Machinery Towing in East Cambie, Richmond, BC

Which machines does machinery towing in East Cambie move?

Machinery towing covers the heavier working machines: mini excavators and compact track loaders, skid steers, compact and utility tractors, small wheel loaders, and the industrial machines that live inside a shop, such as a press, a lathe or a packaging line component. These are denser and heavier than the gear on our equipment towing page, and many have tracks, buckets or attachments that change how they load. For a full-size excavator or a loaded tractor-trailer, heavy duty towing is the right service.

Every machine is a little different, so we start with the spec sheet. Tell us the make, model and operating weight, the width over the tracks or tires, the transport height with the boom or cab, and which attachments are going along. If a bucket, breaker or auger travels separately, we load it as its own piece.

• Make, model and operating weight.
• Width over tracks or tires, and transport height.
• Attachments going with it, and their weight.
• Whether it runs and tracks, or has to be winched.

Moving machinery between Crestwood shops

The Crestwood industrial estate is where a lot of our machinery calls begin. Machines come out of one unit on Vanguard Road for service and go to a shop on Voyageur Way or Crestwood Place, or they move from a contractor's yard to a repair shop and back. Short hops like these still need the same loading and chaining as a long run, because the weight on the deck is the same. For that pocket, see machinery towing in Crestwood.

Shop machinery has its own setup. A machine that has never been on a road has no tie-down points, so it is usually skidded or lifted with a forklift on your side, then blocked and chained on the deck with protection under the chains. Tell us how it is currently mounted, whether it is bolted to the floor, and who on your side will move it to the door. If a forklift is the problem, forklift moves are covered on our equipment page.

When does a machinery move need a BC permit?

Most compact machines fit within the normal legal size and weight for a deck truck. Bigger ones may not. British Columbia issues commercial transport permits for loads that are oversize, overweight or both, on a single trip or a term basis, and the Province notes that Google Maps is not an accurate source of route information for commercial transport vehicles. When a machine is wide, tall or heavy enough to need one, we tell you on the call, before anything is booked.

Term oversize and term overweight permits are handled through the Province's onRouteBC permit system, which requires a Business BCeID. If your company already holds permits for its own machines, tell us, because it can change how the move is planned. If the load is simply too big for a deck, we will say so honestly rather than try to make it fit.

Width is the measurement that catches people out. A compact track loader may weigh well within the limit, but a wide bucket or a dozer blade can push the load past the legal width. Removing the attachment and carrying it separately often solves it, and a machine with a quick coupler makes that easy. Measure across the widest point, with the attachment on and off, and tell us both numbers when you call.

Route planning for machinery around East Cambie

A loaded deck with a machine on it is heavier than a lot of Richmond's smaller roads are posted for. The City sets 5 tonne and 9 tonne commercial limits on some streets, so we check the posted limits and plan each route on roads that allow the weight, using residential streets in California Pointe or King George Park only for the last stretch when the drop-off is there. Tall loads also get a height check against overpasses and bridges on the way.

Timing matters too. A machine heading to a jobsite near Jacombs Road can be booked early, before the street fills up, and a drop at a dealer can be set for when their yard is open to receive it. Tell us when the receiving end can sign for it. For moves past the Lower Mainland, long distance towing is quoted the same way. See also machinery towing in Jacombs and machinery towing in King George Park.

When a machine breaks down on site

A skid steer with a blown hydraulic hose or a mini excavator that won't start often sits in mud, on a slope or behind other gear. If it can't track or drive to where a deck can reach it, we may need to winch it out to firm ground first, then load. Tell us what the ground is like and how close a truck can get.

We lower the boom and bucket, set the machine's own locks, and chain it at its tie-down points. If a hydraulic leak is involved, we bring absorbent so the deck and the street stay clean. Everything else we do in the neighbourhood is on our East Cambie towing homepage, and you can send the machine details with photos through the form.

Compact tractors are another kind of machine we move. A tractor with a loader on the front and a mower or tiller on the three-point hitch is long and heavy at both ends, so we usually load the implements separately. Tell us what is attached and whether the tractor runs. If a tractor or small loader has rolled onto its side, heavy duty recovery uprights it before any tow.