Blog - Great Western Transporation

How Event Planners Can Benefit From LTL Trucking

Event planners deal with every size of event, from the small but special reunion to conventions of many thousands. For small parties, collecting and delivering the necessary supplies, decorations, and party favors can be handled in a single trunk-load, but larger events can require moving vans worth of equipment and supplies. Instead of constantly arranging for private transportation, party planners can benefit from partnering with a trucking company and taking advantage of Less Than Load (LTL) delivery services.

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For large loads of furniture, tools, and event materials, it can be a hassle to get everything delivered and unloaded, especially when the venue is secluded or distant from most van rental hubs. Rather than paying all-day vehicle rental fees and making multiple trips, consider scaling up for economy. Trucking services make deliveries all day, every day and often try to schedule smaller deliveries together to save gas and space. If you are booking large-scale events often enough to make use of the service, you could gain an economy of scale by booking partial space in a shipping truck instead of renting and driving a private moving van.

Available Truck Types

Even if your client wants an ancient boat anchor and thousands of pounds of sand transported to their destination wedding, LTL trucking can help with that. While you probably won’t need them all, your shipping options include flatbed, heavy haul, refrigerated, and dry freight shipments. For transporting equipment, decorations, or party favors, flatbed is your most likely best option. Large deliveries of frozen food, on the other hand, are best shipped in a refrigerated truck to keep them fresh before the event.

From annual conventions to fantasy weddings, sometimes events will require a staggering amount of supplies to be delivered. If your event planning business caters to large gatherings several times a year, you may benefit from scheduling your deliveries with LTL shipping services.

July 7, 2017 | | Category: LTL

Happy July 4th

The team at Great Western Transportation would like to wish everyone a happy and safe July 4th!

Great Western Labor Day Pic

July 3, 2017 | | Category: General

The Challenges of Transporting Heavy Machinery

Preparation

Transporting heavy manufacturing and construction machinery is a difficult task at the best of times. Certain factors are predictable and controllable. Others are not. Transporting heavy machinery requires a great deal of careful preparation early in the process, which can be difficult for professionals who are on tight schedules. However, the consequences of inadequate preparation can be particularly costly in the case of transporting heavy machinery, which is often very expensive in its own right.

Information

Heavy manufacturing and construction equipment will often need to be transported using very specific guidelines that are unique to individual machines. The machines will also vary tremendously in terms of their shape, weight, and length. Being even slightly wrong about any of these statistics can have drastic consequences, given the very high weights and extensive lengths involved. Professionals who transport a lot of heavy machinery within a tight schedule might be more likely to receive inaccurate information, and the burden of confirming all of these statistics might fall on them.

Safety

Securing the heavy machinery during the journey is essential. Obviously, all cargo needs to be secured. However, when it comes to heavy machinery, the potential for accidents and severe damage is so much higher. It’s important to have accurate information related to the exact weight of the heavy machinery. Different types of construction and manufacturing machinery might require different types of equipment in order to complete the journey safely. Heavy construction and manufacturing machinery can be difficult to repair if they sustain even relatively minor amounts of damage.

June 29, 2017 | | Category: General, Heavy Haul

Different Factors Involved With Refrigerated Trucking

Cargo

Many different types of cargo need to be refrigerated during transportation. Most people think of food when they think of the cargo that needs refrigeration. However, life science products, certain pharmaceutical products, and medical supplies belong in that same category. Certain types of perishable items will be more resilient than others.

With certain medical supplies, significant temperature changes during the transportation process can be hugely problematic. Standards for food are often high enough that perfectly edible food might be thrown out if it looks like it got damaged during transportation. Refrigerated trucking companies have to meet high standards for their cargo.

refrigerated trucking shipping

Scheduling

Making good time is always important in the transportation business. However, when perishable goods are being transported, it’s even more important to make sure that they reach their destination within a set period of time. Refrigerated trucking companies need to place more emphasis on making good time than other businesses within the industry. Ideally, they should be able to work under short notice. Many refrigerated trucking companies also offer after-hour pick-ups and overnight service. These services have multiple benefits, and they also help to ensure that refrigerated trucking companies will be able to transport perishable goods more successfully.

Serviced Vehicles

All trucking companies need to maintain their vehicles effectively and consistently. However, it is important to note that this is even more essential with refrigerated trucking companies. These trucks use systems that will help to maintain the temperatures that the perishable cargo will need. These systems are inherently vulnerable, even if they have been designed effectively. Servicing the vehicles used in refrigerated trucking is partly about maintaining these systems as well as the overall vehicles.

