Loading and Unloading Used Heavy Equipment

Brian Weseman, president of Towmaster Trailers Inc., in Litchfield, MN, recommends using an angle-iron beavertail to gain maximum traction while loading. “A wood beavertail tends to be more slippery,” he says. "Bulldozers, excavators, and rubber-tired backhoes will get far superior traction on an angle-iron beavertail than on a wood beavertail or ramp, but you need wood if you have a roller. A smooth roller won’t climb an angle-iron beavertail."
Driving heavy construction equipment on and off a trailer can be a delicate operation, especially when the terrain isn’t level and flat. Sometimes a site is so uneven that an adjacent roadway must be commandeered for loading and unloading, despite the disruption of traffic.
“When you’re loading and unloading, a major concern is to make sure you’re not doing it on a side hill,” cautions Weseman. “Try to minimize the side angle so the equipment doesn’t do the crappie flop---tip over sideways like a fish.”
Loading and unloading in wet, muddy conditions causes other concerns. “The softer the ground, the farther into it your lowboy trailer is liable to sink,” Armstrong notes.