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Heavy Haulage – Heavy and Oversize Cargo up to 200 Tonnes, Planned Door to Door

At a glance

We organise heavy and abnormal load transports up to 200 tonnes – with low-loader or modular trailer, StVO §29 permit, BF3/BF4 escorts and crane coordination, EU-wide through to Central Asia.

Low-loader carrying an oversize rotor blade through a village

Heavy haulage planned as a project – not as a load to shift

Construction machinery, transformers, presses, vessels, plant components: as soon as a load exceeds the permissible dimensions or weights, a standard truck is no longer enough. Oversize Transports plans and moves heavy haulage up to 200 tonnes – with our own feasibility study, permit management, escort vehicles and crane coordination. After the assessment you receive a fixed-price quotation and a personal project manager who is available around the clock.

When is a load a heavy haulage movement?

A transport becomes permit-liable when it exceeds the limits of normal road traffic – in Germany, as a rule, above 2.55 m width, 4.00 m height, 16.50 m length for an articulated vehicle (18.75 m for a drawbar combination) or above 40 t permissible gross weight (44 t in combined transport). A permit under StVO §29 (German road traffic regulations) is then required, often combined with conditions on route, driving times and escorts. We check for you whether your load falls into this category – and whether conditions can be avoided by partial dismantling or different equipment.

Scope of services

  • Feasibility study and route survey: bridge capacities, clearance heights, roundabouts and bottlenecks are checked before we quote – no surprises at kilometre 300.
  • Permit management: the permit under StVO §29 including all conditions; for cross-border projects, the equivalents in the transit countries.
  • Equipment to suit the load profile: low-loaders for construction machinery, semi-low-loaders for tall cargo, modular trailers for concentrated loads up to 200 t.
  • BF3/BF4 escort vehicles as per the permit notice, coordinated with the police and the authorities.
  • Crane and loading coordination: we time crane provision, load securing and the slots at the loading and unloading points.
  • Door-to-door project management with one dedicated contact for the entire duration.

The process in three steps

1. Establish feasibility

You send us the dimensions, weight, centre of gravity and the two addresses. We examine route options, equipment and likely conditions – and then give you a fixed price. Any indicative figures given in advance are non-binding ranges, depending on route, weight and permit situation.

2. Permits and dispatch

We apply for the permit, dispatch the vehicle and escort to the approved driving times – often night windows – and coordinate crane and personnel at both ends.

3. Execution with project management

During the transport your project manager keeps you informed at every stage, until the load has been set down and handed over at the destination.

Typical loads

Our most frequent heavy haulage movements include excavators, wheel loaders and crawlers between sites and dealers, machine tools and presses for production relocations, transformers for substations, vessels and silos for the process industry, and structural steel and concrete elements for bridge and hall projects. Each of these cargo types makes different demands: with an excavator it is the loading ramp and the track bearing surface that count, with a transformer the low-vibration run and the centre of gravity, with a silo the height under bridges. These differences feed into our choice of vehicle, load securing and route – not on the day of loading.

Equipment: the right vehicle determines cost and conditions

A vehicle that is too large costs money unnecessarily; one that is too small puts the cargo and the permit at risk. Low-loaders with a low deck height keep tall cargo below critical bridge clearances; modular trailers distribute concentrated loads across many axle lines and make weights movable that conventional combinations cannot handle. We make this selection in the feasibility study – it determines route, conditions and price alike.

Cross-border too

If the route does not end at the German border, we continue the project as international heavy haulage: with permit chains across all transit countries, customs and transit handling and corridor experience towards Turkey, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Frequently asked questions: Heavy Haulage

At what point does a transport count as permit-liable heavy haulage?

In Germany, as a rule, as soon as the load is more than 2.55 m wide, 4.00 m high or, as an articulated vehicle, longer than 16.50 m – or exceeds the permissible gross weight of 40 t (44 t in combined transport). A permit under StVO §29 is then required, usually with conditions on route, driving times and escorts.

Which vehicles do you use for heavy haulage?

Low-loaders, semi-low-loaders or modular trailers, depending on the load profile. Low-loaders offer low deck heights for tall cargo, semi-low-loaders a good compromise between deck height and payload, and modular trailers distribute concentrated loads of up to 200 t across many axle lines. We make the selection in the feasibility study, because it determines route, conditions and price.

What is a permit under StVO §29?

The permit under StVO §29 is the official basis for transports that exceed the normal dimensions or weights. It sets out the approved route, driving times and conditions such as escort vehicles, and is issued for specific routes. We take care of the application, the route coordination and the implementation of all conditions for you.

How does the feasibility study work?

Based on dimensions, weight and centre of gravity we examine route options for bridge capacities, clearance heights and bottlenecks, select the appropriate equipment and assess the likely conditions. Only then do you receive our quotation – as a fixed price, so that the project budget is reliable from the outset.

What does a heavy haulage movement cost?

That depends on weight and dimensions, distance, the equipment required, permits and the prescribed escort – there is no serious flat rate. After a brief assessment we give you a non-binding indicative range depending on route, weight and permit situation, and after a full feasibility study a binding fixed price.

How far in advance should I enquire about a heavy haulage movement?

As early as possible: permits under StVO §29 take several days to several weeks depending on the federal state and the route assessment, and longer still for major projects involving route construction measures. For standard domestic German cases, two to four weeks' lead time is realistic; for international projects with permit chains, correspondingly more. We are reachable 24/7.

Request heavy haulage

Tell us about your project – we check feasibility, route and permits and come back to you with a fixed-price quote.