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HTS Logistics

Bulldozer Transport & Dozer Hauling

Widths, weights and permits for 13 dozers, from the Deere 450 P-Tier to the Cat D11

Quick answer

How do you ship a bulldozer?

A bulldozer ships on a step deck, RGN (removable gooseneck) or lowboy trailer chosen by its weight and loaded height. Small dozers such as the Deere 450 P-Tier travel complete with no permits. Most mid-size and larger dozers lose the blade to cut width, anything heavier than about 45,000 lb as shipped needs an overweight permit, and a Cat D10 or D11 moves as several loads.

Updated November 2026 by the HTS Logistics broker team (FMCSA MC# 1178470).

Dozers are the part of heavy equipment transport where one attachment decides the move. On 12 of the 13 dozers below, the blade is wider than the 8 ft 6 in legal width, so whether it stays on, angles or rides on its own truck sets the permits, the escorts and the price.

HTS Logistics is a licensed property broker: we book the carrier and arrange the permits, and the carrier hauls the dozer. The widths, heights and weights on this page come from Caterpillar, Komatsu and John Deere documents checked in October 2026 and listed under Sources.

GET A DOZER QUOTE CALL (631) 683-8275

How to transport a dozer, step by step

We run these six checks on every dozer before a carrier is booked, and each answer feeds the next:

  1. 1

    Identify the exact tractor

    Model, serial number and series, plus the undercarriage. A Cat D3 on 30 in LGP (low ground pressure) shoes is 8 ft 8 in wide with no blade at all, against 6 ft 11 in on standard track.

  2. 2

    Decide what comes off

    The blade and push arms on most dozers, the ripper on the largest, and on a Cat D11 the cab, ROPS, ladder and tracks as well. Every removed part is weighed and given a place, on the dozer's trailer or another truck.

  3. 3

    Measure the load as it will ship

    Width at the widest point, which can be the trunnions rather than the tracks; height plus the trailer deck; and weight against 80,000 lb gross.

  4. 4

    Choose the trailer

    A step deck for compact dozers, an RGN or lowboy from the Cat D5 class up, and multi-axle lowboys for the D10 and D11.

  5. 5

    Permit the route

    One permit from each state crossed, escorts wherever the width or height passes that state's trigger, and travel only in the hours the permit allows.

  6. 6

    Load and chain it

    The carrier tracks the dozer on, lowers the blade or ripper to the deck and holds it with at least four tiedowns, the minimum 49 CFR 393.130 sets for machines of 10,000 lb or more.

Bulldozer shipping dimensions and weights, model by model

Thirteen current dozers, lightest first. Loaded height is our estimate on a trailer deck about 2 ft high, the top of the 14 to 24 in range that RGN makers publish, so a lower deck only helps. The weight check compares each dozer with what a standard 5-axle tractor and RGN can carry inside 80,000 lb gross, explained in the weight section below.

Shipping dimensions, loaded heights and weights for 13 crawler dozers
Dozer Blade width Width without blade Height Loaded height (est.) Weight Weight check
Deere 450 P-Tier 8 ft 1 in 6 ft 1 inover tracks 9 ft 6 in 11 ft 6 in 17,816 lbDeere base weight; no blade-off figure published Legal
Deere 550 P-Tier 8 ft 9 in 6 ft 7 inover tracks 9 ft 6 in 11 ft 6 in 18,853 lbDeere base weight; no blade-off figure published Legal
Cat D3 9 ft 2 in 6 ft 11 inCat's tractor width without blade 9 ft 1 in 11 ft 1 in 20,640 lboperating weight, blade on Legal
Komatsu D51PXi-24 11 ft 0 in 8 ft 6 inover tracks (101.97 in) 10 ft 5 in 12 ft 5 in 27,492 lbtractor weight, no blade Legal
Cat D5 10 ft 9 in 8 ft 2 inC-frame on 10 ft 1 in 12 ft 1 in 37,368 lbshipping weight; likely includes the blade Borderline
Deere 750 P-Tier 10 ft 10 in 8 ft 0 inover tracks (XLT) 10 ft 8 in 12 ft 8 in 37,569 lbDeere base weight; no blade-off figure published Borderline
Komatsu D61PXi-24 12 ft 8 in 9 ft 10 inover tracks 10 ft 11 in 13 ft 0 in 40,653 lbtractor weight, no blade Borderline
Cat D6 10 ft 10 in 8 ft 10 inover trunnions (8 ft 4 in over tracks) 10 ft 6 in 12 ft 6 in 42,280 lbshipping weight, blade and push arms off Borderline
Deere 950 P-Tier 12 ft 10 in 10 ft 7 inover trunnions (8 ft 7 in over tracks) 11 ft 3 in 13 ft 3 in 65,270 lbDeere base weight, blade on Overweight permit
Komatsu D155AX-8 13 ft 4 in about 9 ft 0 inderived from track gauge plus shoe; not published 11 ft 1 in 13 ft 1 in 72,100 lbtractor weight, no blade or ripper Overweight permit
Cat D8 13 ft 3 in 9 ft 2 inwithout trunnions; Cat publishes no trunnion width 11 ft 7 in 13 ft 7 in 76,126 lbshipping weight, ripper on Overweight permit
Cat D10 16 ft 2 in 12 ft 4 inover trunnions 14 ft 3 into the top of the stack 16 ft 3 in 111,739 lbshipping weight, blade, push arms and ripper off Overweight permit
Cat D11 20 ft 10 in 14 ft 4 inover trunnions 14 ft 11 inassembled tractor on tracks; upper bound 16 ft 11 in 134,755 lbbare chassis; tracks, cab, blade and ripper ship separately Overweight permit

