Providing or hiring specialized transportation can involve many steps, depending on what you're shipping, but the most important step is research. Whether you're shipping tomatoes, frozen chicken, houses or acetone, know the regulations that govern the specialized trucking transport service you'll use to avoid legal hassles and safety issues.

Learn some specialized trucking basics from regulatory agencies and industry leaders, and decide for yourself how much of the shipping logistics you'll handle and how much you'll leave to the pros. Many specialized trucking companies will take care of important details such as:

1. Licensed and highly trained pilot car drivers to travel with oversized trucking loads.

2. Hazardous materials transport drivers with hazmat license endorsements, and trucks with the proper signage and permits.

3. Cold storage or heated trucks for climate-controlled transport of temperature-sensitive loads.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn more about oversized transport for ultra-heavy, tall or wide loads

You'll need oversized transport services if the load you want hauled weighs more than the average tractor-trailer load or boasts dimensions that are longer than the average trailer, or are wider or taller than most tractor-trailer sleeper cabs. Many oversized transport providers call their service 'heavy haul' service. The logistics of moving large machinery, equipment and even houses are intimidating, so do your research and find a dependable company with adequate references to avoid legal liability, massive transportation fines and substantial delays in shipping.

I recommend: Find federal measurements and state permitting requirements for oversized cargo from the Federal Highway Administration. Learn more about heavy-haul trucking services, permits, pilot cars, state laws and police escorts from Wideload Shipping. Explore some heavy-haul flatbed transport options from ShipNorthAmerica Transportation.

Arrange reliable, safe chemical transport by truck

If you need haz-mat transport services, first check with your state's transportation authority to ensure compliance with all state and federal hazardous material trucking regulations. Make sure your load is considered hazmat, then find a specialized transportation service with the appropriate hazmat transport licensing and driver safety training.

I recommend: Find out if your load is considered hazardous materials by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Expand your knowledge of the hazmat specialized transportation service industry with "Transporting Liquids and Chemicals by Truck Basics" from Work.com.

Provide or hire climate-controlled transport for any size load

Many specialized trucking companies provide transport for oversized, hazmat and refrigerated loads. When trucking frozen or refrigerated cargo, the shipper can choose to fill an entire 'reefer' truck, or hire a Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) carrier who combines partial loads with similar temperature needs to reduce shipping costs for shippers and increase revenue for the trucking company. On the flip side, some carriers offer heated load options to protect sensitive loads from extreme environmental cold during shipping. Some companies also offer temperature-controlled warehouse storage for cargo scheduled for a long-haul layover or otherwise delayed shipping.

I recommend: Read an overview of refrigerated trucking basics, including a brief glossary and some points to remember, from Trademark. Learn more about expanded climate-controlled transport services, including cheese aging and custom cargo defrosting, from Northland Cold Storage.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Hire a specialized vehicle transport company to ship construction equipment, tractors, yachts and multiple cars cross-country. Just remember to leave no more than one-quarter tank of gas in any vehicle you'll be shipping by truck; it's the law, both in the U.S. and abroad.

When your company deals with oversized transport issues such as industrial machinery or military machinery, specialized trucking transport rules and regulations come into play. Many oversized transport services are available, but not all offer the same quality of transport.

Specialized truck transportation such as house-moving is a specialty that requires skilled people who are knowledgeable about the terrain of roads they will be using, the width of the roads and traffic congestion. They must know where all bridges are along the route. Often, a worker is required to ride on top of the house moved by this specialized transportation service.

1: Oversized transport needs to have a lead vehicle in front and a follow-up vehicle in the rear. These two vehicles stay in touch with each other and the oversized transport services for any problems along the highway.

2: Specialized trucking transport involves notifying your local law enforcement when moving certain items. You cannot move oversized loads all the time, so you must check to see what time of day or night you can.

3: Chemical transport often requires certain types of packaging or containers. All specialized trucking companies do not handle Haz-mat transport.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get an overview of oversized transport services

Finding out what all a specialized trucking transport service handles and what terms are required to meet the needs of oversized loads will make your decision easier when you choose a trucking transport service.

I recommend: Ask a question by filling out a contact form when you contact TowlesTransport.com. They handle oversized loads and transportation of construction equipment. See a posting of all companies in the specialized trucking transport industry by state.

Specialized trucking transport often involves fragile specialty items

Transporting fragile loads, extra-heavy loads or loads that are oddly shaped requires a specialized truck transportation company equipped to handle unusual loads.

I recommend: Get a free quote from 50 top carriers online in seconds when you enter your information concerning specialized loads. Know the rules and regulations for hazardous materials transport and get email updates when information changes.

Have haz-mat transport issues handled ahead of time

When you must transport hazardous materials, transport them with the proper packaging in order to comply with government rules and regulations.

