The Safer, Smarter Way to Lift and Deliver

Most people come across crane-assisted haulage when they've hit a problem.

The hot tub is arriving but there's no way past the side gate. The container needs to go in a field three metres from the nearest hard road. The shepherd hut is ready but the track is too soft for a flatbed lorry to reach the site.

That's the moment someone types "HIAB hire Somerset" into Google and lands here.

We're C.P. Duck Haulage, based in Evercreech, Somerset. We've been doing this since 1999 — crane-assisted haulage across Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset and beyond. Here's exactly what the service is, how it works, and when you need it.

What Is Crane-Assisted Haulage?

Crane-assisted haulage is the movement of goods or equipment using a lorry that carries its own hydraulic loading crane.

The crane lifts the load onto the vehicle at the collection point, transports it, then lifts and positions it at the destination. One vehicle. One team. Transport and lifting combined.

No separate crane hire. No forklift needed at either end. No second contractor to coordinate.

It's the practical solution for any job where the load is too heavy to handle manually and the site isn't set up for conventional unloading.

HIAB Hire, Loader Crane, Lorry Loader — What's the Difference?

If you've searched for this service, you've probably seen several different terms. They all describe the same thing:

the most commonly used term in the UK, even though HIAB is actually a brand name (Hydrauliska Industri AB, a Swedish company that invented the truck-mounted hydraulic crane in the 1940s). Like Hoover or Sellotape, the brand name stuck and became the generic term. When someone says "I need a HIAB," they mean a lorry-mounted crane, regardless of manufacturer.
the correct generic term for any truck-mounted hydraulic crane.
the main modern manufacturers. Our fleet runs FASSI cranes — specifically a FASSI 66 tm unit capable of lifting over 3 tonnes at 16 metres reach. Not a HIAB badge in sight, but if you search "HIAB hire Somerset" — we're exactly what you're looking for.
The name on the crane doesn't matter. The lift capacity, operator certification, and planning behind the job do.

At C.P. Duck Haulage, our flagship unit carries a FASSI 66 tm crane - proof that “HIAB hire” often involves a fleet built from multiple manufacturers.

How Is Crane-Assisted Haulage Different From Standard Haulage?

Standard haulage gets the load to your site. That's where it stops.

A standard lorry driver will deliver to kerbside — drop the load where the vehicle can safely park, and leave. That works fine if your site has a forklift, a loading dock, or direct road access to the final position. Most sites don't.

Crane-assisted haulage goes further. The lorry arrives with its own hydraulic crane and an ALLMI-certified operator. The load gets lifted from the vehicle and placed exactly where it needs to go — over a wall, across a garden, onto a farm, into a restricted site — without any additional equipment on your end.

One point of contact. One set of RAMS. One insurance policy covering the whole job. Significantly less coordination, significantly less risk.

When Do You Need Crane-Assisted Haulage?

The short answer: whenever standard delivery can't complete the job.

More specifically, you need crane-assisted haulage when:

Access is restricted No side access to the garden. A farm gate that's too narrow for an artic. A rural lane with no passing places. A building site where the delivery point is 20 metres from where the load needs to sit. A crane lorry is shorter, more manoeuvrable, and doesn't need to drive over the final placement area.

The ground is soft or uneven Flatbed delivery vehicles need firm, level ground. A crane lorry uses outrigger legs that spread the load and can reach over soft ground from a position of stability. We assess ground conditions before every job — not on the day.

The load needs lifting over an obstacle Fences, walls, hedges, outbuildings, parked machinery — a crane lifts cleanly over whatever's in the way, provided the lorry has room to set up within reach and there are no overhead power lines directly above the lift path.

The load is heavy, awkward, or can't be disassembled Hot tubs. Shipping containers. Shepherd huts. Sculptures. Generators. CNC machines. Modular building sections. Anything that arrives in one piece and needs to stay that way.

Precision placement matters A crane gives far more control than a tilt-and-tip lorry. If the load needs to land in a specific position — on a plinth, within a marked footprint, next to existing structures — a crane operator can achieve that. A flatbed driver can't.

What Loads Do We Lift and Deliver?

Over 25 years working across Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset, we've handled a wide range of loads. The most common include:

Domestic and residential: Hot tubs and swim spas, shepherd huts and glamping pods, garden offices and cabins, shipping containers for garden storage, swimming pools and saunas

Commercial and trade: Shipping containers for site storage, modular buildings and welfare cabins, construction materials and steelwork, signage and infrastructure installations

Industrial and specialist: CNC machines, generators and compressors, industrial plant and factory equipment, renewable energy components including solar inverters and biomass units

Fine art and heritage: Bronze sculptures, stone monuments and memorials, architectural stonework, museum and gallery installations — clients including Chatsworth House, The National Trust, and Giles Penny

HIAB Hire in Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset — Why Local Experience Matters

Crane-assisted haulage isn't just about having the right lorry. It's about knowing the ground it's working on.

Somerset has weight-limited bridges over the Levels, single-track lanes through the Mendips, and farm fields that are passable in July and impassable in November. Wiltshire has chalk downland tracks, restricted routes near the Plain, and village lanes that haven't widened since they were drove roads. Dorset has steep valley access, narrow stone-walled lanes, and coastal routes with severe vehicle restrictions.

We know this territory. We've been driving it for 25 years from our base in Evercreech, with direct A303 access across all three counties.

We don't send a driver and hope for the best. We check routes, assess ground conditions, and visit complex sites before the delivery day. That preparation is what separates a smooth job from an expensive problem.

Somerset: Taunton, Yeovil, Frome, Shepton Mallet, Wells, Glastonbury, Bruton, Castle Cary, Bridgwater, Wincanton and across the county.

