Scaffolding haulage
Your gear where you need it, offloaded by us
Scaffolding transport is not complicated, it just has to be reliable. The load has to leave the yard when you said, get to the site while the gang is still there, and come off without anybody on site having to lend you a machine.
We run flat trailers for scaffold work with the HIAB on the lorry. On site it lifts the tube, boards, fittings and towers off the trailer and sets them down where the gang wants them. On a dismantle it works the other way round.
Most of it is around Greater Manchester, Bolton and the wider North West, on new build, refurbishment and industrial jobs. We also follow contractors out of the area when the work goes further afield.
What we carry
The scaffolding work we get asked for
- Tube and fitting loads out to site and back to the yard
- Scaffold boards, battens and sole plates
- Bagged and stillaged fittings, couplers and clips
- System scaffold, standards, ledgers and transoms
- Mobile towers and tower sections
- Beams, ladders, hop ups and stair units
- Sheeting, netting, monarflex and debris netting rolls
- Shuttle runs between your yard and a live site through the day
- Collection from your scaffold hire supplier
- Long distance loads following a contract out of the area
The lorry unloads itself on site
That is the part that makes the difference to a scaffolding contractor. The lorry arrives with its own means of unloading, so the gear comes off in minutes and the gang is not standing about waiting for a machine that belongs to somebody else.
It also means we can put the load where it is actually wanted rather than at the gate. On a tight street or a busy site that is usually the difference between one trip and three. Tell us how much room there is and where the gang will be working and we will plan the drop around it.
How scaffolding transport is priced
What changes the cost of a scaffolding move
Scaffolding transport is rarely one load. It is a run of them, in and out of the same yard over a week or a month, and the price follows the pattern of the work rather than the weight on the bed. These are the things that move it.
| What we look at | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Whether it is a single load or a contract | A standing arrangement over several weeks is planned as a block and priced as one, which is almost always better than booking load by load. |
| The turnaround at each end | Waiting at a yard gate is the most expensive part of a scaffolding move. Somebody ready to load us is worth more than a short journey. |
| Where the gear has to be set down | Dropping a bundle at the gate is quick. Placing it round the back of a building, over a wall or up a bank is a lift, and lifts take time. |
| Site hours and restrictions | City centre work with a delivery window, a permit or a road closure has to be planned around the window rather than around the run. |
| The return leg | If the lorry can come back loaded, with strike gear off a finished job, the whole movement costs less per trip. |
Scaffolding contractors tend to want the same answer to all of it: can you be there on the morning we said, and will the gear come off without one of our own squad standing waiting to do it. That is what the HIAB on the back is for, and it is why scaffolding haulage on a lorry with its own lifting arm works out quicker than a flat trailer and a forklift meeting it.
Common questions
Scaffolding transport, answered
How does the gear come off on site?
With the HIAB on the lorry. The bundles and stillages are lifted off and set down where the gang wants them. No forklift needed at your end and no waiting for the site's telehandler to be free.
Can you run between our yard and the site all day?
Yes, and a lot of scaffolding work is exactly that. Shuttling loads out on a build or back in on a dismantle, several runs in a day, is a normal booking for us.
Do you load, or do we?
Whichever suits. Most yards load us themselves because they know how they want it stacked and in what order it comes off. If you would rather we did it, say so when you book, and allow a bit more time on the yard.
Will you take a part load?
Yes. One tower, a stillage of fittings and a few boards is still a job. If it is a single small load, tell us and we will put it on something sensible rather than sending an artic for it.
Do you go outside the North West?
Regularly. Scaffolding contractors working away from home need their gear following them, and we run across England, Scotland and Wales as well as around Greater Manchester.
Can you collect from the scaffold hire supplier?
Yes. Give us the supplier, the collection reference and where it is going and we will deal with both ends and keep you told where the load is.
