How to Safely Transport Power Transformers Using a lowboy Trailer

Why Use a Lowboy Trailer for Transformer Transportation?

The lowest trailers are always a preferred choice for transporting heavy equipment like Power Transformers. These trailers are also called low bed trailers or they are also known as low loader trailers and as their name suggests these are the transportation trailers that have very low deck height to deliver stability during transportation of heavy loads.

Following are the key features of a lowboy trailer that help transport heavy power transformers safely.

Flat Deck

Like any transportation trailer the lowboy trailer features a flat deck to ensure easy and balanced mounting of heavy transportation loads like Power Transformers. The bed is made of high strength Steel with all the features to Ensure proper and balanced placement of Power Transformer and ensure secure transportation of the Load.

Low Deck Height

One of the key features of the lowboy trailer is the height of the Deck of the trailer. The height of the Deck is significantly lower as compared to any other standard heavy equipment transport in trailer or vehicle,

Double Drop Design

The lowboy trailer features a double drop design of its bed, offering a double drop in bad height. The first drop is immediately after the neck of the low trailer and the second drop is before the wheel. 

Axle Configuration

Depending upon the size, length and the load capacity which the lowboy trailer has to move a lowboy trailer can have multiple axles changing from 2 to 8 axles. More the number of Axis attached in a lowboy trailer more will be its load pulling capacity.

Advantages of Using a LowBoy Trailer

Here are the advantages of using lowboy trailers for the transportation of heavy equipment like Power Transformers.

Lower Center of Gravity

The best feature of a lowboy trailer is that it offers low bed height that offers the advantage of low centre of gravity. The low centre of gravity means that the movement of the power transformer will have additional stability when compared to the transportation through a normal height trailer. The lowboy trailer minimizes the risk of tipping the power transformer during the transit.

High Load Bearing Capacity

Lowboy trailers are designed and developed to transport very heavy things like a power transformer. Its bed is made from high strength Steel and it has the load bearing capacity ranging in few tons. 

Safety Features

The lowboy trailer has all the features needed to safely secure the power transformer on the trailer that can ensure that it remains stable during the transportation. The trailer has a mechanism to verify that the power transformer is placed on a level surface and is not tilting on any site.

Learn more about  Transformer Transportation

Compliance with Weight and Height Regulations

The most important reason why we  recommend transportation of power transformers is that it is designed and well in a minute that it complies with the weight and height regulations associated with the transportation of heavy loads on the roads.

Each country around the globe has its own regulations related to the transportation of heavy equipment and in all cases this regulation involves unlimited size and specially height of the heavy equipment that can be transported on road via trailer. 

Other than the regulations of weight size and height the regulations also involve the safety of the equipment that is being transported and the safety of the Other transporting vehicles that are  present on the road at the time of transportation.

Key Considerations in a Power Transformer Transportation

Even with a lowboy trailer there are certain considerations that you need to work on before transporting the power transformer.

Weight and Dimension Calculations

Before you select a certain low white trailer for transportation of your power transformer it is highly important for you to make exercise calculations and measurement of the transformer rate and its overall dimensions. You need to consider the length and width of your power transformer so that you can compare it with the Length and width of the lowboy trailer bed. 

You also need to consider the height of your Power Transformer and add it to the height of the bed of your low white trailer from the ground so that you can know the overall height of the transportation on the road.  This height is  crucial because  there are height restrictions that you can transport in different regions of the world or different parts of the same region. 

The weight calculation of your transformer is also important because not all lowboy trailers are built the same and work the same. Each category of trailer has its own weight limitations that it can handle and transport safely and securely. Calculations of dimension or weight of the power transformer can lead to failure during the transportation that can destroy or damage the power transformer over can cause legal issues and heavy fines during the transportation.

Route Planning

Planning is another important factor in safe transportation of power transformers using lowboy trailers. As we mentioned early, lowboy trailers have a very low height bed and this can be a disadvantage or limitation during the selection of food because the clearance between the bed and the road is very small. so you need to consider a route that for the minimum leaders required by the selected lowboy trailer. 

You also need to consider the power transformer size and weight during selection of the road because not all roads are designed to wear the weight and have the width to compensate for this size of the power transformer. You also need to consider the shortest possible way to word your designation because this will save you a lot of time and also save you a lot of cost in terms of transportation and labour cost. 

When selecting the route for your power transformer transportation you also need to consider the condition of the road on which your trailer will move. These selected roads  should have perfect condition without any should have a minimum number of steep turns.

Weather Conditions

After selecting  the best route for the power transformer transportation you need to consider the weather conditions on the upcoming days of the transportation. It is highly important for you to consider weather because any type of bad weather will be very bad for the Transformer itself even if it does not cause any problem during the transportation. This is because the power transformer has very sensitive parts Whose perfect performance is very critical for the high efficiency of Power Transformers.

