Bulldozer Shipping and Heavy Haul Transport
You need a dozer moved, and the tracks, the weight, and the blade rule out an ordinary flatbed run. A D6 headed two states away and a D11 bound for a mine site overseas are two different problems, and the wrong trailer or a missing state permit can leave the machine sitting at a scale or a port gate. The move comes down to three things: the trailer, the route, and the paperwork.
Texas International Freight ships bulldozers and other heavy construction equipment out of Houston, by road across North America and by ocean to project sites worldwide. We move compact dozers through to the largest mining machines.
Loading a Dozer Without Damage
A tracked dozer has a high center of gravity and steel grousers that bite into a deck, so loading is planned, not improvised. We work from the machine’s weight and dimensions to set the deck height, the ramp angle, and the tie-down points before anything moves. The blade and ripper are positioned or removed where needed, and the tracks are chocked and chained so the machine cannot shift on the road or at sea.
Matching the Trailer to the Dozer
Trailer choice follows the dozer’s weight and height, and we run the configuration that keeps the load legal and the deck low.
- Flatbed and step-deck: small and mid-size dozers that stay within height limits ride on a flatbed or a step-deck, which adds deck clearance for taller machines.
- Removable gooseneck (RGN): larger dozers load on an RGN or lowboy, where the detached gooseneck drops the deck into a ramp so the machine drives on under its own power and rides low for bridge clearance.
- Multi-axle: the heaviest mining dozers move on multi-axle setups that spread the weight to keep each axle within the legal limit.
Shipping Bulldozers Overseas
For export, a self-propelled dozer can drive aboard a roll-on roll-off vessel, which avoids a crane lift. Machines that exceed RoRo limits ship as breakbulk or on flat-rack equipment, lifted and lashed for the voyage. Houston gives us direct access to Port Houston terminals and the ocean services that reach West Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Permits, Route Surveys, and Escorts
An oversize or overweight dozer needs a permit in every state it crosses, and the heaviest loads need a route survey to confirm bridge ratings and overhead clearance. We pull the DOT permits, plan the route, and arrange pilot cars or police escorts where the load requires them, so the machine is legal end to end rather than turned back at a county line.
Cross-Border and Customs
For machines headed to Mexico or Canada, we prepare the export and import paperwork and coordinate customs clearance on both sides of the border. As an FMC-licensed forwarder, we run the road leg, the ocean leg, and the inland delivery on one file.
Industries We Move Dozers For
We move dozers for site preparation on commercial and highway construction, for overburden work at open-pit mines, and for lease-road and pad construction across the Permian Basin and other oil and gas fields. For a fleet headed to one project, project logistics keeps the dozers and support equipment on a single schedule.
Move Your Equipment With Texas International Freight
Send us the make, model, dimensions, weight, and destination, and we return a routing plan and a quote.
Contact Information:
- Phone: +1 877-489-9184
- Email: ship@txintlfreight.com
- Address: 11511 Katy Fwy #320, Houston, TX 77079
- Web Form: Request a Quote
Connect With Us:
How do you keep a bulldozer secure during transport?
We match the machine to the right trailer, usually an RGN for larger dozers so it loads low and stable, then chock the tracks and secure the machine with rated chains and binders at engineered tie-down points. For oversize loads we add route surveys and pilot car escorts, and the same chaining discipline holds the dozer on a vessel deck for ocean moves.
What information do you need for a bulldozer shipping quote?
Send the make and model, the exact length, width, height, and operating weight, the pickup address, and the destination. For an export move, the destination port or final site lets us compare RoRo against flat-rack carriage. The more precise the dimensions, the tighter the quote.
Can you ship a bulldozer overseas as well as across the country?
Yes. We handle domestic heavy haul to the job or the port and the ocean leg beyond it, by RoRo for machines that drive aboard or as breakbulk and flat rack for the largest dozers. One team coordinates the road move, the sailing, and delivery at destination.
Do you handle the permits for an oversize dozer?
Yes. We secure the oversize and overweight permits for every state on the route, run a route survey where the weight calls for it, and arrange escorts so the load stays legal across each jurisdiction.
What other heavy equipment do you move besides dozers?
We ship excavators, wheel loaders, motor graders, backhoes, articulated dump trucks, cranes, drilling rigs, and agricultural machinery. If the load is heavy or oversized, we have the trailers and the routing experience to move it.
