Dry van trucking in Arizona

Arizona freight that rides in a van

Phoenix is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country, and its stores, hospitals and job sites are restocked from distribution centers spread along Interstate 10 in the West Valley, from Tolleson out through Goodyear and Buckeye. Those buildings take in vans of consumer goods, groceries, paper and packaging, and they ship the same kinds of freight back out to the rest of the state and on to Nevada and California.

The valley also makes things that load from a dock: beverages, packaged food, building products in cartons and bags, and parts for the electronics plants in the East Valley. Farther south, the vegetable sheds around Yuma ship their harvest cold, but cartons, bags and packing supplies reach them in dry vans before the winter season opens. Tucson receives vans for its retail, mining supply and aerospace employers, and Flagstaff restocks northern Arizona along Interstate 40.

Size and weight rules for an Arizona van

Height is where Arizona differs. The limit is 13 feet 6 inches, with 14 feet allowed only on routes the state or a local authority designates, or under an annual permit on designated routes. A standard 53 foot van is built right at 13 feet 6 inches, so it is legal as built, while a taller trailer would have to keep to those designated routes.

Width is 8 feet as a general rule, but a 102 inch trailer is allowed on the Interstates, other qualifying federal aid highways, state highways the director designates and the access roads that reach terminals and food, fuel, repair and rest stops. Arizona lets a semitrailer run up to 57 feet 6 inches, so a 53 foot van has length to spare. On every highway, a five axle combination tops out at 80,000 pounds gross, with single axles at 20,000 and tandems at 34,000 under the bridge formula.

The Arizona Department of Transportation runs ports of entry on Interstate 10, Interstate 40 and State Route 95. Weigh in motion sensors and cameras screen trucks as they approach, and message signs send cleared trucks past and call the rest in. An officer can order a commercial vehicle into a port, and failing to stop is a misdemeanor.

The Arizona lanes our vans work

Phoenix and the Inland Empire are tied together by Interstate 10, and we run vans regularly in both directions, west on Phoenix to Los Angeles and east on Los Angeles to Phoenix. On the westbound leg a loaded van is often left in the receiver’s yard so the driver can hook an empty and keep moving. North out of Phoenix, Phoenix to Las Vegas is another regular run for our vans.

Flagstaff receives vans out of Southern California several times a year, usually behind our own tractors, on Los Angeles to Flagstaff. Phoenix also sends vans west to the Imperial Valley several times a year, and we quote Los Angeles to Tucson, Los Angeles to Yuma and Phoenix to Salt Lake City whenever a shipper has a load ready.

Heat, monsoon and the climb to Flagstaff

Summer afternoons in Phoenix can pass 110 degrees, and a dry van has no cooling, so candles, chocolate, cosmetics and anything else that softens in heat should not ride in one from June to September. Refrigerated trailers are not part of what we offer, and we will tell you plainly if a load needs one.

From July through September the monsoon sends dust storms across Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson that can turn the road into a brown wall within minutes, and drivers pull off until they pass. Winter turns the other way. At close to 7,000 feet of elevation, Flagstaff gets real snow, and storms on Interstate 40 and on the Interstate 17 climb out of the valley can close the road, so northern Arizona loads get extra time from November through March.

Arizona keeps Mountain Standard Time all year. In summer that matches the California clock, and in winter Phoenix is an hour ahead, so give us every appointment in Arizona time.

Booking an Arizona van

Tell the dispatcher the pallet count, the weight, the pickup and delivery addresses and the dock hours at each end. If the van will be live loaded, say how long loading usually takes; if your dock can hold a trailer, a drop saves the driver hours that are better spent on the road.

The shipper seals the van and writes the seal number on the bill of lading. One dispatcher follows the truck across the Colorado River and back, and the signed receipt comes to you as soon as the receiver signs. Start on the quote form.