Industrial Case Studies

When one of Canada’s largest providers of rentals and sales for natural gas compression equipment needed help transporting a 176,000-pound compressor and 22,000-pound cooler, Donald Rigging confidently answered the call. With a team of experts and state-of-the-art equipment, the home-grown Canadian company set on a trek just over 1,000km—from Wonwon, BC to Strathmore, AB—and delivered a thoroughly-executed project that met their client’s goals and kept the crews, equipment, and roads safe.

A Team Of Experts At Work

When approaching this project, Donald Rigging’s specialized transportation division began by designing a feasible route for the over dimensional transport to travel. Next, they secured the proper permitting required for a load of its size and weight. They were then ready to dispatch their crews and gather the wide range of equipment needed to complete the move, which included jack and slide systems, a double drop trailer, a 12-line platform trailer, pilot cars, tow trucks, and push trucks. With equipment and crews in place, they set to work.

Equipment Moving Solutions For Every Challenge

As with many oversized equipment transports, this move was not without its challenges. The first arose when lifting and loading the compressor and cooler. The ground at the time was wet and soft, making lifting and loading the 176,000-pound compressor and the 22,000-pound cooler difficult. To get a sturdier base, the Donald Rigging crew added more jacks and blocking—both of which did the trick.

The cooler, standing at 17-feet 2-inches, was loaded onto a double-drop trailer to reduce its overall height. When it came time to load the compressor, the crew installed a 300-Ton Hydra Slide system to move the compressor off the piles, then jacked it up 52 inches. Next, the heavy haul crew lowered the 12-line platform trailer and backed it under the compressor. They were then able to lift the compressor off the blocking and onto the trailer.

Skill, Experience, and Transportation Excellence

With the load now ready for transport, the crew faced their next batch of challenges. To start, the transport had to be completed overnight so that the move would not block the road during busy commuter hours. Travelling in the dark meant the truck drivers needed to be highly vigilant as they passed through tight, winding roads—many with steep grades over 14%.

On one of the grades, the crew used four trucks to assist the heavy compressor load, which had a gross weight of 412,240 pounds, up the hill. Using a bed truck at the front of the load, the team hooked that truck to their Western Star prime mover, which was then hooked to the 12-line platform trailer. At the back of the load, the crew used a Kenworth truck with counter weights pushing the trailer and another Western Star truck pushing the Kenworth. It was an incredible feat and the team accomplished it safely and seamlessly.

This portion of the route also had another obstacle: power lines that hung below the height of the roughly 25-foot compressor load and the over 17-foot cooler load. However, having done thorough route research, the crew was well prepared; the Donald Rigging line lifting crew was there to meet the transport when it arrived. They raised the power lines, allowing the trucks to pass safely through.

The last leg of the journey occurred on a second night. The crew carried the heavy loads through cities where the line lifting crew again lifted power lines for safe passage, and the transport crew expertly navigated counter-flowing traffic lights. Finally, as the transport entered into Alberta, Canada, the roads narrowed once again and the crews had to carefully share tight, two-lane roads with multiple other oversized loads.

Thanks to the expertise of the Donald Rigging team, the compressor and cooler were safely delivered to Strathmore, AB where they were expertly unloaded by the heavy haul and jack and slide crews.

A Specialized Transportation Job Well Done

With proactive planning, skilled and experienced crews, and a wide range of specialized transportation equipment, the Donald Rigging crew deftly transported an extremely heavy, over dimensional load 1,052.3 km, delivering it safely to its destination in Strathmore, AB. The customer was very happy with the team and pleased with their work.

Donald Rigging has a well-earned reputation for high-quality transportation services and this project is no exception. Big or small, Donald Rigging does it all.