Permit desk · oversize, overweight & escorts
Heavy Haul Trucking.
Permitted, escorted, legal in every province.
Oversize and overweight freight that still moves on a trailer — step deck, double drop, RGN and multi-axle — with the permits, pilot cars and route survey handled before the truck rolls.
2.6 m before a permit
Legal width
3–15 business days
Permit lead time
Step deck to 9-axle
Equipment
All provinces + 48 states
Coverage
Overview
Past 2.6 metres, the trailer is the easy part.
Standard legal width across Canada is 2.6 m, with height at 4.15 m and a typical highway combination at 23 m — the numbers come from the interprovincial Memorandum of Understanding every province builds its rules on. Cross any one of them and the move stops being a trucking problem and becomes a permitting one. Each province runs its own portal, its own escort thresholds and its own curfews, and they do not agree with each other. Ontario bans oversize movement through the GTA at rush hour and closes summer Sundays from noon; Alberta pulls weight allowances the moment frost probes read 25 cm of thaw; Québec issues seven separate permit classes and sends anything above Class 5 for engineering review. We file the permits, book the pilot cars, and build the route around the restrictions rather than discovering them at a bridge.
One permit chain, every province and state the load crosses.
How it works
From quote to POD, step by step.
1
Dimensions and weight, verified
Exact width, height, length and gross weight, plus centre of gravity and lift or tie-down points. Every downstream decision — trailer, permit class, escorts, route — is derived from these five numbers, so we confirm them against a drawing or a scale ticket rather than an estimate.
2
Equipment selected against legal height
Deck height is chosen so cargo height plus deck height stays under the provincial ceiling wherever it can. Dropping from a flatbed to a double drop buys roughly a metre of cargo height and can be the difference between a routine permit and an escorted move.
3
Route survey
Bridge ratings, overhead clearances, turn radii and pinch points along the whole corridor. Utility clearances are checked where height demands it. The survey is what turns a permit application into an approvable one.
4
Permits filed, escorts booked
Single-trip or annual permits with the issuing authority in every province and state the load crosses, and pilot cars booked against that province's own thresholds. Single-trip permits in Ontario need a minimum of three business days; annual and enhanced annual permits run 10 to 15.
5
Move day, inside the curfews
Departure timed around rush-hour bans, weekend and holiday restrictions and daylight-only rules. Pilot cars run the specified distance ahead and behind, and the driver carries the permit, the approved route and the escort plan.
Equipment & specifications
Pick the right trailer for the job.
Equipment
Flatbed
Deck about 1.5 m. Carries cargo up to roughly 2.6 m tall inside the 4.15 m legal ceiling. Fastest to load and secure; no well, no ramps.
Equipment
Step deck (drop deck)
Upper deck about 1.07–1.14 m. Buys roughly 3.05 m of legal cargo height. The usual answer for construction and agricultural equipment that is tall but not extreme.
Equipment
Double drop
Well floor about 0.46–0.61 m. Carries roughly 3.5–3.65 m of cargo height legally. Used when the load is tall enough that a step deck would need an overheight permit.
Equipment
RGN / lowboy
Removable gooseneck detaches so the trailer becomes a ramp. Well floor about 0.46–0.61 m. For heavy, tall, driveable machines — excavators, dozers, graders.
Equipment
Multi-axle and modular
Extra axle lines spread gross weight so each axle group stays inside its legal allowance. Chosen for weight, not height.
Pricing
What drives the rate?
Transparent inputs, not mystery margins. Here’s exactly what goes into a heavy haul quote.
Get my ratePermit class and count
One permit per jurisdiction crossed. Single-trip permits are cheapest per move but must be filed each time; annual permits amortise across repeat lanes. Superload permits carry the highest fee and the longest review.
Escort requirement
The single largest swing. Ontario adds one private escort from 4 m wide and a certified superload escort at 5 m; BC can require three pilot cars on two-lane highways at 5 m. Each vehicle is a day rate plus mileage.
Curfews and daylight rules
Rush-hour bans, summer Sunday closures and daylight-only restrictions stretch transit. A move that would run in a day legally takes three, and the tractor is paid for all three.
Spring thaw
Reduced load periods cut allowable weight on affected roads and can invalidate an annual overweight permit outright. Moves that straddle the thaw window are re-routed, re-engineered onto more axles, or waited out.
Route difficulty
A survey that finds a low bridge or a tight interchange adds detour kilometres. Where no legal route exists at the load's dimensions, the piece is split or the move escalates to engineered project cargo.
