A heavy hauler is a very large transporter for moving

oversize load In road transport, an oversize load (or overweight load) is a load that exceeds the standard or ordinary legal size and/or weight limits for a truck to convey on a specified portion of road, highway, or other transport infrastructure, such as a ...

s too large for road travel without an escort and special permit. Voorpiek UAL AFRICA (13375960505)

A heavy hauler typically consists of a

Ballast Tractor A ballast tractor is a specially weighted tractor unit of a heavy hauler combination. It is designed to utilize a drawbar to pull or push heavy or exceptionally large trailer loads which are loaded in a hydraulic modular trailer. When feasible ...

and hydraulic modular trailer. Some trailers may have independently steerable wheels, and several might be towed by one or more tractor units in a train.

Self-propelled modular transporter Self-propelled may refer to * Human-powered transport, humans moving themselves (and their cargo) via their own muscle energy * Machines that power their own movement: ** Automobile (from ''auto-'' + ''mobile'', "self-moving") ** Locomotive ( ...

s (SPMT), some featuring a dozen or more self-steering axles with scores of rubber tires to spread out a load, are increasingly being manufactured. Working in coordinated teams, heavy haulers are able to carry loads exceeding 100 tons.

Applications

In some cases, a heavy hauler is designed and constructed to move a particular load on a one-off or short-term basis. An example is the self-propelled antenna transporter for the ALMA radio telescope project, a 28-wheeled rigid vehicle designed to carry and place radio telescope antennas up a mountain to an altitude of . Girder bridge ( lowboy) trailers are another specialist heavy hauler, specifically for the transport of large power transformers. Typical loads moved by heavy haulers under escort on highways include giant

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

s and

pressure vessel A pressure vessel is a container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure. Construction methods and materials may be chosen to suit the pressure application, and will depend on the size o ...

s used in the chemical industry, industrial plants,

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term ...

sections for construction projects, giant

power transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's c ...

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...

s, and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

s (generally made of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

). The term "heavy hauler" may also be used to refer to off-road

dump truck A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials (such as dirt, gravel, or demolition waste) for construction as well as coal. A t ...

s and ore carriers used in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

and

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...

with capacities up to , or an airplane that has been especially constructed for moving heavy materials. There are some shipbuilding companies using SPMT for carrying ship parts and constructing ships in China. They have saved millions of dollars formerly spent transporting loads using

gantry crane A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, us ...

References

{{reflist Trucks Engineering vehicles

Applications

See also

References