June 9, 2017 | | Category: Refrigerated Trucking

Memorial Day Weekend

The team at Great Western Transportation would like to wish everyone a happy and safe memorial day weekend.

May 26, 2017 | | Category: General

LTL Trucking Ideas

Truckers and logistics provides are always seeking ways to serve the customer and ship goods cheaply and quickly. Less than Truck Load (LTL) shipping has become more and more popular as a way to save money and move goods efficiently.

The main concept of LTL trucking is that a customer does not have enough goods to fill an entire shipping container or truck. They can pay for the entire thing or wait for another customer to come along that can have the goods delivered to the same or nearby warehouse. That drastically reduces the price for both parties.

Logistics providers are using LTL trucking more and more to serve customer needs. They are also using more sophisticated software to map out their trips, coordinate schedules and combine goods to fill trucks as much as possible while still delivering the materials in the least amount of time.

There are four special types of trucks that ship goods around the country.

what is less than truckload ltl

Refrigerated

These trucks are obviously kept cool just as a refrigerator is. They primarily haul perishable goods such as food but sometimes electronics and other sensitive materials.

Dry

Trucks that are kept dry are in a way the opposite of refrigerated trucks. These vehicles are the most common type and generally keep goods free of dust and dirt. They prevent water damage by their thick interiors as well.

Flatbed

These trucks are open and are good for irregular sized equipment that are hard or impossible to fit on a typical dry truck. Goods must be strapped in extremely tightly.

Heavy Haul

These trucks have special chassis to carry especially heavy goods such as industrial equipment. They are reinforced with stronger steel and also have more powerful breaks, engine and other equipment.

Great Western Transportation is a leading, high-quality trucking and shipping provider. They have expert LTL service. For more information, please contact us.

May 22, 2017 | | Category: General, LTL

Five Tips For Transporting Equipment Bought at an Auction

Buying large equipment at an auction is exciting. At auctions, it’s possible to buy big ticket items in excellent condition, at a fraction of the price you’ll find them at a traditional store. They’re also treasure troves for people looking for specific items that are otherwise out of stock.

But when it comes to transporting these large items, stuffing them into the back of your sedan car isn’t going to do it. Hauling large auction items requires special considerations and care. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you need to transport large auction-bought equipment:

Have a plan in advance. If possible, go in knowing what equipment you plan to buy and have a plan set up for transporting it. It’s much easier to set up auction transportation ahead of time.
Know what kind of hauling equipment you need. Will your auction equipment fit in a trailer, a u-haul sized truck, or do you need a large truck? Make sure you know how big your items is so you can reserve a proper vehicle.
Learn about licenses. You can use your regular drivers license to drive some large vehicles and trailers. However, for commercial large vehicles, you’ll need a special license or to hire a licensed commercial driver.
Get a game plan for lifting the equipment. You can’t get large, heavy equipment on a truck with a few strong people. Instead, you need a crane or other heavy hauling equipment. Find out what kind of equipment your item needs to load it onto a truck, and reserve it.
Get federal or state permission. If you’re taking equipment between the US and Canada, or over state and provincial lines, check to see if you need special permission from customs, the state or province. This will save time and risks of fines.

Instead of dealing with the stress of hauling your own auction equipment long distance, leave the job to a professional. At Great Western Transportation, we’ll do the hard work for you and get your large auction equipment to your destination in the continental US or Canada. Contact us for more information and a free price quote.

May 5, 2017 | | Category: Flatbed, General

Transporting Heavy Machinery and Getting the Machinery Ready

Plans For Heavy Equipment Transportation

Transporting heavy machinery is no easy task. The logistical aspects of transporting heavy machinery alone can be frustrating, especially with regards to securing the right permits and scheduling the trip.

Even making sure the equipment is ready for its trip can take time, but this is one of the most important considerations. If the owners and operators of the machinery fail to do this adequately, they can end up damaging their equipment along the way. They must at least make sure they cover the basics.

Modifying Machines in Specific Ways

Some machines should have their batteries removed before the transportation process. They might have parts that need to be tightened before a trip. It’s also generally a good idea to get rid of the engine fluids beforehand as well. People who want more considerations that are specific to different machines should read the manuals associated with them to make sure they didn’t miss anything.

Protecting the Machines Against the Elements

Many pieces of heavy machinery are not perfectly resistant to the wind, heat, cold, and the moisture in the air. Certain parts of the machines might be particularly prone to damages associated with the weather. The machinery will be exposed to the open air at different points throughout the journey. It’s important to make sure that the machines get some additional protection from the elements, even if only specific parts need to be protected.

April 28, 2017 | | Category: General, Heavy Haul