Delivery, site access and unloading
Everything here ships on a flatbed. What follows is what the truck needs, who does the lifting, and why the freight is a separate line on your quote instead of buried in the unit price.
How freight is priced
A 48 ft to 53 ft flatbed legally carries around 46,800 lb. That is 13 full blocks or 26 halves. The truck costs what it costs whether it leaves loaded to the pound or half empty, so the freight on your quote is priced per truck to your ZIP, not per block.
Three things move it: distance, how many trucks your count needs, and whether your site takes a standard trailer or something with a moffett or a crane. Tell us about access on the quote form and the number you get is the number you pay.
Splitting an order across two partial loads is almost always worse value than waiting a day for one full one. The desk will say so when it applies.
Site access checklist
- A straight approach the truck can line up on, without a blind turn at the gate
- Firm ground. A loaded flatbed sinks in mud and soft fill, and a stuck truck is a second delivery
- Room to turn a 48 ft to 53 ft trailer, or a route through that does not need one
- Overhead clear of wires and branches on the approach and at the drop
- A machine rated for the weight at the reach you need, or placement added to the quote
- A name and a mobile number for whoever is on site when the driver calls
Print this and hand it to whoever is running the site the morning of delivery.
How many blocks, and how many trucks
Enter the line you need to hold. The count, the halves for your corners and the truck estimate come back, and the quote form opens with all of it filled in.
- Full blocks
- 46
- Half blocks, one per corner
- 4
- Trucks, estimated
- 4
- Weight on the line
- 172,800 lb
Estimate only. Truck count assumes about 46,800 lb of payload per flatbed. Freight is quoted to your ZIP.
Who unloads
You do, or we do, and the quote says which. The driver stays with the truck: a flatbed driver is not insured to run your forklift and will not touch the load.
To unload full blocks you need a machine rated for 3,600 lb at the reach you actually need, which is not the same as its rating at the mast. Half blocks at 1,800 lb open the job up to smaller machines and are worth considering if your equipment is marginal.
No machine on site? Add placement to the quote. We bring one, set the run where you mark it, and leave.
What actually delays a delivery
Nobody on site
The driver calls ahead. If nobody answers, the load goes back on the truck and you pay for the trip.
Soft ground
Mud after rain is the most common reason a delivery becomes two deliveries.
Wrong machine
A forklift rated at the mast and not at reach cannot take a 3,600 lb block off a deck.
Dated jobs booked late
Event and closure dates fill up. Two weeks out is comfortable; two days out is a phone call, not a form.
Desk hours are 8am to 5pm CT, Monday to Friday. Anything you tell us about access before the truck is dispatched costs nothing. Anything we find out at your gate costs a day.
Delivery questions
- Why is the freight quoted separately?
- A flatbed carries about 46,800 lb, which is 13 full blocks. The truck costs the same whether it is full or half empty, so the honest way to price it is product plus freight, not a blended number that punishes small orders and hides large ones.
- How many blocks fit on a truck?
- 13 full blocks, or 26 half blocks, which is about 46,800 lb on a 48 ft to 53 ft flatbed. Mixed loads are packed by weight, not by count.
- What does the truck need at my site?
- A straight approach, firm ground, and room to turn a 48 ft to 53 ft flatbed. Curbside drops are fine. Soft ground, tight gates and low wires are what turn a delivery into a second trip, so tell us about them on the quote form.
- Who unloads the truck?
- You do. The driver does not unload. You need a forklift or telehandler rated for the weight at the reach you need, or you add placement to the quote and we bring the machine.
Tell us the job. We send a number.
Product, count, delivery ZIP and the date you need it. The desk prices it and emails an itemized quote, freight included, within the hour during desk hours.