Wagon and drag hire
It splits, so it gets in where an artic cannot
That is the reason to book one. A wagon and drag is a rigid HIAB lorry with a trailer behind it, and the two come apart in a couple of minutes. If the site is tight, the driver leaves the trailer at the gate, takes the lorry in on its own, lifts the load off where you want it and comes back out for the trailer. An artic has no way of doing that.
We use it constantly on housing sites, farm tracks, school grounds, narrow industrial estates and yards with one awkward corner in them. Anywhere the approach is fine but the last fifty yards are not.
The second reason is capacity. Two loads on one outfit, one journey, one driver. Two cabins to the same site, a machine on the lorry and its attachments on the trailer, a delivery out and a collection back. It saves you a second visit and it saves you paying for one.
What it is used for
The wagon and drag work we get asked for
- Two cabins or two containers to one site in one journey
- Sites where the trailer has to be dropped at the gate
- Plant on the lorry and buckets or attachments on the trailer
- A delivery out and a collection back on the same run
- Precast, kerbs and blocks in quantity for a groundworks crew
- Steel and site materials where there is a lot of it
- Glamping pods and garden rooms, two at a time to the same location
- Two drops close together where one vehicle can cover both
- Site clearances where there is more coming back than went out
- Long distance runs where a second vehicle is not worth sending
Tell us about the last fifty yards
When you email, the thing worth describing is the approach. Where can a full outfit stand while the trailer comes off. Is there a lay by, a wide verge, a bit of road that is not going to block anybody. That is what decides whether splitting the outfit is practical or whether we send two vehicles.
The load matters too, obviously, but it is usually the easier half of the question. Every vehicle goes out with one of our own drivers, ALLMI and CPCS trained, so you are hiring the lift and the lorry together rather than finding a driver for it.
Wagon and drag, wagon & drag, lorry and trailer: the trade uses all three and they mean this outfit. It is the most flexible thing in the yard, because it can arrive as one long vehicle and then split into two shorter ones when the site will not take the full length.
Common questions
Wagon and drag hire, answered
What is a wagon and drag?
A rigid HIAB lorry with a separate trailer coupled behind it. The lorry is a complete vehicle in its own right, with the HIAB crane on the back of it, and the trailer is towed. Uncouple the trailer and you have a normal rigid HIAB again.
Why is that better than an artic?
Because it comes apart. On a tight site the driver drops the trailer at the gate or on the road, takes the lorry in on its own, does the lift, comes back out and picks the trailer up again. An artic cannot do that. It is one vehicle and it either fits or it does not.
Can you bring two loads on one visit?
Yes, and that is the other reason people book it. Load on the lorry, load on the trailer, one journey, one driver, one set of costs. Two cabins to the same site is the classic example, and we do a lot of them.
Can you deliver to two different addresses in one run?
Often, if the two drops are reasonably close to each other and the timings work. Tell us both addresses when you email and we will say whether it makes sense as one job or two.
Does the trailer have a HIAB on it as well?
No, and it does not need one. The HIAB sits on the lorry and reaches over to work the trailer, so anything on the trailer gets lifted off by the same boom. It is one lift point serving both beds.
What sort of loads suit a wagon and drag?
Cabins, containers, plant, precast, steel, pods, anything where you have got two of something or one long run of material. Email us and describe the load and the site, and we will tell you whether this is the outfit for it.