Other than this bad weather can cause delays and slow down the transportation process. A heavy range can make roads slippery and can put the entire project in danger. Similarly heavy snows can potentially block roads and can cause serious delays in power transformer transportation. A storm can knock down trees on roads that can block them for sometime adding delays in delivery of the power transformer. 

It is highly important for you to consider all these factors because these days can increase the cost of transportation many fold and can put the entire project in danger. 

Permits and Regulations

You have done all the work of making measurements and calculations and selecting the best lowboy trailer mapping the rules and considering the weather condition for upcoming days, now you need to apply for the permit and put in paperwork to follow all the regulations.

This is a highly important step because the authorities of the region need to know what are you moving and what are its specifications so they can inform you and others about the potential danger or blockage on any specific road if it happens.

You also need to inform authorities so that they can do whatever they have to for the safe and easy transportation of the power transformer. These might Include blocking other traffic on Saturn routes and time so that your trailer can easily pass from highly congested areas. 

You may enjoy: Transformer Packaging and Transportation

Best Practices for Safe Transformer Loading and Unloading

You are going to be in the transformer transportation business there are certain best practices for the safe Transformer loading and unloading and transportation that you might need to consider in your transformer transportation procedure.

Pre-loading Checks

Always perform preload checking of the trailer, transformer and all the machinery equipment involved in the lifting, loading, unloading and transportation of the power transformer. You need to make sure that the trailer is part of a flat ground with all wheels in stable and stationary condition during the loading of the transformer. Check that the lifting equipment is also placed on solid ground and it is properly balanced for safely lifting and loading the power transformer onto the trailer.

Lifting Techniques

To show that the lifting equipment and technique you are following is safe, reliable and tested for loading and unloading the power transformer on to the trailer.  you need to double check the lifting agreement capacity and need to follow the exact procedure of equipment operation during the entire project.

Securing the Transformer

Before lifting the power transformer from ground you need to make sure that all the chains and straps that are attached to power transformer  or properly secured and attached and they have the required capacity to lift the weight of power transformer

After placing the Transformer on to the trailer you need to make sure that the transformer is properly cured into the trailer. Need to make sure that the transformer is either properly bolted or chained or strapped on to the trailer and can remain attached on to the trailer throughout its journey towards the installation site.

Shock and Vibration Protection

You need to make sure that you have sufficient pushing for your power transformer and you can make sure this by having a dumping material between your Power Transformer and the trailer body. You can also select trailer dad offer excellent shock absorbing through its suspension system for you can install your own shock absorber between Transformer and body.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

The route to the designation can offer challenges during the transportation. You might face some narrow passages or you might face a sharp turn on the road but you can easily overcome these challenges if you have a skilled driver for your trailer.

• It is also possible that you might face delays in getting a permit and most of the time it is due to incomplete paperwork or any mistake in your paperwork you submitted for the permit. You can overcome this challenge by having a legal expert that can do the proper paperwork for you.
• You might also face uncertain issues like broken vehicles, puncture tyres or a certain natural calamity that broke down or blocked the road.

Why Choose Daelim Transformer for Your Power Equipment Needs?

We Daelim Transformer, being one of the leading transformer manufactuers, offer certain benefits that hardly any other company in this industry can offer. 

Expertise in Transformer Design

We have a dedicated team of engineers and professional experts that work to develop state of the art designs and introduce new concepts in the field of transformer manufacturing. Our design team considers each and every aspect of the Transformer including its safe and easy transportation and installation.

Our manufacturing team consists of experts that have decades of experience under their belt and they have been working in the transformer manufacturing field for years. They manufacture different parts of the transformer keeping in mind that they need to be transported to their working site. 

Our both design and manufacturing teams understand the International leads and all types of national and international standards like that of ISO, ASTM, ANSI, IEEE  and any other associated standard.

Get it free: The Impact of Operating Environment on Transformer Design

Customization Options

If a certain application or a route of transportation of a power Transformer needs special consideration, then we can develop a customized design of power transformer that best suits the application and helps in easy transportation of the transformer.

Reliable After-sales Support and Global Delivery Solutions.

Offer Transformer design manufacturing transportation and customisation but we also provide the most reliable after sales support and Global Delivery solution. We have a complete network including our team of experts, manufacturing plants, inventory warehouse, and complete transportation, installation solution. Our global delivery solutions ensure timely and safe transportation of transformers worldwide.

Follow Up

Power transformers are sensitive equipment and due to their large size they are quite heavy, you need high quality service to safely and securely transport power transformers from the manufacturing plant to the site of installation. We offer high quality power transformer transportation services throughout the globe. If you have any questions related to the transformer transportation, Contact Us.