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3 Things You Should Know About LTL Refrigerated Trucking

LTL Trucking or less-than-truckload trucking is a great solution if you don’t need a full truck to transport your goods. But LTL refrigerated trucking is a service that’s much more specific. You opt for LTL refrigerated trucking when you need perishable items transported, but they don’t require a full truck in order to do so. In this situation, your items share truck space with other freight.

Here are 3 important things to know about LTL refrigerated trucking:

SHIPS SMALL QUANTITIES OF PERISHABLES AT A TIME

Trucking companies that offer LTL trucking services don’t require a full truckload or trailer of contents. They either offer smaller trailers containing other freight or they’ll send full-size trailers with multiple shippers’ goods.

LTL refrigerated trucks can be useful when you need to ship sensitive freight, but can’t afford to wait to fill an entire truckload because goods awaiting shipment will perish in the meantime.

Refrigerated Frozen Chilled Freight TL LTL Shipping Trucking

CAN BE DIFFICULT TO ARRANGE

Refrigerated LTL trucking operates on a very limited and specific schedule. Because items that are perishable require refrigerated trucking, it can be harder to schedule a shipment when sensitive freight must share a trailer with other sensitive freight. This means that LTLs must find multiple clients whose products need to be shipped within the same timeline, at the same temperature range. For example, you can’t put frozen vegetables on the same truck as produce only requires refrigeration. Frozen products must be grouped with similar items. The same goes for any other products that require similar temperatures to stay fresh. This is not always easy to accomplish and takes a very experienced LTL to execute effectively.

IS TIME-SENSITIVE

Perishable items must be delivered quickly. If not, clients can lose a considerable amount of money due to wasted product. It’s best to go with a company that offers expedited transit times.

At Great Western Transportation, we handle time-sensitive LTL refrigerated shipments throughout the Continental United States and Canada. Our experienced drivers will deliver your chilled, frozen and temperature controlled truckload and LTL shipments at competitive rates. For more information about our trucking services, don’t hesitate to contact us or give us a call at 1-800-972-8484 today.

March 14, 2019 | | Category: Refrigerated Trucking

Four Pointers to Identifying an Effective Dry Freight Trucking Company

For any shipper, finding a good dry freight trucking company is the number one priority in ensuring their goods are in good hands. On the other hand, trucking companies have the sole responsibility to ensure the security and safety of your cargo or risk facing possible liability charges.

To avoid getting poor transportation services and to ensure the trucking company of your choice will satisfy your transportation needs, here are some of the pointers to look out for in a good dry freight trucking services.

The available networks in place

Sometimes your freight may not come from the same geographical position. Your customers may not all originate from the same location. A good dry freight trucking services company should have extensive networks in place to facilitate transportation of your cargo even across borders.

Consistent monitoring

One of the ways trucking businesses can gain the trust of the customer is to involve them in the shipping process wholly. The trucking company should have surveillance measures in place to track and monitor the drivers in real-time to know where the freight has reached at any particular time. The information then gets relayed to the customer who in turn feels their cargo is in good hands.

Flexibility in size and prices

Sometimes the freight many not come as bigger as last time. Your trucking company should have the means to get you dry freight vans in different sizes for competitive prices depending on your load size.

Flexibility in service provision

Some companies have a policy about pickup points and dropping points. Your trucking company should facilitate picking your freight from wherever it is at any time to ensure efficiency and customer satisfaction. It will not only increase convenience, but it will also save you more cost to transport the freight to a pickup point.

March 7, 2019 | | Category: General

The Benefits of Refrigerated Trucking And Why Your Business Might Need It

Refrigerated trucking is a specialized form of trucking service designed specifically for safely transporting perishable items, such as foodstuff. Businesses that need to have grocery items shipped from one location to another (even if it’s a short distance), need refrigerated trucking. In this post, we’ll introduce you to the benefits of refrigerated trucking and why you business might need it.

Refrigerated Trucking Company

Protection: If you are transporting items like dairy products, you need a transportation vehicle that can safely get said items to a particular destination without going bad and getting spoiled. A refrigerated truck will use the proper temperatures so the items do not get damaged (like vegetables that could be exposed to severely cold temperatures). Finally, a refrigerated truck will protect against harsh weather elements that likely would impact the quality and safety of the items being shipped.
It Can Be Used For Multiple Purposes: Typically the first thing that comes to mind when hearing about refrigerated trucking is perishable items like dairy, prepared meals, and meats. However, refrigerated trucking serves a wide variety of purposes and isn’t just for businesses that sell grocery items. If you need to ship such things as plants, personal care products, or pharmaceuticals, you simply can’t transport these things in a traditional vehicle. They’ll need to be shipped in a refrigerated truck to fully protect each item from damage.
These Things Will Always Need to be Transported: Produce and other such items will always be in high demand, thus they will always need to be transported to and from different places. To fully protect your business and the customers who are buying your products, it is imperative that you keep all items fully protect during the transportation process.

