Last Updated April 24, 2025
When it comes to making a career in truck driving, it’s important to first understand all of the different types of truck freight, trucking jobs, and the type of loads that these trucks haul.
With so many different types of freight on the roads, there needs to be different types of trucks to safely and efficiently transport those goods.
For experienced freight and logistics professionals, this might be obvious. But if you’re considering entering the industry or brand-new to trucking, learning about different types of truck freight and the loads you might be hauling will be really important for your future success. You might even find a specific type that feels like a good match to focus on hauling as you begin your career as a driver or even owner-operator. Therefore, continue reading to find out everything you need to know about truck freight.
What Are the Different Types of Truck Freight?
Whether you’re planning on starting your own trucking company or working for a larger company, understanding the different types of CDL jobs and trucking loads that are available is an important first step. Finding the types of truck driving jobs that match your preferences is key to a career that you’ll enjoy in the long run.
Dry Van
Dry van loads are the most common type of semi-truck load. These shipments use a standard, enclosed box trailer that is not temperature-controlled. Dry van loads are used to transport non-perishable goods over long distances. While the trailer doesn’t provide temperature control, it does protect the cargo from other weather hazards, as well as dust and theft.
Dry vans can carry freight of up to 45,000 pounds and are considered a very cost-effective shipping solution for household goods, electronics, clothing, building materials, and more. They may be used for both short-distance and long-distance shipments.
Flatbed
Flatbed loads involve transporting goods on an open trailer that doesn’t have sides or a roof. Flatbed truck loads are often used for heavy or oversized items that can’t easily fit in a standard dry van, including construction equipment, lumber, and machinery. Flatbeds are often loaded and unloaded with special equipment like cranes or forklifts.
Driving a flatbed load is a bit more physically involved, though, because the driver needs to ensure the load is properly secured. Chains, straps, binders, trip blocks, and extra dunnage may all be used to keep the load from moving around on the trailer. Depending on what is being transported, the driver may also need to cover the load with a steel tarp.
Tanker
Tanker hauling uses specialized trucks with cylindrical tanks. These are mainly used for transporting liquids or gasses, though some tanker trucks are used for dry bulk materials. Additional training is usually required to haul hazardous materials such as gasoline, which also results in higher pay for the truck driver. Materials are loaded and unloaded with large specialty hoses.
Tanker hauling usually sticks to local and regional routes rather than national routes. Most companies looking for tanker truck drivers require clean records and more experience due to the hazardous materials they are often required to carry. However, this also translates to higher pay.
Heavy Equipment Hauler (Oversized Load)
Heavy equipment haulers handle oversized loads that exceed the standard legal limits for weight, height, length, or width. Aside from standard flatbed trailers, specialty equipment like a lowboy or step deck trailer may be required to transport the load. Loads could include construction or agricultural equipment, industrial machinery, or even prefabricated buildings.
Transporters must obtain special permits and conduct intensive route planning to account for potential hazards like overhead obstructions or travel time limitations. Escort vehicles may also be required for extremely large loads. Because of their logistical complexity, heavy equipment haulers tend to focus on local or regional transportation.
Reefer
Reefer or refrigerated trailers have built-in refrigeration units to safely transport perishable goods like food and pharmaceuticals. The combination of a refrigeration unit and full insulation helps maintain a consistent interior temperature throughout the trip. Temperature-sensitive electronics or hazardous materials are sometimes also transported this way.
Carriers need to understand the product requirements for each load to ensure everything is loaded, transported, and delivered safely. It’s also worth noting that reefer carriers have much higher demand during produce season.
Hotshot
Hotshot trucking is unique in that it doesn’t require you to drive a semi-truck. Hotshot trucking is used for small, time-sensitive loads that can be handled by a medium-duty pickup truck and a flatbed trailer. Hotshot trucking is designed to provide quick deliveries of equipment and materials for construction and manufacturing sites when time is the top priority.
Hotshot drivers work almost exclusively as independent contractors, allowing them to choose their own loads and schedules on load boards. Since hotshot drivers use pickup trucks instead of semi-trucks, startup costs are less expensive. However, job availability can vary.
Long-Haul (OTR Trucking)
Long-haul, or over-the-road (OTR), drivers are one of the best-known types of truck drivers. These truckers transport goods over lengthy geographic distances (usually crossing several states). As a result, they are often away from home for several days or even weeks at a time. OTR trucking tends to have higher earning potential than local hauls, but it requires longer hours on the road.
