Posts, piles and sleepers
Railway sleeper posts and piling delivered to Liverpool and to sites across the North West.
Extendable to 45ft · Two-bed options
Long load transport
Steel, beams, posts, panels and sections carried on trailers that extend to fit the load — and lifted on and off by the crane that came with them.
On the road
Long loads we carry
Timber packs
Full packs banded and sheeted, lifted off in one go rather than broken down at the kerb.
Gates and fencing runs
Long, light and easily damaged. Loaded flat, strapped rather than chained, and delivered in the order they go up.
Single long items
A vessel, a mast or a beam that has to travel as one piece, on an extendable bed drawn out to suit.
Scaffolding loads
Boards, tube and fittings collected from Hartlepool and delivered to Warrington, loaded and unloaded by the crane on the lorry at both ends.
Vehicle lifts and long steel
Garage vehicle lifts carried from Rochdale to Somerset in one movement, stood in a row along the bed and strapped.
The trailers
Our trailers, and what each is for
The extendables are what make a long load straightforward rather than an exercise in overhang. Trailers come and go as the work changes, so treat this as the range we run.
| Trailer | What it is for |
|---|---|
| 3-axle semi trailer, 45ft extendable | The longest bed we have. Drawn out only as far as the load needs. |
| 3-axle semi trailer, 39ft extendable | The middle extendable, and the one that covers most steel work. |
| 3-axle semi trailer, 36ft extendable | Shorter extendable for loads that are long but not exceptional. |
| 3-axle semi trailer, 45ft | Fixed 45ft beds for full-length loads that need no adjustment. |
| 3-axle semi trailer, 45ft, Moffett | Carries a truck-mounted forklift as well as the load. |
| 2-axle draw-bar trailer, 20ft | Behind the wagon and drag units, giving a second bed on the same journey. |
A rigid length over 18.65 metres, vehicle and load measured together, makes a movement an abnormal load. All four thresholds are on the abnormal loads page.
The other answer
Two shorter beds beat one long overhang
A long, light load rarely needs one enormous trailer. It needs two beds and one crane. Our wagon and drag lorries give exactly that: a rigid eight-wheeler with a 20 foot draw-bar trailer behind it, both loaded and unloaded by the crane on the wagon.
Fencing, gates, posts, scaffold tube, timber and roof purlins — the long steel rails a building's roof sheeting fixes to — travel far better split across two beds than hanging off the back of one. And on site the two halves can be separated, so the wagon can go in alone where a 16 metre outfit could not.
Where the load genuinely is one long piece — a beam, a mast, a tank — the extendable semi comes out instead.
Common questions
Long load transport, answered
What counts as a long load?
A rigid length over 18.65 metres — that is the vehicle and load measured together — makes the movement an abnormal load. Plenty of loads are awkwardly long without reaching that; they still need the right trailer, they just do not need the paperwork.
What trailers do you have for it?
Three extendable semi-trailers at 36, 39 and 45 feet, two fixed 45 foot semis and a 45 foot Moffett trailer. There are also eight 20 foot draw-bar trailers. The extendables are the ones that matter here: the bed is drawn out to suit the load rather than the load being made to fit the bed.
Can you split a long load over two beds?
Yes, and it is often the better answer. Our wagon and drag units give you a wagon bed and a 20 foot draw-bar trailer behind it, both served by the same crane. Long, light loads like fencing and gates travel much more comfortably split than overhanging.
Do long loads need an escort?
It depends on the length, the route and the roads. It is settled at planning stage rather than by a rule of thumb. Where an escort is needed we use our own vehicles, which keeps the movement off the fourteen day lead time a force escort usually carries.
Can you load and unload the long load yourself?
Yes. The crane is on the lorry. Steel, beams, posts and sections are lifted on at one end and off at the other by the same vehicle, with no crane hire and nobody waiting at either site.
Abnormal loads and escorts · Wide loads · Wagon and drag units
Something long to move?
Tell us what it is and where it has to go. We will match the trailer and tell you whether the movement needs notice.
