Excavators, loaders and cranes moved from port, plant or dealer yard to the job site, on the right trailer, with the permits and escorts sorted before the truck is booked.
Most equipment moves go wrong at the quote, not on the road. A machine that is half a metre too tall for a step deck, a bucket left on, or a dealer yard with no room to turn a lowboy turns a one-day move into a week of rebooking. We start every equipment load with the spec sheet: operating weight, transport dimensions, attachments, and how the machine gets on and off. From that we pick the trailer (flatbed, step deck, double drop or removable gooseneck), check whether the load is legal or needs permits in every province and state on the route, and book a carrier who has hauled that class of machine before. Dealers and rental fleets use us for port-to-yard deliveries of imported units, yard-to-site moves and cross-border transfers between branches.
Deck height decides whether a machine is legal. A compact excavator rides on a flatbed; a 30-tonne excavator usually needs a lowboy or RGN to stay under height limits. Quoting the trailer before checking the machine's transport height is the most common cause of a cancelled pickup.
Anything wider than 2.6 m in Canada or 102 inches in the US needs an oversize permit, and each province and state issues its own with its own travel hours, escort rules and holiday curfews. A route that is fine in Ontario can need a pilot car the moment it crosses into Quebec or Michigan.
Job sites, farms and dealer yards often have soft ground, tight turns and no loading dock. If the carrier does not know about the gravel approach or the overhead wires before arrival, the driver waits or leaves empty.
Equipment over 10,000 lb has specific tie-down rules on both sides of the border: a minimum number of chains, attachments lowered and secured, articulation locked. Inspectors check it at scales, and an out-of-service order stops the load where it stands.
New machines from overseas land at Halifax, Montreal or Vancouver as flat rack, roll-on/roll-off or breakbulk cargo. Free time at the terminal is short, and the inland truck has to be ready the day customs releases the unit, or storage charges start.
We ask for the make, model, operating weight and transport dimensions, plus attachments. If you are not sure, a photo with a tape measure beside the machine is enough for us to work out the trailer.
We match the machine to a flatbed, step deck, double drop or RGN, then check legal limits and permit needs for every jurisdiction on the route, including seasonal load restrictions in spring.
We book carriers with experience in the class of machine you are shipping, confirm their insurance covers the declared value, and pass on site details such as ground conditions, loading method and contact names.
Where a permit is needed, the carrier or permit service files it and we schedule the move inside the permitted travel hours, with pilot cars booked where a province or state requires them.
You get one contact who tracks the load, keeps the receiver informed and sends the signed delivery paperwork and photos when the machine is unloaded.
Loads wider than 2.6 m (Canada) or 102 in (US), taller than the local height limit, or over legal axle weights need a permit from each province and state crossed. Permits set travel hours, routes and escort requirements.
Canada's National Safety Code Standard 10 and the US FMCSA rules both have specific requirements for heavy vehicles, equipment and machinery: minimum tie-downs, lowered implements and locked articulation.
During the spring thaw many provinces and northern states cut allowable axle weights on secondary roads. A machine that moves legally in February may need a different route, a different trailer or a later date in April.
Escort requirements depend on width, length and road type, and they differ between jurisdictions. Some routes also need police escorts or utility line lifts, which take days to schedule.
Machines crossing the border or arriving from overseas clear customs through a licensed customs broker. We coordinate with your broker, or ours, so the release and the truck line up.
The trailer is chosen by height first and weight second. A standard flatbed deck sits about 1.5 m off the ground, which leaves roughly 2.6 m for the load before most routes hit their height limit. A step deck drops the main deck to about 1 m, buying another half metre. A double drop or removable gooseneck lowers it further again, to around 0.6 m, which is what lets a large excavator or dozer travel without a height permit.
Weight decides the axle count. A legal five-axle combination carries a modest load; heavier machines need extra axles, which in Ontario and several other provinces allow far higher gross weights than the US federal 80,000 lb limit. That difference matters on cross-border moves, where a load that is legal in Ontario can be overweight the moment it reaches the US side.
The RGN is the answer when the machine has to drive on. The front of the trailer detaches, the deck lowers to the ground and the machine climbs on under its own power. If the unit cannot drive, because it is new and unfuelled, damaged, or an attachment rather than a machine, loading needs a forklift, crane or ramps, and the site has to have one.
The cheapest move is almost always the one that avoids permits. Removing a bucket, a counterweight or a cab guard can bring a load back inside legal dimensions. We ask the question at quote time, because it is often the difference between a one-day move and a three-day permitted one.
Equipment dealers deal with three kinds of moves: new units arriving from the manufacturer or an overseas port, transfers between branches, and deliveries to customers. Each has a different pressure. Port pickups run against terminal free time, branch transfers against an empty yard, and customer deliveries against a job that cannot start without the machine.
Imported machines usually arrive on flat racks, as roll-on/roll-off cargo or as breakbulk. The inland truck needs the release from customs and the terminal appointment lined up on the same day. When the release lands, the trailer should already be booked, because storage charges at a terminal run per day and add up quickly.
Customer deliveries depend on site information that rarely reaches the carrier on its own. Who is meeting the truck, whether there is room to unload, whether the ground will hold a loaded lowboy after rain. We collect that when the order is placed and give it to the driver with the dispatch.
Seasonal timing affects capacity. Spring brings both the busiest equipment season and the thaw restrictions that cut legal weights on secondary roads. Booking spring deliveries in March, rather than the week the job starts, is usually what gets the trailer you need.
It depends on the machine's transport height and weight. Mini and compact excavators usually fit a flatbed or step deck. Mid-size and large excavators usually need a lowboy or removable gooseneck (RGN) trailer to stay under height limits. Send us the model and we will tell you which one and why.
Yes. When a load is over legal width, height, length or weight, the permits are filed for each province and state on the route and pilot cars are booked where they are required. We schedule the move inside the travel hours the permits allow.
Yes. We arrange pickups of imported machinery at Canadian and US ports, including flat rack and roll-on/roll-off units, and time the truck to the customs release so terminal storage charges are avoided.
Yes. Cross-border equipment moves need customs paperwork on both sides and permits in each jurisdiction. We coordinate the customs broker and the carrier so the machine clears and moves on one schedule.
Price depends mainly on the trailer type, distance, whether permits and escorts are needed, and the season. A legal-size load on a step deck costs far less than an over-dimensional load on an RGN with escorts. Send the machine details and the two addresses for a quote.
Carriers carry cargo insurance, but standard limits may not cover a high-value machine. We confirm the carrier's coverage against your declared value before booking and can arrange additional cargo insurance when it falls short.
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Tell us the origin, destination and mode. A Qeep specialist replies within the hour with live capacity, lane price, and a transit window you can actually plan around.