Moving heavy loads safely and efficiently is a high-stakes challenge in industries like oil & gas, infrastructure, and power generation.
- Heavy loads are often massive and oddly shaped.
- The environment is rarely ideal.
- A mistake could easily cost millions.
Moving heavy loads also comes with the very real risk of:
- Injury
- Extended downtime
- Damage to surrounding equipment and structures
Traditional methods like cranes and complex rigging work in many situations. But they also have limitations:
- Overhead clearance requirements
- Expensive mobilization
- Fragile loads that can’t be suspended
- Sites where there isn’t room or access for a crane
Hydra-Slide designs and manufactures hydraulic skidding systems that solve these problems. Our systems are used by rigging companies, power utilities, industrial facilities, and anywhere where there’s something heavy that needs to be moved.
In this article, we’ll detail how hydraulic skidding works, what makes it different from other options, and where our customers have put it to use.
How Hydra-Slide Skidding Systems Work
Hydra-Slide systems move loads horizontally across engineered steel tracks using hydraulic cylinders. To use a horizontal skidding system, operators:
- Raise the load a few inches using heavy-duty hydraulic lifting jacks
- Place skid tracks underneath the load
- Lower the load onto skid shoes, which sit on the tracks
- Use hydraulic cylinders to push the load along the tracks in short, controlled strokes
After each stroke, the system resets for the next push.
- The load stays grounded and supported throughout the move.
- There is no suspended lift, no swinging, and no stored momentum.
- When force stops, movement stops.
- Operators control the system from a safe distance and with full visibility through hydraulic lines.
Hydra-Slide systems are modular and portable. Most components can be hand-carried into spaces that other equipment can’t reach. Operators can be trained on the use of the system in less than a day, and many of our systems can be set up and operated without specialized tools or training.
Hydraulic Skidding System Components
Hydraulic jacks
Hydraulic jacks are often used to lift a heavy object a few inches off the ground so that skid tracks and skid shoes can be placed beneath the load.
Skid tracks
Skid tracks are steel track sections that guide the load from one point to another. They also include space for the hydraulic cylinders. Skid tracks are modular, hand-portable, and easy to assemble. They use either a dry graphite lubricant or a stainless steel-on-UHMW polyethylene surface.
Skid shoes
Skid shoes sit atop the skid tracks and are designed to support heavy loads in several points during the move. Jacking load shoes can also lift and lower the load mid-move to navigate overhead obstacles in confined environments.
Hydraulic cylinders
Hydraulic cylinders push the load along the tracks. They connect to the skid tracks and apply force in short, controlled strokes of movement. These cylinders reset automatically at each stroke.
Power units
Power units provide power to drive the hydraulic cylinders. Power units can be diesel, electric, or propane-driven. Hydra-Slide’s synchronous power units allow operators to control multiple hydraulic cylinders together, even under unequal loading conditions.
How Hydraulic Skidding Uses Friction to Move Heavy Items Safely
Hydra-Slide systems use friction as a built-in feature for moving heavy items safely. Our heavier systems use a dry graphite lubricant with a coefficient of friction between 0.15 and 0.2. Our lower-profile systems use a combination of stainless steel and UHMW polyethylene surface with similar friction properties.
When using any of Hydra-Slide’s systems, the load only moves when enough pressure is applied by the hydraulic cylinders to overcome the system’s built-in friction. The moment this pressure is removed, friction causes the load to stop immediately until pressure is applied again to the system.
In this way, operators move the load along the skid tracks in short, controlled strokes, taking advantage of friction to move safely and with almost no risk of a runaway load.
Comparing Hydraulic Skidding to Other Methods for Moving Very Heavy Things
5 Real Examples of Hydra-Slide Systems in Action
Here are five stories of real moves where our customers used Hydra-Slide systems to move a heavy load successfully:
1. 400-ton bridge replacement
Crews used a Hydra-Slide HT500 system to skid a 400-ton bridge span into position overnight. The HT500’s ability to work in a low-clearance environment eliminated the need for costly crane mobilization and cut installation time by over 40%.
2. 570-ton converter replacement at a live fertilizer plant
Myshak Crane and Rigging replaced a 100-foot-long, 570-ton horizontal converter inside a live fertilizer plant in Alberta. Six JLS250 jacking load shoes were the hero of the move, empowering crews to maneuver the massive converter through a congested area with less than two inches of clearance.
3. 25-ton chiller installation at a live Honda plant
Bay Crane skidded a 25-ton chiller through a 2nd-floor louver into a Honda manufacturing facility in Ohio. Hydra-Slide’s LP350 low-profile skidding system made the move possible despite only having 2.5 inches of vertical clearance to work with.
4. 20-ton gate valve replacement in an underground chamber beneath a water tower
Crews removed and replaced a 48-inch, 20-ton gate valve in an underground chamber beneath a water tower. The location of the valve eliminated any thought of using a crane to move the valve, but a Hydra-Slide XLP150 extremely low-profile system was the perfect choice to enable the move.
5. 200-ton retired locomotive move at a train museum
Crews from Donald Rigging used a Hydra-Slide HT300 heavy track
system to move Canadian Pacific Railway No. 5500, a 200-ton retired locomotive. The locomotive was skidded 60 feet to parallel tracks in preparation for a restoration project.
Is Hydraulic Skidding the Right Choice for Your Next Move?
If you need to move a heavy item in an environment where traditional crane lifts or custom rigging are impractical, hydraulic skidding might be the perfect option to complete the move.
If you’d like to discuss your project, reach out to our team at Hydra-Slide. Our experts can help you decide if hydraulic skidding is the right approach for your needs.
