Need Help! How to haul a street sweeper without wheels to recycle yard?

Hello,

I got a call today from a guy that wants me to haul away a big heavy street sweeper. I have no experience with hauling heavy stuff like this and I will have to pay someone to do the transport because I only have a smaller truck and trailer. Im going to get the vin number, make and model to see if I can find some specs on this and to see how much it weighs. I need to determine if it will be worth it to pay someone to haul it for me to the recycle yard. The recycle yard is only 5 miles from where I would pick up the street sweeper. The street sweeper doesnt have any wheels and the guy I talked to mentioned that he is in the towing business and since it doesnt roll he cant haul it away. I plan on getting the pink slip in order to do the transaction. I dont have a driver's license for driving semi trucks so I would have to pay a driver and for the use of the truck. I will ask if I can drain all of the fluids at the pick up site so that I can haul it straight to the recycle yard. Here are my questions:

1. What type of truck should I be looking for in order to haul the street sweeper ( flat bed, full size semi, etc.)?
2. How would I go about lifting the street sweeper on to the truck (remember the sweeper does not roll)? Would I need a big fork lift or a big tractor? Or just a special type of truck.
3. Do you think it will be worth it for me to pay someone to transport it or would I be paying more than I would probably get from recycling it?



Any feedback would be much appreciated and I hope to get this task done as quick as possible to make my client happy.

thanks!

Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

Just hire a tow truck driver with a rollback. They should be able to winch it right up on there and if its only going 5 miles I wouldnt think it would cost ya more than $100 to get the whole job done.

Do you think the winch would be enough? Like I said the vehicle does not have wheels and I was researching it a little bit and I looked at the weight for one street sweeper and it weighs 17,000lbs. I will have a better idea about the specifics when I go tomorrow, I just want to be prepare and know what to do when I get there. The guy I talked to made it sound like a tow truck wouldnt be able to get the job done.

Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

I would say call a couple towing companies. Most of the ones here in denver have different trucks for different jobs. You would be surprised how resourceful a tow truck driver can be when it comes to hauling stuff. Just because it doesnt have wheels doesnt mean they cant jack it up and get dollies under it to drag it up onto flatbed.

Well I hope that you are right because $100 sounds a lot better than something like $1000 for a big semi.

I had a guy move a 40 foot shipping container for $195. He drove 20 miles. Picked it up, then drove another 15 to drop it off. He had a 40 foot tilt deck with a massive winch.

Might try calling guys who move/deliver shipping containers.

I agree with the comments above about calling towing companies. I worked for one a few years back and we would move about anything, and deat alot with stuff that didnt roll anymore. Most people with wreckers will have some dollies or other axles of some sort for moving stuff that the axles have been damaged or never had them to begin with. If you arnt on a tight schedual and they can come get it sometime soon when they are a bit slower that may help the price.

Sorry everyone for posting something before introducing myself, however I saw this thread and figured I may be able to help another member out.

Mrsamsonite I am a wrecker driver for my full time job and thought id tell u that 17000lbs is too heavy for your normal everyday flatbed. Usually the max is somewhere along the lines of 10k or 11k. Usually a heavy duty wrecker company will have a lowboy or even better a landoll which is what was in the above picture.

I would cut it up personally.

Not sure what it was called, but I've seen a tow truck that pulled the tractor of an 18-wheeler. This one though had a flatbed on it so it could move tractors that had been wrecked so bad the wheels didn't roll.

It looked similar to the one pictured above, but it wasn't articulated. It was similar to a normal flatbed wrecker - just on steroids.

Originally Posted by waredu

Not sure what it was called, but I've seen a tow truck that pulled the tractor of an 18-wheeler. This one though had a flatbed on it so it could move tractors that had been wrecked so bad the wheels didn't roll.

It looked similar to the one pictured above, but it wasn't articulated. It was similar to a normal flatbed wrecker - just on steroids.

Lowboy Trailer

Could be a Landoll. Landoll Corporation they make trailers for equipment hauling and the tow industry.

So here is the update. I had a guy come out to let me know about how much and what type of truck he will need. He said it would take a landoll and guessed about $225 to move it about 5-10 miles to the recycle yard. That was if everything went smooth, no long lines or anything. It sounded like a good deal but, unfortunately I wasnt able to get a pink slip from the owner or a junk slip sign by a police officer.

So, Im going to cut it up into piece and haul it over. do you have any suggestions on the best way to cut up a car and the best tool to use?

here are some pic.

Originally Posted by Gravitar

I wish I could get loads like that! I think a low-boy is your best bet. Or, if necessary, NASA Rents their Crawler for a few thousand an hour.

It looks like something the sand people used in star wars

Originally Posted by mrsamsonite

here are some pic.

Your making a mountain out of a mole hill, that septic tank truck I towed into the yard had no tires on it when I got it. So I grabbed six on rims from the yards discard pile to mobilize the beast.

Most yards are eager to assist by loaning rims and tires.

I hear ya on the pinkie in Canada we are not required to have the owner sign off, its strictly cash and carry.

Someone give me a reality check on this. From what I see, I would say that thing doesn't weigh more than 8,000 pounds if that. Am I wrong? I think the Elgin Pelican type of sweeper might weigh in the 17K pound range. That thing looks like a modified HD truck.