Gantry Crane & Overhead Bridge Crane Transport

Gantry and Overhead Crane Transport Services

Overhead bridge cranes and gantry cranes are the backbone of heavy industrial lifting — steel mills, shipyards, paper mills, power plants, fabrication shops, rail yards, and port terminals depend on them daily. When a facility upgrades, relocates, or commissions a new crane installation, getting the crane components from the fabricator or the old facility to the new site safely and on schedule is a logistics challenge that requires experience with oversize loads, long-length freight, and heavy machinery.

R&RM LLC has been transporting industrial equipment and oversize loads across all 48 continental states since 2011. This page covers the types of overhead and gantry crane components we transport, the trailer configurations required, permit considerations, and what to expect when moving crane equipment by highway.

Types of Overhead and Gantry Crane Equipment We Transport

Overhead Bridge Crane Bridge Girders

The bridge girder — the horizontal spanning member that travels along the runway rails — is typically the longest and heaviest single component in an overhead crane installation. Bridge girders for industrial cranes span from as little as 20 feet in small job shops to over 200 feet in shipyard and steel mill facilities. Common configurations include:

• Single-girder bridge cranes: A single fabricated steel I-beam or box girder spanning the bay width. Girders for 5–20 ton capacity cranes in standard bays (30–80 ft span) typically weigh 5,000 to 40,000 pounds. Most fit on a standard flatbed with an oversize permit for length if the span exceeds 53 feet.
• Double-girder bridge cranes: Two parallel box girders that carry the crab (the trolley and hoist assembly that runs on top of the girders). Each girder for a heavy-duty crane — capacity 100 tons and above — can weigh 50,000 to 200,000 pounds or more for mill-duty units. Long-span girders require multi-axle lowboy trailers or heavy-duty RGN configurations to manage the weight and prevent deflection during transport.
• Monorail beams and runway sections: Fixed overhead monorail systems and runway beam extensions are transported as long structural steel members, typically 40 to 80 feet in length, requiring overhang permits and a warning flag or light at the extended end.
• Box girders for heavy-lift applications: Specialty cranes used in nuclear power plant containment buildings, steel mill ladle transfer cranes, and shipyard gantries use deep box girder sections that may exceed 14 feet in height when standing upright on the trailer — requiring overheight permits in addition to overlength and overweight permits.

Runway Beams and Crane Rails

Overhead bridge crane runways consist of runway beams (or runway girders) mounted along the bay walls that carry the crane rails on which the bridge travels. Individual runway beam sections range from 20 to 60 feet in length and weigh 3,000 to 80,000 pounds depending on the crane capacity and bay geometry. For large crane installations, runway beams are fabricated as built-up welded sections and require flatbed or lowboy transport with overlength permits for sections beyond 53 feet. Crane rail sections (typically ASCE 85, 104, or 135 rail) ship as standard steel long-length freight but may require permits for shipments exceeding 53 feet.

End Trucks and Crane Trucks

End trucks are the heavy steel weldments at each end of the bridge that carry the wheels running on the runway rails. End trucks for large overhead cranes — 100 tons and above — are precision-machined fabrications weighing 10,000 to 60,000 pounds each, with wheel diameters up to 30 inches. They typically ship on a flatbed or RGN trailer. The critical care consideration for end truck transport is protecting the machined wheel treads and journal bearing surfaces from damage, which requires custom blocking and securement verified by the crane manufacturer or erector.

Hoist Units and Crab Assemblies

The hoist unit — including the drum, motor, gearbox, and rope reeving assembly — is the heart of an overhead crane. Hoist units for heavy industrial cranes range from several thousand pounds for standard single-girder units to 100,000 pounds and above for high-capacity double-girder mill cranes. The crab assembly (hoist plus trolley frame for double-girder cranes) may weigh 30,000 to 200,000 pounds and require a lowboy or multi-axle platform trailer for transport. Hoist machinery is precision equipment — drums, gears, and drum ropes must be properly supported and protected from shock loading during transit.

