Choosing the Right Company for Transporting Heavy Machinery

Moving heavy machinery for construction and manufacturing jobs is a highly daunting and complicated task. This is simply because it demands careful handling, shipping, and unloading of the heavy equipment. Thus, you need to hire professional transporters to minimize the risk of potential damage to your costly equipment during transit.

Beyond checking the company’s experience, here are other factors you should consider when choosing the right transporting company:

CONSIDER YOUR BUDGET

The first step to choosing the right company for transporting heavy equipment is coming up with a budget. Ask the various companies how much they’ll charge to get the job done. Then, based on the quotations you’ll receive, narrow down your options to two or three companies that are within your budget.

CHECK THE COMPANY’S CREDIBILITY

Next, you need to confirm the credibility of these companies. Credible companies will typically offer you excellent services. One of the best ways to confirm a company’s credibility is by visiting the website of each company. A reputable company should ideally have many positive reviews from their previous clients.

If a company doesn’t have online reviews, you can request them for personal references from their present or previous clients. Gather enough information about a company’s services from the contacts provided. You can then shortlist some companies based on the information you’ve collected.

LICENSING AND INSURANCE

Check whether the companies you’ve shortlisted are insured and licensed to operate. Transporting heavy machinery has potential risks, and you don’t want to work with a company that doesn’t have the necessary certification to operate.

Working with an insured company ensures that you remain covered against any losses that may occur during transit. For that reason, make sure that your shortlisted companies can provide you with cargo insurance.

SAFETY MEASURES

Efficient moving of heavy construction machinery doesn’t only mean being fast and timely, but also ensuring safety and transparency throughout the entire process. Enquire about the safety measures they’ve put in place and how they plan to manage your shipment. Get also to know their workplace safety procedures for those who will be involved in the project.

 

Are you looking for a reputable transporting company of your heavy equipment? Check out our website for the best transportation services for heavy machinery.

October 18, 2019 | | Category: Heavy Haul

How Does Power Only Trucking Work?

As you read this, many shipments are being loaded and unloaded across the state. All the same, what can you do if you have loaded your trailer, and yet you don’t have a driver or truck to move the shipment from point A to point B? Well, this is where you would need power only trucking services. But what does power only trucking mean? Well, a driver and truck are hired to help you transport your products and trailer to the desired destination. Besides, you can have your pick from a team of drivers, though this will depend on your logistical needs.

Move Large Cargo with Ease

Most people often ask, can a power only truck suit different trailer combinations? Well, by utilizing an adjustable wheel, these trucks can adequately fit the specific dimensions of your trailer. If you have a large weight load, both four-axle units and standard axle units can suit your particular needs. However, it is essential to know specifications such as your weight and load to help you find the right power only truck that works best for you. Essentially, this is an excellent service for shipping companies that want to move urgent cargo.

Experienced Drivers

More so, power only trucks facilitate the movement of cargo on shipping containers, flatbed trailers, refrigerated vans, tank trailers, and dry van trailers. In such cases, drivers and companies may be chosen depending on the kind of cargo you want to transport. Also, you will get drivers with extensive experience in transporting large cargo.

Hence, allowing you to enjoy your peace of mind, as the experts manage your shipment with precision through an end-to-end array of cargo transit and logistics support systems that avail cutting-edge cargo transportation analytics and monitoring technology.

Great Western Transportation offers you their operational infrastructure, market professionalism, and carrier relations. Thus, enabling you to scale the heights of the supply chain with ease. If you need to move something bulky, contact us today for a quote.

October 14, 2019 | | Category: Power Only Trucking

Moving heavy machinery for construction jobs and manufacturing; planning for your move

There are a lot of machines used in the construction and manufacturing industry. Moving this large and bulky equipment is usually challenging to most if not all companies. Due to the complexity of such machinery, you need to plan thoroughly before you move.

Our experts at Great Western Transportation understand the challenges to expect when moving. As such, we can help you plan to be prepared to handle potential issues better.

Here are some of the potential problems you should be aware of;

Vehicle breakdown

Due to the size and weight of machinery, the transporting vehicle is bound to breakdown if not well maintained. Hazards like potholes, sharp turns, and rough terrain can also cause damage to your car. A good transportation company understands the best routes to use to prevent any possible damage. Besides, it conducts maintenance routines to ensure the vehicle is in good shape throughout the move.

Equipment damage

Machinery can easily get damaged during transit. Vibrations and tilting can make other moving parts loose. Deviations in temperature and humidity during transit can also affect engines, fluid levels, and hydraulic systems of forklifts.

