Blog - Great Western Transporation

In Heavy Haul Trucking, No Detail Is Too Small

Heavy haul trucking, or the transport of oversized and/or overweight loads, can be accurately called a logistical operation. The job demands a great deal of planning where even seemingly small oversights can have big consequences. The reason for this is our road infrastructure was not designed with this type of transport in mind. Bridges may have insufficient height clearances, power lines may get in the way, and even buildings next to the road may barely offer sufficient clearance for the heavy haul rig to get through.

Getting the job done right also requires doing things in the correct order. For example, if you get the various permits required from each of the states your transport will cross before knowing the exact weight, height, width, and length of your load, then even a few inches of dimensional error may require a route change. This in turn, may require new permits, which will cost extra money and lost time.

Proper securement of the load to the trailer is essential for its safe transport. Any mistakes can cause the load to shift or even come loose during transport. This may damage to the load, the trailer, and possibly damage the road or its infrastructure. A poorly secured load may also cause a traffic accident with another motor vehicle.

There are a multitude of other details to consider such as:

If loading the cargo on the trailer required special equipment, the destination site should also have the right unloading equipment.
Some of the states your heavy haul passes through may require escort vehicles.
You will want to choose a route that’s reasonably free of traffic delays such as road construction zones.

Careful attention to detail, meticulous planning, and double checking will eliminate or at least minimize any unexpected problems during transport. Pulling off such an operation on time and safely requires the expertise of professionals with lots of experience under their belts. Great Western Transportation can do this for you at a competitive price. To learn more about our heavy haul trucking service, contact us today.

October 9, 2017 | | Category: Heavy Haul

Shipping Construction Equipment and Making Everything Work

Type of Equipment

Construction companies are often going to need to ship many different types of construction equipment, including bulldozers and excavators. The tall arm of excavators gives them a very distinctive shape. The large metallic blade of a bulldozer, which is used to move debris and almost everything else, gives the device distinctive components that may be more prone to damage than others.

The exact format of a piece of construction equipment might change the manner in which the device is handled and secured during the transportation process. However, it might not make as much of a difference as some people believe.

Uniformity

Despite the vast differences between construction equipment types, some parts of shipping construction equipment will still remain consistent. The equipment will get set into position and secured. The professionals involved will check to make sure that there aren’t any additional issues, and then the shipping process will continue.

Some of the difficulties and opportunities that present themselves when shipping construction equipment will more or less come into play when shipping heavy devices in general. This should make things easier for the people who are used to shipments like these.

Security

Most companies will place a strong emphasis on security when it comes to construction equipment, which is very expensive. However, there are some people who might want to take additional precautions of their own, given the value of construction equipment.

Putting small and inexpensive GPS trackers on the equipment can give the owners some peace of mind with regards to what is going on with their construction devices. However, companies like Great Western Transportation have high standards for security one way or another.

September 8, 2017 | | Category: Flatbed, Heavy Haul

Transporting Equipment Bought at an Auction: What You Need to Know

If you are going to an auction with the intent to buy equipment, it’s important to have a plan for transporting it back to your location. This means you need to know more about the kind of equipment you’re looking at and what the rules are at the auction house.

Explore the Equipment

Many equipment auctions will list what’s available ahead of time. It’s important to review so you have an idea as to what you will bid on. There’s a big difference between needing to transport a single cart versus a dozen forklifts. Even though you might not win all of the auctions, you should have a basic idea of what will need to be transported.

Know Auction House Rules

Every auction house is different in terms of their rules for pickup. Some require that you take the equipment upon purchase. Other houses will allow you a window of two to three days to pick up your purchases. By knowing when you can pick up your purchase, it will allow you to schedule transportation appropriately.

Contact a Trucking Company

Work with a trucking company that will be capable of providing you with the needed transportation options. Especially if you’re buying a lot of large or tall equipment, you will want a flatbed truck. Otherwise, it might not be possible to fit it inside of a trailer. You might also want to check out LTL trucking if you’re not obtaining a lot of equipment.

Buying equipment at an auction can save you money. As long as you work with a reputable trucking company, you can be sure that transporting the equipment is easy.

August 24, 2017 | | Category: Flatbed, General, Heavy Haul

Effectively Shipping Construction Equipment

Size

Shipping construction equipment is often especially challenging because it’s so large. Tractors, excavators, cranes, loaders, hydraulic shovels, and bulldozers are tremendously heavy and bulky. They also vary a lot in terms of their exact dimensions.

The fact that these devices are so heavy does not necessarily make them a lot tougher than other pieces of equipment, either. Damaging construction equipment during the shipping process can be very costly, and it can stop the equipment from functioning properly.

Preliminary Necessities

Professionals who need to ship construction equipment will need to know how to measure it and list it in the right way. These same professionals might also need special permits in order to get their construction equipment shipped.

Taking photographs of the construction equipment that needs to be shipped can help prevent issues down the line. Construction equipment can vary substantially, and it’s important that everyone involved is fully informed about the shipment.

Specialization

Professionals are not going to be able to effectively ship construction equipment using just any vehicle. They will typically need a specialized heavy transport vehicle in order to make everything work.

There are some types of construction equipment in particular that might be heavier and larger than some people would expect for its category. Some bulldozers, excavators, and loaders are particularly large, and making arrangements to transport them can be more challenging.

Still, the construction industry has to move around heavy equipment all the time as a matter of course, given the nature of what it does. Great Western Transportation can help people in this industry.

August 17, 2017 | | Category: Flatbed, Heavy Haul

Power Only Trucking: Is This The Solution You Have Been Searching For?