Complete Gantry Crane Structures

Freestanding gantry cranes — which travel on ground-level rails or rubber tires rather than an elevated runway — include a wide range of equipment types:

• Shop gantry cranes: Smaller portable gantry units (1–20 ton capacity) used in fabrication shops and maintenance facilities. These are sometimes transported assembled, if their folded height and width fit within permit limits, or disassembled into legs, bridge, and hoist for transport on a flatbed.
• Container gantry cranes (RTGs and RMGs): Rubber-tired gantry cranes and rail-mounted gantry cranes used in container terminals are extremely large structures — leg heights of 50 to 80 feet, spans of 80 to 120 feet, and operating weights of 300 to 900 tons. These are always transported as disassembled components — legs, cross-bracing, bridge girders, and machinery — each section typically requiring oversize and overweight permits.
• Shipyard gantry cranes: Large shipyard gantry cranes used for hull section assembly can have bridge spans of 200 to 500 feet and lifting capacities of 300 to 1,000 tons. Disassembly into transportable components generates dozens to hundreds of individual loads, each an oversize or overweight move in its own right. These projects require extensive project logistics planning and multi-state permit coordination.
• Jib cranes and monorail systems: Freestanding jib cranes (column-mounted or pillar-mounted) ship as structural steel fabrications — typically standard freight or light oversize loads — while larger jib crane mast sections may require lowboy transport for exceptionally heavy pillar assemblies.

Major Crane Manufacturers We Transport

Konecranes

Konecranes is one of the world's largest overhead crane manufacturers, supplying bridge cranes, gantry cranes, hoists, and industrial lifting solutions across every heavy manufacturing sector. Konecranes crane components — from compact workstation cranes to large ladle cranes — are transported from fabrication facilities to customer sites nationwide. We coordinate transport of Konecranes equipment under the dimensional and securement specifications Konecranes provides for each product line.

Demag Cranes (Terex Industrial Equipment)

Demag — now marketed through Terex — produces overhead bridge cranes, hoists, and industrial cranes widely used in manufacturing, automotive, and process industries. Demag EKKE, EKDR, and DRS series bridge crane components are regularly transported between fabrication facilities and industrial end users across the Southeast, Midwest, and Gulf Coast.

American Crane & Equipment Corporation

American Crane manufactures a range of standard and custom overhead bridge cranes and gantry cranes for heavy industry, nuclear, and government applications. Components for American Crane installations at nuclear facilities, military bases, and heavy industrial plants have specific security and dimensional documentation requirements that we accommodate in transport planning.

Manitowoc (National Crane and Grove Industrial)

Manitowoc's National Crane and industrial hoist product lines, along with legacy P&H overhead crane components, remain in active service across the steel, mining, and energy sectors. We transport legacy P&H crane components — end trucks, girders, and hoist assemblies — for facilities refurbishing or replacing aging equipment.

Shaw-Box / Yale / CM Hoists

Shaw-Box, Yale, and CM (Columbus McKinnon) are among the most widely deployed hoist brands in North American industry. Individual hoist units for these brands range from compact wire rope units weighing a few hundred pounds to large double-girder underhung hoist units weighing 10,000 to 30,000 pounds, typically shipped on a flatbed with standard securement.

Trailer Configurations for Crane Component Transport

Flatbed Trailers

Standard 48-foot and 53-foot flatbed trailers handle the majority of crane components — runway beam sections up to 53 feet, end trucks, hoist units, and smaller bridge girders. Loads that exceed 8 feet 6 inches in width or 13 feet 6 inches in height require oversize permits even on a flatbed. Long-length components exceeding 53 feet require state overhang or overlength permits.

RGN (Removable Gooseneck) Lowboy Trailers

Box girders and hoist crab assemblies that are too tall to load over the beak of a flatbed — or that require loading by overhead crane — are transported on RGN lowboy trailers. The detachable gooseneck allows ground-level loading of heavy, awkward crane components from the front, avoiding the rigging complexity of top-loading by crane.

