Forestry Equipment Hauling

Forestry Equipment Transport Services

Forestry equipment presents some of the most challenging transport conditions in the heavy haul industry. Feller bunchers, tracked skidders, and cut-to-length harvesters are purpose-built for rough terrain and remote timber operations — which means they routinely arrive at a job site in the middle of a national forest, down miles of unpaved logging road, with no loading dock and no crane. Getting them there requires carriers experienced with drive-on RGN loading, proper cribbing for high-clearance machines, and knowledge of how to secure equipment that was never designed with highway transport in mind.

R&RM LLC has been transporting heavy equipment across all 48 continental states since 2011, including forestry machinery from the Southeast timber belt through the Pacific Northwest and into the Upper Midwest logging regions. We understand the permit requirements, seasonal road restrictions, and trailer configurations that forestry equipment moves demand.

Types of Forestry Equipment We Transport

Feller Bunchers

Feller bunchers are the primary tree-cutting machines in mechanized timber harvesting. Wheeled models like the Tigercat 870C or John Deere 843L operate on gentler terrain; tracked models like the Tigercat 860C and Komatsu XT430 work steep slopes where wheeled machines cannot safely operate. Transport weights typically range from 55,000 to 85,000 pounds depending on the model and the attached cutting head.

Most feller bunchers exceed legal width when transported with the felling head attached. Disc mulcher heads and saw heads often extend the machine width beyond 8 feet 6 inches, requiring an oversize width permit and frequently requiring removal and separate transport of the head. Our dispatchers assess each machine's transport configuration as part of the quoting process to determine the most efficient approach.

Tracked and Wheeled Skidders

Cable skidders and grapple skidders move felled trees from the cut to a landing where the timber is processed and loaded. Grapple skidders from John Deere (848L, 948L), Caterpillar (535D, 545D), and Tigercat (635H, 660H) are the most commonly transported models. Wheeled skidders are typically 45,000–65,000 pounds and transport well on standard flatbed or step deck trailers when the grapple is folded. Tracked skidders require drive-on RGN loading due to their track ground pressure.

Cut-to-Length Harvesters

Cut-to-length (CTL) harvesters fell, delimb, and buck timber in a single pass. These are among the most geometrically complex machines to transport — the harvesting head is large, articulated, and often must be removed for legal width. Ponsse, John Deere, Komatsu, and Tigercat produce the most widely operated CTL harvesters in North American markets. Operating weights with head typically run 55,000 to 80,000 pounds; without the head, 45,000 to 65,000 pounds.

Harvester transport requires careful attention to the machine's center of gravity. These machines carry their weight high and forward when the head is attached, and the attachment point must be properly blocked and chained during transport. An experienced driver who routinely hauls forestry equipment handles this differently than a general freight carrier unfamiliar with the machine's balance characteristics.

Forwarders

Forwarders load, carry, and deposit cut timber from the harvesting area to a roadside landing — the defining feature of the CTL logging system. Ponsse Elephant King, John Deere 1910G, and Komatsu 895 are common large forwarder models. Transport weights are typically 40,000–60,000 pounds. Forwarders are wide machines — 10 to 11 feet is common — and almost always require oversize width permits even with the bunk folded to its narrowest transport configuration.

Log Loaders and Knuckleboom Loaders

Log loaders — also called knuckleboom loaders or timber loaders — load processed timber from a landing onto log trucks. Stationary log loaders mount on a trailer chassis and travel with that chassis. Self-propelled log loaders are tracked machines with transport weights of 50,000 to 100,000 pounds. Liebherr, Sennebogen, and Caterpillar produce widely used material handlers adapted for timber loading. Oversize permits are typically required for loader width and often for height when the boom is in transport position.

Forestry Mulchers and Masticators

Land clearing mulchers and track-mounted masticators are used in right-of-way clearing, fuel reduction, and site preparation for timber operations. Fecon, Denis Cimaf, and FAE produce widely used forestry mulcher attachments and dedicated mulching machines. Self-propelled tracked mulchers from 40,000 to 80,000 pounds transport on RGN trailers with the mulching drum properly blocked and secured. Mulcher drums are extremely heavy and sensitive to impact — securement must prevent the drum from rotating during transport.

