Full truckload pickups
If your yard holds about a deck's worth of empties (twenty 72-inch reels, twenty-six 48s, a hundred 36s, or any mix that adds up), the run is built around you. Send the count by flange size, the gate hours and whether there is a forklift; we come back with a pickup window for one truck that leaves your yard full.
What a full load looks like
| Stack | Share of a 53 ft deck (est.) | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 20 × 72 in, bolted, from an undergrounding laydown yard | 100% | Full run |
| 10 × 96 in + 6 × 60 in from a substation job | 88% | Full run |
| 90 × 36 in + 12 × 42 in from a contractor's fence line | 108% | Two runs, or one run and a ride-along |
| 16 × 48 in + 8 × 84 in from a cable pull | 106% | Two runs |
Who has a truckload at once
Full loads come from work that pulls a lot of cable in one place. Underground cable replacement and new underground distribution lines leave stacks of 60 to 96 inch bolted reels in a laydown yard at the end of a phase. LADWP alone replaced 61.5 miles of underground cable in its 2025-26 fiscal year, and every mile of it arrived on reels. Substation and data-centre electrical work does the same in a smaller footprint, and a distributor's dock can fill a deck with returned one-way reels in a few weeks. See utility undergrounding for that side of the work.
What we need to plan it
- Count by flange size. Twenty 72s and twenty 36s are very different loads.
- Nailed or bolted. It changes where reels go afterwards, not how they load.
- Returnable reels. Any reel stencilled with an owner's name, so we can set it aside for that owner.
- Loading. Forklift on site, dock and forklift, or hand loading.
- Pickup window. Gate hours, and any site rules: escorts, badges, PPE or a check-in office.
- Photos. One of the stack, one of a flange face and one of an arbor hole.
How a full run goes
The truck arrives empty at the start of your window. Large reels go on first, at the headboard, on edge in two staggered rows, each chocked under the flange. Smaller reels stack flat behind them. Straps go over every pair. The driver signs out with a count by size, and the reels go to resale or recycling according to their condition. Reels a maker wants back are routed to that maker first.
When a take-back program fits better
Some cable makers collect their own reels. Service Wire's program, for example, takes Service Wire nailed reels with 30 to 72 inch flanges, in full truckloads only, with sound wood and undamaged arbor and drive holes. If that describes your yard, use it. If your load is mixed brands, mixed sizes or a few reels short of a truck, that is the stack we plan for. The take-back programs page compares them honestly.
Words on this page
- Full run
- A pickup that fills a 53 foot deck on its own.
- Laydown yard
- A fenced lot where a contractor stages cable and empty reels for a job or a season of work.
- Pickup window
- The span of hours a dock is open and staffed for loading.
- Bolted reel
- A heavier reel held together with through-bolts, used for utility and large cable; often returnable.
- Returnable reel
- A reel the maker or distributor wants back, sometimes with a deposit, usually stencilled with the owner's name.
- Bill of lading
- The freight paper listing shipper, pieces, description and weight; our request form is drawn as one.
Read next
Full-load questions
How soon can a full load go?
A full run is booked to your pickup window rather than to a lane's timetable, so it is usually the quickest kind of pickup to schedule. We confirm the date when we reply.
What if we have more than one truck's worth?
Then it is several runs, booked back to back or spread over the days your yard can load. The load planner shows roughly how many decks a stack takes.
Should we try the cable maker's take-back first?
If every reel is the same brand, in sound condition and the maker runs a program, yes. Most full loads we see are mixed, which is where we come in.
Can a crew yard book a load at the end of every phase?
Yes. Tell us the rhythm of the job and we can hold a standing slot for that yard; see standing pickups.
What paperwork do we get?
The driver signs out with a count of reels by flange size, written like a bill of lading. If your site needs its own gate pass or disposal record, tell us when you book.
Can the truck wait while a crew finishes stacking?
A little, but not long: a full run is usually one stop, then the reels go straight to sorting. Have the stack ready at the start of the window.
Do you need access for a 53 foot trailer?
Ideally, yes: a straight approach, a firm surface and somewhere to turn. If the yard is tight, say so; a shorter truck or loading from the street are both options we can plan.