Equipment class
Step deck to double drop to RGN to multi-axle is an ascending cost ladder. Choosing the lowest deck that keeps the load legal is usually cheaper than permitting a taller load on a simpler trailer.
Route survey and engineering
Anything approaching superload dimensions needs a physical survey of the route and, where a bridge is in question, a structural review. Survey time, engineering hours and any utility line lift are billed through at cost and quoted before the move is confirmed.
Trailer availability and repositioning
RGNs, double drops and multi-axle configurations are a small national fleet. If the nearest suitable trailer is three hundred kilometres away, that repositioning is real cost. Longer notice widens the pool and lowers the number.
Declared cargo value
Where the value of the machine exceeds standard motor truck cargo limits, excess cover is arranged for the specific move and the premium appears on the quote. Telling us the value at quote stage is cheaper than raising a limit at pickup.
Rigging and crane at either end
Loads that cannot be driven onto the deck need a crane or picker at origin, destination or both. Crane time is priced by the hour with a minimum, so a delayed arrival window costs more than the transit itself.
Compare
Heavy haul or project logistics?
| Factor | Heavy haul | Project logistics |
|---|---|---|
| Typical gross weight | Above legal, under about 120,000 kg | Above 120,000 kg, into the hundreds of tonnes |
| What moves it | Step deck, double drop, RGN, multi-axle | Hydraulic modular trailers, SPMTs, heavy-lift vessels |
| Approval | Permit filed against published thresholds | Engineering review, bridge analysis, project justification |
| Lift | Drives or rolls on, or a standard crane | Engineered lift plan, sometimes purpose-built rigging |
| Lead time | Days | Weeks to months |
| Shape | Oversize but still trailer-borne | Out-of-gauge, breakbulk, cannot be containerised |
Industries we serve with this
Verticals where heavy haul is the right call.
Frequently asked
Heavy Haul questions, answered.
When does a load legally become oversize in Canada?
Standard legal limits under the interprovincial Memorandum of Understanding are 2.6 m wide and 4.15 m high, with a typical tractor-semitrailer combination at 23 m. Ontario, Alberta, BC and Québec all publish 2.6 m and 4.15 m as their baseline. Exceed any single dimension and you need an oversize permit from every jurisdiction the load crosses. Weight is separate: 63,500 kg is the standard gross ceiling in Ontario and BC, above which an overweight permit applies.
How do I get an oversize permit in Ontario, and how long does it take?
Ontario permits are issued by the Ministry of Transportation through the PRIO portal. A single-trip permit needs a minimum of three business days and covers up to seven days of travel; annual and enhanced annual permits take 10 to 15 business days. An annual permit covers up to 63,500 kg and 3.85 m wide on multi-lane highways; the enhanced annual goes to 78,000 kg and 32 m long. A single-trip permit can reach 120,000 kg, 5 m wide and 45.75 m long.
At what width do I need a pilot vehicle?
It differs by province, which is why cross-provincial moves get expensive. In Ontario no escort is needed up to 3.99 m wide; one private escort applies from 4 m on multi-lane highways, two on two-lane highways from 4.6 m, and a certified superload escort at 5 m or wider. Alberta requires one pilot vehicle above 3.85 m on two-lane highways and a pilot plus trail vehicle above 4.45 m. British Columbia can require three pilot cars at 5 m on two-lane highways, and two on multi-lane.
What counts as a superload?
Ontario defines it as 120,000 kg or more, 5 m or wider, or 45.75 m or longer — any of which triggers an engineer-reviewed bridge evaluation, and beyond 6 m wide or 120,000 kg also requires project justification documentation. British Columbia uses the term extraordinary load instead, triggered above 64,000 kg on non-approved routes, 85,000 kg outright, 4.4 m wide, 4.88 m high or 40 m long. Québec sends anything past its Class 5 weight limits to Class 6, which requires a ministry engineering assessment.
Can an oversize load travel at night or on weekends?
Usually not, and the restrictions are where schedules break. Ontario bans oversize movement through the GTA between 7:00 and 9:30 inbound and 15:30 and 18:30 outbound, closes summer Sundays from noon to midnight between June and August in the south, and restricts Friday afternoons from 15:00. Québec applies rush-hour curfews around Montréal and Québec City and a general prohibition on Sundays and holidays. Alberta restricts loads over 5.3 m high to daylight only unless the permit says otherwise.
What is the spring thaw restriction and will it affect my move?
Reduced load periods cut allowable axle weights while roadbeds are soft. Ontario runs its Reduced Load Period from March through April in the south and March through May in the north, and an annual or project permit is not valid for overweight movement during that window. Alberta triggers restrictions once frost probes read 25 cm of thaw depth, monitored across roughly 70 stations, with bans typically lifting around mid-June. If your move falls in that window, it is re-routed, re-engineered onto more axle lines, or scheduled around it.