Forestry Equipment by Brand

Tigercat

Tigercat Industries manufactures feller bunchers, skidders, harvesters, forwarders, and log loaders purpose-built for production forestry. Models span the full range from mid-size to large-production machines. Tigercat equipment is widely used in the US South, Pacific Northwest, and Great Lakes timber regions. We transport Tigercat equipment to and from all major timber markets.

John Deere Forestry

John Deere's forestry product line includes the 800 and 900 series feller bunchers, 600 and 900 series skidders, and the F-series harvesters and forwarders. Deere forestry equipment is common in operations from Georgia and Alabama through the upper Midwest. See our John Deere equipment transport page for additional details on Deere products across all categories.

Komatsu Forest

Komatsu's forest division produces CTL harvesters, forwarders, and the XT series tracked feller bunchers. Komatsu Forest equipment is prominent in both the Southeast and Pacific Northwest logging markets. Our Komatsu equipment transport experience covers all Komatsu product lines including forestry machines.

Ponsse

Finnish manufacturer Ponsse produces CTL harvesters and forwarders operating primarily in the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, where Scandinavian-style CTL harvesting systems have gained significant market share. Ponsse Scorpion, Buffalo, and Elephant series machines are among the largest forwarders operating in North American timber markets.

Caterpillar Forestry Equipment

Caterpillar's forestry lineup includes the 500 series skid grapple skidders, material handlers configured for log loading, and purpose-built CTL attachments for excavator-based harvesting. See our dedicated Caterpillar equipment transport page for the full Cat product range.

Transport Considerations for Forestry Equipment

Seasonal Road Restrictions

Forestry equipment moves are often tied to seasonal timber harvesting schedules — and those schedules intersect directly with spring road weight restrictions in the states where most US timber is harvested. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and the New England states all impose spring weight restrictions that affect oversize forestry equipment moves. A 65,000-pound tracked harvester that can be permitted over a county road in July may face restricted access or alternate routing requirements in March and April.

Timing your forestry equipment move around spring restrictions is a standard part of planning in this industry. R&RM LLC coordinates with state DOT permit offices to determine current restriction status on specific routes and helps shippers plan moves to minimize delay.

Head Removal and Separate Transport

Felling heads, harvesting heads, and grapple assemblies are often the heaviest single component on a forestry machine — and frequently the component that pushes the machine over legal width limits. Removing the head and transporting it as a separate piece adds cost but often reduces the total permit complexity enough to make the move faster and less expensive overall.

We assess head removal as part of every forestry equipment quote. When removal is practical, we arrange separate transport of the head on the same trailer or a following unit so both pieces arrive at the same delivery window.

Track Ground Pressure and Loading Surfaces

Wide-track forestry equipment — particularly forwarders and tracked harvesters — has lower ground pressure than construction equipment of comparable weight, but the loading surface still matters. RGN ramps that are adequate for a compact excavator may not safely support a 60,000-pound forwarder driving over them under power. We use trailer configurations with reinforced ramps rated for the specific machine's drive-on load, and drivers inspect the loading surface before moving the machine.

Remote Delivery Locations

Timber operations are by definition in remote areas. Logging roads, forest service roads, and timber harvest units may have clearance restrictions, bridge weight limits, or surface conditions that affect last-mile delivery. We discuss the delivery site access conditions as part of the quoting process and plan the last-mile approach accordingly.

Oversize Permits for Forestry Equipment

Most forestry equipment requires oversize permits for highway transport due to machine width. Tracked feller bunchers and forwarders in transport configuration commonly measure 11 to 14 feet wide, requiring permits in every state the load transits. Some states with significant timber industries — notably Oregon and Washington — have established designated permit corridors that streamline the process for frequent forestry equipment moves between logging regions.

For machines that exceed oversize width thresholds by a significant margin, pilot car escorts are required in most states. Our permit team handles all permit applications simultaneously for multi-state moves, and we maintain a network of qualified escort vehicle operators in the timber-producing regions we serve most frequently.

Forestry Equipment Transport Pricing

Forestry equipment transport pricing depends on machine weight and width, pickup and delivery locations, the number of states requiring permits, whether head removal is needed, and whether the delivery site requires specialized last-mile logistics. A tracked skidder move within the Southeast timber belt typically costs less than a forwarder move from the Pacific Northwest to a Gulf Coast timber operation requiring multi-state permits and escort vehicles.

Contact us with the machine type, model, operating weight, pickup location, and delivery location for an accurate quote. We can typically turn a forestry equipment quote within a business day once we have the full load details.

Related Equipment Categories