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No Loading Dock? How Tailgate Delivery Works

Forklift moving palletized freight in KDM's warehouse

Here is a problem nobody warns new shippers about: a huge share of Ontario delivery addresses, retail plazas, clinics, job sites, storage units, storefronts, have no loading dock. A 53-foot trailer arrives, the driver opens the doors, and the freight is four feet above the ground with nowhere to go. The fix is called tailgate delivery, and it is one of KDM's specialties.

What a tailgate (power liftgate) actually is

A tailgate is a hydraulic platform on the back of a straight truck that lowers freight from deck height to the curb. The driver rolls your pallet onto the platform, brings it down, and wheels it to the door. No dock, no forklift, no four guys improvising with a ramp.

When to spec tailgate on a shipment

  • Deliveries to retail stores, plazas and strip malls
  • Residential and home-business addresses
  • Construction sites and pop-up locations
  • Any receiver who answers "do you have a dock?" with silence

If you are not sure, say so on the quote request. Finding out at the door costs a redelivery fee; finding out at booking costs nothing.

What KDM runs

We operate more than fifteen tailgate-equipped straight trucks, 24 to 30 feet long, handling up to 30,000 lbs with power tailgates. Because they are smaller than tractor-trailers, they also reach addresses a 53-footer physically cannot: tight plazas, downtown streets, underground bays with height limits.

The curbside promise

Our equipment and drivers are set up to serve Ontario retailers with or without dock-level capability, which means you can sell to any customer, anywhere, without worrying about what their receiving area looks like. Tell us the postal code and we will bring the right truck.

Need it moved instead of explained?

KDM dispatch answers the phone and quotes same day. 289-723-2174.

Get a Quote