Three rows need a caveat. Deere publishes no blade-off weight, so its dozers are listed at base weight. Cat's D5 shipping weight is only 507 lb under its operating weight although the VPAT blade alone weighs 2,403 lb, so it most likely includes the blade. And Cat publishes no dimensions for the stripped D11 chassis, so its height and loaded height are upper bounds for an assembled tractor on its tracks. Heights are rounded from the makers' metric figures, so a loaded height can differ by an inch from height plus 2 ft.

Does the blade have to come off a dozer?

If the goal is a legal-width load, on most dozers it does. Blades in our data run from 8 ft 1 in on the Deere 450 P-Tier to 20 ft 10 in on the Cat D11's 11U blade, and only the 450's fits inside 8 ft 6 in. With the blade off, the Cat D3 and D5, the Deere 550 and 750 P-Tier and the Komatsu D51PXi-24 come in at or under legal width; trunnions or track width keep the Cat D6, D8, D10 and D11, the Deere 950 P-Tier and the Komatsu D61PXi-24 and D155AX-8 over it.

Pennsylvania writes the blade into its statute, with two lines: from 12 ft to 15 ft wide, the blade has to be angled down to 12 ft or carry a traffic protector guide rail device, and anything over 15 ft has to be removed and hauled on its own (75 Pa.C.S. 4962(f.7)). Four blades in our data fall in the first band: the Komatsu D61PXi-24 (12 ft 8 in), Deere 950 P-Tier (12 ft 10 in), Cat D8 (13 ft 3 in) and Komatsu D155AX-8 (13 ft 4 in). Only the D61PXi-24's power-angle-tilt blade has a published angled width, 11 ft 7 in, which clears the line; the semi-U and SIGMADOZER blades on the other three get the guard device or a separate truck. The Cat D10 (16 ft 2 in) and D11 (20 ft 10 in) blades go on their own trucks.

On compact dozers, angling can save the removal. Deere lists the 550 P-Tier's standard 105 in blade at 8 ft 1 in fully angled, and Cat's optional foldable VPAT blade for the D5 at 8 ft 5 in angled 24 degrees, both inside 8 ft 6 in.

One tractor sits right on the line. The Komatsu D51PXi-24 measures 101.97 in over its tracks, 0.03 in under 102 in, and Komatsu does not say whether its U-frame sticks out past them, so we measure the actual tractor before booking it as a legal-width load.

How heavy is a full-size bulldozer?

It depends which weight you read. Operating weight is the dozer ready to work, with blade, fluids and operator; shipping weight is what goes on the trailer, usually without the blade and push arms and with about 10% fuel. A Cat D6 operates at 48,788 lb and ships at 42,280 lb, a D8 operates at 87,083 lb and ships at 76,126 lb with its ripper on, and a D11 operates at 235,044 lb against a 134,755 lb shipping weight for the bare chassis.

