Up to 26 standard pallets single-stacked (52 if stackable) — Up to 45,000 lbs cargo — 100″ interior width — 110″ interior height — 98″ door opening — The workhorse of U.S. freight

Up to 24 standard pallets — Up to 43,000 lbs cargo — Same interior width and height as the 53′ — Common in regional operations and some LTL applications

80,000 lbs combined gross vehicle weight by federal law — Tractor plus empty trailer weighs roughly 33,000-35,000 lbs — Leaves 42,000-45,000 lbs for your freight

Retail merchandise, household products, cleaning supplies, and packaged shelf-stable foods. High-volume lanes with broad carrier availability out of West Coast distribution hubs.

Computers, appliances, networking components, and consumer devices. Enclosed trailers protect against moisture, theft, and road debris through long cross-country hauls.

OEM and aftermarket automotive components, assembly parts, and industrial materials moving from Pacific Northwest manufacturers to distribution centers nationwide.

Paper rolls, printed materials, cardboard stock, and packaging supplies. Dry van is the right call here — weather protection without the added cost of temperature control.

Apparel, footwear, and textile goods from West Coast ports and importers to retail DCs and e-commerce fulfillment operations in the Midwest and East Coast.

Flooring, fixtures, hardware, and construction supplies. These loads often run heavy — flag your total weight when you request a quote so we match the right carrier to the load.

We confirm active operating authority through the FMCSA SAFER database before booking any carrier. A carrier with revoked or suspended authority cannot legally move your freight. We check this every time — not just when we first onboard a carrier.

The FMCSA assigns carriers one of three ratings: Satisfactory, Conditional, or Unsatisfactory. We do not book carriers with Conditional or Unsatisfactory ratings. A carrier rated Conditional has failed to demonstrate adequate safety controls — that’s a risk we won’t take with your freight.

Every carrier we use must carry active cargo insurance and general liability coverage before we book a load. If their insurance lapses between shipments, we catch it in the verification check before dispatch — not after something goes wrong.

The FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program scores carriers on unsafe driving, hours of service compliance, vehicle maintenance, and controlled substances. We review CSA scores as part of our carrier selection process to avoid carriers with elevated violation patterns.

Beyond the FMCSA data, we evaluate carrier performance history on your specific lane. A carrier who runs Seattle to Chicago five days a week knows that route. A carrier positioned on a backhaul through an unfamiliar market is a higher risk — and we account for that when matching.

Problems happen in freight. Equipment breaks down. Weather delays shipments. When something affects your load, we contact you immediately — not after you’ve already called to check. We manage the resolution with the carrier directly so you don’t have to chase it yourself.

Give us origin, destination, freight type, total weight, and pickup date. We have a competitive dry van rate back to you within the hour.

We select a vetted carrier from our 5,000+ network based on safety record, insurance coverage, and lane experience. You get a carrier who knows your route.

Driver name, truck number, and ETA before pickup day. No mystery driver showing up without notice at your shipper’s dock.

Twice-daily status updates while your freight is moving. If something changes — weather delay, delivery window shift — you hear from us first.

Your carrier delivers directly to the consignee. One trailer. No co-loading stops. No intermediate transfers. Your freight stays in the same trailer from pickup to drop-off.

Signed proof of delivery reaches you within 24 hours of arrival. Your records stay clean and your AP team gets what they need without chasing anyone.

Every carrier is screened for FMCSA authority, safety rating, cargo insurance, and CSA score before they touch your freight. The 5,000+ number is meaningful only because we enforce the standards behind it.

Submit your shipment details and you’ll have a rate within the hour. You’re talking to a person who knows the market — not filling out a form that disappears into a portal.

We contact you twice a day while your load is moving. You shouldn’t have to call to find out where your freight is. If anything changes, you hear it before your consignee does.

Signed proof of delivery within 24 hours of arrival, every load. Your invoicing cycle doesn’t stall waiting for paperwork and your records stay clean.

Nearly two decades brokering freight from the Pacific Northwest. We know which carriers run West Coast lanes reliably through every season — peak holiday shipping, Q1 slack, summer produce surge, and everything in between.

Dry van today. Refrigerated for your next produce shipment. Flatbed for the equipment move in Q3. We service all three. If your freight mix changes seasonally or by product line, you don’t need to find a new broker.

