Heavy Equipment Shipping

I sold one of my HD6G track loaders and I am having trouble shipping it. Transporters that I have used in the past are out of business. The quotes I was able to get are 4 times what I'm used to paying. They say there is a shortage of truckers because of new regulations. Anybody know what is going on????

where you shipping to

My HD6G did get shipped 103 miles. The shipper had another machine on his trailer going to a near by destination. He got $800 for my load. The broker got $350 for posting the trip on the internet. My buyer had to pay $1,150 for transportation. The high cost of transportation is what made selling my crawler so dificult. Many being put out of business so that few wealthy can survive by outrageous charges is why our economy is in the toilet. Too many people want to be making money by adding to the cost to the consumer. Before I retired I reviewed manufacturing business plans. One typical plan had an item having a manufacturing cost of $19 and a market price of $600. Each part of the suply chain made money. Low sales volume blamed on the excessively high price caused the product failure. Many business and political persons have an inflated vision of what their time is worth.

The new cost to the end user is the broker. If I was able to contact a transporter directly (one that was still in business) I could have negotiated a better price. My appology to those who contacted me with a lower price after the broker contract. The increased cost to the owner/operator is the fuel and equipment cost. The brokers are explaining their high cost by "shortage of transporters". The industry is being squeezed from all directions. Literly everything we purchase has a transportation cost built into it. The cost of everything is going up as wages are going down. Median income has been decreasing for many years. High end incomes have been increasing for many years. My advise to the industry "KEEP ON TRUCKING"

"Many business and political persons have an inflated vision of what their time and product is worth"

From Fredericktown MO to my farm (less than 150 miles one way) was just over $500 from a local excavation company that hauled my 7G, almost three years ago this coming summer.

Back in the ninety's I was running a dedicated route, making good money. The new laws keeping me from running that same route legally, as it won't fit under the 14 hour rule. It takes 15 hours to do it. So... you have to factor in another truck to do it the next day, while not making anymore money as far as the truck owner is concerned.
   I came out of NC last week, turned into the yard with less than a minute left on my electronic logs. Ran the exact same trip this week and didn't make it, due to excessive traffic and had to spend 10 hours less than 5 minutes from the terminal. In the old days of paper logs, that would not have been a problem because anything less than 7 minutes got rounded to the nearest 15 minute entry.
   Think about what it is going to be when ALL DRIVERS are required to be on electronic logs in the next year! Things are going to get worse, very soon with the guberment sticking their noses into private industry.
   Why can I drive 650 miles and have to stop, but yet I could run twice that if I am in a personal vehicle? The fact that I am in a big rig doesn't have a darn thing to do with how far or how long I can drive. It isn't about safety, or they wouldn't have put that 14 hour rule into effect. If I get sleepy...with this new rule, I can't stop and take a nap because there is no way to stop the 14 hour clock...even if I have excess hours to make my appointment. It is just stupid what the guberment is doing to this industry. How many of you work in excess of 14 hours a day when you have a job to do? I know I have when not in the trucking industry...
  As far as wages, there have been trucking companies that pay what i make since the early 80's. The overall wages for drivers is going down, either by owners shaving a little off the cost by cutting the amount they pay the driver, or by the simple reduction of the amount the driver can earn due to new laws.
   David from jax

About the 14 hour rule: Can you shut down to take a nap and log in as a new trip when you start up? Will this restart the electronic clock?What if you have 2 drivers?

Dozer wrote: About the 14 hour rule: Can you shut down to take a nap and log in as a new trip when you start up? Will this restart the electronic clock?What if you have 2 drivers?

Only thing that stops the 14 hour clock is a 10 hour break, either in the sleeper or off duty. A nap won't do it...so Driver... just keep rolling so you don't run out of hours!
  David from jax

The full Hours of Service fiasco is put out there by desk jockeys who never drove anything larger than a SUV . 

So what would a fair rate for hauling say a 20k load 200 miles or more be ?

D this would be a front end loader since the original post was about getting someone to haul a dozer so it would be heavy equipment, thanks.  Mark

Short haul is typically a lot more per mile than longer runs, since it takes more time if you average it out per mile to get loaded, unloaded, etc.
David from jax

The time pass and the problems seem to remain. I have this problem too right now. Can someone here tell me, how to deal with it?  My cousin shipped a truck and it arrived with heavy damage. He sued the shipping company and they paid him for the damage, but it took half of a year for that to happen. That's why I'm a little paranoid about all of the shipping companies, TBH. Not so long ago a friend of mine told me that he had found a company with the best car shipping rates and even shipped a car fast. And it arrived without any damage. Now I'm thinking about ordering a shipment with those guys too. But I still am a little paranoid because of my cousin's story. Can someone here give me an advice?

Edited by LiquidBlue - 24 Apr 2020 at 12:36am

The one serious issue with HE hauling is the rules change almost monthly. Now a HD5 or 6 or even my old HD7G at 24,000# will not be much load and will not require much trailer or truck, but chain down requirements have upgraded, no less than 2-3/8 Transport Grade chain with Ratchet Binders at front AND Rear. ANY loose components(Can still be bolted but sloppy) Must Be strapped in place with Regulated size Strapping for the weight and size(No cheap friction straps or ropes). Insurance has changed for liability in case the machine leaks fluids or does lose components in a move and the deductibles are HIGH.

On short hops used to be could Ride along with the hauler, Not these days as I have been explained. Again Insurance expenses.

Driver expenses are higher, fuels costs are STILL high, machines are getting ridiculously high for trucks and trailers. And do not even get into Oversize and special permits as with a HD16 or 21

Edited by DMiller - 18 Apr 2020 at 6:44pm