What Type of Heavy Haul Trailers Are Used for Shipping Farming Equipment?
Watching an experienced heavy haul driver load a massive machine such as a combine harvester onto a trailer is an impressive show of engineering and design. If you’ve ever spent time in rural areas, you may have encountered these large machines on the secondary and gravel roads as they move from one parcel of land to another. While it’s pretty common to drive farming equipment short distances on back roads, it’s not practical (or permitted!) to drive farming equipment down the highway over long distances.
When a piece of agricultural machinery needs to be transported, it must be shipped on the right trailer pulled by a semi-truck. There are varying rules and regulations for heavy hauls and oversize loads that we’ve outlined in other articles. In this article, we’ll discuss the use of heavy haul trailers and the axle requirements for heavy loads in the trucking industry.
Heavy Haul Trailers
It’s essential to use the right heavy haul trailer for shipping farming equipment or other industrial machines because they are built to support the heavy weights and large sizes of these machines. A semi-truck with the rightly configured trailer can haul extreme amounts of weight that a pick-up truck or SUV could only dream of hauling. The magic is in the placement of axles and the use of supports such as jeeps and boosters.
What Number of Axles Does a Heavy Haul Trailer Need?
The total weight a trailer can support is directly related to how many axles it has. Additional axles and wheels allow trailers to accommodate more weight, making them stable during transport. With extra axles and tandem axles on the trailer and truck, drivers can safely haul heavier loads on most Canadian highways.
The Difference Between Axle Types
Steer Axle: the axle that supports the tires at the front of a semi-truck is the steer axle.
Single Axle: a single axle supporting two wheels.
Double Axle or Tandem Axle: two axles side-by-side supporting four wheels in total.
When you post your heavy load with Trusted Dispatch, the drivers in our network who have the right equipment will be the ones who claim your shipment. Based on the information you provide regarding the dimensions and weight of your equipment, drivers will know if they have the truck and trailer specs to securely haul your shipment.
Tips for Preparing Your Heavy Load
Many of our drivers work in the agriculture sector or have in the past and therefore have the specialized trailers required to transport large farming equipment. It’s also beneficial to upload photos of the machines and the attachments you want to ship so the potential drivers can easily visualize how they will load the heavy haul equipment before arriving at your location for the pick-up.
Jeeps and Boosters in Heavy Equipment Hauling
Two other tools can help with transporting heavy equipment. A heavy haul jeep is an extra set of single or tandem axles that attach to the front of the trailer and are typically used with removable gooseneck trailers (RGNs). The booster is a set of axles that are attached to the end of the trailer.
Drivers can utilize both jeeps and boosters for extremely heavy loads or one or the other. It depends on the size and weight of the equipment being shipped and the regulations regarding trailer length and legal load weight. Knowing the accurate weight of your equipment is essential for drivers to prepare for the haul. Customers must enter the weight correctly so drivers can show up with the right equipment to safely and legally complete the transport.
Finding Equipment Specs
Most agricultural manufacturers will have a spot on their website where customers can research the dimensions and weights for their models. To make it easier to get a heavy haul trucking fast, we created a powerful Specs Tool with over 60,000 machines and equipment details in our system. Start using it by entering the make and model of your machine, and suggested matches will appear with dimensions pre-programmed. If you can’t find your machine, we can help you find the information needed.
Heavy Haul Shipments in Alberta
Get your free heavy haul shipping quote with Trusted Dispatch instantly when you use our shipping calculator. All you need to enter are your pick-up and drop-off locations and specs for your shipment, and you’ll see your quote instantly so you can start planning your next heavy haul.