Are you in need of a refrigerated truck or is there another trucking service you require? Don’t hesitate to contact us today!

March 5, 2019 | | Category: Refrigerated Trucking

Flatbeds vs. Heavy Haul Trucking

There are many transport options when it comes to shipping heavy construction equipment. Two popular methods to ship heavy machinery such as cranes, excavators, and bulldozers are flatbed trucking and heavy haul trucking. Which is better?

FLATBED TRUCKING

Using flatbed trailers allows you great flexibility in transporting your construction equipment because it carries loads that are wide, over length, oversized, overweight, or any combination of these load types. Flatbeds are ideal for transporting heavy loads and equipment that are not delicate or vulnerable to precipitation such as construction equipment, for example. Sometimes, items will be covered with a tarp to prevent weather from damaging the freight. Flatbed trailers may be unloaded from the sides, from the top, or from behind, making unloading easier.

HEAVY HAUL TRUCKING

If your shipment is too tall, wide, or heavy, then it’s best to go with heavy haul trucking. A heavy haul truck consists of a truck tractor with an attached trailer. When using a heavy haul truck, the load will need permits (in terms of length, width, height, and weight) set for a particular state. When hauling a heavy haul load, it could take a few hours or a couple days to get permits depending on the state.

WHICH MODE OF TRANSPORT IS BETTER?

It depends on your shipping needs. If you have construction equipment that is heavier, taller, longer, or wider, it’s best to get a heavy haul truck. But if you just have equipment that meets the routine permit limits, a flatbed truck should be sufficient.

Here at Great Western Transportation, we have an experienced team that has the knowledge and access to required equipment necessary to meet your heavy haul trucking needs. We also specialize in flatbed trucking with a variety of trailer types that are designed to fit the many needs required by different shipments either based on size or how they need to be loaded.

Need your construction equipment transported? Contact us for a quote today.

March 1, 2019 | | Category: Flatbed, Heavy Haul

6 Tips on How to Backup a Flatbed Truck

Backing up a commercial flatbed truck can be a very dangerous task, especially if you are new to the field. We are passionate about safety at Great Western Transportation. Since we’re the leader in the industry when it comes to offering complete trucking services, we’ve gathered some helpful tips for drivers who need to safely maneuver their large vehicle. Read on to learn more about how you can safely backup a flatbed truck.

Tip #1: Always be on the lookout for cross-traffic

Our first tip is to be alert and constantly check the road for cross-traffic. We recommend that you never back up the flatbed truck into an intersection unless there is no other option. You should also make sure there is enough space around your vehicle. When in doubt, get out of the truck to look at the situation up close to see if you have enough room.

Tip #2: Backup as slowly as you can

Take your time when you are trying to backup into a loading dock or next to a building. One wrong move could damage the building or the vehicle.

Tip #3: Make sure the space you are entering is wide enough and high enough

You should always be aware if your flatbed truck can clear what’s on the road. After all, you don’t want to get stuck. Check to see if there is enough clearance so you can safely backup the truck.

Tip #4: Don’t rely on mirrors

Another tip is to not rely solely on mirrors. Mirrors can do not show accurate depictions of where items are around your vehicle. Get out of the truck sometimes to observe the situation to make sure you can move the car without incident.

Tip #5: Avoid blind alleyways

Never back the flatbed truck up into a blind alleyway or any other area where you can’t see too well.

Tip #6: Always give others behind you the right of way

If someone is behind your truck, regardless if it’s a vehicle or a person, err on the side of caution and give them the right of way before you start to backup the vehicle.

Contact Great Western Transportation

For more information about our services, please contact us today online or call us at (800) 972-8484.

February 22, 2019 | | Category: Flatbed

3 Advantages of Using a Flatbed Truck

Are you a business that routinely moves items across multiple states? Or are you a business that just has a big move coming up? Either way, you have come to the right place. In this post, we will introduce you to the top three advantages of using a flatbed truck.

