The Construction Business: How to Haul Your Heavy Equipment

There is a lot that goes into operating a construction business. You are never at every job site forever. Once the project is complete, you move on to the next job site. This means you have to move all of your equipment. That being said, you know hauling heavy equipment is not an easy task. The safety of your employees and others are on the line. You also need to make sure your equipment is transported safely and is not damaged in the process. The following guide should help you haul your equipment as safely as possible.

Honest Evaluation

There is no way around the fact that hauling heavy equipment presents some obstacles. Part of the reason this task can give you a headache is because of all the regulations that exist. They are there to keep everyone safe, but complying is not so easy. Sometimes, construction companies overlook damaged securement systems or the equipment is not secured well. An easy fix would be to contract a heavy haul third party company to help with the planning, shipping, and complying. An honest evaluation of your operation can help you see weaknesses so that you can work on them or accept that you might need a little help.

Dealing with the Basics

To haul your equipment safely and effectively, you have to deal with the basics. For example, one violation that many inspectors see deals with the load being too heavy for the transporter. It is vital that your team verifies the gross weight rating of the transport you'll be using to ensure your equipment doesn't exceed that limit.

Your company probably gets all the special permits needed for oversize or over-width loads, but one mistake that some companies make is failing to follow rules and permit requirements from other counties, cities, or states.

Each region can have different rules, and if you fail to comply in every place, you'll be risking delays, which can be quite costly for a construction company. Some rules are easy to overlook like there are specific requirements for locking pins, but some regulations deal with bigger things, such as making sure your transmission gears are functioning.

Find Potential Risks

Hauling equipment can be dangerous, and some companies can easily overlook potential risks. A lot of those are linked to regulations that you have to follow, which was mentioned earlier, but some dangers can't be inspected with the naked eyes, such as cracked wires or leaky hoses.

These are things you have to address with the help of a heavy-duty equipment mechanic to deal with these sorts of issues before you transport your equipment. Once the machines get to the destination, they are not always checked, so a mechanical issue can become a larger one in a split second.

Transporting the Equipment

Your drivers must also be ready to transport this equipment. Even if you've followed all regulations, like making sure your loads are balanced, this does not make the trip any less dangerous for the equipment or your employees. Making sure the drivers are experienced and are good at paying attention to road hazards should help ensure your equipment gets there in one piece.

They also need to be experts about transporting everything through harsh weather conditions. It sometimes might be raining or snowing which will make the roads slick. Your driver should know how to make it through those conditions and even more importantly, how to find a safe place to pull over until the weather subsides.

The driver should also know how to handle driving through more difficult areas as well. Places like mountain passes where the roads are typically smaller with a lot of twists and turns. Being able to maneuver on those kinds of roads will help keep not only your equipment safe but your driver and other drivers that are also sharing the same road.

Hopefully, this information helps your team haul heavy equipment to its destination with minimal to no problems at all. If you have other questions or are not sure how to go about moving your equipment then you may want to consider getting help from a professional who can ensure everything runs smoothly for you.