You may also need to cover vulnerable parts to prevent damage. Transportation experts should carefully monitor crucial parameters like weather changes and cushion the machinery to avoid possible damage before transportation.

Legal requirements

Not all state laws and regulations regarding moving heavy machinery are the same. You need to comply with all legal requirements from the city of origin to your destination. If you violate any law, you may delay moving the machinery to your destination or face other legal complications. Transport specialists can help you acquire the necessary permits on time to prevent you from getting on the wrong side of the law.

Moving heavy machinery for construction jobs and manufacturing can be challenging, especially if you have not anticipated the issues you will face en route. Choosing an experienced moving company like Great Western Transportation can prepare you on what to expect during transit to help move your machinery in a safe and timely manner.

October 10, 2019 | | Category: Flatbed, Heavy Haul

Shipping New Construction Equipment? Let Us Transport It

Acquiring new construction machines and implements is no small feat in the construction industry. But now that you have finalized the purchase, how will the equipment be transported from the dealer to your location? Better yet, how will it be shipped?

More often than not, construction equipment will be wider, more massive and taller than the standard load. So your average trucking service provider may not be cut out for the job. Who you need to transport your construction equipment is an experienced heavy haul trucking service provider, just like us at Great Western Transportation.

With over 100 years of combined experience in the trucking business, we guarantee we have the resources, and our team is capable of handling all freight needs for your construction equipment.

Depending on the accurate weight and measurements of your construction equipment, our team of heavy machinery handlers will determine the best way to ship your machinery and select the most appropriate trailer to be used for transportation.

Furthermore, our team will secure all the necessary permits required to transport your equipment as long as it is within Canada and the USA. Lastly, we will map out the most suitable route to get your construction equipment from its pickup station to your desired destination. At the end of the day, our goal is to deliver your construction equipment in the shortest time possible and get you working on the next job in good time.

Because of the extreme caution needed when transporting construction equipment and the time-consuming nature of the process, it is in your best interest to not only outsource expert heavy haul trucking service providers but also reliable ones.

A reliable team will always have the resources needed to ship your construction whenever and wherever you need them to. And this our customer guarantee here at Great Western Transportation. So, if you need to ship or transport construction equipment, from excavators to dozers, contact us today to make arrangements on how they’ll get to your location soonest and safest.

October 4, 2019 | | Category: Flatbed, Heavy Haul

Flatbed Trucking for Heavy Equipment

Flatbed Trucking for Heavy Equipment at Great Western Transportation

Flatbeds are the best way, and sometimes the only way, to transport heavy equipment like bulldozers and excavators. This is because a flatbed trailer allows for dimensional flexibility, and also because some loads just won’t fit in box truck or standard trailer. They can also be loaded from any side, not just the back, which can be a huge advantage when shipping heavy construction machinery to and from jobsites.

Flatbeds Defined

Flatbeds are just basic open trailers. Per Great Western Leasing “Most flatbed trailers are between 45′ to 53′ long and 96″ to 102″ wide. Flatbed Trailers are made of Steel, Aluminum or a combination of Steel and Aluminum. Generally, a flatbed trailer weighs 8,500 to 12,000 pounds.” You might hear them called:

  • Floats
  • Flats
  • Highboys
  • Flatdecks

Flatbed Trailer Arch

When unloaded a flatbed trailer actually arches A LOT!  Take a look at an unloaded flatbed trailer next time you’re on the highway. You’ll notice a significant arch. Compare that to a loaded flatbed and you’ll see less arch. The heavier the load, the flatter the trailer. Even consumer level flatbeds like 18′ car haulers will arch quite a bit once loaded.

Metal Fatigue

Del Williams of Feedlot Magazine writes “The repeated loading and unloading of heavy items, such as tractors, pipe, and farm implements, can strain a trailer’s frame and supports.  So can loads brought in from the side…” Heavy machinery puts quite a lot of weight on our flatbeds, our drivers are trained to inspect their rig and load correctly and often.

Heavy Equipment / Oversize Loads on Flatbeds

Flatbed trailers are almost always used to move oversized, over dimensional and overweight heavy machinery shipments. Loads greater than 8’6” wide is considered over width, and will need special permits from most of the states you travel through. Freight over 11’6″ wide will also require a Pilot Vehicle in most States.

Don’t trust just anyone to haul your heavy equipment! We are heavy load / oversize / overweight experts here at Great Western Transportation. Contact us today for a quote!