You Won’t Have to Take as Many Trips: Flatbed trucks are larger than pickup trucks and u-hauls which means you’ll have more room to store all of the stuff you have to move. And with more stuff on one truck, you’ll drastically reduce the number of trips you’ll have to take from one location to another. This is invaluable for anyone looking to save both time and money.
There Are Many Things That Can Be Loaded Onto a Flatbed Truck: A flatbed truck is a vehicle unlike any other. No need to worry about the dexterity of a flatbed truck. You can load just about anything on there from heavy farm machinery to construction equipment to military gear. It is able to withstand the weight of huge objects and safely deliver your goods to the final destination. Things that typically would be very difficult to move can easily be transported on a flatbed truck.
Things Are Easier to Load: If you are trying to make a big move with a pickup truck alone, you’ll quickly become discouraged by the lack of space. Thankfully, this isn’t a problem with flatbed trucks. Flatbed trucks provide enough room to make moving items on and off the vehicle much easier. Additionally, because a flatbed truck doesn’t have walls in the ways a pickup does, it’s easier for you to load items on from any side or angle.

Want to learn more about the benefits of flatbed trucks? Don’t hesitate to contact us today with any questions or comments!

February 12, 2019 | | Category: Flatbed

LTL Trucking: What it is and When to Use it

Less-Than-TruckLoad (LTL) shipments are loads that are not big enough for a whole load, but too big for a common parcel carrier. This means a shipment that does not require a full 48- or 53-foot trailer. When this is the case, multiple LTL loads can be combined to make a full truck load. This not only saves the customers money, but also makes the trucking company more efficient by utilizing the most space as possible. Trucking companies have utilized LTL for many years now, and have become more efficient than ever, making LTL shipping the preferred freight option for many customers. LTL shipping is very popular and is utilized by many large companies as well as the average person.

less-than-truckload-ltl-shipping-services

Reduces costs: The main benefit to LTL trucking, is the reduced cost. Instead of paying for a full truck and trip, you only pay for the portion of the load that your item(s) takes up. The rest of the cost is shared with the customers of the rest of the payload.
Increases security: LTL shipments are generally palletized making them more secure as well as making them easier to load and unload.
Tracking: LTL carriers usually offer advance tracking and services that are generally only available to large loads
Efficiency: LTL trucking means reduced fuel consumption and less travel on the roads, responsibly using resources.

LTL shipping is utilized daily all over the U.S, it is a safe, secure, inexpensive way to ship your cargo. So if you have a load to ship that’s not big enough for a whole truck, than LTL shipping is the best way to go. It will save you money and make the trucking company more efficient as well. For LTL shipping, or any other trucking needs, contact us.

February 7, 2019 | | Category: LTL

LTL Refrigerated Trucking: You Don’t Have to Hire a Whole Refrigerated Truck

Do you have a lot of something cold you need to transport? Like enough chilled yogurt for your rural destination wedding, or enough frozen meat to feed a whole summer camp of hungry children? Whether you are planning an event, opening a facility, or making an unusually large product delivery, sometimes we have unusual refrigerated transportation needs.

When You Need Refrigerated Transport

Sometimes, you need to transport a lot more cold stuff than could fit in even three large stacked coolers. Or you need to take it further than two bags of ice can carry you. Or the load needs to stay at a very specific temperature. With these requirements, there is only one practical solution: Hiring a refrigerated truck.

Refrigerated Freight and LTL Trucking

But You Don’t Need a Whole Refrigerated Truck

The problem is that not everyone needs to ship an entire semi-trailer of refrigerated goods. Just more than coolers and car trunks could possibly hold. This in-between sized shipment can create stress for even the best event planners and organization managers. Naturally, you don’t want to pay to hire an entire refrigerated truck shipment when you only need a fraction of the refrigerated trailer space.

This can cause decision-makers to balk at the idea of hiring the very service you need most. Fortunately, there’s a solution.

LTL: Less-Than-Load Refrigerated Trucking

Your answer is LTL Trucking, which stands for Less-Than-Load. Transport companies often offer LTL services to smaller clients who need trucking, but not an entire trailer. Essentially, you can hire only the percentage of the trailer your shipment will occupy while other clients whose refrigerated goods are going the same direction take up the rest of the space.

LTL trucking is a lot like calling the airport shuttle to pick you up from home. Your shipment will be transported quickly, but other people’s shipments will also be picked up and transported along the way. And for small-scale clients, this is the best possible way to get refrigerated shipping when you need it at a great price.

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Do you need LTL refrigerated shipping? We can help! To hammer out the details of your refrigerated shipping needs, contact us today!

February 1, 2019 | | Category: Refrigerated Trucking