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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

The Bonus Features That Come With Heavy-Haul Trucking Services

If you need to move something incredibly heavy or unusually large, normal transportation solutions aren’t going to cut it. From construction vehicles to manufactured house sections, heavy-haul trucking services can get your weighty and oversized loads to their destinations. But you don’t just get a big truck with a heavy-duty trailer with heavy-haul trucking. Great Western Transportation offers a comprehensive heavy-haul service plan including three great bonuses that will make your haul much easier to manage:

Secured Wide-Load Permits

Depending on the size and weight of your load, and how far you need to go, you may be required to obtain a number of permits to make the journey. Navigating regional and transportation permits can be tricky business but you don’t have to face it alone. Our friendly team will help you line up exactly the permits you need to make the journey.

Route Surveys for Road Suitability

Not all roads can handle a heavy-haul load. And many towns don’t permit oversized loads to take their high-traffic through streets. Which means you will need to strategize a heavy-haul approved route before setting off on the road. Fortunately, GWT is highly experienced in surveying and planning trucking routes. So you don’t have to sweat each individual county regulation. We’ll plan the route for you so you can be sure your truck is always safely and legally traversing heavy-haul approved roads.

Safety Escorts to Your Destination

Finally, when you work with Great Western Transportation, you don’t have to worry about setting up your own before and behind safety escorts to roll slowly down highways with your heavy-haul truck. Our experienced drivers will take care of this important safety concern and maintain a rock-solid escort fleet. This way, you can be sure that no other drivers will get too close or misunderstand your heavy-haul load.

When you need something unreasonably heavy or oversized transported, don’t leave anything to chance. Working with Great Western Transportation, you can be certain that your heavy load will get where it’s going with all the right routes, permits, and safety precautions. You tell us where you’re headed, we’ll take care of the rest.

January 25, 2019 | | Category: Heavy Haul

3 Reasons to Use Professional Flatbed Trucking Services

Flatbed trucking is used for a multitude of purposes and whether you are a small business owner, construction professional, or just a homeowner with extra materials that need to be moved, you might find yourself needing a flatbed truck one day. So just what can a flatbed truck be used for? In this post, we’ll introduce you to three common reasons to use a flatbed truck.

flatbed trucking

  1. Removing Scrap Metal: Do you have a lot of scrap metal that needs to be taken off your property? The best way to do that is with a flatbed truck. Loading and unloading bulk amounts of scrap metal is far easier to do on a flatbed truck than it is on any other vehicle. When you hire flatbed trucking professionals, they can remove the scrap metal from your property and take it to a recycling facility, saving you time, effort, and money.
  2. Transporting Building Materials: Flatbed trucking is ideal for shipping building materials and large pieces of construction equipment. Instead of trying to move building materials in a truck or small vehicle and being forced to take multiple trips, get everything transported in one go. Additionally, a flatbed truck is designed to ship heavy materials including steel beams, concrete, and brick.
  3. Moving Baled Tires: In order to combat a buildup of hazardous waste materials, baled tires are created to make moving tires easier. One bale is made of 100 tires and weighs about a ton. Obviously, that’s impossible to lift, load, and transport unless you have the right equipment. Fortunately, flatbed trucks are designed to be able to withhold that kind of weight. If you own a junkyard with plenty of tires laying around, the best thing you can do is have them converted into bales and shipped off on a flatbed truck.

Want to learn more about the benefits of using a flatbed truck? Contact us today!

January 17, 2019 | | Category: Flatbed

Heavy Hauling: 3 Benefits to Hiring a Professional Transportation Company

Often times equipment exceeds the width of the roadways and requires special equipment and permits to haul legally and safely from one destination to the next. Relying on a reputable transportation company means you can spend less time worrying about state regulations and permits required for hauling oversized equipment, and more time focusing on the job at hand. This is where Great Western Transportation comes in. Let’s take a look at 3 benefits to hiring professional transportation services.

Less Equipment to Maintain

There is often times special equipment required for heaving hauling. These can include double drops, extendable trailers, removable goosenecks, and more. By hiring a transportation company you do not have to purchase and maintain special equipment that may only be used every so often. This can save you both money and time in the long run.

No Need for Special Permits

Heavy hauling requires special permits. The type of and the number of permits required varies by state. There’s no need to worry about accidentally failing to obtain a required permit, facing delays and possibly hefty fines. Transportation companies are well versed in the special permits required and acquire the permits necessary to haul your oversized load.

Escort Vehicles

Depending on the load, often times escort vehicles are required to drive both ahead of and behind the load to warn other vehicles on the road. Transportation companies even arrange for escort vehicles if needed without you having to lift a finger.

When it comes to heavy hauling, Great Western Transportation arranges for all of the permits and logistics needed to haul your equipment from point A to point B. No matter the size, shape, or weight of your equipment, Great Western Transportation provides professional, expert, and punctual services to meet your needs. Contact us today for a free estimate!

 

January 10, 2019 | | Category: Heavy Haul
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