Oklahoma Heavy Equipment Shipping
Oklahoma is one of the easiest states in the country to move heavy equipment through and one of the more demanding to move it within, and the reason is the same in both cases: it is a crossroads. Two major interstates meet here, so carriers pass through constantly and rates are competitive. But the machines the state actually generates, oilfield equipment and farm implements, are wide and awkward rather than simply heavy.
The Legal Limits
Oklahoma follows the standard federal figures, so start there.
Maximum width is 8 feet 6 inches, maximum height is 13 feet 6 inches, and gross weight is capped at 80,000 pounds with 20,000 on a single axle and 34,000 on a tandem. Anything past one of those needs a permit.
Height includes the trailer, which is what catches people. A flatbed deck sits around 5 feet off the road, so an 8 foot 6 inch machine is already at the ceiling before the cab is measured. A step deck buys roughly a foot; a lowboy drops the deck to around 18 to 24 inches.
Permits and Escorts
Oversize and overweight permits come from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, issued against a specific machine, configuration and route. The Oklahoma turnpike system is operated separately by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, so a route using turnpike mileage needs that authorization too.
Routine permits are normally issued quickly. Wider loads bring escort vehicles, with thresholds set by the state and varying with the road, and the largest require engineering review of structures on the route.
Permitted movement is generally daylight only on weekdays with holiday restrictions, which turns a cross state run into a multi day job even in a state this size.
Oilfield Equipment Is the Specialty
This is what makes Oklahoma different from its neighbors.
The Anadarko Basin and the SCOOP and STACK plays generate constant movement of drilling rigs, frac equipment, tanks, pumps and separators. A drilling rig does not move as one machine; it moves as dozens of loads, and coordinating that sequence is a project rather than a shipment.
Tanks and vessels are the classic problem: light for their size, very wide, and awkward to secure. They are frequently permitted loads on width alone, and their shape makes them sensitive to crosswind on open plains.
Lease roads are the other half of it. The last few miles to a well site are frequently unimproved, and after rain they can become impassable for a loaded lowboy. Ask about ground conditions rather than assuming, and expect a wet week to move a schedule.
Agriculture Runs on Its Own Calendar
Wheat, cattle and increasingly cotton mean the same equipment problem the plains states all share.
A combine with its header fitted can be well over 20 feet wide, which means permits and escorts anywhere. Remove the header and move it separately on its own trailer and the machine frequently comes back inside a workable width, which removes the escorts and the routing restrictions along with the cost of both. That single step is the most useful thing to know about moving one.
Timing tightens around wheat harvest, roughly June, when custom harvesting crews moving north absorb much of the available agricultural transport capacity. Book those moves well ahead or plan for the shoulder seasons.
Routing and Weather
Interstate 40 runs the full width of the state through Oklahoma City, and Interstate 35 runs north to south from Kansas toward Texas. They cross in Oklahoma City, which is why the state sees so much through traffic and why assignment times here are usually short.
Interstate 44 runs diagonally from the Texas line through Oklahoma City to Tulsa and on to Missouri, and much of it is turnpike.
Weather is a genuine planning factor in both directions. Spring brings severe thunderstorms and tornado risk across the state, and winter brings ice storms that close highways with very little warning. Permitted loads do not move in high wind, and a wide tank or a header on an open plain is exactly the wrong shape for it. Build slack into any schedule between March and June.
Choosing the Trailer
The machine picks the trailer rather than the other way round.
A flatbed suits smaller equipment such as skid steers, mini excavators and attachments. A step deck lowers the deck about a foot and handles mid size machines and much agricultural equipment. A lowboy or removable gooseneck drops it further and is what large dozers, excavators and cranes travel on. Multi axle and stretch configurations spread weight to satisfy the federal bridge formula, which limits what can sit within a given axle spacing regardless of the gross figure. Our guide to wide and oversize loads covers those rules in detail.
Preparing the Machine
Give an accurate weight from the manufacturer’s specification or a certified scale, and include everything traveling with it. Counterweights, attachments, full tanks and fluid filled tires all add weight that is invisible from outside. Give the measured width and height rather than the brochure figures.
Then reduce the envelope where you can. Removing a header, folding an attachment, taking off a bucket or swapping wide pads can bring a load under a threshold and save a permit, an escort and the routing restrictions that come with both.
Secure or remove anything loose, drain what needs draining, and clean the tracks and tires, since carried soil is both weight and a road hazard. Photograph the machine in daylight from every side before it loads, including the undercarriage and the hour meter, and get existing damage described specifically on the bill of lading rather than as general wear.
Common Questions
What triggers a permit in Oklahoma? Past 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, or 80,000 pounds gross, or any axle limit.
Why might I need two authorizations? State highways are permitted by ODOT; the turnpike system is operated separately by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
What is specific to oilfield work here? Rigs move as dozens of coordinated loads, tanks are wide rather than heavy, and unimproved lease roads become impassable after rain.
How do I keep a combine legal? Remove the header and ship it separately. That usually brings the machine back inside a workable width and removes the escorts.
When does weather bite? Spring storms and high wind from March through June, and winter ice storms that close highways with little warning.
Get a Quote
Call Ship A Car, Inc. at (866) 452-3657 for heavy haul and specialized freight with the machine’s make and model, its measured width, height and weight, and both site addresses, or price it with the specialized transport calculator.