For permits the number that matters is the gross. Federal rules allow 80,000 lb gross on the Interstate, with a 20,000 lb single-axle limit and a 34,000 lb tandem limit (23 CFR 658.17). We plan a 5-axle tractor and RGN at 35,000 to 45,000 lb empty, a planning range rather than a published figure, so a dozer up to about 35,000 lb usually rides legal, one between 35,000 and 45,000 lb depends on the actual rig and axle spacing, and anything heavier needs an overweight permit. The Federal Bridge Formula can lower the allowable gross further, so a borderline dozer is checked against the real truck, not this rule of thumb.

By that test, four dozers in our data are legal on weight (Deere 450 and 550 P-Tier, Cat D3, Komatsu D51PXi-24), four are borderline (Cat D5 and D6, Deere 750 P-Tier, Komatsu D61PXi-24) and five need overweight permits, from the 65,270 lb Deere 950 P-Tier up.

How do you transport a D11 dozer?

In pieces, on multi-axle trailers. Cat's shipping configuration for the D11 is the bare chassis with its roller frames, carrier rollers and pivot shaft, at 134,755 lb. The cab, ROPS, ladder, ripper, push arms, blade, cylinders and tracks all travel separately. Cat does not publish how many loads that makes, so we build the load plan from the component weights below and your machine's options.

Cat large-dozer weights and widths as shipped, and the parts that travel separately (OEM figures)
Cat D8Cat D10Cat D11
Tractor as shipped76,126 lb, ripper on111,739 lb134,755 lb, bare chassis
Width as shipped9 ft 2 in without trunnions12 ft 4 in over trunnions14 ft 4 in over trunnions
Blade with push arms10,007 lb (SU)20,770 lb (SU ABR, with cylinders)43,817 lb (11U ABR, with cylinders)
Single-shank ripper8,973 lb with one shank, included above14,209 lb with one shank19,015 lb without the shank

Those numbers set the permits. At 14 ft 4 in wide, the D11 chassis needs a NYS certified escort in New York (over 12 ft), a pilot car and the $97 over-14-ft permit in Pennsylvania, and an escort in New Jersey and Texas (over 14 ft). In Ohio it is a superload twice over: wider than 14 ft 0 in, and heavier than 120,000 lb gross before the tractor and trailer are counted. It stays under Pennsylvania's 16 ft superload width.

The D10 is narrower but taller. Cat ships it 12 ft 4 in over the trunnions and 14 ft 3 in to the top of the stack, roughly 16 ft 3 in on a deck about 2 ft high. That is past New York's 16 ft superload height, which brings a police escort and a $10,000 bond, and over the 14 ft 6 in line where Pennsylvania requires a height-pole pilot car and a route survey and Ohio classes the load as a superload. A lower deck buys inches, so the carrier's deck height goes on the plan next to the permits.

What is a bulldozer truck? Trailer choice by dozer size

A bulldozer truck is usually a heavy-haul tractor pulling a semi-trailer sized to the dozer. It is rarely a flatbed: Utility lists its 48 ft 4000S flatbed at 58 3/16 in high, which would put a 9 ft 6 in Deere 450 P-Tier at about 14 ft 4 in. On a step deck, whose lower deck sits 34 to 40 in up on the models we checked, the same dozer rides at about 12 ft 4 in to 12 ft 10 in.

Trailer choice by dozer size
TrailerDozers in our dataWhy
Step deck or RGNDeere 450 and 550 P-Tier; Cat D3Under 21,000 lb and no taller than 9 ft 6 in, so either deck keeps them under 13 ft 6 in
RGN or lowboyCat D5, D6 and D8; Deere 750 and 950 P-Tier; Komatsu D51PXi-24, D61PXi-24 and D155AX-810 ft 1 in to 11 ft 7 in tall and up to 76,126 lb; on a deck about 2 ft high all but the D8 stay under 13 ft 6 in
Multi-axle lowboy, partly disassembledCat D10 and D11Over 100,000 lb as shipped, with the blade, ripper and on the D11 the tracks and cab on other trucks

An RGN trailer drops its gooseneck so the dozer can track straight onto the deck, and on a Cat D8 the deck height decides the permit. At 11 ft 7 in to the antenna, a D8 rides at about 13 ft 3 in on a 20 in loaded deck such as Talbert's 55SA or XL's 80 HDG, under 13 ft 6 in, but at about 13 ft 7 in on a 24 in deck such as Trail King's TK70HDG, which needs a height permit. Deck heights for every trailer type are compared side by side in our RGN vs lowboy vs step deck guide.

Which dozers need an escort?

