223,000-lb Evaporator: Port of Houston to California
A 48-foot vessel, superload permits in four states, and Book Freight managing the move from ship-side pickup to delivery at an active industrial site in California’s Central Valley.
Too big for standard permits. Too sensitive to ride flat.
A falling film water evaporator arrived at the Port of Houston bound for an industrial facility in California’s Central Valley. At 48 feet long, nearly 13 feet wide and about 223,000 pounds empty, it was discharged by the ship’s own heavy-lift cranes directly onto the trailer and moved as a superload in every state on the route.
California’s superload review was the most demanding on the route and needed a longer lead time than any other state on the route. Book Freight managed that timeline end to end, so the customer’s project team always knew where the load stood and when it would arrive.
Engineered, permitted, and communicated.
Engineered equipment
A 12-axle combination (tractor, jeep dolly and an 8-line modular trailer) spread the vessel’s 223,000 pounds across the length of the combination.
Four-state permitting
Superload permits in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, coordinated as one timeline, including California’s extended superload review.
One point of contact
The shipper got clear, dated updates from port pickup to delivery, with real dates to plan the project around and no guesswork.
Delivered to site
The load rolled into an active industrial plant, where the site’s crane crew set it with a two-crane tandem lift.
Four states under escort.
The evaporator crossed Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California in an escort convoy with pilot vehicles, a height-pole car checking overhead clearances, a bucket truck for utility lines, and law enforcement escorts where the permits called for them.
Travel was limited to permitted hours, so the convoy staged on the shoulder at scheduled stops and rolled again when the travel window opened.
Ship to site, every step.
From a night discharge at the Port of Houston, across the desert Southwest under escort, to a tandem crane lift at the plant.
Port to site. Handled.
The evaporator reached the facility in California’s Central Valley and was set by the site’s crane crew, completing a four-state superload move from the Port of Houston to site.
Book Freight managed the move from the ship to the plant gate, and the shipper had one point of contact the whole way.
Moving oversize freight into California? Plan for the permits, not the miles.
- Start the permit process as soon as the equipment’s ship date is known.
- Build buffer into the project schedule for California’s review. It’s usually longer than the drive.
- Get the fabricator’s transport drawing to your broker early. Saddle positions, orientation and center of gravity shape the equipment choice.
- Choose a broker who keeps you updated through the whole process, not just at pickup and delivery.
Got a load other brokers bounce?
Send the dimensions, weight and drawings. We’ll tell you what it takes to move it.