Heavy haulage & abnormal loads
When size
demands experience.
Faltus & Bantje runs heavy haulage and abnormal loads by road: lifeboats, production machinery, industrial plant, precast units and one-off steel fabrications. We take the loads that will not fit a curtainsider – too long, too wide, too tall or too heavy – and we handle the permits, the escort vehicles and the route survey that come with them.
It starts with an honest answer about whether the job can be done at all. We check the dimensions against the bridges, the roundabouts and the overhead lines, tell you what the route really allows, and only then quote. That approach once moved a 17-metre lifeboat 60 km to a museum in Bremen, on a route that required the Bremen–Bremerhaven railway line to be closed for it. The same approach gets oversize fabrications out of factory doors that look far too small.
Request a quote
In practice
When “that can’t be done” isn’t an answer.
Binder Edelstahl in Bremen builds welded stainless-steel structures that come in no standard size and fit no standard trailer. We crane them out of the workshop, strap them down and set them on site to the millimetre, for the chemical, construction, food and environmental industries. It is routine work for us. It is rarely routine for anyone else.
See the case studiesWhat we carry
Loads that don’t fit the rules.
If it is too big, too heavy or too valuable to hand to a general haulier, it is the sort of thing we move every week.
Boats, yachts & workboats
From a rescue daughter boat to a 17-metre lifeboat, on our own boat trailers.
Machinery & industrial plant
Production lines, presses and complete plant – lifted, lashed and delivered into the building.
Construction & agricultural machinery
Excavators, wheel loaders, cranes and harvesters, oversize included.
Oversize & overweight loads
Anything past 2.55 m wide, 4.00 m high or 40 t gross: classic abnormal-load work.
Fabrications & modules
Precast concrete, structural steel, tanks, vessels and plant modules.
Sensitive & high-value cargo
Low-vibration, discreet, and insured for what it is actually worth.
How an abnormal load runs
From “is it even possible?” to handover.
Four stages, one person coordinating them. You do not deal with the authorities, the escorts or the crane firm – we do.
- 1
Feasibility
Dimensions, weight, centre of gravity, bridges, headroom, the actual turn out of your yard.
- 2
Permits & route
Abnormal-load permits for every country on the route, and the route itself, surveyed.
- 3
Escorts & traffic
BF2 or BF3 escort vehicles, traffic management, and police escort where the law requires it.
- 4
Lift & deliver
Cranage, load securing, the run itself, and handover – including the awkward last hundred metres.
FAQ
Heavy haulage: your questions.
What does a heavy or abnormal-load transport cost?
There is no flat rate – a heavy or abnormal-load transport is always an individual job. The price depends heavily on the dimensions and weight of the load, the route and how many countries it crosses, the distance, and the permits, escort vehicles (BF2/BF3) and dates involved. We check feasibility first and then price each move on its own. Send us the details and you get a no-obligation quote, usually within 24 hours.
Request a quoteWhen does a load count as an abnormal load?
As soon as it passes any one of these: 2.55 m wide (8 ft 4 in), 4.00 m high (13 ft 1 in), 16.50 m long on a semi-trailer (18.75 m as a drawbar combination) or 40 t gross. Break one limit and the load needs a permit, marker boards and lights; break several, or break them by a lot, and it needs escort vehicles and a surveyed route as well. We work out which category you are in before we quote.
What kinds of cargo do you take?
Oversize boats and yachts, production machinery and complete industrial plant, construction and agricultural machinery, precast concrete and structural steel, tanks and vessels, plant modules, and one-off fabrications that were never designed to leave the factory in one piece. If it is fragile, valuable or simply an odd shape, that is the point at which most hauliers stop and we start.
Do you obtain the permits yourself?
Yes – all of them, for every country on the route, plus the route survey and the escort vehicles. Permits are the part that takes the time, so the sooner we have the real dimensions, the sooner we can start. You never have to file an application yourself.
What is the difference between a BF2 and a BF3 escort?
A BF2 is a warning vehicle: it runs with the load and makes other traffic aware of it. A BF3 is a certified escort with a roof-mounted variable-message sign, and its driver has powers to direct traffic – stopping oncoming vehicles so the load can take a roundabout on the wrong side, for example. Which one you need follows from the permit, not from preference; we arrange either.
How much lead time does an abnormal load need?
Plan on several weeks. The driving is the quick part; the permits, and in some countries the police coordination, are not. Urgent jobs are often still possible – we will tell you straight away whether your date is realistic rather than string you along.
Is heavy haulage insured?
Every load runs under CMR cover, which is limited by weight (8.33 SDR per kilogram). For a heavy machine that is often enough; for a light, expensive fabrication it is not. Where the value is high relative to the weight we recommend and arrange additional all-risk transport insurance.
Got a load nobody else will take?
Send us the dimensions, the weight and the two addresses. You will get an honest answer on feasibility – and, if it works, a firm quote.