So, how does one make a 100,000 pound forklift delivery? A forklift is normally the machine you call when something heavy needs to be moved. But what happens when the forklift itself weighs 100,000 pounds or more? You don’t back a standard flatbed up to it, throw a few chains over the counterweight and head down the interstate. Delivering a high-capacity forklift can become a transportation project of its own.
Depending on the machine, the move may involve specialized trailers, oversize permits, route planning, escorts, component removal, cranes, multiple trucks and careful coordination between the manufacturer, transportation company, dealer and customer. And when the truck finally reaches the customer’s facility, there’s still one rather important question: How do you unload a forklift that’s too heavy for almost everything else on the property to lift?
Welcome to the world of moving really big forklifts.
When most people picture a forklift, they’re thinking about a 5,000 pound capacity warehouse truck. A 100,000 pound machine weight is an entirely different animal. High-capacity forklifts are used in industries such as:
These machines may have enormous counterweights, heavy drive axles, massive pneumatic or cushion tires, thick forks and masts that look more like structural steel than conventional forklift components. And there’s an important distinction, A 100,000-pound-capacity forklift and a forklift that weighs 100,000 pounds are not necessarily the same thing. A forklift capable of lifting an extremely heavy load may itself weigh considerably more than its rated lifting capacity because the machine needs enough counterweight and structural mass to safely manage the load.
That’s when transportation gets interesting.
Before anyone decides how the forklift will be transported, you need to know exactly what you’re dealing with. That means determining things like the overall weight, width, length & height. Things like axle weights, wheelbase, mast dimensions, counterweight dimensions, fork dimensions and weight and even ground clearance
Perhaps even more importantly, what can be removed for shipping. Transportation isn’t just about total weight. A machine might technically fit on a trailer from a weight standpoint but be too tall once loaded or too wide or place too much weight on a particular group of trailer axles. With equipment this large, a few inches, or a few thousand pounds, can change the transportation plan.
This surprises people.
Sometimes the easiest way to transport a giant forklift is to make it temporarily less giant. Depending on the machine and configuration, components may be removed for transportation. Not every forklift requires this. Some machines can be transported substantially assembled. Others can’t.
The objective is often to reduce one or more of three things: Height. Width. Weight. Imagine a forklift that’s legal or at least manageable from a weight standpoint but becomes too tall when sitting on the trailer. Removing the mast may completely change the equation. Likewise, separating a major component may allow the transport company to distribute the load across multiple trucks instead of trying to move the entire machine as one enormous piece.
The trailer underneath a giant forklift can be almost as interesting as the forklift itself. Heavy equipment transportation may use specialized configurations such as lowboys, removable gooseneck trailers, double-drop trailers, multi-axle heavy-haul trailers, & modular trailer configurations.The goal is to keep the machine as low as practical while distributing its weight across enough axles.
A removable gooseneck can be especially useful because the front of the trailer can be lowered, allowing certain equipment to be driven onto the deck rather than lifted onto it. For extremely heavy machines, additional axle groups may be required to distribute the load. This isn’t simply, “Can the trailer hold 100,000 pounds?” The real question is, How is that 100,000+ pounds distributed across the tractor, trailer and individual axle groups?
That’s a much more complicated problem.
You might assume weight is automatically the hardest part of transporting a huge forklift. Sometimes it isn’t and height can be worse. Put a tall forklift mast on top of a trailer deck and suddenly you have to think about bridges, power lines, traffic signals, railroad crossings, overhead signs, building entrances, utility lines, trees & other overhead obstructions
Then there’s width. A giant pneumatic-tire forklift may be considerably wider than a conventional truck. Once the load exceeds normal highway dimensions, permits and additional transportation requirements can come into play. At that point, the shortest route between the factory and customer may no longer be the route the truck can actually take.
For particularly large loads, transportation planning can include a detailed route survey.
Think about that for a second.
Before the forklift moves the first mile, someone may need to verify that the entire route can physically accommodate it. That can mean looking at everything from bridge clearances to construction zones. A route that works perfectly for a normal tractor-trailer may not work for an oversized heavy-haul load. Even the final turn into the customer’s property can become an issue. A long tractor and specialized multi-axle trailer need a lot of room to maneuver.
The machine might travel 800 miles without a problem and then have difficulty making the last 800 feet.
Now imagine the forklift is traveling from a factory in one state to a customer several states away. An oversize or overweight load can require transportation permits based on the jurisdictions it travels through. Requirements can vary and certain loads may also require pilot or escort vehicles while very large moves can involve additional coordination. This is one reason freight on high-capacity equipment often isn’t treated the same way as freight on a conventional warehouse forklift.
You’re not simply buying transportation. You’re planning a heavy-haul move.
Here’s where things become fun.
How do you load a forklift that’s designed to lift everything else? If the machine is operational and the trailer configuration allows it, the forklift may be able to drive onto the trailer. With other configurations, loading may involve ramps, cranes, jacking systems or other heavy-equipment handling methods. And if major components have been removed, those pieces need their own loading plan.
A mast from a very large forklift isn’t exactly something four guys are going to pick up and slide into the back of a pickup. Everything becomes a load of its own.
This might be my favorite part. The truck finally arrives at the customer’s facility. Everyone looks at the forklift. Then everyone looks at the trailer. Now somebody has to get it off.
For equipment that can drive off a removable-gooseneck trailer, unloading can be relatively straightforward. But a disassembled machine creates another challenge. If the mast, forks, carriage, counterweight or other major components were removed for transportation, they now have to be reinstalled.
That may require a crane rental and Suddenly “delivery day” looks more like an equipment installation project.
This is something people outside the heavy-equipment industry don’t always appreciate. Transporting very large industrial equipment can become expensive. You’re potentially paying for: Specialized trailers. Permits. Pilot cars. Route planning. Additional trucks. Cranes. Rigging. Technicians. Assembly. Fuel. And sometimes several days of transportation.
The exact cost depends heavily on the machine, distance, dimensions, route and amount of disassembly required. But on a complicated heavy-haul move, the transportation bill itself can be substantial. That’s why freight should be discussed early, not after the forklift has already been purchased.
There’s something amusing about the entire process. We build forklifts because humans need machines capable of moving incredibly heavy thingt to move the forklift.
That’s heavy industry.
And it’s also why buying high-capacity equipment is very different from ordering a conventional warehouse truck. The forklift itself is only part of the project. You also have to answer:
How are we getting it here?
How are we unloading it?
Can the facility handle it?
And who’s putting it back together when it arrives?
Solve those questions before the truck leaves, and delivery day becomes much less exciting. And when you’re moving a 100,000-pound forklift…
Less exciting is usually a good thing.
At Forklift Exchange, high-capacity forklifts and specialized industrial equipment are a major part of what we do. From sourcing the machine to coordinating transportation and understanding the application at the destination, the details matter long before the forklift reaches the jobsite.
Jason Flaska
Forklift Exchange
📞 630-842-0779
📧 jasonf@forkliftexchange.com
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