Trans American tackles oversize press haul

Since 1976, Trans American Trucking Service has been moving heavy cargo, freight and machinery across the U.S and Canada. The company was recently tasked with a 33-mile journey that involved picking up seven machine presses from a plant in Industry, PA and then transporting them to New Castle, PA via barge across two rivers before an over-the-road trip to the final destination.

The team at Trans American utilized both 13 and 19-axle Trail King trailers for this complicated transport project. The largest machine press measured 39 feet 5 inches by 23 feet 4 inches by 9 feet 8 inches and weighed a whopping 206,129 pounds. The smallest press weighed 95,568 pounds and was 20 feet 9 inches long.

Ideal solution

The project required that all the trucks be positioned to facilitate direct discharge as well as close coordination with the barge operator and the crane operators. Another challenging factor was the limited space to marshal all the super load trucks in the loading area.

“The actual truck transport involved the use of mostly secondary area roads in Pennsylvania, but having done the route survey in advance, our drivers were well prepared for the task at hand and it went off without a hitch,” said Tom Jensen, sales director, Trans American Trucking.

It’s also important to note that the initial preparation and transport of the loads took place at an active facility that could not have its operations interrupted.

“It was an interesting journey for these seven pieces,” Jensen said. “They were shipped to the Port of South Louisiana from Germany [Pennsylvania] and then barged up the Mississippi River and then down the Ohio River to where they were loaded onto our trucks in Industry, PA for the final over-the-road portion of the trip to New Castle.”