September 23, 2019 | | Category: Flatbed

An Overview of Our Flatbed Trailers

When it comes to hauling things that just won’t fit inside a van, flatbed trailers are the best transportation solution for you. At Great Western Transportation, we have many different flatbed trailers that can accommodate many different loads that you’d want to move across the country.

Our drivers and our trailers can handle all the hauling needs of your company. Our flatbed trailers comes in all shapes and sizes and can accommodate things ranging from excavators and forklifts to cranes and generators. For example, our Step Deck Trailers are the best when it comes to hauling any equipment that can be driven. We also offer flatbed trailers that are suitable for loads that are either too wide, too long, or too tall for a trailer van.

In addition to that, our staff and our drivers will ensure that your load is safely secured onto the flatbed trailer and that nothing happens to it when it’s traveling to its destination. If your company needs to haul something that won’t fit in a trailer van, then Great Western Transportation is your best bet as we will provide our decades of experience and knowledge to each and every haul.

If your load meets the requirements of being an oversized load, our drivers and our staff can accommodate that easily as well. With our Removable Gooseneck trailer, we can easily handle any oversized load. We’ll also do all the paperwork that’s necessary when it comes to moving big loads across the country. We’ll also provide the escort vehicle that will follow the truck and its load and ensure that they get to their destination safe and sound.

So long as your destination is in the continental United States and Canada, our trucks and our drivers can do the job. Hauling big things is no easy feat, but our drivers make it seem like it is. With Great Western Transportation, hauling anything across the country is a safe and routine job.

If you want more information about which flatbed trailers to choose or if you want to get a quote today, please contact us.

September 10, 2019 | | Category: Flatbed

The Basics of Our LTL Trucking Service

Less-Than-Truckload trucking (or LTL Trucking for short) is a great service that Great Western Transportation offers. In a nutshell, like the name implies, LTL Trucking is when you have to move something or somethings across the continental United States or Canada and it won’t fill up the entirety of our trailer. Rather than pay to haul a mostly empty trailer, LTL Trucking is therefore a more economical option for hauling goods across the country. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to what our LTL Trucking service offers.

Great Western Transportation offers many services when it comes to LTL Trucking that other transportation services may not offer. Great Western Transportation can also do the sorting and segregating of the goods you want to transport on our LTL trucks. We can also do the palletizing and shrink wrapping of those goods if you want us to. On top of that, we also offer distribution and warehousing services for the goods in our LTL trucks. Not many other transportation services offer these perks, but Great Western Transportation does.

Our LTL Trucking services can haul several types of trailers too, and they each can accommodate different types of products and goods. Our refrigerated LTL Trucking service for example can handle the transportation of things that need to be kept cool across the country. So long as your load weighs less than 30,000 pounds, the knowledgeable and experienced staff and drivers of Great Western Transportation can help you put your goods on our trucks and haul them across the country to wherever you so choose. If you’re not sure what type of service you’ll need, Great Western Transportation can help you figure that out too.

So if you’re looking for a great and economical option to haul some goods across the country, be sure to contact Great Western Transportation today to learn more about what services we offer.

September 4, 2019 | | Category: LTL

Building a Bridge? No Problem!

Whether you’re constructing a bridge in Miami, Florida or Sacramento, California, you’ll need a company like Great Western Transportation to haul your bridge beams from wherever they’re manufactured all the way to the build site of the bridge itself. Our expert truckers have years of experience in Heavy Haul Trucking and they will work with you and your company to efficiently and economically haul your construction material to wherever in the continental United States or Canada that you need it to go.

Our knowledgeable and veteran truckers will effortlessly set up and haul your oversized loads in no time. Whether it’s bridge beams or the construction equipment that you need on the build site, our truckers have the skill and ability to do the job. Our truckers also have the equipment necessary to move your bridge construction equipment in a safe and timely manner, no matter the distance, so long as it’s in the continental United States and Canada.

Great Western Transportation will also provide all the other legally required assets necessary to haul a overweight or oversized load across the country. Many states and many counties have their own permit requirements for hauling such loads and so our trucks and our drivers will handle such paperwork as well as get the best route possible to move your bridge building equipment as fast and as safely as possible.

Many places will also require an escort vehicle to accompany the truck as it’s hauling the oversized load and we’ll provide that as well. So if your company is building a bridge in the continental United States or Canada, be sure to use Great Western Transportation to ensure a fast and safe logistics chain for your operation.

Be sure to contact us today for a quote or if you have any other questions about our Heavy Haul Trucking service.

August 28, 2019 | | Category: Heavy Haul
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