How Much Does It Cost to Transport Heavy Equipment?
When you need to transport heavy equipment, the price is likely one of your biggest concerns. When calculating the transportation cost, there isn’t a set amount you can expect to pay–many factors go into the shipping costs, including weight and dimensions, distance, and location. In this blog, we’ll discuss some of these factors so you can understand the estimated costs of hauling your equipment.
What Are You Shipping?
The equipment that you are shipping plays a large part in the costs of transporting heavy equipment. How many machines are you shipping? What are the specs of your equipment, including the dimensions and weight? Both of these factor into the price of transport services.
If you’re shipping several machines or pieces of equipment at once, it will require more than one driver. The costs of additional drivers’ time will need to be accounted for, as well as the extra fuel necessary.
For particularly heavy items, there are more restrictions in travel: you may require a certain trailer, extra axels, and more fuel. For example, tall equipment might need a lowboy trailer. There might also be restrictions on the routes the driver can take. All of these factors will increase the price of transporting your equipment.
If a piece of equipment is oversized, alternate routes may need special permitting and pilot vehicles may be required, which adds to the cost of shipping.
How Far Are You Shipping?
Distance and time are major factors in calculating shipping costs. The farther the equipment needs to travel, the higher the cost.
If you’re shipping regionally, expect costs to be significantly lower than if you’re shipping across the country or over the border. If you require long haul, transport services will be more expensive to accommodate for the distance and hours the driver must complete.
Are You Crossing the Canada-United States Border?
If you’re crossing the border, you’ll need to consider the additional costs and logistics it entails. Tariffs and taxes will make transportation more expensive, so be prepared to pay more to cross the border with heavy equipment.
Crossing the border can be a complicated and overwhelming process. Hiring a customs broker will take that extra weight off of your shoulders, as the broker will handle all communication and operations related to your border crossing. Experienced customs brokers are always updated on rules and regulations and will be able to fill out paperwork efficiently and without error.
What Is the Cost of Professional Drivers?
At Trusted Dispatch, we have a network of experienced, professional heavy haul drivers. Every driver has the knowledge and experience to transport heavy hauls efficiently and without incident.
Heavy equipment hauling is a complicated, time-consuming operation. As such, our drivers are fairly compensated for the work they do. Heavy haul drivers put a great deal of work into ensuring that your equipment arrives safely and on time, so we want to demonstrate their value through fair compensation.
Use the Trusted Dispatch Heavy Equipment Shipping Calculator
Trusted Dispatch’s Heavy Equipment Shipping Calculator works in just three easy steps: First, enter your pick-up location. Then enter the drop-off location. Finally, enter the specs of your equipment (this includes the dimensions, weight, make, and model). Click the button, and you’ll receive a free, instant quote! The shipping calculator can be used on a computer or mobile device, making it extremely simple and efficient to use anywhere.
Don’t know the specs of your equipment? Don’t worry! Trusted Dispatch’s powerful Specs tool contains information and specifications on over 60,000 machines. This tool will search the database for your machine, then input the specs into the shipping calculator.
