Spotlight Transport By Seth Skydel
Behind the Wheel of Success
How Kivi Bros. Trucking Navigates the Challenges of Heavy Hauls Across the US, Alaska and Canada
At Kivi Bros. Trucking, Inc., heavy hauls as massive as 270,000 pounds are hardly out of the ordinary. The company specializes in safely and efficiently handling oversized and overweight permitted loads, relying on a fleet of heavy haul tractors and trailers, meticulous planning and a team of highly experienced and well-trained drivers.
Headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota, Kivi Bros. Trucking offers its heavy haul services across the continental United States, as well as in Alaska and Canada.“ We specialize in moving industrial, construction, pipeline and railroad equipment,” said Dakota Kivi, freight business development director.“ As a heavy haul and open deck specialist, we transport cranes, material handlers, mining and construction trucks and machines, large transformers, fabricated steel structures and power plant and paper mill components.”
Crane hauls are a key area of expertise for Kivi Bros. The company routinely transports crawler and rough terrain models for manufacturers, including Manitowoc, Liebherr and Link-Belt, as well as dealers and crane rental operations. One of the biggest cranes Kivi has hauled several times is a Terex Demag CC 6800 lattice boom crawler with a 1,680-U. S.-ton lifting capacity and a maximum boom length of 314 feet.
“ On any heavy haul, planning and coordination are essential,” Kivi said.“ With permitted loads, we must follow carefully planned routes on pre-determined schedules. We conduct route surveys to be sure we’ re on approved roads and to identify obstacles like tight turns and utilities that might have to be moved to give us clearance.”
Kivi also stressed the importance of having qualified pilot car operators.“ We have some escort vehicles in-house but have been fortunate to have good service and coverage by outsourcing,” he related.
Incredibly important as well for Kivi Bros heavy haul loads is having durable equipment. Currently, in the fleet are standard three-axle, 34 four-axle and two five-axle tractors. The four-axle power units are primarily Western Star 49X models with 15-liter, 565-hp Detroit engines and fully automatic Allison transmissions. The tractors also have double frames, 46,000-pound capacity Dana full-locking tandem drives and a pusher axle in the second position.
Kivi Bros fields about 80 heavy haul trailers that range from 55- to 70-ton capacities in configurations with as many as 13 axles.
32 CRANE HOT LINE ® January 2025 • www. cranehotline. com