Combine Shipping

Low Cost, Coast to Coast Transport for Combines, Headers, and Harvest Equipment

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What It Takes to Ship a Combine

A modern class 7 to class 10 combine runs roughly 30,000 to 50,000 pounds without the header and stands close to 13 feet tall on its tires, so nearly every combine move is a permitted oversize load. The machine rides a removable gooseneck or a double drop trailer to keep total height legal, while the header, which can span 30 to 50 feet of cut width, travels separately on a header trailer or a flatbed. On wide tread and dual tire machines we also look at pulling the duals to shave transport width. This is standard work in the ag belt: the same planning moves combines out of Iowa soybean country in November and into the Kansas wheat harvest in June.

Header Trailers and Two Load Planning

The header question decides the whole move. Left on the machine, a 12 to 18 foot transport width triggers the steepest permit tiers and escort requirements in most states; removed, the combine usually permits as a routine oversize load and the header ships legally on its own trailer. If you own a header trailer it can often be loaded alongside or towed behind; if not, we arrange the second truck. Budget for two loads on most modern machines, and let your coordinator confirm whether your header folds or splits, because that detail alone can swing the quote.

Here’s Why SAC is the Smart Choice for Combine Shipping Services

Header Off, Width Down, Cost Down

We plan the header as its own load from the start, because pulling it off the combine is what brings the width and the permit bill down.

Harvest Windows Respected

Wheat runs and fall corn do not wait, so pickup and delivery are scheduled around your cutting dates rather than the carrier’s convenience.

Permits and Escorts Arranged

Every state permit, and escort vehicles where the width requires them, is secured before the combine loads. No deposit is taken until a carrier is assigned to your move.

Why Clients Trust Ship A Car, Inc.

Seasonal Timing and the Harvest Run

Combine freight is seasonal in a way most heavy haul is not. Custom harvest crews move machines south to north with the wheat from late May through August, from Texas and Oklahoma up through Kansas and Nebraska into the Dakotas, and dealer trades and auction purchases surge after fall harvest wraps in November. Book ahead of those windows when you can; trucks with RGN trailers and combine experience get scarce at the peak, and lead time is what keeps the schedule and the rate under control. A combine booked three weeks before the cut moves on the day it needs to; one booked three days before competes with every crew on the same road.

Preparing a Combine for Transport

Empty the grain tank completely, since carriers price and permit off real scale weight and a full tank is several thousand pounds of grain that nobody permitted. Remove or secure the header, fold the unloading auger and the tank extensions, retract the ladder, and lock the cab. Power wash the machine before pickup, especially if it is crossing state lines, because dirt and crop residue can trigger agricultural inspection holds at a border station and a hold is a day lost. Photograph everything, note the hour meter, and leave enough fuel to load and unload, about a quarter tank. If duals are coming off to reduce width, have them off before the truck arrives; the driver moves the machine, the farm removes the wheels.

Width, Escorts, and State Rules

Every state writes its own oversize book. Loads over 8 feet 6 inches wide need permits everywhere, escort vehicles typically enter the picture somewhere between 12 and 14 feet depending on the state and the road class, and some states add height poles, daylight only travel, or weekend and holiday bans on top. A combine that crosses three states needs three permits that all agree on the same route, and one state’s Sunday ban can add a day the other two never asked for. That coordination is the quiet half of the job, and it is handled and confirmed before your machine loads.

Loading a Combine: The Driver and the Farm

A combine drives onto a removable gooseneck under its own power, so someone who can operate the machine has to be at pickup and at delivery; the driver positions the trailer and chains the load, the farm drives the combine on and off. Loading needs a level, firm approach the length of the trailer and the machine together, roughly 100 feet, and a turnaround the truck can make loaded. A field entrance off a gravel county road usually works; a farmyard hemmed in by bins and a shop usually does not, and the load moves to the field edge instead. Your coordinator confirms the loading spot with photos or a satellite view before dispatch, because a truck that cannot turn around is the most expensive mistake in this business.

Height, Weight, and the Trailer Choice

Thirteen feet of machine on a 5 foot flatbed deck is 18 feet of load, which clears nothing. A removable gooseneck drops the deck to about 18 inches and lets the combine drive on from the front, which is why it is the default trailer for this job; a double drop does the same for machines that cannot be driven. Weight decides the axle count. A 45,000 pound combine on a standard RGN is a routine permitted load; a class 10 with a full tank and duals may need a multi axle trailer, and the price and the permits follow the axles. We settle the trailer on the first call from the model and the tire setup, not on the day the truck arrives.

Who Ships Combines With Us

Custom harvest crews following the wheat north, farms buying a used machine from a dealer or an auction two states away, dealers trading inventory between stores, and estates and retirements selling a fleet to buyers who cannot drive it home. A buyer who has never shipped a combine needs the same two load plan a crew that does it every June already knows, and the coordinator builds it either way.

Combine Questions We Answer Every Week

Can the header stay on? On a narrow header sometimes, at a higher permit tier; on a 30 foot or wider header, no. Do I need my own header trailer? No; if you have one it rides along or tows, if not we book the second load. Can you ship the grain cart and the tractor too? Yes, and a crew moving a full outfit gets one coordinator and one schedule for all of it. What does it cost? Combine moves are quoted per job because the header, the duals, the states crossed, and the permits change every one; the calculator gives a starting figure and the coordinator firms it before dispatch. Is it insured? Every carrier carries active cargo insurance that we verify before assignment, and permits and escorts are on the carrier’s side of the paperwork, not yours.

Book Combine Shipping with Ship A Car, Inc.

Have the make and model, the header size, the tire setup, and both locations ready. Your dedicated coordinator confirms weights and dimensions, arranges the header trailer if you need one, and stays your single point of contact through delivery. We move the full harvest lineup, so if the fleet includes forage or specialty machines, see our harvester shipping page as well. Start with the freight shipping cost calculator or call (866) 452-3657 to lock in dates ahead of the season.

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