Los Angeles / Long Beach, California
Heavy Haul in Los Angeles / Long Beach
Project, steel and over dimensional cargo to and from the San Pedro Bay breakbulk terminals, trucked under Caltrans permits with route surveys and pilot cars planned by our own team.
This page is general information only, not legal advice and not a permit. Rules change often and each state's permit and official rules are the final word. Always confirm limits, escorts, routes and travel times with the state permit office before moving a load. Reliable Transport LLC is not responsible for decisions made using this information.
West Coast port heavy haul
From the berth to the inland plant
Reliable Transport LLC runs heavy haul and superload moves across the USA and Canada from our home base in Dayton, Ohio. For a Los Angeles or Long Beach load, our in house team files the Caltrans permit and any local permit, plans the route and books the escorts, and files the written route survey Caltrans asks for on tall variance loads.
Hauling through other states? Use our permit map and route planner
Open the route plannerAt the ports
Port of Los Angeles breakbulk terminals
Port facts come from the Port of Los Angeles, each confirmed by a second Port page. Port of Long Beach pages were blocked to our fetch; we do not invent Long Beach terminal numbers.
Breakbulk terminals
The Port of Los Angeles runs breakbulk berths that handle commodities that cannot ship in a container, including steel, at SSA Marine, Port operated berths and Pasha stevedoring terminals. (Port of Los Angeles, breakbulk terminals, Port of Los Angeles, breakbulk statistics)
Trade gateway and on dock rail
The Port of Los Angeles is North America's largest trade gateway by container volume and value, with the nation's largest on dock rail assets. (Port of Los Angeles, business, Port of Los Angeles, breakbulk terminals)
Steel breakbulk
Breakbulk statistics at the Port of Los Angeles include bulk steel imports as a core non containerized commodity. (Port of Los Angeles, breakbulk statistics, Port of Los Angeles, breakbulk terminals)
Sources: Port of Los Angeles, business; Port of Los Angeles, breakbulk terminals; Port of Los Angeles, breakbulk statistics.
California rules
Los Angeles oversize rules at a glance
The route survey rule first, then the California rules every Los Angeles load runs under.
California
Official sources linked| Where | Restriction |
|---|---|
| Route survey | A load over 17'H needs a written route survey from the applicant, filed with the variance permit application. (Caltrans variance permits, Caltrans permit FAQ) |
| Single trip permit | A load over 8'6"W, 14'H or 80,000 lbs moves on a Caltrans single trip permit. A single trip permit is good for one way travel and is valid for seven consecutive days. (Caltrans transportation permits; Caltrans single trip permits) |
| Length and height | A single trip permit load can be up to 135'L. (Caltrans single trip permits) |
| Variance permit | A load over 15'W, over 17'H or over 135'L needs a variance permit. (Caltrans variance permits) |
| Pilot cars by width | On yellow routes, one pilot car is needed over 12'W, two over 15'W and a CHP escort over 16'W. Green, blue and brown routes call for pilot cars at lower widths, so our team checks the route color for every move. (Caltrans Transportation Permits Manual, Chapter 5) |
| Pilot cars by length | A pilot car is needed over 120'L on yellow and green routes, and for a rear overhang over 30'. (Caltrans Transportation Permits Manual, Chapter 5) |
| CHP escorts | A load over 16'W on yellow routes, or over 15'W on green, blue and brown routes, needs a CHP escort. (Caltrans CHP escort policy memo, May 2021; Caltrans Transportation Permits Manual, Chapter 5) |
| Travel hours | Unless the permit says No Night Travel, a load that does not need a pilot car may travel 24/7. (Caltrans Transportation Permits Manual, Chapter 5) |
| Curfews | Loads over 10'W may not move in the Los Angeles area from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. or 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. In the San Diego, Sacramento and San Francisco areas, the curfew runs from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. (Caltrans Transportation Permits Manual, Chapter 5) |
Rules change often. We checked these on October 5, 2026 against the official sources linked in each row, and each one against a second source. Rules we could not confirm twice are left off this page. Our permitting team confirms the current rules for every move.
Our moves
Heavy loads we have moved
These moves ran on other routes. They show the size of loads our team permits, routes and escorts.
110,000 lb switchgear building
Houston, TX - Los Angeles, CA in 2025, at 250,000 lbs gross and 185'L x 17'W x 17'H loaded.
Off highway haul trucks
Tennessee to California in 2024, at 187,000 lbs and 90'L x 16'10"W x 16'2"H loaded.
207,000 lb dryer drum
Louisville, KY - Richmond, VA in December 2025, at 300,000 lbs gross and 165'L x 13'6"W x 17'H loaded, with a crew of 15.
Moving something in Los Angeles?
Send the size and weight. We will tell you what the permit, route and escorts look like.
Request a quote →See every move on our Moves page.
Questions
Los Angeles heavy haul questions
When does a California load need a route survey?
Over 17'H. Caltrans needs a written route survey with the variance permit application.
What breakbulk cargo does the Port of Los Angeles handle?
Commodities that cannot ship in a container, including steel, at SSA Marine, Port operated and Pasha breakbulk berths.
How heavy a load can you haul?
Our superload service handles loads up to 300,000 lbs, with permits, routing and escorts by our own team.
Hauling through other states? Use our permit map and route planner
Open the route plannerKeep planning
More for your Los Angeles move
Other port and city pages
West Coast port heavy haul
Ready to move it?
Send the load dimensions, weight, pickup and delivery points. Our in house team prices the permits, route and escorts and gets back to you fast.
This page is general information only, not legal advice and not a permit. Rules change often and each state's permit and official rules are the final word. Always confirm limits, escorts, routes and travel times with the state permit office before moving a load. Reliable Transport LLC is not responsible for decisions made using this information.