Blog - Great Western Transporation

Moving Goods With Flatbed Trucking

When shipping freight and goods over the road, shippers will have a list of options to choose from. Each transportation mode will have its own advantages and disadvantages. However, it is important to choose a shipping method based on your needs, budget, and the type of goods and freight you need to get from Point A to Point B.

Some of the transportation options you will have available include dry freight trucking, refrigerated trucking, LTL trucking, and flatbed trucking. Flatbed transportation service is not the same as your standard trailer-hauling type transportation.

Flatbeds are open trailers that make it easy to move some of the heaviest pieces of equipment and machinery. It is not uncommon to see flatbeds with oversized loads that could not be transported using any other shipping method.

Generally, flatbed trucking is used to transport heavy machinery, construction equipment and materials, and vehicles. Flatbed trucks are known for carrying machinery and equipment of all types, including military equipment.

With flatbed trucking, the freight is not stored in a trailer that is enclosed and/or temperature-controlled. With flatbed trucking, the freight is also not loaded and unloaded at a dock. How are goods loaded and unloaded when flatbed trucking is being used?

When flatbed trucking is used, the freight is generally loaded and unloaded at a specific site. When flatbed trucking is used, the goods can be loaded and unloaded at every angle of the truck.

Since freight and goods are being transported on a platform that is not enclosed, it is important to make sure the freight has been secured properly at all times. If the freight is not secure on the truck, there is a chance that the goods will move during transport and possibly be lost during the transport. Follow us at Great Western Transportation for more information on flatbed trucking and other transportation methods.

October 13, 2020 | | Category: Flatbed

Complete Construction Jobs on Time with Great Western Transportation

After working in the construction industry for a time, you’ll probably come to realize that construction jobs have a lot of responsibilities that aren’t actually about constructing things. Tons of permits and paperwork, payouts and planning, and plenty more we don’t have time to go over. Before you can even get to the site, however, you always need to consider transportation.

Not simply for yourself or your crew but for your equipment. After all, unless you’d like to go at it with some shovels and pickaxes all day long, you’re going to need some heavy machinery to deal with the job at hand. And to get it there, you need transportation solutions that are a bit more complex than hitching an excavator to a pickup truck and driving it down the highway.

While you could attempt all the logistics and planning yourself, it’s so much easier to get the professionals to take care of it for you. That’s where we here at Great Western Transportation come in. We use our extensive experience in transporting heavy materials to get the job done fast and without issue. No more struggling to find vehicles to haul your equipment or trying to secure permits for a route you want to use; we handle it all for you.

Just like you wouldn’t want someone to try DIYing building a skyscraper without the proper training and equipment, you should be able to understand why we’re so emphatic about taking on the job of transportation for you. We’ve got the experience to back up our position and can get you what you need where you need it with minimal issue.

The next time you’ve got to move your equipment for a construction job, think of Great Western Transportation. Our team is prepared to help you however we can in getting the job done right.

September 30, 2020 | | Category: Flatbed

Simplify the Heavy Machinery Transport Process With Us

Heavy machinery is an integral part of various industries. Without it, businesses that involve construction or manufacturing would grind to a halt almost instantly. That’s why getting your heavy machinery where it needs to go is almost as important as the equipment itself.

If you’ve ever tried to work out the logistics of moving a huge piece of equipment from place to place, though, you know it’s usually not as easy as it sounds here. Organizing your transportation, planning a route, securing permits, and doing it all in a timely manner without wasting money are all major challenges even for the best people. What are you supposed to do?

In simplest terms, you call in the cavalry. For this job, that would be Great Western Transportation. We live and breathe transportation of all kinds ranging from heavy equipment to flatbed deliveries to LTL shipments and more. With over 100 years of combined experienced from all of our dedicated staff, you’ll have no reason to fear things getting left behind or lost when you’re with us.

We also provide a number of other valuable assets in addition to the basic shipping services. Those route plans and permits? We take care of those for you so you aren’t wasting time on things unrelated to what you really need to do. This takes a huge amount of burden off your shoulders, letting you focus on your job while letting us take care of business in a smooth and simple way. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Hopefully, you’ve gotten the message as to how valuable a transportation service can be. Whether you’re in construction, manufacturing, or another industry entirely, Great Western Transportation would be happy to be a partner in your activities to significantly reduce the stress of moving on you and your company.