Width triggers most dozer escorts, and each state draws its own line. This is what the hauled width of four dozers means in four states on Northeast lanes, before height and weight are counted:

Width-triggered permits and escorts for four dozers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio
Dozer as hauledWidthNew YorkNew JerseyPennsylvaniaOhio
Cat D5, blade off8 ft 2 inLegal widthLegal widthLegal widthLegal width
Cat D6, blade off8 ft 10 inPermit, no escortPermit, no escortPermit, no escortPermit, no escort
Cat D10, blade off12 ft 4 inPermit and a NYS certified escortPermit, no escortPermit, no width escortPermit, no width escort
Cat D11 chassis14 ft 4 inPermit and a NYS certified escortPermit and 1 escort$97 permit and 1 pilot carSuperload and 1 escort

Pennsylvania's permit fee steps up from $46 to $97 once a load is over 14 ft wide, and New York's escorts must be NYS certified whatever state they come from. The full rules are in our guides to New York oversize permits, New Jersey oversize permits, Pennsylvania oversize permits and Ohio oversize permits. For any other route, start with our oversize permit rules by state, or run one dozer against 48 states at once in the oversize load checker.

How much does it cost to transport a bulldozer?

There is no flat price, and the blade moves it most. Our cost guide prices a Cat D5 from Port Newark to a Long Island jobsite on paper at about $714 to $930 with the blade on, and about $353 to $528 with it off, before the blade's own trip: blade-off, the D5 is legal width and skips the New Jersey, New York City and NYSDOT permits and the Port Authority escort.

The cost to ship a bulldozer is worked line by line there, with the September 2026 rate benchmarks and published permit fees behind each number. Treat those totals as a scale, not a quote; the lane, the week and your dozer set the real one.

What to tell us before we quote your dozer

These details change the width, the weight or the number of loads:

  • Make, model, serial number and series: a D6T is a different machine from the current D6.
  • Undercarriage and shoe width: standard, XL or LGP.
  • Blade type (straight, VPAT, PAT, SU, U or semi-U) and whether it comes off, angles or stays on.
  • Ripper (single or multi-shank), winch, drawbar, and cab or canopy.
  • Whether the dozer runs and can track onto the trailer, and what is on site to lift off a blade or ripper.
  • Pickup and delivery addresses, gate hours, ground conditions, and release paperwork for a Ritchie Bros or IronPlanet purchase or a Cat Rental pickup.

Bulldozer transport questions

Can a bulldozer be hauled without an oversize permit?

Yes, if it is small enough or loses its blade. The Deere 450 P-Tier is 8 ft 1 in wide blade on, about 11 ft 6 in tall on an RGN and 17,816 lb, so it is legal on all three counts. A Cat D3 is legal once its 9 ft 2 in blade comes off, and a blade-off Cat D5 is 8 ft 2 in wide, although at 37,368 lb its weight is borderline on a standard tractor and trailer.

Can the blade ride on the same trailer as the dozer?

Often, if the deck space and the weight allow it, and the weight is the catch. A Cat D6 ships at 42,280 lb, and its 6SU blade with push arms adds 5,777 lb, which takes a borderline load past 45,000 lb and into overweight-permit range. States set their own rules for carrying removed parts on a permitted load: Florida, for example, allows up to two removed attachments to ride with an overweight load (F.A.C. 14-26.012).

Are LGP dozers harder to transport?

They are wider, so more of them need width permits. A standard Cat D6 is 8 ft 10 in over its trunnions; a D6 LGP on 36 in shoes is 11 ft 5 in and ships at 46,660 lb instead of 42,280 lb. A Deere 750 P-Tier LGP is 9 ft 10 in over its tracks, while the XLT version is 8 ft 0 in. Tell us the undercarriage when you ask for a quote.

How much does a Cat D8 weigh for shipping?

76,126 lb, Cat's published shipping weight for the current D8 with the ripper on and the blade and push arms off. The SU blade and push arms add 10,007 lb if they travel separately. At 11 ft 7 in to the antenna and 9 ft 2 in wide without trunnions, a D8 needs overweight and width permits, plus a height permit unless the trailer's loaded deck is about 23 in or lower.

Does the ripper have to come off a dozer for transport?

Not on small and mid-size dozers, as long as the length and weight work. Cat's D8 shipping weight already includes its single-shank ripper, and a D6 ripper with one shank adds 3,417 lb and about 3 ft 10 in of length. On the D10 and D11 the rippers, 14,209 lb and 19,015 lb, travel separately, which is how Cat calculates both shipping weights.

