Best Load Boards For Step Deck Trailers [10 Free and Paid Options]

If you haul freight with a step deck trailer and are looking for some great load boards, you are in the right place.

In this article, I am going to discuss 10 load boards you can explore that either cater specifically to loads for step deck trailers or are general load boards that include a decent offering of loads suitable for step deck operators.

Either way, you will be able to check out some great loads boards that will offer you more loads for your step deck trailer business (and thus help you make more money in the process). I will cover both paid and free options, so I think you will find the information here helpful regardless of your budget.

Related Reading: If you want to learn more about step deck trailers, including key information and features relating to this type of trailer, check out my detailed article on the topic here.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get into it!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and complete a transaction, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

The information contained in this post is for informational purposes only.  It is not a recommendation to buy or invest, and it is not financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.  You should seek the advice of a qualified professional before making any investment or other decisions relating to the topics covered by this article.

Paid Load Boards For Step Deck Operators

1. DAT

Best load boards for step deck trailers image of semi truck hauling load with step deck trailer

When it comes to load boards, DAT is a clear market leader, with approximately 1.37 million loads posted daily (including tons of loads that are suitable for step deck trailers). To filter for these types of loads, you select “SD” under “Truck Type.” SD stands for, you guessed it, Step Deck.

Due to their immense size and scope, DAT can offer leading edge tech and info, including unlimited searching, instant alarm match notifications, broker credit scores, days to pay, market rates, mileage routing and much more.

Despite their dominant place in the market, I think their pricing is reasonable and it’s actually in line with other premium paid load boards. As of this writing, DAT offers the following plans:

  • DAT TruckersEdge: Standard ($45/month) – includes unlimited truck posts and load searches, load match alarms, month to month billing, mileage and routing features, broker credit data and load counts by state.
  • DAT TruckersEdge: Enhanced ($85/month) – includes all standard features plus the ability to call and search for loads (for when you are on the road), and average rates for lanes you are searching (30 day).
  • DAT TruckersEdge: Professional ($135/month) – includes all Enhanced features plus average rates for past 15 days, access to Tri-Haul (which suggests higher paying routes with triangular route suggestions), DAT Assurance (which helps you collect past due accounts), and North American database (which includes Canadian loads)

There are higher tier plans available for companies with multiple trucks (Power Select Carrier) and multiple dispatchers (Power Office Carrier).

Not only can you find regular Step Deck loads on DAT, they also offer loads for many of the common variants of step deck trailers, including Lowboys (LB), Removable Goosenecks (RG), Double Drops (DD) and more.

I think it says a lot that their load board can support that many subcategories and options. I don’t think you would bother to offer that many subcategories if you didn’t have a reasonable number of loads under each one.

I have an affiliate relationship with DAT and secured a deal where if you use my link, you can get a free 30 day trial for any of their plans. So, you get to try out this industry-leading load board for a full month for free. I would note that this deal is only for new subscribers. Moreover, you have no long-term commitments, so you can cancel your subscription at any time.

Simply click on the banner below to take advantage of this no-risk offer.

2. Truck Stop

Truck Stop also has a robust load board that caters to step deck loads.

As with DAT, Truck Stop offer three options, with the cheapest subscription coming in at $39/month. The more expensive options are $125 and $149 per month, but you get access to more features, such as broker credit and days to pay information.

To learn more about Truck Stop’s step deck load board, check out their website here.

3. 123 Load Board

A third paid option that is fairly well known is 123 Load Board. Like with DAT, just type “SD” to sort for step deck loads.

Their pricing is as follows:

  • Standard Plan: $35 (includes access to load board, real time load alerts, website and mobile access)
  • Premium Plan: $45 (includes everything that the standard plan includes, plus mileage and maps and document capturing and storage)
  • Premium Plus: $55 (includes everything that the premium plan includes, plus enhanced mileage and maps & tolls, industry freight rates, etc.)

They offer a 10 day trial for all of their plans, so you can try them out without risk and see if their platform works for you.

4. Fr8Star

Another fine paid load board for step deck loads is Fr8Star. According to FR8Star’s website, they make it easy to find oversize, overweight, and specialized loads that match your expertise as a carrier. They boast of access to thousands of heavy haul loads.

If you are a carrier, you can subscribe to their load board for a relatively low price of $25 per month. If you want to learn more about their load board, check them out here.

5. Stepdeckcarriers.com

Another paid load board that specializes in step deck loads is stepdeckcarriers.com. They offer a basic subscription for carriers that starts at $19.95 per month, but their premium offering is $24.95 per month. The basic option is probably fine if you are interested in just checking them out.

On that point, I really like that they offer a 7 day free trial, so you can check out their offerings and get a decent sense of how good they are without a lot of risk.

If you want to check them out, here’s their website.

Free Load Boards For Step Deck Operators

6. Trucker Path

Trucker Path is a popular free option to get step deck loads.

Using their load board is simple. Just go on their website and search for loads (remember to check Stepdeck (SD) under the “Trailer Type” drop down menu). You get a limited number of searches per day, but can upgrade your account to a paid account and get more robust features, as well as access to the best loads.

Most of these loads needed an upgraded paid subscription for you to unlock them, so I think you should be prepared for that.

If you want to check them out, here is the link to their website.

7. Flatloads.com

An interesting (and from what I can tell, free) load board for step deck loads is flatloads.com. According to their website, they are a community of flatbed truckers and shippers, so their load board seems on point.

As of the date of this article, they claim that there are over 4,052 flatbed, B-Train, Step Deck, Gooseneck, Double Drop and Low Boy loads available. You will need to sign up, but, but as I said, it looks like it’s a free service.

If you want to learn more, check them out here.

8. Shiply

Shiply is another free load board that you can use to find step deck loads.

You won’t be charged any fees to access their load board, but they will take a fee when you actually book a load. This is actually a really nice structure because you don’t pay anything unless you actually book a load and make some money.

They are a general load board so they offer a wide variety of loads, but their website specifically mentions heavy equipment transport loads, including step deck loads, so they are definitely catering to operators like you.

9. Uship

Another free load board you can explore for step deck loads is Uship. They have a similar pricing model where you only pay when you secure the transport work.

Like Shiply, they are clearly catering to step deck operators and make specific reference to step deck loads on their website.. Of course, they also offer loads for lowboys and other similar types of trailers well.

10. Direct Freight

Direct Freight is a well-known load board, which offers a permanent free option. You will not get access to their premium loads, but if you are looking to save some money, this can be a platform you can add to your arsenal.

Their interface was easy to use. I just clicked “Find Loads” at the top bar and chose “SD Stepdeck/Single Drop” for the “Trailer Type”. Voila – it pulled up a bunch of matching loads.

Of course, if you want to get access to a larger selection of loads, you will need to sign up for their paid subscription, which is $34.95 per month. However, when I checked their website at the time of writing, they were offering a 15 day free trial. Go to this page and click on “Create Free Account” to see more details.

Conclusion

So there you have it – 10 great load boards for step deck operators, with both paid and free options for you to explore.