Calculate Shipping Saddles

How is your equipment making it from Point A to Point B? Please consider shipping saddles as an important part of the design.

Shipping saddles are just what the name sounds like. Saddles created for the sole purpose of transporting equipment. Since they do not remain with the equipment, they are often disregarded as an afterthought.

However, transporting equipment horizontally by truck, train, or barge may put stresses on vertically installed equipment that it was never designed for. It is important to calculate these stresses before placing the equipment on shipping saddles. “We think it will work!” and “We hope it makes it okay…” are not design strategies. Shipping loads should be considered in the original design because it’s the easiest time to fix any issues that may arise.

Each mode of transportation affects equipment stresses differently so each one should be considered individually. Owner/Operators should insist on reviewing these calculations before delivery.