Does a mid-size dozer need an escort?

Usually not in the Northeast. A Cat D6 is 8 ft 10 in and a D8 9 ft 2 in wide with the blade off, well under the 12 ft line in New York and the 13 ft and 14 ft lines in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey. A D8's loaded height of about 13 ft 7 in is also under New York's 14 ft height-pole trigger. Both still need width permits, and the D8 overweight and height permits too.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked in October 2026 against the sources below. Rules and rates change; we confirm current requirements on every move.

  1. Caterpillar D3 (Cat D3 Small Dozer product brochure AEHQ8307-06 (09-2026))
  2. Caterpillar D5 (D5 Track-Type Tractor Technical Specifications AEXQ2535-03 (09-2022))
  3. Caterpillar D6 (D6/D6 XE Track-Type Tractors Technical Specifications AEXQ2470-05 (09-2022))
  4. Caterpillar D8 (D8 Track-Type Tractor Technical Specifications AEXQ3723 (05-2024))
  5. Caterpillar D10 (D10 Dozer Technical Specifications AEXQ3209-03 (09-2026))
  6. Caterpillar D11 (D11/D11 XE Dozers Technical Specifications AEXQ4647-01 (09-2026))
  7. Komatsu D51PXi-24 (Komatsu D51EX/EXi/PX/PXi-24 brochure EN-D51-BR01-0526-V3, ©2026 (pp. 17-18))
  8. Komatsu D61PXi-24 (Komatsu D61EX/EXi/PX/PXi-24 brochure EN-D61-BR01-0526-V2, ©2026 (pp. 17-19))
  9. Komatsu D155AX-8 (Komatsu D155AX-8 brochure AESS869-0326-V5, ©2026 Komatsu America Corp. 02/25 (EV-1), pp. 14-15)
  10. John Deere 550 P-Tier (John Deere 550 P-Tier Dozer brochure/specifications MD550PAU (24-07), pp. 7-8)
  11. John Deere 450 P-Tier (John Deere 450 P-Tier Dozer MD450PAU (24-07), pp. 7-8)
  12. John Deere 750 P-Tier (John Deere 750 P-Tier Dozer MD750PAU (25-03), pp. 7-9)
  13. John Deere 950 P-Tier (John Deere 950 P-Tier Dozer MD950PAU (24-02), pp. 7-9)
  14. eCFR: 23 CFR Part 658, truck size and weight (658.15 width; 658.17 gross and axle weights)
  15. eCFR: 49 CFR 393.130, securing heavy vehicles, equipment and machinery
  16. NYSDOT: NYS Certified Escort Manual 2025
  17. NYSDOT: Superloads (Type 1S permits, bonds, police escorts)
  18. N.J.A.C. 13:18 Subchapter 1, NJ oversize and overweight permits (NJDOT-hosted rule)
  19. 75 Pa.C.S. 4962: conditions of permits (dozer blades, pilot cars)
  20. 67 Pa. Code 179.10: permit conditions and pilot cars
  21. PennDOT: hauling permit fees effective July 1, 2025
  22. ODOT: Operational Guide for Vehicles Operating with a Special Hauling Permit (superload definition, escorts)
  23. TxDMV: escort and equipment requirements
  24. F.A.C. 14-26.012: movement conditions and restrictions (Florida)
  25. Talbert 55SA spread-axle lowboy (20 in loaded deck height)
  26. XL Specialized hydraulic detachable gooseneck models (XL 80 HDG, 20 in loaded deck)
  27. Trail King TK70HDG hydraulic detachable gooseneck (24 in loaded deck height)
  28. Trail King TK80ACS step deck (34, 38 and 40 in loaded deck heights)
  29. Utility Trailer flatbed specifications (4000S: 58 3/16 in on a 47 in fifth wheel)

Get a bulldozer transport quote

Send the dozer's model and serial number, the undercarriage, the blade and ripper setup, and the pickup and delivery points. We size it against the manufacturer's figures, then book the carrier and arrange a permit from every state the dozer crosses.

  • FMCSA-licensed property broker, MC# 1178470
  • Permits, escorts and route surveys arranged for each move
  • Carriers checked for authority, insurance and safety record
  • Commercial shippers, dealers, contractors and auction buyers

Prefer to talk? Call (631) 683-8275.

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