Box Trucks
Box trucks and box vans have a cube-shaped cargo area that is attached to the cab chassis rather than using a separate trailer. Box trucks are typically used for local deliveries or small moving services. Most box truck drivers work in their local area, making deliveries to individual businesses and households. Because these trucks are smaller and easier to drive, not all box trucks require a commercial driver’s license (depending on the GVWR of the vehicle).
Grain Hauler
A grain hauler, also known as a hopper bottom trailer, is hauled by a semi-truck. It is designed specifically for hauling grain, seeds, and other bulk commodities from farms to processing plants or storage facilities. Typical pay for grain haulers varies—some are paid per load while others are paid hourly.
Logistically, it helps if a trucker is familiar with using farm equipment to load and unload the grain hauler. It’s also important to remember that this work tends to be more seasonal, with peak demand during harvest season.
Intermodal
Intermodal trucking (or drayage) involves using a semi-truck to transport freight to and from rail stations or seaports. These shipments use standardized shipping containers that can be easily transported between locations, meaning the truckers generally don’t need to handle the cargo themselves. With less manual labor and consistent schedules, many intermodal truckers enjoy smoother scheduling and find it easier to spend time at home.
Auto Hauler
Car hauling entails transporting vehicles across the country, either as part of a household move, shipping a car from a seller to a buyer, or allocating dealership inventory. Auto haulers may transport several vehicles on an open trailer or transport a specialty vehicle inside an enclosed trailer that offers more protection. This long-distance transportation often involves extended cross-country trips.
Bull Hauler
A bull hauler transports cattle and other livestock to markets, slaughterhouses, or rodeos. Bull haulers use specialty trailers that are designed to safely transport livestock over long distances, with ramps for loading and unloading.
Because transportation can be stressful for animals, bull haulers tend to work local or regional routes. Of course, to work as a bull hauler, you’ll need to live close to a feedlot or other agricultural facility. You’ll also need to be comfortable getting livestock into the trailer.
Hazmat
Hazmat trucking is one of the most lucrative types of trucking jobs available. Truckers must undergo specialized training to obtain a hazmat certification and safety permit, and they have to pass a background check to transport hazardous materials. Because hazmat shipments could include chemicals, flammable liquids, and even radioactive materials, drivers must ensure they’re following the strict regulations for handling and transporting these items.
Hazmat drivers tend to be in high demand, resulting in higher pay and consistent work (including potential government contracts) for owner-operators.
Dump Trucks
Dump trucks are mostly used in local construction, mining, and waste removal jobs to transport materials like sand, rocks, construction waste, and other loose materials. Materials are usually loaded into the open-box bed by other machinery, and the bed can be lifted to dump out the contents at its destination.
Driving a dump truck is one of the lower-paying trucking jobs, but it allows drivers to work closer to home with standard hours and (mostly) stable pay. In some areas, work may be seasonal due to weather restrictions for construction, landscaping, or other activities.
Less-Than-Truckload
Less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping combines goods from multiple shippers onto a single semi-trailer. Shipments may be picked up at different locations and transported to a central terminal, or an LTL driver might deliver to multiple drop-off locations on their route.
These types of truckers tend to have shorter, regional routes with more consistent scheduling. They often have a predictable route with the same customers and locations, which can make it easier to maintain a good work-life balance. However, working with multiple stops may require more direct interaction with customers, as well as more involvement with loading and unloading shipments.
In-Summary: Different Types of Truck Loads
Since there are so many different types of trucking companies, those who are interested in starting their own trucking business have a lot to consider before moving forward. Figuring out what the best type of trucking business to start might be, or what type of trucking business you should work for if you just plan to be a driver, can be difficult.
Know that there isn’t necessarily a one-size-fits-all answer. There are pros and cons to working in all of these listed niche industries. But now that you know the different types of loads and equipment in trucking, you can identify which best matches your lifestyle and preferences.
Michael McCareins is the Content Marketing Associate at altLINE, where he is dedicated to creating and managing optimal content for readers. Following a brief career in media relations, Michael has discovered a passion for content marketing through developing unique, informative content to help audiences better understand ideas and topics such as invoice factoring and A/R financing.
