Heavy Equipment Transport in Kentucky
Excavators, dozers, loaders and tractors moved across Kentucky on the trailer each machine needs, with the state's oversize permits arranged before pickup.
Tell us about your shipment in 60 seconds
Your request is in the queue. Our team will text you in under 10 minutes during business hours with your custom quote.
Here is what we received. Our team reviews it and replies in under 10 minutes during business hours with your quote.
- PICKUP LOCATION
- DELIVERY LOCATION
- EQUIPMENT TYPE
- MAKE & MODEL
- WEIGHT (LBS)
- DIMENSIONS
- FULL NAME
- PHONE NUMBER
We'll text you at in under 10 minutes during business hours.
Save our number: +1 (888) 354-7402
Every carrier is vetted for operating authority and insurance, and we check the certificate before every dispatch, not once a year. USDOT 3411782 · MC 1100274
At a glance
Shipping in Kentucky at a glance
The facts that decide how a load moves here. Regulatory figures link to the official page they come from.
- I-64
- I-65
- I-71
- I-75
- I-24
- I-69
- I-264
- I-265
- I-275
- Port of Louisville
- Port of Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky
- Port of Huntington-Tristate (including Ashland)
- Port of Paducah
How freight moves in Kentucky
Freight in Kentucky runs on I-64, I-65, I-71, I-75, I-24 and I-69. Ocean and river cargo moves through Port of Louisville, Port of Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, Port of Huntington-Tristate (including Ashland) and Port of Paducah. The state's economy leans on automotive and truck manufacturing, air cargo and parcel logistics (Louisville and Northern Kentucky), bourbon and distilled spirits and coal and energy, and that is most of what moves on its roads.
Rules of the road
What shapes a move in Kentucky
- When oversize loads can travel
In Kentucky, most overweight and over-dimensional permit moves may travel 24 hours a day, seven days a week unless the permit says otherwise, mobile home moves are limited to daylight hours Monday through Saturday with no Sunday travel, and no general holiday restriction applies unless the permit notes one. Source ↗
- Escort vehicles
In Kentucky, a rear escort is required on multi-lane highways above 12 ft wide or 110 ft long, a front and a rear escort on two-lane highways above 12 ft wide, a front escort on two-lane highways above 75 ft long, and a front escort with a height pole above 14 ft 11 in tall. Source ↗
- Seasonal conditions
During winter storms the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet treats Interstates and parkways first, then other priority routes by county, with lower-traffic rural routes cleared last.
Rules change. The specialist on your move checks the current ones for your exact route before anything is booked.
Permits by state
If the route leaves Kentucky
Every state a load crosses issues its own oversize permit. These are the offices next door, closest first, with their legal limits.
Ohio
ODOT · Ohio Department of Transportation, Special Hauling Permits
Legal height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Legal width: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Indiana
Indiana DOR · Indiana Department of Revenue, Motor Carrier Services
Legal height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Legal width: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Tennessee
TDOT · Tennessee Department of Transportation, Oversize and Overweight Permit Office
Legal height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Legal width: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
West Virginia
WVDOH · West Virginia Division of Highways, Hauling Permits (Department of Transportation)
Legal height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Legal width: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Illinois
IDOT · Illinois Department of Transportation, Oversize/Overweight Permit Office
Legal height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Legal width: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Missouri
MoDOT · Missouri Department of Transportation, Motor Carrier Services
Legal height: 14 ft on Interstates and designated highways (13 ft 6 in on other roads)
Legal width: 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Cities
Heavy Equipment Transport by city in Kentucky
These are the busiest pickup points. Any address in Kentucky works, including the towns between them.
Bowling GreenWarren County
Bowling Green sits on I-65 in south-central Kentucky, close to the Tennessee line, and is the site of a sports-car assembly plant supported by a network of auto-parts suppliers.
- I-65
- I-165
- US-31W
- US-231
CovingtonKenton County
Covington, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, anchors Northern Kentucky, where I-71/I-75 and I-275 serve a large distribution cluster near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, a major air cargo hub.
- I-71
- I-75
- I-275
- I-471
LexingtonFayette County
Lexington, in the Bluegrass region at the crossing of I-64 and I-75, is a center of the Thoroughbred horse industry, with a large automotive assembly plant in nearby Georgetown.
- I-64
- I-75
- KY-4 (New Circle Road)
LouisvilleJefferson County
Louisville, on the Ohio River at the junction of I-64, I-65 and I-71, has a major overnight air cargo hub at its international airport, a river port, and large rail and distribution facilities.
- I-64
- I-65
- I-71
- I-264
ElizabethtownHardin County
Elizabethtown is on I-65 south of Louisville, near Fort Knox, where parkways branch off toward central and western Kentucky, and it has distribution centers and automotive-parts plants.
- I-65
- US-31W
- US-62
OwensboroDaviess County
Owensboro is on the Ohio River in western Kentucky, with a public riverport, I-165 toward Bowling Green, and a base of grain, food and distilled spirits businesses.
- I-165
- US-60
- US-231
PaducahMcCracken County
Paducah, in far western Kentucky at I-24 and I-69, sits where the Tennessee River meets the Ohio River and has long been a center of barge traffic and river shipping services.
- I-24
- I-69
- US-60
- US-45
Heavy Equipment Transport
Trailers and machines
RGN (removable gooseneck)
The neck detaches so tracked and wheeled machines drive on at deck level.
Lowboy
A deck close to the ground for tall machines that would break the legal height on a flatbed.
Step deck
For loaders, tractors and skid steers that clear the height limit on its lower deck.
Flatbed
For attachments, smaller machines and anything loaded by forklift or crane.
Questions about shipping in Kentucky
Who issues oversize permits in Kentucky?
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Carriers (KYTC). A load over the legal limits (13 ft 6 in (14 ft for car haulers) tall, 8 ft 6 in on Interstates, parkways and designated highways (8 ft on other roads) wide) needs its permit for the exact route, and it is arranged before pickup so the machine does not wait at the yard.
When can an oversize load travel in Kentucky?
In Kentucky, most overweight and over-dimensional permit moves may travel 24 hours a day, seven days a week unless the permit says otherwise, mobile home moves are limited to daylight hours Monday through Saturday with no Sunday travel, and no general holiday restriction applies unless the permit notes one.
When does Kentucky require escort vehicles?
In Kentucky, a rear escort is required on multi-lane highways above 12 ft wide or 110 ft long, a front and a rear escort on two-lane highways above 12 ft wide, a front escort on two-lane highways above 75 ft long, and a front escort with a height pole above 14 ft 11 in tall.
Are there seasonal restrictions in Kentucky?
During winter storms the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet treats Interstates and parkways first, then other priority routes by county, with lower-traffic rural routes cleared last.
Which trailer does my machine need?
The machine decides: its weight, height, width and whether it drives on. Tracked machines usually ride an RGN or a lowboy, loaders and tractors a step deck, attachments a flatbed. With the make, model and dimensions we tell you which before we quote.
How fast do you reply to a quote request?
In under 10 minutes during business hours, by text or phone for a move inside the U.S., and on WhatsApp for one going to Mexico.
Get a Free, No-Obligation Quote Today
Our logistics specialists are standing by. We reply in under 10 minutes.
Every carrier is vetted for operating authority and insurance, and we check the certificate before every dispatch, not once a year. USDOT 3411782 · MC 1100274