September 22, 2020 | | Category: Heavy Haul

Great Western Transportation Hauls Heavy Loads With Ease

If you’re in an industry that involves moving large amounts of equipment or supplies from place to place, you’ve already come to the realization that things aren’t always transported in evenly-sized boxes. The things you have to haul are often irregular, misshapen, and have unevenly distributed weight. This can cause all sorts of problems when it comes to getting them place to place, making for a frustrating and potentially quite costly experience.

Hauling heavy or oversized loads on your own can be a precarious task. If this isn’t your specialty, why not call in someone who does this for a living? In particular, why not get Great Western Transportation on your side for your transportation needs?

With over 100 years of combined experience, the drivers at Great Western Transportation have dealt with hauling all sorts of different things. Construction supplies, heavy equipment, and plenty more are all just a day at the beach for our crew. This also extends to your irregular and heavy loads, our team having a great deal of experience in safely and efficiently securing things like this in a way that means there’s no danger of anything sliding off or otherwise disrupting the drive.

In addition to the transportation services we provide, we can also perform route surveys, escorts, and secure permits in the service of making the job as smooth and safe as possible. Why waste your time doing all of this when you could just get the experts to do it for you?

There’s a lot more we could discuss here, but time is money. If you’re in need of transport for your oversized or overweight shipments, contact Great Western Transportation to get your things where they need to go with as little hassle as possible. You’ll thank yourself when you realize just how easy the process was and how much work you got done by letting us take care of it.

September 11, 2020 | | Category: Heavy Haul

Transporting Equipment Made Easy With Great Western Transportation

Construction is a vital part of the world economy and infrastructure. If you’re a member of this prestigious group of builders, especially in a company on the smaller side, it can often feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle. Fighting for contracts, managing your supplies, and getting things done on time and under budget can be a real hassle. However, one problem that stands above all else is the issue of equipment — in particular, how you get it from place to place.

Transportation is often an issue when you work in construction given how large everything you’re moving tends to be. Don’t let this stop you, though, especially when you have a group like Great Western Transportation by your side. Great Western Transportation is a service you can hire to move things from place to place. In your case, it would be all that construction equipment you can’t haul to the site on your own.

Rather than try to organize a bunch of people to drive everything down the road (assuming you even could) or fruitlessly attempt to tow things on the back of a truck, let the pros handle it for you. Great Western Transportation lives and breathes transportation and is experienced in moving equipment of all kinds. Safety, speed, and reliability are all a focus for the company, ensuring you get your equipment on-site ahead of schedule and without a scratch. They’ll probably do a better job than even you could given their more than 100 years of combined trucking experience.

The next time you’re in need of equipment transport for your job, look to Great Western Transportation. They’ll get the job done right just like you and your team will. Call or email today to get a quote or to set up a job. You won’t be disappointed.

August 25, 2020 | | Category: Flatbed, General, LTL

Save Money by Taking Advantage of LTL Trucking

In today’s highly competitive business climate, minimizing inefficiency and cutting costs are both paramount to a company’s success. As a company finds innovative ways to operate more efficiently, it must find out where unnecessary expenses can be cut, and the logistics and shipping departments are certainly no exception. Whether your company is a multinational mega-corporation or a small mom-and-pop establishment, you can save time and money while still being able to meet or exceed your customers’ expectations by utilizing LTL trucking as a part of your logistics solution.

What is LTL Trucking?

LTL (or Less than Truck Load) trucking refers to a type of service offered by a freight carrier wherein multiple shipments that do not use the full capacity of a trailer are consolidated. This allows freight from multiple clients to use the same trailer, thus maximizing efficiency. Since a standard semi-trailer is usually 48 or 53 feet long (about 15 to 16 m), predictably, many businesses find that they need to make shipments that would not utilize all the available space. Using LTL trucking can greatly reduce the cost of making shipments while decreasing the amount of time materials spend waiting to be shipped as well as the amount of time being moved. By utilizing LTL services to make better use of a trailer, freight carriers are able to offer very competitive prices that would otherwise not be possible using other methods. Even large, high-volume companies make use of LTL trucking as a part of their logistics solutions because of the flexibility it offers.

