Many fleet managers and owners eventually need to transport heavy equipment. Although that can be a costly endeavor, there are some practical ways to make the costs more manageable.
Understand Which Factors Affect the Overall Cost
Numerous aspects help determine the estimated costs for hauling your load. For starters, as the size of a piece of equipment goes up, so does the number of people getting the cargo ready for the journey and operating the trucks that bring it to the destination.
Additionally, some equipment needs a forklift or crane to move it onto a vehicle, such as a flatbed truck. In such cases, the costs would be higher than if there was no need for that extra equipment.
It may also be necessary to use packaging equipment so that the heavy loads stay secure while in motion. If a client can provide such supplies themselves, that’s a practical way to cut costs.
The distance traveled also impacts the cost, which is why it’s vital to take the time to explore various routes to reach the destination. Additionally, if a haulage client wants extra services, such as load tracking, those raise the costs.
Once a person becomes fully aware of all the potential cost drivers, they’re in a better position to explore how to keep those aspects more manageable.
Read Freight Company Reviews
All too often, the people who try to cut costs on essential services find they get what they paid for in all the undesirable ways. However, that’s not universally the case.
Online reviews are excellent resources for helping people locate equipment-hauling companies that offer great service and are also reasonably priced. Spending time looking at those helps eliminate the options that may be overpriced and subpar.
Checking out reviews is also a more efficient process when people search for keywords in batches of feedback. Phrases like “best rates in the area” or “reasonable prices, despite my heavy, oversized load” make it easier to determine that a company’s prices are among its most appreciated characteristics.
Choosing the first company that a person finds is not a practical way to save money because there’s a significant chance they’ll pay more than they should. However, looking for price-related feedback is a great way to get steered in the right direction when researching what’s available.
Think About Renting Locally to Reduce Transport Costs
Another way to potentially save money is to assess whether it’s essential to move heavy equipment to the site. For example, the people who plan construction site work often determine it’s more cost-effective to rent locally.
That’s especially true when contractors accept work outside their local areas. Sometimes, such jobs are even on the opposite side of the country. Considering the amount of heavy equipment that may be required for one job, it doesn’t always make good financial sense to transport everything to a site.
Another thing to keep in mind is that certain pieces of equipment may be harder to transport to a site than others and could only be needed for specific job requirements. For example, telehandlers are a type of construction equipment used to reach high places. Although they come in various arm lengths, transporting them could still bring higher costs than renting due to the overall size.
Consider How Owning Transportation Equipment Might Bring Costs Down
When people pay for heavy equipment transportation services often, they may lose sight of how the overall costs can rack up quickly. For example, once they break down the associated costs of each journey and the frequency of those trips, it may become clear that they could save money by owning an equipment trailer and taking care of the trips themselves rather than hiring an outside party.
Many dealers of used heavy equipment offer financing arrangements to make purchases more manageable. The associated repayment periods are usually from one to three years, and there are variable interest rates with these agreements. There are similar arrangements for used equipment trailers.
It’s not necessarily feasible for someone to handle all their own heavy equipment transportation needs. However, that’s why it’s useful to look for patterns associated with the times when they hired a heavy equipment transportation service over the past year. Were there certain types of trailers typically used to meet those needs? If so, that’s a strong indication that investing in such equipment could save money over the long run.
Look for Opportunities to Reduce the Equipment’s Size and Weight
Heavier and larger loads are typically more expensive to haul than those that are smaller and weigh less. Thus, cost-cutting measures could involve disassembling the equipment and transporting it in several loads versus only one.
States have different requirements about what constitutes large and heavy loads, so people should always learn the correct details before moving ahead with a decision. It may seem counterintuitive to ship equipment across more than one load. However, this approach could be a surprising way to cut costs.
People hiring freight specialists to move the equipment should strongly consider getting input from them about how to make the equipment size and weight more manageable. Once a load’s weight crosses a certain threshold, it’s under the jurisdiction of whatever states the trip involves. Thus, splitting the weight across multiple loads could also help a person save money by not paying for the permits required for heavier cargo.
Pack Trucks and Trailers Tightly
In cases where there is not a concern of a load being overweight, people can often end up saving money by ensuring there is no wasted space on a truck or a trailer. Failing to utilize all the available space could mean people pay more than necessary by making several trips to transport everything.
It’s sometimes possible to get everything moved in one or two loads, provided people take the time to figure out the best ways to take advantage of the space. Keep in mind that certain costs, such as fuel and route-related expenses, will be the same regardless of whether an equipment trailer only has one item in it or is packed to capacity.
Therefore, particularly in cases where a person needs to move a lot of equipment at once, they can often achieve better cost-related outcomes by figuring out which pieces to transport together. Paying attention to aspects like the size, weight, and shape makes it easier to figure out what fits where.
Minimizing Equipment Transportation Costs Is an Achievable Goal
It takes time and effort to determine the best ways to keep transportation costs down. However, people should remember that the ideal strategies differ depending on the equipment to move and the available budget.