Power only trucking solutions can save you from many frustrations and headaches when it comes to successfully managing your logistics. When you use power only trucking, you will only need to find a truck that will provide you with the power. When you need a truck to transport your load of goods on your trailer, you will turn to power only trucking. This can certainly save you from giving yourself multiple headaches trying to put together an effective and efficient plan.

The only things you will be required to do is make sure your trailers are meeting the regulations that have been set, make sure the trailers are maintained, and follow the proper weight limitations. You will not be responsible for making sure the truck is maintained. You will also not have to worry about training the truck driver because the driver will already have the experience and training he or she needs to get the job done the way it should be.

Power Only Trucking

When you are in the middle of a slow season, you will not have to be concerned with a truck that is not going anywhere anytime soon. On the other hand, when you are in the middle of a holiday season or any other busy time of the year, you can fill your trailers with your products and find the right trucks to take them to their destination.

A power only trucking solution allows you to remain in charge of your business’s needs, and you will also be able to communicate with the company that is hauling your goods. If you are tired of being frustrated of dealing with trucks or if your business only operates during certain times of the year, you should consider a power only trucking solution.

August 11, 2017 | | Category: Power Only Trucking

Refrigerated Trucking & Why You Need It for Your Business

When you’re a business, you have to be mindful of your trucking logistics. There are a number of reasons as to why you would want refrigerated trucking services. Driving from one side of the state to the other, it could be of benefit to you.

Fresh Deliveries are Vital

Your customers demand the very best. If the food arrives in anything other than refrigerated trucking services, they’re going to question the freshness. It doesn’t matter if the warehouse is just down the street or not. Often, it’s all about perception and therefore you don’t want to disappoint your customers. Refrigerated Freight and LTL Trucking

Food Inspections Demand It

Food, whether it’s in the process of being transported or not, has to remain at certain temperatures. This is particularly true of such items as milk, eggs, and cheese. You want to ensure quality trucking services are used so you don’t have deliveries failing food inspections upon arrival.

When you are ready to request refrigerated trucking services, it’s important to do so with the right company – and ensure you know all of the details about what you’re transporting and how far it’s going.

August 3, 2017 | | Category: Refrigerated Trucking

Why Heavy Haul Trucking Is Not a DIY Job

If you are a small company, a farm, or in construction, it may be tempting to do the heavy haul trucking yourself. However, transporting oversized or overweight equipment involves more than placing it on a flatbed trailer and sending it on its way. It requires expertise in a number of areas such as state regulations on load sizes and weights, safely loading and unloading equipment, trailer load distribution, and driving expertise.

What may seem like a money-saving do-it-yourself heavy haul could end up a costly operation in terms of money, time, and safety. Because of its complexity, there’s a long learning curve that you must undergo before you can transport heavy equipment as reliably, safely, and economically as a professional. The following are just three of the many considerations that go into heavy haul trucking:

Weight and Load Limits

The legal weight limit for a tractor-trailer is 40 tons. Heavier loads will require permits. In addition, there is a max load limit per axle. Loading the trailer requires great care so that you properly distribute the load and not exceed any of the axle load limits.

Permits

Knowing which permits to get requires understanding the regulations governing oversized or very heavy load transport. These regulations are complicated and vary from state to state. An interstate transport will require that all of the regulations for each state you cross are satisfied. Any compliance mistake or obtaining the wrong permit can result in fines. Some states have as many as twenty-five different types of permits.

Heavy Haul Driving Experience

Not every truck driver can safely drive a heavy load, and it’s not a good idea to have an inexperienced driver learn the ropes with your cargo. To safely deliver your shipment intact, you need skilled and highly experienced drivers. This is especially true with over sized cargo where the potential for damaging property and road infrastructure is high. Pilot car drivers are often needed to ride with the transport truck to act as guides.

Get your heavy haul delivered safely, on time, and economically with Great Western Transportation. Contact us today for more information.

July 26, 2017 | | Category: Heavy Haul

How Unreliable Dry Freight Trucking Hurts Your Business

In addition to the prices and quality of your products, customers judge you on the quality of your service. One of these is excellent customer service. Another is reliable customer fulfillment. Poor customer fulfillment can cause first time customers to make their future purchases elsewhere, and cause repeat customers to reconsider their loyalty to your brand. Losing repeat customers means you’ve lost their future patronage, which can add up to a lot of money.

Consumer Customer Perceptions

Customer fulfillment doesn’t end for you once the dry freight truck leaves your shipping dock. It ends when the customer receives the goods intact and on time. Although late deliveries or damaged goods caused by a trucker aren’t technically your fault, in the customer’s mind, it is. All they care about is they ordered the products from your business and it arrived late or damaged. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to make good choices about everything that affects your business, including your choice of dry freight trucking.

Business Customer Perceptions

If your customers are other businesses, then you are part of their supply chain. Their well-being and possibly survival, depends on your reliability. Delayed or damaged shipments to them, delays restocking of their inventories. This may cause them to run out of stock, which delays shipment to their customers. They in turn, experience lost business because of customer fulfillment issues.

If this happens too many times, they will protect their business by finding an alternative supplier. If your delivery issues are caused by an unreliable dry freight trucking service, you need to replace them before your customers replace you.

The cliché that you’re only as strong as your weakest link is true. If your inventory, warehouse, and shipping management are superb, none of that matters if you’re using a sub-par dry freight trucking service. If your current freight service isn’t working out for you, contact us.

July 13, 2017 | | Category: General