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Best Practices When Moving Heavy Equipment

When it comes to transporting heavy equipment, you need to be ultra-cautious to ensure that the equipment reaches the destination safely. To do this you need to observe a set of best practices.

Best practices before loading the equipment

You need to ensure that you don’t exceed the transport vehicle’s gross weight rating and/or gross combination weight.

If the equipment is too large, determine whether you need permits for oversized or overwidth movements. These loads may additionally necessitate warning flags, lights, and oversized or wide load banners.

Are there any loading requirements for the equipment, such as the usage of locking pins, brakes, specific transmission gear, outriggers, or deck wideners? You should find them.

As a rule of thumb determine where you will place the equipment on the transport vehicle to ensure proper weight distribution and securement.

Heavy equipment movers also recommend that you check the equipment’s securement points for wear and damage. If they are damaged, don’t use them.

If there will be friction between the equipment and the transport vehicle (for example, metal crawler tracks on a metal deck), consider if you need friction devices.

If the item you need to move has rubber tires, check the pressure. Low pressure may cause the tiedowns to loosen.

Remember to remove any excess aggregate, dirt, debris, or other materials that could fall or reduce friction during transport.

Best practices when loading the equipment

You shouldn’t operate or load equipment that you are unfamiliar with or cannot operate safely. When possible, put the equipment against a vehicle structure to help prevent forward movement, unless weight distribution or securement considerations prevent this.

To avoid damaging brake or hydraulic lines or cylinders, attach securement devices with caution.

Remember to use edge protection to safeguard the tiedowns and equipment.

Whenever possible, use the equipment manufacturer’s designated connection points and adhere to the manufacturer’s securement guidelines.

Attach each tiedown as close to the vehicle’s front and rear as practicable. You can also attach it to mounting points on the vehicle specifically built for that purpose.

Do not use any attachment point with doubtful strength or compatibility.
Chain is the main tiedown method for large equipment and machinery. Ensure that no links are strained or have nicks.

Use direct tiedowns whenever possible, but keep in mind that you require more tiedowns than indirect tiedowns.

To keep wheeled vehicles from moving, place chocks, cradles, wedges, or other measures against the wheels. These devices require security.

Best practices after loading the equipment

You need to lower all ancillary equipment and movable parts, such as hydraulic shovels, booms, plows, crane arms, and so on, and secure them to the transport vehicle with tiedowns.

For the accessories with locking pins or similar devices that prevent movement in any direction, you do not need to secure them with additional security measures.

Hydraulics alone are insufficient to secure auxiliary equipment so if possible use additional units.

If the equipment being transported has an articulation point, pivot, or hinge in its design, secure or constrain the vehicle or equipment to prevent articulation during transit.

You need to secure accessories and other items not attached to the equipment to the transport vehicle in accordance with the normal cargo securement rules.

When doing this, confirm the vehicle’s true height and breadth.

Perform all needed en-route security assessments.

Have minimum tiedown requirements

If the loaded vehicle has crawler tracks or wheels, you need at least four tiedowns to prevent the equipment from moving side-to-side, forward, rearward, and vertically.

You should note that an indirect tiedown routed through an anchor point and attached to both sides of the trailer is considered a single tiedown.

You can use a chain as two tiedowns provided it is appropriately linked to two anchor points with two binders and has slack in the middle, ensuring that a break in the chain does not affect each tiedown.

For peace of mind, the total working load limits of the tiedowns must be at least 50% of the cargo’s weight. If the cargo weight is unknown, you may need more tiedowns.

You can attach the tie-downs near the front and back of equipment, or at the mounting locations of the equipment intended for that purpose.

Ensure that you play by the load securement laws

During Roadcheck, inspectors will largely do the Level I inspection, which is a thorough 37-step examination of the vehicle and the driver’s credentials.

To ensure that you are on the right size, ensure that spare tires, loads, goods, tools, and dunnage are securely fastened and do not fall, blow, spill, or leak off the vehicle, or roll or shift while in transportation.

Also, ensure that there are enough tiedowns for the weight and length of the equipment being transported.

Check for faulty tiedowns, which may be loose, torn, broken, crooked, or knotted. If you have a problem, fix it immediately.

Inspect the anchor points and buildings for damage. You also need to confirm that you observe commodity-specific cargo security standards at all times.

Parting shot

These are some of the things you should do to ensure that your load is safe at all times during transportation.

You can do the transportation by yourself but for the best outcome, let an experienced heavy machinery moving company handle the work.

The beauty of hiring a company is that you are sure that they will deliver your equipment safely and without any problems. You are also sure that they will pay attention to all the laws and your equipment won’t be held on the road due to lack of compliance.

When you are hiring a heavy machinery moving VA company, don’t hire the first one that you come across. Instead, take your time to find a reputable one who will have the necessary equipment and experience. Don’t take risks on a piece of expensive equipment.

