clearance number on import shipments; PAPS (Pre-Arrival Processing System) is the US version. The number links the customs paperwork to the physical trailer at the border — we attach the labels before departure.

Yes. Our bonded authority lets us move freight that has not yet cleared customs — from the border to an inland sufferance warehouse, between bonded warehouses, or from a Canadian port to a US-bound export point under T1 transit.

Yes. The CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) system changes how duties and taxes are assessed on imports. We coordinate with your broker on the new GCRA/RPP requirements so your shipments aren't held up at the border.

Bonded authority, in-house manifest filing, pre-staged PARS/PAPS labels, real-time wait-time monitoring across the Ambassador, Blue Water, Peace, and Lewiston bridges, and direct CBSA/CBP officer relationships at high-volume crossings.

Our terminals are built around fast-turn cross-dock, short-term staging, and overflow storage — typically days to weeks, not months. For long-term distribution we partner with vetted 3PL warehouses and dispatch the trucking around them.

Cross-docking moves freight from an inbound trailer straight to an outbound trailer with minimal storage in between. It's the fastest way to consolidate LTL freight, transload containers, or split a full truckload across multiple delivery routes.

Yes. Container devanning, palletizing, and re-shrink-wrapping is a standard service at our Brampton and Milton terminals — typically 2–4 hours for a 40-foot HC ocean container.

Yes, for small-scale operations and trade-show kits. For high-volume e-commerce fulfillment we'll honestly point you to a dedicated 3PL — that's not our core.

Yes. Inbound and stored freight is covered under our cargo and warehouse legal liability policies. Declared-value coverage is available on request for high-value loads.

If your inbound truck arrives before 11 AM with the outbound paperwork ready, we'll commit to a same-day outbound departure. Later arrivals roll out next-morning at first dispatch.

White-glove delivery is a premium freight service where the driver doesn't just drop at the dock — they bring the freight inside, place it where the consignee wants it, remove all packaging, and capture a signed and photographed proof of delivery.

Yes. For heavy or oversized items — desks, exam tables, server racks, fixtures — we dispatch two-person teams with floor protection, hand trucks, and lifting straps so nothing gets damaged on the way in.

Light assembly (attaching feet, plugging in, securing wall fixtures) is included. Specialized installation that requires a licensed technician — electrical, plumbing, calibration — we coordinate with your installer, but we don't perform it ourselves.

Yes. Two-hour delivery windows are standard for white-glove jobs, and we'll call ahead 30 minutes before arrival. Tighter 1-hour windows are available for an additional fee.

White-glove pricing depends on stop count, lift requirements, and dwell time. Expect roughly 2x a standard LTL drop for the equivalent freight, in exchange for a customer experience that protects your brand.

Office furniture dealers, medical equipment distributors, high-end retail brands, hotel FF&E suppliers, and trade-show exhibitors — anyone whose customer experience starts the moment the freight arrives.

Last-mile is the final delivery leg from a distribution centre or cross-dock to the end consignee — store, jobsite, office, or residence. It's typically multi-stop, time-sensitive, and the most visible part of the customer experience.

A third-party logistics provider manages some or all of a shipper's transportation function — carrier selection, dispatching, tracking, billing — so the shipper can focus on their core business. Big Rig delivers asset-based 3PL with our own trucks, not just brokerage.

Yes. We dedicate trucks, drivers, and dispatch capacity to a single shipper on contract — guaranteed capacity, locked-in rates, optional branded wraps. Typical commitments start at five trucks per week.

Yes. We support EDI 204/214/210, REST APIs for tender and status, and direct integrations with major TMS platforms. Smaller shippers can use our web portal with no IT lift.

Exceptions (refused, damaged, address change) trigger an instant alert to our dispatch team and a documented update to you — usually inside 15 minutes. We resolve at the dock when we can, escalate to you when we can't.

Yes. Our three-terminal network and long-standing owner-operator network let us add capacity for Q4 retail surges, construction season, and ad-hoc projects without bumping our committed customers.