How to Find the Best Heavy Haul Estimate for a Harvester Combine

Transporting heavy equipment involves many logistical arrangements. From mapping out the route to finding a driver with the right trailer, the heavy equipment hauling process becomes much easier when using a reliable and reputed load board for heavy machinery. Trusted Dispatch is committed to creating reliable heavy haul shipping services for both customers and drivers. When you ship with us, you’ll receive the best quote for shipping costs than anywhere else. 

What Is the Cost of Heavy Haul Loads?

The cost of transportation for shipping heavy equipment, such as harvester combines, might be less than you expect. We’ve created a straightforward load board for customers to post their loads where experienced owner-operator truckers can find and claim their shipments. 

Our model is a heavy haul trucking shipping company based on transparency and trust. We base our costs on the distance your haul needs to travel, the load’s size and weight, and the driver’s time and skill. The result is a competitive, fair quote that ensures your valuable farm equipment is transported securely and the drivers are compensated for their services. 

Which Type of Specialized Trailers Are Needed?

A harvester combine is a large shipment that requires a wide trailer, usually 10 feet across, to haul from location to location. This type of heavy load will not fit on a typical flatbed trailer. Instead, a removable gooseneck or low-boy trailer is better suited for the size of the machine, especially ones with dual tires.

If you’re shipping your combine with a header, it may need to be removed from the machine before loading. Using a step-deck trailer can accommodate both the header and the combine in one shipment. If your machine is a heavy haul, your driver will ensure additional axles are used on the truck and trailer as needed before picking up your shipment. 

Permitting and Regulations

Due to the essential use of combine harvesters in agriculture in Canada, many provinces give a few exemptions for the shipment of farm equipment on the roads. This means that you may not need to remove the header from the combine if it travels within the regions that excuse the rules. Oversized load rules also include exceptions for farm equipment, such as not needing escort cars or obeying general width limitations. Normally, there will be limitations if a machine is wide enough to block an entire lane on a two-way highway. Otherwise, farm equipment is given more flexibility for practical reasons. 

The limitations on height and weight still apply to all loads to protect the infrastructure of the roadways and to pass under overhead powerlines and other structures. Your driver will know which rules must be followed and will ensure these are met for your load. 

How to Prepare Your Shipment for Loading

Harvester combines are large machines that require careful loading onto the trailer for shipment. We recommend that shippers choose a pick-up location with ample space for the truck and trailer to park and to allow for turning around. Your driver will likely use a removable gooseneck trailer to haul your combine. The RGN trailer detaches from the truck and serves as a ramp at the front for easy loading. From there, the combine can drive up the ramp and onto the trailer until it is in the best position. 

The last thing anyone wants is their valuable machines arriving with stone chips. Your driver will ensure the machine is secured to the trailer and that the windshield and other vulnerable areas of the combine are covered. Depending on the road conditions and distance travelled, your driver may take additional measures to protect your machine, such as covering exhaust stacks or disconnecting the battery. 

Do You Need to Ship on a Tight Timeline?

Our load board matches shipments with available drivers. Due to locations or shipment sizes, the timeline for matches can vary. The more details you, the shipper, can provide will make it easier for drivers to decide whether or not they can pick up your load. Beyond the basic three details, we need to provide you with your free quote, there are extra pieces of information you can share to better attract a driver to claim your load:

• Include photos of the equipment that needs shipping.
• Specify the date when your equipment is available for pick-up, along with a deadline for when it needs to be picked up.
• Indicate if you are available to help load the shipment – especially implements, attachments, or anything that is not a roll on/roll off machine.

If your shipment requires rush transport, we also offer the option to “boost a load.” Boosting means you can offer an increase in your rate of payment to entice drivers to claim your load sooner. Most of our shippers find matches to drivers on our load board using the quoted prices. However, a raised rate will attract the attention of drivers to help get your shipment on the road sooner rather than later. 

Use Our Free Heavy Haul Calculator

If you have a harvester combine that needs shipping this fall season, you can get a free, instant quote using our shipping calculator. We need to know your pick-up location and drop-off location, along with the dimensions of your machine. Once we have those three pieces of essential information, we’ll instantly give you your free quote so you can plan ahead for the harvest season.