Over dimensional towing, permits and all

Over dimensional towing means moving a vehicle, machine or piece of equipment that sits outside the dimension or mass limits ordinary road transport is allowed to use. Once you cross that line, the job stops being a driving task and becomes a compliance task with a driving component.

That is where most oversize moves come unstuck. The load itself is rarely the hard part. Getting the right permit class, confirming the route still works, arranging pilots with compliant equipment and travelling inside the curfew windows — that is the work. Delta Heavy Towing does all of it as a single job.

We tow B-doubles, road trains and other heavy combinations, and we move mining plant, construction equipment, industrial components and heavy buses across Brisbane and regional Queensland. Every movement runs under NHVR requirements with the paperwork done before the wheels turn.

How it runs

How an oversize move is put together

The order matters. Getting these out of sequence is what creates the delays people blame on the permit office.

1. Measure properly

   Height, width, length and mass as loaded — not as the brochure describes the machine. A 100 mm error here changes the permit class and can invalidate the whole application.

2. Establish the category

   Oversize is a dimension issue, overmass is a weight issue, and plenty of loads are both. The category determines which permit, which conditions and which escorts.

3. Lodge the permit

   We apply through the NHVR against the measured load. The permit sets travel windows, speed limits, escort requirements and the approved route.

4. Survey the route

   Bridges, overhead clearances, roundabouts, roadworks and site access. We check the real route in its current condition, because permits are issued against maps, not against this month’s works program.

5. Brief and move

   Crew and pilots brief together, communications are confirmed, and the load moves inside its permitted window with everyone on the same channel.