Dry van trucking uses enclosed, weatherproof trailers — with no refrigeration — to move non-perishable freight. It’s the most common freight mode in North America. Standard 53-foot dry vans carry up to 26 standard pallets and up to 45,000 lbs of cargo. Shippers use dry van for consumer goods, electronics, auto parts, paper products, clothing, building materials, and any packaged freight that needs weather protection but not temperature control.

Full truckload (FTL) dedicates one trailer to one shipment. Your freight moves directly from origin to destination with no co-loading and no intermediate stops. Less-than-truckload (LTL) shares trailer space with freight from multiple shippers. LTL is generally more economical for loads under 10-12 pallets. For 20 or more pallets, FTL usually offers better pricing, faster transit, and fewer touchpoints. West Coast Carriers handles both — see our dry van LTL page for partial loads.

A 53-foot dry van holds up to 26 standard 48 x 40 inch pallets loaded single-stack on the floor. If your product is stackable, the same trailer can hold up to 52 pallets. Pallet capacity also depends on your specific pallet dimensions — non-standard sizes can reduce or increase floor count. When you request a quote, tell us your pallet count, dimensions, and total weight, and we’ll confirm fit before booking.

Federal law caps gross vehicle weight at 80,000 lbs. The tractor and empty dry van trailer together weigh roughly 33,000-35,000 lbs, which leaves 42,000-45,000 lbs for your cargo on most configurations. Individual states may set lower bridge or axle weight limits on specific routes. If your load approaches the weight limit, flag it when you request your quote — we’ll confirm legal compliance for your origin-to-destination lane before we book the carrier.

Think carefully about this one. The interior of a dry van sitting in direct sun or moving through desert regions in summer can reach well above ambient air temperature — sometimes 30-40 degrees higher than outside. Chocolate, certain adhesives, candles, wax products, and some cosmetics have been damaged on dry van hauls through Nevada and Arizona in summer. If your product has any temperature threshold, ask us about our refrigerated trucking service. The rate difference is almost always less than the cost of a rejected load.

A single driver can legally drive 11 hours per day under federal hours of service rules, covering roughly 500-600 miles. From Washington or Oregon to the Midwest — Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit — expect 4-6 transit days under normal conditions. Coast-to-coast to New York or Atlanta typically runs 6-8 days. Weather, traffic, appointment windows, and driver restart requirements can affect these windows. For time-sensitive loads, we offer expedited service with team drivers that can cut coast-to-coast transit to 3-4 days.

Yes. We broker dry van freight into metropolitan Canada. Cross-border shipments require additional documentation: customs paperwork, a commercial invoice, and a carrier with valid cross-border operating authority. Our team will walk you through the documentation requirements for your specific shipment. Not every carrier in our network runs cross-border, but we work with qualified carriers who move freight between the U.S. and Canada regularly.

For standard FTL dry van lanes out of Washington, Oregon, or California, we typically have a confirmed carrier within a few hours of booking. For urgent or same-day loads, our team works the carrier network in real time. Call us at (253) 212-9950 with your pickup date and destination, and we’ll tell you directly what’s available on your lane.

Origin city and zip, destination city and zip, pickup date or date range, total weight, pallet count, and commodity type. If you have special requirements — liftgate, appointment delivery, driver-assist unloading, drop-and-hook — include those details as well. The more specifics you provide upfront, the more accurate and complete your rate will be. Submit a quote request online or call us at (253) 212-9950.

A carrier owns and operates trucks. A freight broker is licensed by the FMCSA to arrange transportation between shippers and carriers. West Coast Carriers holds both broker and carrier authority. On most dry van shipments, we act as your broker — matching your freight with the best vetted carrier in our 5,000+ network for your specific lane. That gives you access to far more capacity and lane coverage than any single carrier’s fleet can offer. You still have a single point of contact and full accountability from quote to proof of delivery.

Produce, dairy, meat, seafood, frozen foods, pharmaceuticals. Food-grade reefer service from Pacific Northwest origins to all 48 states.

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Temperature-controlled LTL for partial loads that don’t fill a full reefer trailer. Shared cold space, full cold-chain integrity nationwide.

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Fewer than 20 pallets? LTL puts your shipment in shared trailer space at a lower cost per pallet than booking a full truck.

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Construction equipment, steel, machinery, and oversized freight that won’t fit in an enclosed trailer. Step deck and standard flatbed available.

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Dry van loads that can’t wait on standard transit windows. Team drivers and direct dispatch for coast-to-coast delivery in 3-4 days.

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Have your own dry van trailer that needs repositioning or moving? Power Only supplies a qualified driver without furnishing the equipment.

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