Multi-Axle Lowboy and Platform Trailers

Very heavy bridge girders (100,000 pounds and above), assembled hoist crab units, and large end truck assemblies may require multi-axle lowboy configurations to distribute axle loads within permit limits. Hydraulic expanding platform trailers are used for exceptionally wide gantry crane leg sections that cannot be transported on standard trailer widths.

Oversize Permit Requirements

Most overhead crane bridge girders require overlength permits (for spans exceeding 53 feet), overwidth permits (for girders wider than 8 feet 6 inches), or both. Heavy mill-duty crane components also require overweight permits when total vehicle weight exceeds 80,000 pounds. Our permit services team handles all permit applications for crane component moves, including multi-state corridor permits where the haul crosses state lines.

Industries That Move Overhead and Gantry Cranes

• Steel and metals manufacturing: Steel mills move ladle cranes, scrap charging cranes, and coil handling cranes as facilities are rebuilt or upgraded. See our guide on heavy haul for the steel and metals industry.
• Shipbuilding and ship repair: Shipyards are among the most intensive users of large overhead and gantry cranes. Gantry crane relocations and upgrades generate large multi-load projects requiring extensive logistical planning.
• Nuclear power: Nuclear facilities use polar cranes (large overhead cranes inside the reactor containment building) and auxiliary bridge cranes with stringent quality documentation requirements — ASME N-type certificates, weld procedure records, and NRC inspection documentation are part of the transport package.
• Automotive manufacturing: Auto plants use hundreds of overhead bridge cranes for powertrain and body assembly. Plant retooling between model years generates crane relocation projects that must be executed within tight production outage windows.
• Pulp and paper mills: Paper machine erection in wide-bay mill buildings uses large overhead cranes with spans of 100 to 200 feet. See our guide on heavy haul for the pulp and paper industry.
• Power generation: Power plants use large overhead cranes in turbine halls and maintenance bays. Turbine hall crane upgrades generate bridge girder and hoist unit transport projects.
• Construction and precast: Precast concrete plants, bridge fabrication yards, and structural steel fabricators rely on overhead cranes for production. Crane installations at new facilities generate multi-component transport projects.
• Crane dealers and rebuilders: Used crane dealers and crane rebuilding shops relocate crane components between facilities regularly, from compact hoist units to large surplus bridge girders from decommissioned facilities.

Special Handling Considerations

Overhead crane components require careful attention to several transport-specific issues:

• Deflection protection for long girders: Long-span bridge girders — particularly thin-web plate girders — are susceptible to twisting and web buckling if not supported correctly during transport. Fabricators typically specify blocking points and transport orientation in their shipping documentation. We confirm support requirements before loading any long bridge girder.
• Wheel tread protection: Crane wheel treads and flanges on end trucks are precision-machined surfaces. Contact with chains, blocking, or other abrasive materials during transport causes surface damage that affects crane tracking. We use soft material (rubber pads, timber cribbing) between securement hardware and machined crane wheel surfaces.
• Electrical component protection: Control panels, pendant stations, and festoon cable systems attached to crane components require weather protection and vibration isolation during transport. We secure electrical enclosures and close all access panels before the load departs.
• Dimensional verification: Before permitting, we verify actual dimensions by tape measure or laser measure against the manufacturer's drawing. Fabricated steel components vary from drawing dimensions due to weld shrinkage and assembly variation — a girder that draws at 10 feet 0 inches may measure 10 feet 2 inches in the shop, which changes the permit tier.

Getting a Quote for Crane Component Transport

To provide an accurate quote, we need the following information for each major component in the shipment:

• Component type (bridge girder, end truck, hoist unit, runway beam, etc.)
• Weight (from the manufacturer's drawing or a certified scale ticket)
• Overall dimensions: length, width, and height as shipped
• Loading/unloading method at origin and destination (overhead crane, fork truck, ground-level loading)
• Origin and destination addresses, including any access restrictions
• Requested delivery date and any schedule constraints
• Manufacturer's transport documentation, if available

R&RM LLC handles permit applications, trailer selection, and delivery coordination. Call us at (404) 987-6225 or use the form below to start your crane transport quote.