I recommend: Find the right packaging for haz-mat transport and see updates on Dangerous Goods Addendum link. Get a rate quote or request information on chemical transport and how to protect the environment.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Check with your local government agencies to get information on when and how oversized transport and hazardous materials transport can be done. Not only time of day, but other conditions such as weather and road surface conditions play a part in these kinds of specialized trucking transport.

Specialized trucking companies transport millions of products around the country quickly and cheaply every day and our economy relies on these trucks to get goods where they belong. To make this happen, specialized trucking companies hire drivers with specialized transportation training to move goods from dirt to hazardous materials in everything from dump trucks to triples.

Having a simple commercial driver's license (CDL) will enable you to drive tractor trailers and other types of commercial vehicles, but in order to transport some products (or drive some trucks), you'll need a special license or endorsement on your CDL. Consider the following when looking for specialized trucking transport education and training:

1. Obtain a haz-mat transport endorsement. Many companies require this for all drivers, so it's best to get it out of the way so you'll be able to accept more jobs.

2. Gain experience driving doubles and triples. This type of specialized transportation comes with more risks and extra training is required.

3. Consider getting other types of specialized transportation training. This includes trucks like dump trucks and tankers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Obtain your endorsement for haz-mat transport

Any kind of hazardous materials transport requires a hazmat endorsement. A hazardous material is defined as anything that can cause harm to humans, animals or the environment. Many CDL programs offer the endorsement in conjunction with the CDL license, but if you don't already have it, you can get it through a separate course. You should check to ensure that you don't have a disqualifying felony offense on your record before you sign up for a class.

I recommend: Use the hazardous materials course from TestQuestionsAndAnswers.com to prepare for your hazmat endorsement exam. CDL Digest also offers an affordable study guide and details disqualifying offenses.

Train for oversized trucking to drive doubles and triples

When a driver pulls more than one trailer, it is known as a longer combination vehicle, or LCV. Most drivers just refer to them at 'doubles' and 'triples.' A special endorsement is required for this since there is so much more to worry about when backing, turning and coupling while driving doubles and triples.

I recommend: If you don't already have your CDL, consider the program at Lackawanna College, which offers a doubles/triples endorsement with its CDL training course. Take the free practice tests at Trucker Country to help reinforce the material that will be on your endorsement exam.

Get qualified for other types of specialized trucking transport

There are other types of specialized transport services that may require extra training. For example, driving and operating a dump truck requires knowing about shifting, braking, general operation and backing. There are numerous types of other specialized truck transportation, so if you're interested in one of them, sign up for a training course.

I recommend: Consider enrolling in one of the dump truck driving courses from West Coast Training. Residents in the Midwest might consider taking the tanker truck training class at Clark State Community College. Or you can find a school in your local area using the search feature at JobsInTrucks.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Oversize transport includes both overwidth and overweight vehicles. The regulations for oversized transport services vary from state to state, but most require the driver to have a permit. Although no special training is required for this, the driver should at least have an escort team as well as be familiar with local road closures and construction areas.

The trucking business is a huge industry, and understanding specialized trucking transport key terms helps you communicate with other professionals in the field. It gives you a sense of professionalism, showing that you know what you are talking about in industry terms.

Knowing specialized trucking transport key terms benefits you when it comes to packaging, as well as dealing with national and international trucking transport. It helps you realize options that benefit your company and your clients.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC)

The National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) sets class rates for shipments. No item ships without a specific class rate, and specialized trucking transport organizations must adhere to these standards.

I recommend: NMFTA has a website explaining the National Motor Freight Classification. It offers information on standards, rules and bills of lading.

Zone-skipping

Zone-skipping refers to the practice of consolidating numerous large parcels into one full truckload. Trucks transport the freight across numerous postal zones before delivering the items to a parcel carrier or a post office, which designates a courier that delivers each parcel to a consignee.

I recommend: FedEx offers an explanation of how zone-skipping works in package delivery.

Specialized transportation equipment

Any product requiring special handling in transportation falls under the specialized transportation equipment category.

I recommend: Midwest Specialized Transportation describes types of vehicles used as specialized transportation equipment. Its equipment moves many different types of cargo including heavy equipment and time sensitive printed materials.

Harmonized code

Harmonized code refers to the classification of goods that move through international trade. It uses a single commodity code.

I recommend: Foreign Trade On-Line offers examples of harmonized code used in specialized trucking transport.

Ocean freight

Also called sea cargo, ocean freight is a type of service used to transport products over the ocean or by sea using a vessel like a steamship.

I recommend: The United Parcel Service of America explains how businesses use specialized trucking transport as part of its ocean freight process when transporting parcels overseas.

Transport analysis

A transport analysis studies the characteristics of a product including weight, size and weight distribution. It checks for both external and internal materials and susceptibility to damage. This process determines the best mode of transportation to get a product safely to its destination.

I recommend: The National Transportation Research Center addresses transportation analysis on its website, including research methods and defining expertise.