Lowboy & Heavy-Haul Trailers Shipping
A lowboy or RGN trailer ships by RoRo towed by a tractor or on a MAFI, or on a flat rack with the gooseneck off. Multi-axle trailers are measured and quoted from the survey.
Overview
Lowboy, removable-gooseneck and multi-axle heavy-haul trailers are long and low, and they are not self-propelled. By RoRo, a trailer is towed aboard by a terminal tractor or loaded on a MAFI roll trailer at Baltimore, Brunswick or Houston where a lane serves the destination. The carrier charges by length and height, so a detachable gooseneck is often taken off to shorten the unit.
Without RoRo, a trailer goes on one or two 40 ft flat racks. A flat rack deck is 12.06 m long and 2.4 m wide, and carries about 39,000 kg, so a trailer wider than the rack ships out of gauge, and one longer than the deck splits at the gooseneck or goes as breakbulk.
Decks are cleaned of soil, ramps and outriggers are stowed, and air and hydraulic lines are capped. Trailers are often bought at auction with the machine they carried, and ship on the same booking.
Trailer makers configure each unit to order, so we measure every trailer at the survey and quote from those figures. We have no lowboys in our own loading records yet. Our flatbed and step-deck page lists published Utility trailer dimensions.
Send the VIN, make, model, deck length, axle count and gooseneck type. Keep the title or bill of sale to prove ownership at export. Removable goosenecks and jeeps often ship as separate pieces on the same booking.
Cost depends on the trailer's length and whether goosenecks and jeeps ship separately. RoRo is priced by the cubic metres of the cargo, so a detached gooseneck can lower the rate. Trucking from the seller to the port is quoted on top.
Typical Specifications
| Deck Length | Long oversized decks (plan stowage) |
|---|---|
| Axles | 2 - 13+ axles (multi-axle) |
| Gooseneck | Removable (RGN) - may ship detached |
| Capacity | 35 - 100+ metric tons |
Recommended Shipping Methods
Worked example
Trail King 55 t hydraulic RGN, 3-axle: 48 ft 11 in / 14.9 m long, 8 ft 6 in / 2.59 m wide, 5 ft 5 in / 1.65 m high, 22,900 lb / 10,400 kg.
The ladder below is worked out from these figures. Larger or smaller units of the same type can land on a different rung.
Cheapest first: the shipping cost ladder
We price every machine from the bottom rung up. A machine only moves up a rung when a measurement rules out the cheaper method.
Trail King 55 t hydraulic RGN, 3-axle is 48 ft 11 in / 14.9 m long, more than a 39 ft 7 in / 12.06 m flat rack deck, so it drives or tows aboard a RoRo vessel.
- Rung 1
Container
Lowest cost
When: Fits through a 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m × 8 ft 6 in / 2.58 m door and under 59,500 lb / 27,000 kg, whole or after we take off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels.
- Rung 2
Flat rack
Mid cost
When: Too wide or tall for a container door, but within 14 ft 9 in / 4.5 m wide, 13 ft 1 in / 4 m tall and 86,000 lb / 39,000 kg on one rack.
- Rung 3
RoRo
Mid cost
Best fit for Trail King 55 t hydraulic RGN, 3-axle
When: Drives or tows aboard, under 19 ft 8 in / 6 m tall and 110 US tons / 100,000 kg, going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
- Rung 4
Breakbulk
Highest cost
When: Past flat-rack and roll-trailer limits, or shipped as modules lifted aboard piece by piece.
Flat Rack Container
RecommendedFor folded/sectioned trailers and components.
RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off)
RecommendedTowed onto the vessel on a mafi or by tractor.
Breakbulk / Heavy Lift
For very large multi-axle modular trailers.
Heavy Haul Trucking
RecommendedInland transport to the port.
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
01Container
- Work needed
- We partially disassemble when needed (bucket, boom, cab, wheels), or take larger machines further apart across several high-cubes and open-tops, then crate, block and lash every part.
- Destinations
- Widest: almost every port worldwide, plus inland delivery by rail.
- Typical cost
- Usually the lowest, with no out-of-gauge surcharges.
- Protection
- Sealed steel box; loose parts and attachments travel locked inside.
- Best for
- Most machines: compact ones as they are, others after partial disassembly, and large ones split across several containers.
02Flat rack
- Work needed
- Ships assembled, blocked and lashed. Surcharges apply when wider than 2.4 m or taller than about 1.95 m.
- Destinations
- Most container ports, on the same vessels as containers.
- Typical cost
- Moderate; rises with every centimetre out of gauge.
- Protection
- Open to the weather; we protect cabs, electronics and hydraulics.
- Best for
- Excavators, dozers and loaders too wide for a container door.
03RoRo
- Work needed
- Drives on assembled; non-runners go on a roll trailer.
- Destinations
- Fewer destinations: regular lanes to Europe, West Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and parts of Latin America.
- Typical cost
- Often competitive for large self-propelled machines where a lane exists.
- Protection
- Below deck, but loose items and attachments cannot ride inside the cab.
- Best for
- Running machines going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
04Breakbulk
- Work needed
- Lifted aboard piece by piece by ship’s or shore cranes, on its own skids or cradle, then stowed and lashed in the hold or on deck.
- Destinations
- Ports with breakbulk berths and heavy-lift cranes; sailings are booked voyage by voyage.
- Typical cost
- Usually the highest for a single small machine; often the only option for the largest pieces.
- Protection
- In the hold or lashed on deck; we crate, wrap and protect exposed parts.
- Best for
- Pieces too large or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer: transformers, process modules, mining trucks, crane sections.
Handling & Preparation Requirements
- Detach and secure the gooseneck (RGN)
- Secure axles, suspension, and ramps
- Plan stowage for long decks
- Protect hydraulics and air lines
- Document configuration and condition
Auction yards that sell lowboy & Heavy-Haul trailers
Yards whose published equipment categories include lowboy & Heavy-Haul trailers. Each yard page lists its nearest export ports and how we collect from it.
Common Models We Ship
- Trail King lowboys / RGN
- XL Specialized trailers
- Talbert / Fontaine lowbeds
- Goldhofer / Faymonville modular
Where lowboy & Heavy-Haul trailers shipments go wrong
Mistakes we see on lowboy & Heavy-Haul trailers bookings, and what avoids them.
- A hydraulic gooseneck needs a tractor wet kit or a power pack to detach, and without one at each port the RGN cannot be split for flat rack loading.
- North American lowboys with flip axles may need re-certification or a new load-rating plate under destination rules before they can be registered for road use.
- A lowboy deck rides very close to the ground, so steep RoRo ramps can ground it; we check ramp angles and raise the ride height on the air suspension before loading.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do lowboy trailers ship?
Often by RoRo (towed on a mafi or by tractor); folded or sectioned trailers use flat rack.
Is the gooseneck removed?
On RGN trailers the gooseneck can be detached and secured for transport.
Can you ship modular multi-axle trailers?
Yes, large modular trailers ship as breakbulk or on flat racks by section.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the documents below, each checked on the date shown. Carriers and authorities revise them, so we confirm the current figure when we book.
- [1]Seaway Project Cargo: about the company, checked October 22, 2026
- [2]Seaway Project Cargo country shipping guides, checked October 22, 2026
Plan your shipment
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Send the make, model and pickup location. We quote lowboy & Heavy-Haul trailers by container, flat rack or RoRo from the U.S. port that suits the machine.