Every week across the Metroplex, excavators move between job sites, forklifts change warehouses, and dead machines get hauled out of construction zones. Nearly all of it rides on one of two trailer types — and dispatchers who know which is which save their companies real time and money. The distinction comes down to one question: how does the equipment get on the trailer?
The Lowboy — Load Over the Front, Ride Low
A lowboy (also called a double-drop or detachable gooseneck trailer, "RGN" in the trade) is built around one idea: get the deck as close to the pavement as possible. The deck sits in a "well" between the gooseneck and the rear axles, typically just 18–24 inches off the ground.
Loading is a front-door operation. The gooseneck detaches from the trailer, the front of the deck drops to the ground to form a ramp, and the machine drives (or is towed) up and onto the well. The gooseneck then reattaches, and the load rides in that low well between the axle groups.
Where the lowboy wins
- Tall machines. Texas caps legal load height around 14 feet. With an excavator or dozer that stands 10–12 feet tall, the lowboy's ultra-low deck is often the only way to stay legal without an over-height permit and escort — a major cost and scheduling factor. (When a load busts limits anyway, that becomes an oversize move — we covered how those work in our oversize load towing guide.)
- The heaviest loads. Lowboys scale up with additional axles — 2-axle setups handle roughly 40 tons, and multi-axle configurations reach 80 tons and beyond. Cranes, large excavators, and mining-class equipment ride on lowboys.
- Stability. The low center of gravity in the well makes the lowboy the most stable platform for a big, top-heavy machine on DFW highways.
The lowboy's limits
- The machine has to make it up the front. Detach-and-load works beautifully for running equipment, but a dead machine is a problem.
- Loading takes room and time. Detaching the gooseneck needs space in front of the trailer and a practiced operator — tight urban job sites can make it awkward.
- Cost. More specialized trailer, more setup — lowboy moves generally price above Landoll moves for the same distance.
The Landoll — The Bed Comes to the Machine
"Landoll" is technically a brand name that became the generic term — the same way every tissue is a Kleenex — for a traveling-axle tilt trailer. Instead of detaching anything, the Landoll's rear axles slide forward while the whole bed tilts and slides rearward until its tail touches the pavement, creating a long, continuous loading surface at a very shallow angle.
Loading happens from the rear: the machine drives up under its own power, or — and this is the Landoll's superpower — gets pulled aboard by the trailer's integrated winch. The bed then slides back level, the axles reposition, and the load is ready to roll.
Where the Landoll wins
- Dead or disabled equipment. Because the winch does the work, a machine that won't start loads almost as easily as one that runs. That makes the Landoll the workhorse for hauling broken-down equipment off DFW job sites — a scenario every fleet eventually faces, as we covered in preparing your fleet for breakdowns.
- Low-clearance machines. Scissor lifts, forklifts, pavers, rollers, and lowered trucks scrape on steep ramps. The Landoll's shallow load angle gets them aboard without damage.
- Speed and tight sites. No gooseneck detach, no ramp assembly — tilt, load, go. In a cramped warehouse lot or a single blocked lane, that matters.
- Disabled trucks and containers. Landolls routinely haul dead box trucks, small semis, and containers that conventional car carriers can't touch and lowboys can't easily winch from the front.
The Landoll's limits
- Deck height. The bed rides higher than a lowboy's well, so tall machines can push past legal height limits.
- Weight ceiling. Landolls typically top out around 20–35 tons depending on configuration — plenty for most equipment, not enough for the true heavyweights.
The 10-second rule of thumb: tall, very heavy, and running → lowboy. Dead, low-clearance, or needs winching → Landoll. When a machine is both tall and dead, that's a conversation — sometimes it's a lowboy plus a winch plan, and that's exactly the kind of call worth making before anyone rolls.
How the Choice Plays Out on Real DFW Moves
- Excavator from Fort Worth to a Mesquite site: lowboy. Tall machine, needs the low deck to stay under height limits on I-30.
- Forklift between two Garland warehouses: Landoll. Low clearance, quick rear load, done in minutes.
- Skid steer with a blown hydraulic pump: Landoll. The winch loads it dead; no ramp climbing required.
- 80-ton crane section on I-20: multi-axle lowboy, almost certainly with oversize permits — see how heavy-duty moves are priced to understand what drives that quote.
- Dead box truck blocking a loading dock: Landoll. Winch it on, clear the dock, deliver it to the shop.
Equipment to Move in DFW?
Describe the machine — make, model, running or not — and Dallas Texas Heavy Duty Towing will send the right trailer the first time. Lowboy and Landoll transport across the Metroplex, 24/7.
What to Tell the Dispatcher
You don't need to pick the trailer yourself — that's our job — but the move goes fastest when you can answer five things: what the machine is (make and model gets us weight and height instantly), whether it runs, rough dimensions if it's modified or carrying attachments, the pickup site's constraints (tight lot? soft ground? dock?), and where it's going. With those, the right trailer shows up with the right rigging, and your equipment is moving instead of waiting.
The Bottom Line
Lowboy and Landoll aren't competitors so much as specialists. The lowboy is the heavy-and-tall solution — detach the gooseneck, load over the front, ride low and stable under DFW's height limits. The Landoll is the flexible loader — tilt the bed to the ground and drive or winch almost anything aboard, running or not. Knowing which is which means your equipment move is planned right from the first phone call — and if you're vetting companies for that call, our guide to vetting a towing company covers the questions worth asking.