Getting your site ready for a hiab delivery
Most failed deliveries are decided before the lorry leaves the yard. Ten minutes of checking saves a wasted day and a return charge.
13 September 2026 · 5 min read
Guide
A hiab that cannot set up is a hiab that cannot lift. Almost every aborted delivery we see comes down to one of four things, and all four are knowable in advance.
1. Can the lorry physically get there
- Width of the entrance, including gateposts and any overhanging hedge
- Turning space once it is in, and whether it can get back out forwards
- Weight limits and width restrictions on the approach, which matter more in Cornwall and on Dartmoor than most people expect
- Low branches and telephone wires across the lane
- Parked cars, wheelie bins and skips on delivery day
2. Where the outriggers will sit
The outriggers are the legs that take the weight while the crane works, and they put a great deal of load into a small patch of ground.
- Firm and reasonably level ground on both sides of the lorry
- No recently dug trenches, soakaways or backfilled service runs
- Manhole covers, drain covers and cellar lights identified in advance
- Space to extend: they need meaningful width either side, not a kerb-width gap
3. What is overhead
This is the one that actually hurts people. A loader crane boom can reach well above the vehicle, and overhead power lines are unforgiving.
If there are power lines anywhere near the lift, say so when you book. It changes where the lorry stands and sometimes changes whether the job can be done at all.
4. Where the load is actually going
- A clear, agreed final position, not just somewhere in the yard
- For a container: level, firm ground, and blocks or sleepers if it is going on soft standing
- For timber and steel: something to stack on, and space to land the load safely
- Somebody on site who can make a decision if the plan needs to change
The photograph that saves a day
One picture taken from the road, looking at where you think the lorry would park, answers most of this at once. A second from the drop point looking back at the road answers the rest.
Send those with the enquiry and you will get a straight answer about whether the job works, before anybody commits a morning to it.
Questions
Common questions
- What happens if the lorry cannot get in on the day?
- The job gets aborted and somebody pays for a wasted trip, which is why we would much rather look at photographs first. It is free to ask and expensive to find out the hard way.
- Do I need to provide anything for the outriggers?
- Not usually, as spreader pads travel with the lorry. What we need from you is honesty about what is under the surface, particularly on new builds and recently landscaped ground.
- How much room does a hiab need?
- More than people expect once the outriggers are out. If in doubt, measure the narrowest point of the access and tell us the number rather than describing it as tight.
What we do
Hiab hire and haulage across Cornwall and Devon
30TM crane, 10 metres of reach, 10 ton capacity, based near Truro. Tell us the weight, the distance from the lorry and what is in the way, and you will get a straight answer.
More reading
Other guides
What is a hiab, and when do you actually need one?
A hiab is a lorry with its own crane. Here is what that changes, and the jobs where it is the difference between one visit and three.
What 30 tonne-metre actually means
Crane ratings confuse almost everybody, and the confusion costs people money. Here is the arithmetic, and why the load chart is the only answer that counts.
Moving a shipping container: weight, ground and access
Containers look like the simplest thing a hiab moves. The lift usually is simple. What goes wrong is everything around it.
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