Truck and trailer hire
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Flatbed truck hire with a driver
We hire flatbed trucks and trailers, always with a driver, to carry steel, containers, building materials, precast concrete, pipes and small machines anywhere in South Africa. You tell us what's going where; we send the right truck and trailer, and the driver straps or chains the load before the truck moves.
There's no fixed price list for flatbeds because every job is a different route. Send the load, the pick-up and drop-off points and the date, and the exact price comes back on WhatsApp in writing.
Get a truck and trailer priceTruck and trailer options
What a truck may carry is set by its axles and length. The National Road Traffic Regulations allow 7,700 kg on a steering axle, 9,000 kg on a single axle with dual wheels, 18,000 kg on a tandem and 24,000 kg on a tridem, with 56,000 kg the most for any combination, 18.5 m the longest truck and semi-trailer and 22 m the longest other combination.
| Option | Axles | Legal gross | Payload | Carries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid flatbed or dropside, two-axle | 2 | up to 16,700 kg | up to about 10 t | Site deliveries, pallets of bricks and blocks, a small machine |
| Rigid flatbed, three-axle (6x4) | 3 | up to 25,700 kg | about 15–17 t | Steel, pipes, precast; often fitted with a crane |
| Tri-axle flat deck (horse and semi-trailer) | 6 | up to 49,700 kg | about 30 t | One 40 ft or two 20 ft containers, long steel, timber |
| Superlink flat deck (horse and two trailers) | 7 | 56,000 kg | about 34 t | A 20 ft plus a 40 ft container, or three 20s; full loads of steel or bagged goods |
The rigid gross figures are the sums of the legal axle limits; the trucks' own ratings are close to them (a Tata Prima 2528.K or similar 6x4 is rated 25,500 kg gross and weighs about 8,500 kg as a tipper). For the tri-axle, Afrit rates a comparable tri-axle combination at 49,500 kg gross with a 30,540 kg payload.
A 20 ft container is about 6 m long and a 40 ft about 12 m, which is why semi-trailer decks are built around those lengths.
What flatbeds carry
- Steel: reinforcing bar, structural steel, mesh, roof sheeting and pipes. Long steel goes on a tri-axle or superlink deck.
- Containers: 20 ft and 40 ft, on decks with twistlocks.
- Building materials: bricks and blocks on pallets, cement, paving, kerbs and timber.
- Precast concrete: culverts, manhole rings, kerbs and barriers.
- Small machines: bobcats, mini excavators, compactors and generators. Bigger machines go on a lowbed.
Loading and offloading
Plan the offloading before the truck arrives. A crane truck loads and offloads itself, which suits steel and precast on sites with no crane. On site, a forklift or telehandler takes pallets and bundles off the deck. Containers need a crane truck, a forklift rated for the container's weight, or a side-lifter.
What sets the price of truck and trailer hire
- The truck: a rigid flatbed costs less to run than a superlink.
- Kilometres: loaded and empty, from where the truck starts to the drop-off and back.
- Tolls on the route.
- Waiting: time standing at loading or offloading points past what's agreed.
- Day or month: a truck on your site for a month costs less a day than one-off trips.
- Wide or tall loads: anything over 2.6 m wide or 4.3 m high needs a permit and sometimes escorts, priced as their own lines.
Every price is confirmed in writing before the truck moves. Prices exclude VAT.
WhatsApp us the load and the routeHorse and trailer hire
A “34 ton horse and trailer” is a 6x4 truck tractor (the horse) with a superlink or a side tipper, loaded to about 34 t inside the 56,000 kg legal limit. We hire both, with a driver.
- Horse only, with a driver: R42,000–R63,000 a month or about R6,300 a day, to pull your own trailers.
- Horse and flat deck or superlink: exact price on WhatsApp.
- Horse and side tipper for bulk loads (coal, chrome, aggregate): R75,500–R92,000 a month. See 34 ton side tipper hire.
Flatbed tow trucks for small machines
A flatbed tow truck (a rollback or tilt-and-slide) tilts its deck to the ground so a small machine drives or winches straight on. It's the quick way to move a bobcat, a mini excavator, a roller or a generator between sites. Exact price on WhatsApp: send the machine and the two addresses.
Hiring the machine from us as well? Transport is already a line on that quote: see bobcat hire and mini excavator hire.
Wide, tall or long loads
A load becomes abnormal when the loaded truck goes over 2.6 m wide, 4.3 m high or the legal length (18.5 m for a horse and semi-trailer, 22 m for other combinations), or over the axle and mass limits. Abnormal loads move under a permit from each province on the route, with the conditions written into it. How permits and escorts work: lowbed hire and abnormal loads.
With a driver, always
Every flatbed truck comes with a driver who holds a professional driving permit (PrDP). The driver checks the load is secure before leaving and again on the road, and you get the price in writing before the truck moves.
Booking takes a WhatsApp, a written price and a deposit: see how it works. Prices for every machine we hire are on plant hire rates, including TLBs, excavators and tipper trucks.
WhatsApp us for a priceQuestions people ask
How much does it cost to hire a truck and trailer?
It depends on the truck, the kilometres (loaded and empty), tolls and waiting time, so we price every flatbed job on its route: exact price on WhatsApp, in writing. If you only need a truck tractor to pull your own trailer, a horse with a driver is R42,000–R63,000 a month or about R6,300 a day.
What is the payload of a superlink?
About 34 t. A superlink has seven axles, and the law caps the combination at 56,000 kg and 22 m long; take off the truck and two trailers and about 34 t is left for the load, depending on how heavy the trailers are.
Can a flatbed truck carry a container?
Yes. A tri-axle flat deck takes one 40 ft container or two 20s, and a superlink takes a 20 ft on the front trailer and a 40 ft (or two 20s) on the back. A container needs twistlocks on the deck and a way to offload it at the other end: a crane truck, a forklift rated for it, or a side-lifter.
Can I hire a horse only?
Yes. A 6x4 truck tractor (horse) with a driver is R42,000–R63,000 a month or about R6,300 a day, to pull your own flat deck, side tipper or other trailer.
Do your flatbed trucks come with a driver?
Always. Every truck and trailer comes with a driver who holds a professional driving permit (PrDP) and secures the load before the truck moves.
What's the difference between a superlink and a tri-axle?
A tri-axle is a truck tractor pulling one semi-trailer on three axles: six axles in all, up to 18.5 m long and about 49,700 kg gross by its axle limits, so about 30 t of load. A superlink pulls two trailers linked together on seven axles, up to 22 m and 56,000 kg, so about 34 t. The superlink carries more; the tri-axle turns tighter and offloads with less space.
Related
Sources we checked
- National Road Traffic Regulations reg 240, axle massload limits
- National Road Traffic Regulations reg 236, permissible maximum vehicle mass
- National Road Traffic Regulations reg 221, overall length of vehicles
- National Road Traffic Regulations reg 223, overall width of vehicles
- National Road Traffic Regulations reg 224, overall height of vehicle and load
- Afrit trailer tare, payload and GCM figures (tri-axle and interlink)
- Tata Prima 2528.K leaflet (6x4 GVM and tare)
- Tata LPK 1518 leaflet (4x2 GVM and tare)
Need a flatbed truck?
WhatsApp us the job, the town and the dates. We confirm the machine, the start date and the price in writing before the machine moves.
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