All About Heavy Equipment Transportation

heavy equipment moving

Heavy equipment transportation requires careful planning, whether you are transporting the heavy equipment across state lines or just down the street.

You should do the loading and unloading with extra care, and there are laws to follow. To help you out, here are heavy machinery moving guidelines that will assist you in maintaining safety and efficiency.

Understand your heavy equipment.

There are numerous types of heavy equipment you can use in various industries, such as construction, industrial, oil and gas, military, maritime, forestry, and agricultural enterprises.

Some of the equipment you can transport include backhoes, excavators, rock trucks, loaders, graders, and other machines.  

The weight of big machinery can vary. The federal government considers cargo to be a heavy load if it exceeds:

  • A gross truck weight of 80,000 pounds
  • 20,000 pounds for a single axle
  • The tandem axle weight is 34,000 pounds.

Challenges of heavy equipment transportation

Transporting overweight or big equipment has special obstacles. The obstacles that you need to be aware of include:

Safety

You should prioritize the security of the equipment. This is not only for the driver’s safety, but also for the safety of other drivers on the road. As a rule of thumb, you need to ensure that your equipment is not too heavy for the vehicle carrying it.

You also need to ensure that you are transporting it at the right time of the day. You don’t want to transport it during the peak hours as you might cause a lot of inconvenience.  

You also need to know how you load and unload the big equipment. You need to load the crane properly, and when you get to the site, unload it safely.

Transportation rules and regulations

Because of the dangers that come with transporting heavy equipment, you should be aware of the norms and regulations that you should follow.

You should note that failure to understand the various regulatory standards for size and weight can be costly.

The Department of Transportation is in charge of high loads on the road, but each state handles it differently.

Most states require a heavy load permit, although what constitutes overweight varies from state to state. The restrictions for signage, flags, escorts, and permitted modes of transportation can also vary depending on size, weight, and route.

You are obliged by law to hold liability and cargo insurance, so you should get it before you start the transportation.

Plan the logistics

When selecting a route for a big load, you should keep safety and laws in mind. You should have limitations on how equipment is fastened to a trailer or when the truck can be driven.

You also should have the appropriate cars on hand. In most cases, a flatbed truck will suffice, but don’t be surprised if a heavy-duty, tri-axle lowboy is required.

To load or unload safely, you’ll need knowledgeable personnel. You need a driver with many hours of service experience.

Remember that experienced drivers quickly notice when a large load alters the handling of their car. So go for the experienced ones as they will make your work easy and let you know when there is a problem.

Tips when loading and unloading heavy equipment

Cargo loading and unloading can be dangerous. This is especially true for big machinery. To ensure that you are safe, you need to consider these tips:

Undertake a risk management.

You should develop a rigorous strategy for preparing equipment and personnel for transportation and offloading each heavy equipment.

It will even be better to involve a senior manager or supervisor in assessing hazards and what may be done to address them. You should also detail the plan to resolve any potential compliance issues.

Work with experienced professionals

Transporting a tractor is not the same as moving a pallet. In addition to its weight and size, the equipment is likely to be inconvenient.

Heavy haulage is also costly. You don’t want anything to happen to valuable assets while the moving company is in charge of them.

You should document your operations and ensure that all personnel you hire are adequately trained in the best loading and unloading techniques.

Always do a pre-inspection

Heavy equipment places a significant strain on the vehicle. Before loading, be sure the vehicle or trailer you are using is capable of the job.

Check the vehicle tires, lights, brakes, and tie-down points. You should also double-check the weight-load restrictions.

Secure the equipment

Frequently, the manufacturer will provide instructions and engineering requirements for securing and stabilizing equipment during transportation. To stay on the safe side when securing the heavy equipment:

  • Use heavy-duty chains that are tight enough to prevent movement or shifting, ensuring that the equipment is secure while the vehicle is moving.
  • Determine appropriate tie-down places. The use of appropriate points saves equipment damage and aids in security.
  • Align the chain and hook binder grades to meet your maximum working load.
  • Use wedges, chocks, or cradles to secure your load

Be on the lookout for risks

If you do not fulfill the specified limits for load weight, height, or length, you risk incurring expensive fines.

To be on the safe side, investigate the rules for each jurisdiction along your path to proactively document and permit as needed.

Weather conditions can also have an impact on road safety. From the start, a large load truck behaves differently when it rains, snows, or sleets, so you should take extra measures.

Rough road conditions can also be an issue. Potholes on the highway could cause equipment to go loose. This creates a risk during transit and unloading.

Understand the route

Planning the route ahead of time allows for optimizing elements that may affect driver and equipment safety.

Avoiding traffic, construction, and traveling in adverse weather makes transportation easier.

Anticipating the path also allows you to determine which permits are required. Make plans ahead of time to avoid excessive idling or deadhead driving.

Parting shot

There are plenty of things you need to consider when moving heavy machinery. To stay on the safe side and have an easy time, work with heavy equipment movers VA who know what they are doing and will streamline the process and make it easy for you.