Irondale and the two yards just south of town
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics places the Irondale intermodal ramp 4.8 miles south of Federal Heights, with a second Denver ramp 6.9 miles to the south-east. A day cab that has shuttled boxes off either ramp can be collected wherever it now sits; send us the VIN, the odometer reading and a photo of the data plate on the door jamb.
Two rail yards named North and Sand Creek sit 5.2 and 5.6 miles south and south-east of town, according to the North American Rail Network kept by the Federal Railroad Administration and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. If your tractor is parked inside a fenced yard near either one, give us the gate contact and the hours it is staffed so the pickup can be booked around them.
Tank work south and east of town
Two Sunco liquid bulk terminals appear in Bureau of Transportation Statistics listings at 5.5 and 5.8 miles south-east of the city line. Tankers and tank-pulling tractors that load there are trucks we buy; keep the cargo tank inspection sheets together in the cab so they travel with the title.
Petroleum product terminals listed by the Energy Information Administration include one 5.3 miles south and the DuPont site 5.9 miles east. If the truck hauled asphalt or fuel products between those gates, tell us which product it carried and send photos of the tank, the hoses and the plates alongside the cab shots.
FMCSA’s carrier census counts 45 active carriers based in Federal Heights, and 41 of them are registered intrastate while only 4 cross state lines. For a Colorado-only operation, the Colorado title and current registration are the two papers to find first; have the title signed by every owner named on it.
Private fleets, companies hauling their own goods rather than for hire, make up 19 of those 45 carriers in the federal carrier census. If your truck belongs to a business, have whoever is authorised to sign for the company ready, along with a copy of the lien release if a loan was ever recorded on the title.
Per the same FMCSA records, 97 drivers here work within 100 miles of base and 19 range beyond it, and the six carriers that report mileage show a median of 15,000 miles per truck a year. Note the current odometer figure before you call and keep it with the title.
General freight is the cargo listed by 21 local carriers in FMCSA’s census, followed by machinery and large objects at 7, and logs, poles, beams and lumber and motor vehicles at 5 each. Box trucks, flatbeds, lowboys and car haulers all fit that mix, and each is a truck we will look at.
If the truck carried equipment or lumber, include photos of the deck, the winches or tie-down points and any ramps, since a flatbed’s body tells us as much as its cab. For a car hauler, show the upper deck and the hydraulics, and list the trailer’s VIN separately if the trailer is part of the sale.
The three biggest operations on FMCSA’s census here run 14, 8 and 5 power units, with 16, 12 and 5 drivers on record. Selling several units from one yard is handled the same way as one: a list of VINs, a title for each, and one address where they can be reached.
New entries were thin in FMCSA’s register: two carriers were added in Federal Heights in 2025 and none in 2024. If your authority is closing along with the sale, keep the USDOT number on file, since it ties the truck’s registration to your business when the paperwork is checked.
Jobs and farms around Adams County
The Census Bureau’s LEHD job counts for 2023 put 2,774 jobs in Federal Heights, among them 116 in wholesale trade, 65 in construction and 60 in manufacturing. Delivery straight trucks and dump or stake-bed units serving those trades are trucks we buy, whether they sit at a shop, a jobsite or your driveway.
Across Adams County, USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture records 877 farms, with wheat, corn and cattle at the top. A grain truck or livestock hauler kept on one of those farms can be collected from the property; give us directions from the nearest paved road and say whether it sits behind a locked gate.
The questions we get asked in Federal Heights
- Do you buy flatbeds that hauled lumber or machinery?FMCSA’s census lists 7 local carriers hauling machinery and 5 hauling lumber, and their flatbeds and lowboys are trucks we purchase. Photos of the deck and tie-downs plus the VIN are enough to start.