Earth Moving Tractor Shipping

Low Cost, Coast to Coast Transport for Dozers, Loaders, Backhoes, and Skid Steers

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What Counts as an Earth Moving Tractor

Earth moving tractor covers the machines that push, dig, and carry dirt: bulldozers, track and wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, skid steers and compact track loaders, and motor graders. For transport, the class splits by weight. Skid steers and compact track loaders in the 3,000 to 12,000 pound range ride flatbeds or hot shot goosenecks. Backhoes and mid size loaders at 15,000 to 30,000 pounds usually load onto step decks or lowboys. Full size dozers, graders, and wheel loaders from 35,000 to 100,000 pounds and up move on lowboy or RGN trailers, often with oversize permits for width. Shipping a farm or utility tractor instead? Start at our tractor shipping page.

How the Machine Is Loaded and Secured

Drivable machines walk onto the trailer under their own power: the detachable neck of an RGN gives a full width, low angle path for tracked machines, while ramps handle rubber tired loaders and backhoes. Dead machines need a winch or a crane, so tell us up front if the unit does not run. On the deck, the federal securement rules apply: machines over 10,000 pounds get a minimum of four rated chain tie downs at the frame or the track points, articulated machines are locked so they cannot pivot in transit, and blades, buckets, and rippers are lowered to the deck and chained separately.

Here’s Why SAC is the Smart Choice for Earth Moving Tractor Shipping Services

Dozers to Skid Steers, One Call

Bulldozers, track loaders, backhoes, and skid steers all load and ride differently; we match the trailer to the machine, not the other way around.

The Right Deck for the Weight

A 6,000 pound skid steer rides a hot shot or a flatbed; a 45,000 pound dozer needs a lowboy or an RGN. Your quote is built on the real weight and dimensions of the machine, so the right truck shows up the first time.

Permits and Escorts Handled

Many earth movers exceed the 8 foot 6 inch legal width, so state permits, a compliant route, and escorts where a state requires them are in your quote before dispatch. No deposit is taken until a carrier is assigned to your move.

Why Clients Trust Ship A Car Inc.

Measure the Machine Before You Book

The quote is only as good as the numbers behind it, so measure the machine you are shipping instead of guessing from a spec sheet. Confirm the operating weight with attachments mounted, the overall height to the top of the cab, the roll bar, or the exhaust, the width across the blade, the bucket, or the tracks, and the length with everything attached. One inch over 8 feet 6 inches wide moves the load from legal to permitted, so those measurements decide the trailer, the permits, and the price. Counterweights, wide pads, and angle blades all change the answer. Send photographs with the measurements and your coordinator confirms the trailer before dispatch.

Preparation That Prevents Problems

Before pickup, knock the heavy mud off the tracks and the undercarriage; several states inspect machines for soil and plant material, and a clean machine is easier to chain and check over. Lower the blade or the bucket, remove or secure loose attachments, teeth, and keys, photograph the machine from all four sides with the hour meter and the serial plate, and leave roughly a quarter tank of fuel for loading and unloading. If the machine has a battery disconnect or a security lockout, show the driver how it works at pickup. Fold or remove a roll bar where the manufacturer allows it if height is close to the limit, and tell the coordinator about quick couplers and extra attachments that are shipping loose.

Loading Day: Ground, Access, and Who Drives

A lowboy or an RGN needs firm, level ground the length of the truck and the machine together to drop the neck and walk the machine on, and a turnaround it can make loaded. A jobsite entrance or a gravel yard usually works; a residential street with parked cars usually does not, and the load moves to a staging spot instead. Someone who can operate the machine has to be at pickup and delivery, or the driver has to be cleared to drive it. Steel tracks need mats to cross pavement, and somebody has to supply them. If the machine does not run, a winch equipped trailer or a machine assist is arranged before the truck arrives. Tell your coordinator whether it runs, what surface it sits on, and what equipment is on site; those three answers shape the whole move.

Securement and Carrier Vetting

Every carrier we dispatch is FMCSA licensed with active cargo insurance, verified before the load is assigned, and for heavy iron we assign drivers who move earth moving machines regularly. Securement follows the federal rules: rated chains at four points minimum on the frame or the track frames, separate tie downs for the blade, the bucket, and the ripper, articulation locks engaged on loaders and graders, edge protection where a chain crosses a hose, and a recheck after the first few miles. Nothing bears on hydraulic cylinders. Condition is documented on the bill of lading at both ends, with the hour meter recorded, so the paper trail exists before anyone needs it.

Width, Weight, and the Permit Line

Width is the usual trigger. Anything over 8 feet 6 inches needs a state permit, and most full size earth movers are over it with the blade or the bucket on. Somewhere between 12 and 14 feet, depending on the state and the road, escort vehicles join the move, and several states add daylight only travel or holiday bans. Weight permits stack on top when the combination passes 80,000 pounds gross, which a mid size dozer on a lowboy does easily. Very heavy units are sometimes cheaper to move partially dismantled, with the blade, the ripper, or the counterweight hauled on a second flatbed at ordinary rates, and your coordinator runs the numbers both ways before you book. For mining class machines and multi load projects, see our oversized heavy equipment service.

Who Ships Earth Movers With Us

Contractors moving a dozer or a loader between jobs, rental houses rebalancing skid steers and backhoes between branches, dealers delivering sold and demo units, buyers collecting auction purchases from yards that will not load without paperwork, municipalities and utilities relocating a grader or a loader, and farms and landowners buying a used machine two states away. Skid steers and mini excavators are the everyday hot shot load; dozers and graders are planned heavy haul. In every case the method is the same: measure the machine as configured, choose the trailer from the real weight, pull the permits, and confirm the loading surface at both ends before the truck rolls.

Earth Mover Questions We Answer Every Week

Can the blade or the bucket stay on? Usually yes, lowered and chained separately, unless it puts the width over an escort line, in which case it rides on a second deck. Does a skid steer need a permit? No; it is a legal load on a hot shot or a flatbed. Does a dozer? Almost always, for width and often for weight. What if it does not run? A winch trailer or a machine assist is arranged before the truck arrives. Can several machines ship together? Yes, and a fleet move is priced as one job. What does it cost? Weight, width, permits, and lane set the price, so 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.

Book Earth Moving Tractor Shipping with Ship A Car, Inc.

Have the weight, the dimensions as configured, and both ZIP codes ready, plus whether the machine runs and what loading help exists on each end. Your dedicated coordinator confirms the right trailer, pulls any permits, and stays your single point of contact from dispatch to delivery. Start with the freight shipping cost calculator or call (866) 452-3657 for a firm quote. Moving an articulated dump truck, an excavator, or a bulldozer with the fleet? Same decks, same coordinator.

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