Crane Shipping

Low Cost, Coast to Coast Transport for Boom Trucks, Carry Decks, RT and Crawler Cranes

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How Cranes Are Actually Shipped

The trailer follows the crane type. Carry deck cranes in the 8 to 25 ton class load onto flatbeds or step decks and move on standard or simple oversize permits. Rough terrain cranes are not highway legal, so they ride removable gooseneck (RGN) trailers, often at 60,000 to 120,000 pounds with the boom pinned over the deck and the counterweight hauled separately. Truck mounted boom trucks can sometimes be driven, but most owners put them on a lowboy to save the miles and the chassis. Crawler cranes are a different job entirely: they are dismantled and moved as a convoy of loads, from the carbody and the crawler tracks to lattice boom sections and counterweight stacks, and reassembled by an assist crane at the destination.

Counterweights, Booms, and Multi Load Moves

Weight is the lever that controls crane transport cost. Stripping counterweights and boom sections can pull the main load below a permit threshold, and those components then travel on ordinary flatbeds at standard rates. A mid size crawler crane commonly breaks into 5 to 10 truckloads, and large lattice crawlers can run 20 or more. The sequence matters as much as the count: the carbody and tracks have to arrive first, the boom sections in the order they pin together, and the counterweights last, so the assist crane and the riggers are never standing idle. Ship A Car, Inc. coordinates the whole set as one project through our oversized heavy equipment program.

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

Every Crane Class, Every Deck

Boom trucks, carry decks, rough terrain, all terrain, and crawler cranes each ride differently, and your quote is built around the right trailer for the real weight and dimensions.

Dismantle and Reassembly Planned

Counterweights, boom sections, and jibs are sequenced as separate loads so the crane goes back together on schedule and the assist crane is not waiting on a truck.

Permits Secured Before Dispatch

Oversize and overweight permits, escorts, and routing are confirmed up front, so the crane is never parked waiting on paperwork. No deposit is taken until a carrier is assigned to your move.

Why Clients Trust Ship A Car, Inc.

Know Your Crane Before You Book

A useful rule from the field: if the crane was built to drive on a highway, price driving it against hauling it; if it was built for the jobsite, plan the trailer first. Boom trucks and all terrain cranes are road rated, and short repositions are sometimes cheapest under their own power, though driver hours, fuel, and machine wear usually favor the lowboy on longer lanes, and some states restrict all terrain cranes on their highways regardless. Carry decks, rough terrain cranes, and crawlers were never meant for pavement speeds, so the only real questions are deck height, axle spacing, and how much of the machine comes off before it loads. Have the load chart and the transport drawings from the manufacturer at hand; they list the component weights the permits are built from.

Preparing a Crane for Transport

Good preparation keeps the load legal and the delivery crane ready to work. Retract and pin the boom, stow and lock the outriggers, and cage or tie off the hook block and the headache ball. Drain loose fluids where the carrier requires it, disconnect the batteries on dismantled components, and band rigging, pins, and pendant lines to a labeled skid so reassembly is not a scavenger hunt. Remove the counterweights in the order the manual gives and stack them on their own load with the pins bagged. Photograph the machine and each component from all sides, including the hour meter and the serial plates, before the first truck arrives. Your coordinator sends the full checklist at booking.

Securement and Carrier Vetting

Every carrier we dispatch is FMCSA licensed with active cargo insurance, verified before the load is assigned, and crane work goes to carriers who run RGN and multi axle equipment every week. Securement follows the federal rules for heavy machinery: rated chains at four points minimum on the carrier frame or the carbody, the boom chained in its transport position, the superstructure locked so it cannot swing, counterweights chained and blocked as individual pieces, and a recheck after the first few miles. Lattice sections ride on bunks with edge protection. Condition is documented on the bill of lading for every load, so a 12 truck crane move has 12 clean records.

Sequencing a Crawler Crane Move

A crawler crane arrives as a kit, and the kit has to arrive in order. The carbody and the crawler tracks go first, because nothing else can be assembled until the base is standing. The boom butt and the sections follow in pinning order, then the jib, then the counterweights, which go on last. The assist crane, the riggers, and the crew are booked against that sequence, so a truck that arrives out of order or a day late costs crew time at the site, not just freight. Your coordinator builds the load list with your rigging supervisor, schedules the trucks to land in sequence, and holds one number for the whole convoy. Weather days and permit curfews are planned in, not discovered.

Oversize, Overweight, and Superload Reality

Most assembled cranes exceed the 8 foot 6 inch legal width or the 80,000 pound gross limit, so state permits are the norm, not the exception. Escort vehicles typically appear somewhere between 12 and 14 feet of width, and heavy loads bring axle spacing and bridge formulas into the routing. Once a single load pushes past roughly 200,000 pounds gross or certain dimension caps, many states reclassify it as a superload, which can add route surveys, bridge reviews, police or civilian escorts, utility lifts for overhead lines, and curfew windows. Those steps take days, not hours, which is why the permit plan is locked before the truck is assigned, and why a crane move is quoted from the real dimensions rather than the model name.

Who Ships Cranes With Us

Crane rental companies repositioning rough terrain and crawler units between jobs and branches, contractors moving a carry deck or a boom truck with the rest of a fleet, dealers delivering sold and demo units, buyers collecting auction purchases, and industrial plants and wind, utility, and bridge projects that bring a large crawler in as a multi load project on a fixed mobilization date. Small carry decks move within days; crawler projects are planned weeks ahead around permits and the assist crane. In every case the coordinator asks the same first questions: what comes off, what each piece weighs, and what lift equipment waits at each end.

Crane Questions We Answer Every Week

Can the boom stay on? On carry decks and most rough terrain cranes, yes, pinned over the deck; on crawlers, no, the lattice comes off. Do the counterweights have to come off? Usually, because they are what pushes the main load over the weight line, and they travel cheaper as ordinary flatbed freight. How many trucks will a crawler crane take? Five to ten for a mid size machine, twenty or more for a large lattice crawler, and the coordinator gives you the exact count from the component list. Do I need an assist crane at delivery? For a crawler, yes, and for a large rough terrain crane’s counterweights, usually. What does it cost? Component weights, the number of loads, permits, escorts, and lane set the price, so the calculator gives a starting figure and the coordinator prices the project. Is it insured? Every carrier carries active cargo insurance that we verify before assignment.

Book Crane Shipping with Ship A Car, Inc.

Have the make and model, the boom length, the gross weight and the component weights, and both site addresses ready, and tell us what lift equipment is available at each end. Your dedicated coordinator prices the lane, sequences any component loads, and stays your single point of contact from the first pickup to the final reassembly delivery. Start with the freight shipping cost calculator or call (866) 452-3657 to walk through the move with a heavy haul specialist. The same team moves drill rigs with the mast down, electric rope shovels in multiple loads, and the skid mounted generators that load by crane.

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