Which trailer do I need?
Work height first, then weight. A flatbed carries roughly 2.6 m of cargo height inside the 4.15 m ceiling; a step deck buys about 3.05 m; a double drop or RGN gets you to roughly 3.5–3.65 m. If the load is driveable, an RGN's detachable gooseneck becomes the ramp and you avoid a crane. Once height is solved, check gross weight against axle-group limits — a single axle is capped near 9,100 kg, a tandem near 17,000 kg and a tridem between 21,000 and 24,000 kg — and add axle lines rather than deck height if the load is heavy rather than tall.
Do you handle permits for cross-border oversize moves?
Yes. A load moving from Ontario into the US needs a permit from every state it crosses as well as the Canadian provinces, filed against each jurisdiction's own thresholds, plus customs clearance on the commercial side. We file the permit chain and align it with the customs entry so the truck is not sitting at the border holding a permit that expires while it waits.
How do oversize permits work in Quebec?
Quebec permits are issued by the Ministere des Transports through the SAAQ special permit system, and the rules differ from Ontario in ways that catch carriers out. Quebec sets its own legal envelope, applies its own seasonal load restrictions, and requires French-language oversize signage on the escort and the load. Permit conditions frequently specify exact routes rather than leaving the routing to the carrier, so a route that works in Ontario may be refused at the Quebec line. We file the Quebec leg separately and reconcile the two permits so the curfew windows overlap, otherwise the load sits at the provincial boundary waiting for a legal travel hour.
How do permits work in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba?
The three prairie provinces run their own permit offices and each has its own dimension bands and fee schedule. Alberta issues single-trip and annual permits through its transport routing and vehicle information system and is generally the most permissive on width for a highway move, which is why so much oilfield and modular equipment moves west. Saskatchewan and Manitoba both apply seasonal weight restrictions that bite hard in March and April. A Toronto to Edmonton oversize move touches Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which is four permits, four sets of curfews and four escort rules on one load. We file all four and build the schedule around the tightest of them.
What is the difference between a divisible and a non-divisible load?
A non-divisible load is one that cannot be broken into smaller pieces without destroying its value or its function, or without more than eight hours of work. A transformer, a bridge girder, an excavator and a pressure vessel are non-divisible. A trailer stacked with pallets is divisible. The distinction matters because oversize and overweight permits are issued for non-divisible loads only. If your freight can legally be split across two trucks, permit offices will expect you to split it, and a permit application on a divisible load is normally refused. If you are unsure which side of the line your freight falls on, send us dimensions and a photo and we will tell you before you pay for anything.
How much does an oversize permit cost?
Single-trip permit fees in Canada typically run from about thirty dollars to a few hundred dollars per jurisdiction depending on the dimension band, with superload permits and engineering reviews costing considerably more. The permit fee itself is rarely the expensive part. Escorts, curfew-driven extra transit days, route survey work and any bridge analysis usually dwarf the permit line. That is why we quote the whole move as one number rather than a rate plus surprises: you see the permit chain, the escort count and the transit days before you commit. Fees change by province and by year, so we confirm current rates at quote time rather than working from a stored table.
Can you ship an excavator, dozer or other heavy equipment?
Yes, and it is one of the most common heavy haul moves we handle. Tracked equipment normally rides on a step deck or a double drop depending on machine height, with a removable gooseneck used when the machine can be driven on rather than craned. Before we quote we need operating weight, transport width with the bucket or blade removed, transport height, and whether the tracks or tyres can be walked onto the deck. Attachments usually travel separately or are removed to bring the load under a lower permit band, which frequently saves more than the cost of removing them. Fluids, batteries and articulation locks are addressed in the securement plan.
Do you move transformers, generators and other industrial equipment?
Yes. Transformers, gensets, pressure vessels, tanks, presses and process skids are standard heavy haul freight. What changes with this category is that the centre of gravity and the lifting points matter as much as the outside dimensions. We ask for a general arrangement drawing or at minimum the weight, the dimensions and the marked lift points, because the rigging plan at both ends drives the trailer selection. Loads over roughly forty thousand kilograms usually move on a multi-axle or modular trailer with the weight spread across enough axles to satisfy the bridge and axle limits on the route rather than just the gross limit.
How do you handle long loads like steel beams and bridge girders?