Wiltshire: Salisbury, Warminster, Trowbridge, Devizes, Marlborough, Amesbury, Westbury, Tisbury and across the county.

Dorset: Sherborne, Dorchester, Blandford Forum, Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, Gillingham, Beaminster and across the county.

We also work nationally for the right jobs — see our full coverage below.

Why One Contractor Is Better Than Two

Hiring a haulage company and a separate crane operator might seem straightforward. In practice it creates more problems than it solves:

Multiple points of contact with conflicting schedules. Two separate sets of RAMS and insurance paperwork. No single point of responsibility if something goes wrong. A crane team unfamiliar with the delivery site. A haulage driver unfamiliar with the lifting operation.

With crane-assisted haulage from C.P. Duck Haulage, one team handles everything — planning, risk assessment, transport, lifting, and placement. One call. One quote. One person responsible for the outcome.

For CDM-notifiable sites, this also means one set of documentation to hand to your site manager rather than two separate contractor packs.

What Does Crane-Assisted Haulage Cost?

There's no universal answer — but there are a few things worth understanding about the pricing.

Our day rate covers the lorry, the crane, the operator, the fuel, and all the standard specialist equipment — lifting slings, frames, skates, road mats. There are no hidden extras for kit we always carry.

The rate varies depending on whether you need the large lorry or the smaller unit, the distance involved, and the complexity of the lift. For jobs requiring a site visit, method statement, or specific RAMS documentation, we factor that into the quote.

What many customers find is that crane-assisted haulage — combining transport and lifting in one — comes in cheaper than coordinating separate contractors, even before you factor in the time saved.

We don't quote blind. Call us with the load details, the location, and a brief description of the access and we'll give you a clear, honest number.

📞 07977 060487 ✉️ chris@cpduckhaulage.co.uk

How the Technology Has Evolved

The principle hasn't changed since the 1940s — a crane mounted on a lorry, operated hydraulically. The capability has changed enormously.

1940s–60s: HIAB pioneers the first truck-mounted hydraulic cranes. Manual levers, limited reach, modest lifting capacity.

1970s–90s: Telescopic booms, remote hydraulics, and improved steel allow greater reach and capacity. The service becomes mainstream in construction and logistics.

2000s–present: Radio remote controls, electronic stability monitoring, slewing sensors, and high-strength-to-weight steel alloys allow modern loader cranes to rival small mobile cranes for many tasks — while still rolling back onto the motorway when the job is done.

Our FASSI 66 tm crane lifts over 3 tonnes at 16 metres reach. Forty years ago that would have required a standalone mobile crane and a second lorry to carry the load. Today it's one vehicle, one operator, one job.

What Happens on a Typical Job

1. Initial call or enquiry You tell us what needs moving, where from, where to, and the access situation at both ends. We'll ask about weight, dimensions, ground conditions, and overhead obstacles. Most jobs can be assessed from a phone call and some photos.

2. Site visit (where needed) For restricted access, soft ground, complex lifts, or high-value loads — we visit first. Twenty minutes on site prevents a lot of problems on the day.

3. Documentation We provide RAMS (Risk Assessment and Method Statement) as standard on every job. For CDM-notifiable sites or complex lifts, we produce a full lifting plan. Movement orders for abnormal loads where required.

4. The lift The lorry positions within crane reach. Outriggers deployed. Load assessed, rigged, and lifted. Placed in final position. Outriggers retracted. Lorry gone.

5. Handover Clean site. No ruts, no damage, no mess. Done when it's right, not just when it's down.

Frequently Asked Questions — Crane-Assisted Haulage and HIAB Hire

HIAB hire is the common term for crane-assisted haulage — using a lorry fitted with a hydraulic loading crane to collect, transport, and place loads. HIAB is a brand name that became the generic term, like Hoover. The service is the same regardless of which manufacturer's crane is fitted.
It depends on the job — load, distance, access complexity, and whether a site visit or specific documentation is required. We don't quote without details but we respond quickly and clearly once we have them. Call 07977 060487.
Not always. Simple jobs with clear access can often be assessed from photos and a description. For restricted access, soft ground, complex lifts, or high-value loads — yes, we'll visit first. It's not an extra charge; it's how we avoid expensive problems on the day.
A mobile crane is a standalone lifting machine — it can't transport the load. It needs a separate lorry to bring the goods to site, and then lifts from a fixed position. Crane-assisted haulage combines transport and lifting in one vehicle, ideal for most delivery and installation jobs. Mobile cranes are suited to very heavy or very long-reach lifts where a lorry-mounted crane doesn't have the capacity.
Yes. Provided the lorry can set up within crane reach and there are no overhead obstructions directly in the lift path, lifting over standard garden boundaries, farm fences, walls, or low outbuildings is routine for us.
Our core area is Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset. We also travel nationally for specialist lifts — we've worked from Land's End to Scotland. Call us if you're outside the core area and we'll give you a straight answer on whether we can help.
Yes. Full public liability insurance (£10m), Goods-in-Transit cover, LOLER-certified lifting equipment, ALLMI-qualified operators, RHA membership. We provide RAMS documentation on every job as standard.
Yes. Generic RAMS on request; project-specific RAMS from client information for more complex jobs; full site visit and lifting plan for CDM-notifiable or high-risk lifts.
Yes. Factory moves, CNC machines, generators, compressors, production equipment — we handle heavy and awkward industrial loads regularly. For large factory moves or complex equipment relocations, early planning makes the difference.
Our FASSI 66 tm crane lifts over 3 tonnes at 16 metres reach. For heavier loads or longer reach requirements, call us — we assess every job on its specifics and will tell you honestly if it exceeds our capacity.