Forklift transport anywhere in the UK
We move forklifts and materials handling equipment nationwide, using our own lorries based out of our depots across the UK alongside national logistics partners where a job needs it. That combination is what lets us take short notice work: if the nearest depot vehicle is committed, the job still moves.
We are not only delivering our own machines. A large part of this work is forklift transport for other companies: moving a truck you already own, between your own sites, to or from a customer, or in and out of a depot for major repair.
Typical jobs:
- Site relocations, where a whole fleet moves as a warehouse changes hands or a lease ends.
- Project moves, as one contract finishes and the machines are needed somewhere else.
- Delivery and collection of hire machines, short or long term.
- Prop-up machines for breakdowns, where a stand-in truck has to be on site quickly.
- Moving a truck for sale, purchase or part exchange.
- Recovery of a machine that will not drive, which is a different job from moving one that will.
Why a forklift is not a straightforward load
A forklift is heavy, short, top-weighted and has a mast that raises the centre of gravity a long way above the deck. It is also, in most cases, not designed to be driven on a road. That combination is why loading and securing is where transport jobs go wrong.
The things that matter on every move:
- Weight and axle loading. A three tonne truck does not weigh three tonnes; the rated capacity is what it lifts, not what it weighs. A counterbalance machine can easily weigh four to five tonnes because the counterweight is the point of it.
- Mast height against travel height. A mast that is fine in a warehouse can put a loaded trailer over height for a bridge. Masts often have to come down, or the machine has to go on a low loader.
- Securing to the right points. Chains and straps go to designated lashing points, not to hydraulics, the mast channel or the overhead guard.
- Getting it on and off. A machine with a flat tyre, a dead battery or a hydraulic fault cannot be driven up a ramp, and needs winching or lifting instead.
- Fuel, batteries and fluids. LPG cylinders and lead acid batteries have their own handling requirements in transit.
If you are weighing up moving a truck yourself on a plant trailer: the loading and securing is the risky part, not the driving.
Our drivers are fully qualified and the load is secured to the relevant standards. The HSE sets out the wider duty in its workplace transport guidance.
What it costs, and what moves the price
We price each move rather than publishing a rate, because the variables genuinely change the job. What we will need to know:
- Collection and delivery postcodes, and whether both ends have space for a lorry.
- The machine: make, model, weight, and closed mast height.
- Does it drive? A machine that starts and drives is loaded very differently from one that does not.
- Access at both ends: hard standing, gradients, overhead obstructions, and whether a forklift or a crane is available.
- Timing. A move with a week of notice costs less than one that has to happen tomorrow morning.
- How many machines. Several trucks on one trailer is far cheaper per machine than several single journeys.
If you are moving a fleet, say so at the first call. Site relocations are usually planned as a sequence of loads rather than priced one truck at a time.
Driving a forklift on the road: what the law requires
People often ask whether they can simply drive the truck instead of transporting it. Usually the answer is no, and this is why.
A forklift used on a public road must be registered with the DVLA, display a registration plate, be taxed and be insured. It must carry appropriate lighting, including an amber beacon, when travelling at under 25 mph.
A vehicle travelling more than 1,000 yards on the road has to comply with the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations, which in practice requires significant modification to a standard truck. Where the distance is under 1,000 yards, such as crossing a road between two yards, the machine may not need that modification.
For anything beyond a short hop between adjacent sites, transporting the machine on a lorry is cheaper, quicker and removes the question entirely. This is general guidance on the regulations rather than legal advice, and the responsibility for road use sits with the operator.
Two postcodes, the machine, and whether it drives. That is usually enough for a price on the call.
All materials handling equipment, not just forklifts
The name of this page says forklift transport because that is what people search for, but we move the full range: counterbalance and reach trucks, powered and manual pallet trucks, stackers, very narrow aisle equipment, access platforms and scissor lifts, industrial cleaning machines, and attachments.
If it is materials handling equipment and it needs to be somewhere else, it is worth asking.
Transport as part of a bigger job
Transport is rarely the whole requirement, and it is usually cheaper when it is planned alongside the rest.
- Buying or selling a machine: transport can be arranged with the part exchange or the purchase, so the old truck leaves as the new one arrives.
- Hire: delivery and collection of hire machines is part of the same operation.
- Major repair: where a job is too big for a site visit, we can collect the machine, carry out the repair at a depot where the parts are already on the shelf, and return it.
- Compliance: a machine arriving on a new site still needs a current thorough examination before it goes to work, and you must not use hired-in equipment without physical evidence that one has been done.
Booking a move
Ring the office with the two postcodes, the machine and whether it drives, and we can normally give you a price on the call and a date straight after it. For a site relocation it is worth a conversation about sequencing first, because the order machines leave in usually decides how many loads it takes.
Two postcodes, the machine, and whether it drives. That is usually enough for a price on the call.
Forklift transport: common questions
Eight depots across the UK
Our own engineers, out of our own depots - wherever you are, service comes from us.
Talk to us about forklift transport
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm.
Additional Services
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