Long loads are a length permit problem rather than a weight problem. Beams, girders, poles, piling and tower sections normally move on a flatbed or a stretch trailer with the rear overhang flagged, and past a certain length the permit requires a steerable dolly or a jeep so the combination can track through intersections. Rear overhang beyond the legal allowance needs a red flag by day and a light by night. On very long sections a route survey is not optional, because turning radius at intersections and roundabouts, not the highway itself, is what stops the move. We survey the tight corners before the load is built rather than after it is on the trailer.
What signage, flags and lights does an oversize load need?
At minimum, an oversize load carries a banner reading OVERSIZE LOAD or, in Quebec, the French equivalent, mounted front and rear, with red or fluorescent orange flags at each widest point and at the end of any rear overhang. Wider loads and superloads add amber warning lights on the tractor and the trailer, and escort vehicles carry their own signage, lights and in some jurisdictions a height pole. The exact requirement is written into the permit and varies by province and state, which is one more reason to run the load under a filed permit rather than on assumptions. We supply the signage as part of the move; you do not need to source it.
How is a heavy haul shipment insured?
Standard motor truck cargo limits are written for general freight and are frequently well below the replacement value of a single piece of production equipment. Before we dispatch we confirm the declared value of the machine and check it against the carrier cargo limit on file, and where the value exceeds that limit we arrange excess cargo cover for the specific move. It is worth telling us the value at quote stage rather than at pickup, because raising a limit takes hours, not minutes. Contingent cargo cover behind the carrier policy and the carrier liability position are both documented on the file so you know exactly what sits behind the load.
How far in advance should a heavy haul move be booked?
For a routine oversize move inside one province, three to five business days is usually enough to file the permit, confirm the trailer and book any escort. Multi-jurisdiction moves need one to two weeks. Superloads, anything needing a bridge analysis, and moves requiring utility line lifts or police escorts need three to six weeks, because the review sits with the permit office and cannot be accelerated by paying more. Booking earlier also widens the trailer pool: specialised equipment such as RGNs and multi-axle configurations is a small fleet nationally, and late notice on that equipment costs more than late notice on a dry van ever will.
What is the legal height for a truck in Canada and the United States?
Canada generally allows 4.15 metres, about thirteen feet seven inches, on most highways, while the common legal limit across the United States is thirteen feet six inches, with some states allowing fourteen. That difference of an inch or two is exactly why the trailer decision on a cross-border move is made against the lower of the two limits rather than the Canadian one. A load that clears legally in Ontario can need a permit the moment it crosses at Windsor or Fort Erie. Deck heights are the lever: a flatbed deck sits around one and a half metres, a step deck lower, a double drop lower still, and an RGN in the well lowest of all.
How are axle weights and bridge limits calculated?
Gross weight is only half the question. Each jurisdiction sets a limit per axle and per axle group, and a bridge formula that limits how much weight may sit within a given length of the combination. A load can be under the gross limit and still be illegal because too much of that weight sits over one group. The fix is axles: spreading a heavy piece across a multi-axle or modular trailer brings each group under its limit without reducing the payload. We run the axle calculation for every jurisdiction on the route before the load is built, because discovering an axle problem at a scale means unloading, not re-routing.
How is oversize freight secured on the trailer?
Securement follows the North American cargo securement standard, which sets a minimum number of tiedowns by article length and weight and requires an aggregate working load limit of at least half the cargo weight. In practice that means chains and binders rated and marked, edge protection at every contact point, blocking or chocking against forward movement and, for machinery, articulation and swing locks engaged. Tarping is used where the commodity needs weather protection or where debris control is required. The driver inspects securement within the first eighty kilometres and at every subsequent stop, and photographs at load are kept on the file.
Where you ship from
Rates and transit times change by market.
What a lane costs and how long it takes depends on the terminals, ramps and crossings at each end. Pick your market for the local detail.
We run heavy haul out of every market we cover — Mississauga, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax. Tell us the origin and destination and we will price the lane.
You may also need
One file. Multiple services. Same team.
Flatbed
Open-deck capacity for oversize, machinery, building materials and steel — with permits and escorts.
Project Logistics
Specialized services for heavy-lift, breakbulk and out-of-gauge project cargo — engineered move by move.
Canada-US Cross-Border
Daily north- and southbound cross-border with in-house customs filing and bonded carrier network.
Intermodal
Door-to-door rail-and-truck with cost savings on long-haul lanes and lower carbon per mile.
Customs Brokerage
Customs entries filed by licensed brokers on both sides of the border — CBSA and CBP — with classification, duty and CARM handled for you.
Let’s move it
Have a shipment? Get rates in 10 min.
Tell us the origin, destination and mode. A Qeep specialist replies within 10 minutes with live capacity, lane price, and a transit window you can actually plan around.