No dock at either end
Pickup counts as much as delivery. A seller loading from a driveway needs the platform just as much as a buyer receiving on one, and carriers price both directions from the same item.
Accessorial charges
Liftgate delivery cost: the four feet nobody budgets for
A trailer floor sits roughly four feet above the ground. If neither end of your shipment has a dock, something has to bridge that gap, and on an LTL truck that something is a hydraulic platform bolted to the back. It is a chargeable service at every carrier, it has published limits on what it will lift, and it is the accessorial a first-time freight shipper meets most often.
Five tariffs comparedPlatform limits publishedThree ways out
Equipment, not labour
The gate gets freight to the ground and no further.
When the charge applies
The trigger is equipment at the kerb, not the type of address and not what happens after the pallet is on the ground.
Nobody with a forklift
A dock alone is not enough if there is no machine to take the pallet off. Carriers ask whether a forklift is available because the answer decides whether they send a truck with a gate on it.
The carrier decides on arrival
FedEx Freight states in item 890 that where the equipment is not available and its personnel use another means to get freight from the vehicle to the ground, the liftgate charge still applies. Not ticking the box does not remove the charge if the service was needed.
And it can refuse
The same item says the carrier is not obliged to provide the service where suitable vehicles and operators are not available, and that service will only be rendered at locations that are safe and accessible to the vehicle. A steep or blocked kerb is a redelivery waiting to happen.
What five carriers charge
Every one of these is quoted per hundred pounds against a floor, and four of the five publish a ceiling. On a light pallet you pay the minimum, so the rate per hundredweight only starts to matter once the shipment is heavy.
| Carrier and item | Rate | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estes, item 567 | $4.95 per cwt | $75.00 per shipment | $350.00 per shipment |
| Old Dominion, item 891 | $4.40 per cwt | $105.00 | $330.00 |
| XPO, item 218 | $12.80 per cwt | $246.00 | $612.00 |
| FedEx Freight, item 890 | $13.96 per cwt | $207.00 | $681.00 |
| R+L Carriers, item 520 | $16.00 per cwt | $225.00 | $820.00 |
Work an example through. A single 600 lb pallet is six hundredweight, so at every carrier in this table the rate multiplied out lands below that same carrier’s own minimum. In practice a small shipper pays the floor, and the floor ranges from $75.00 to $246.00 for the same thirty seconds of hydraulics. That spread is worth more than most rate negotiations.
What the platform will actually take
There is a weight limit on the gate itself
R+L publishes it in item 520: the tailgate service takes a maximum of 2,000 lb, and where a skid weighs more than that the skid is broken down for pickup or delivery and the liftgate charge is doubled. That is the clearest published statement of the limit among the five tariffs read here.
And a size limit
The same item gives the largest skid that fits the platform as 60 in long by 48 in wide. A standard 48 by 40 in pallet fits comfortably. A crate built long, or a pallet with product overhanging the edges, does not.
Alaska and Hawaii are priced elsewhere
FedEx Freight states that the charges in item 890 do not apply for liftgate service performed within Alaska and Hawaii, and refers those to separate publications. If you ship to either, do not plan against the mainland figure.
The gate is not a delivery service
The platform puts the pallet on the ground next to the truck. Getting it through a door or up a ramp is inside delivery, priced separately at every carrier, and considerably dearer.
Three ways not to pay it
Collect from the terminal instead
Every carrier has a local building with a dock and a forklift. Estes publishes $42.75 for a pickup from the carrier’s dock in item 752, which is roughly half its own liftgate minimum and a fifth of some others. It costs you a drive and a van.
Deliver to a business that has a dock
If the buyer has a commercial receiving point, or you have a friendly one nearby, use it. This removes the liftgate charge and often the address charge with it, and it is the reason experienced sellers ask where the buyer works rather than where they live.
Break the shipment down to parcels
Below the parcel ceiling there is no such thing as a liftgate charge. On 2026-07-28 a 24 x 18 x 18 in carton at 83 lb from Newark, NJ 07102 to Chicago, IL 60607 returned $93.57 as its cheapest rate in our calculator, delivered to the door with no equipment involved at either end.
Telling us what is at each end
The equipment question is the first one a person will ask you about a pallet, because it changes the price more than the distance does. Answer it up front, in both directions, and the quote you get is the invoice you pay.
Set up a pallet delivery See whether it can go as parcels What happens past the tailgate
Liftgate questions
How much is a liftgate delivery?
It is priced per hundred pounds with a floor. Old Dominion publishes $4.40 per cwt with a $105.00 minimum, Estes $4.95 per cwt with a $75.00 minimum, XPO $12.80 per cwt with a $246.00 minimum, FedEx Freight $13.96 per cwt with a $207.00 minimum and R+L $16.00 per cwt with a $225.00 minimum. Most small shipments pay the minimum.
How much weight will a liftgate take?
R+L publishes a maximum of 2,000 lb for its tailgate service and a maximum skid size of 60 in by 48 in. A skid over that weight is broken down for handling and the liftgate charge is doubled.
Can I avoid the liftgate charge?
Three ways work. Collect the freight from the carrier’s terminal, which Estes prices at $42.75 in item 752. Deliver to an address with a dock. Or keep the shipment inside the parcel network, where no such charge exists.
What if I do not request a liftgate but the driver needs one?
You are still charged. FedEx Freight states in item 890 that where liftgate equipment is not available and its personnel use another means to move freight from the vehicle to the ground, the liftgate charges named in that item still apply.