Why Should I Use LTL Trucking?

If you’ve never considered LTL trucking, or have only used it infrequently, now is a great time to reconsider integrating it into your logistics solution. While LTL trucking may be an excellent, money-saving option in its own right, you may find that using this option will help to cut costs in other areas. For example, using an LTL service may mean that your company can reduce the amount of time goods spend waiting to be shipped, taking up valuable warehouse space. Saving money while making more frequent shipments will mean better customer satisfaction while reducing the amount stock kept on-hand and an increase in productivity. Of course, effective use of LTL transportation will greatly cut shipping costs, too.

Great Western Transportation recognizes that your business has unique needs and offers comprehensive solutions to ensure that those needs are met. We offer Dry LTL trucking, Refrigerated LTL Trucking, and Flatbed LTL trucking solutions, as well as many additional services that other carriers do not offer, such as Lift gate services, palletizing and shrink wrapping, distribution, re-delivery services, warehousing, and more. In addition, we service both the U.S. and Canada. Please contact us and one of our authorized representatives will assist you in developing a logistics strategy that works for you.

August 14, 2020 | | Category: Flatbed, LTL

Power Only Trucking: A Service That Can Fit Your Needs

The majority of trucking trailers will have one part that is either unnoticed or underutilized. Do you know what that part is? Storage. It will be difficult for you to find a transportation service or trucking company that will leave its dry freight with you idle without asking you to pay for the containers you are using because they could be making money by using those containers on the road.

Many companies will have their own loaded trailers, but they may not have the drivers or the trucks they need to actually transport everything from Point A to Point B. Hiring a company for power only trucking will mean the company will provide the truck and the driver you need to safely transport your cargo and your trailer to its final destination.

If you are looking for an affordable solution for your company when you are not able to provide your own truck or hire a driver, power only trucking is a solution you should consider. Power only trucking services will offer an incredible advantage, and you will not have to worry about the planning that will be involved when you have to transport goods.

Power only trucking services have been designed to fit your specific needs. It does not matter if you need services for flatbed shipments, dry freight trucking, refrigerated trucking, or if you need services for containers and heavy equipment, power only trucking can provide you with the services you need. If you have a shipment that is oversized, a power only trucking company will be able to provide you with what you need.

If you have cargo that requires you to have a driver that has years worth of experience in hauling that particular type of shipment, you will be able to find this type of driver when you use a power only trucking shipping service. Power only trucking services can transport your goods without the additional expenses you would have to pay when using your own drivers and trucks.

For more information on our power only trucking services, please do not hesitate to contact Great Western Transportation today.

August 12, 2020 | | Category: Power Only Trucking

Heavy Haul Trucking: Preparation Is Key

There is a good chance that you are now aware of heavy haul trucking and its importance in the trucking industry. Heavy haul trucking takes on the responsibility of carrying large objects, and the majority of the time this involves transporting heavy machinery and any other overweight shipments. Heavy haul trucking often involves use the use large trucks with a variety of flatbed trailers.

At Great Western Transportation, we have always held our employees to the highest degree when it comes to safety standards. While other heavy haul transportation services also provide safety measures and guidelines when heavy haul trucking and transporting machinery, we like to believe that we take additional measures to ensure our employees and their equipment is safe.

While it may seem as if we are the only side that will benefit from the safety measures, it does benefit our customers as well. When working with a heavy haul company that goes the extra mile to keep their employees safe, it should give you a reassuring feeling that the company will also keep your equipment or machinery safe.

One of the first steps we take is proper preparation. If we fail to prepare before a transport, there can be major issues with the equipment you are transporting, the vehicle, and the person who is operating the truck. One of the key things we do in regard to preparation is making a list of the equipment that needs to be transported and secured.

It is important to have an understanding of the equipment and the route that needs to be taken in order to visualize the location on the map. Preparing and securing the cargo is essential to an easy and safe transport. Planning the route is important because not every area you enter will be lead to a safe and easy transport. It is important to consider the highways and roads before transporting equipment of any size.

July 31, 2020 | | Category: Heavy Haul