Let’s Talk About Timbers
Choosing the Right Jacking Timbers for Heavy Rigging Jacking timbers—also known as cribbing timbers or blocking—are a critical component of jack-and-slide and heavy lifting operations. Once a lifting or skidding method is selected, choosing the right timber material becomes one of the most important performance and safety decisions in the system. Jacking timbers provide the […]
What Are Climbing Jacks?
In technical terms, climbing jacks are hydraulic lifting systems designed to raise heavy loads in small, controlled vertical increments while maintaining continuous support. In practical terms, they can be one of the most predictable ways to lift massive structures when precision, stability, and safety matter more than speed. Instead of relying on a single, high-commitment […]
Case Study: Replacing a Water Tower’s 10-Ton Gate Valve in a New Jersey Underground Chamber
A 48-inch, 20,000-pound gate valve needed to be replaced underground beneath a water tower site in New Jersey. The cracked valve was located inside an underground concrete chamber, directly beneath a water tower in an underground concrete access chamber. To remove this type of valve using normal means, operators would have been forced to remove […]
Machinery Moving with Jack and Slide
Jack-and-slide hydraulic skidding systems are one of the most effective ways to move heavy machinery. At Hydra-Slide, we often provide hydraulic skidding systems to help companies move machinery and heavy equipment in this weight range. These systems are hand-portable, easy-to-use, and effective for moving heavy loads in areas with little clearance or overhead obstructions. In […]
How Hydraulic Skidding Systems Behave Under Load
Hydraulic skidding systems are designed for one thing above all else: predictable movement under load. Hydraulic skidding systems use skid tracks, skid shoes, and hydraulic cylinders to safely move heavy loads horizontally with controlled, incremental motion. Unlike rolling or suspended methods, skidding systems rely on controlled friction, short hydraulic strokes, and constant ground support. The […]
Synchronous Power Units Explained
When a load is lifted or moved from multiple points, those points need to advance together. That requirement sounds straightforward. However, in practice, it’s a persistent challenge in heavy load movement—because load distribution is almost never uniform. Resistance varies across support points. Some cylinders respond more easily than others. Left unaddressed, those differences cause some […]
Spanning Gaps When Moving Very Heavy Loads
Moving something extremely heavy? Tens or hundreds of tons? The path to moving something heavy from point A to point B always comes with challenges. Sometimes that means spanning gaps. This can happen when offloading or transloading from a delivery vehicle. Or it can happen when moving across a worksite with trenches, pits, drainage channels, […]