Rigging-Busters offers a forklift moving service in St. Catharines and across the Niagara Region: lift trucks loaded, secured and hauled between plants, wineries, greenhouses, warehouses and dealers, plus forklift-assisted machine deliveries for local manufacturers.
Jobs here are shaped by Niagara’s geography. The Welland Canal splits the region, the QEW carries most heavy traffic, and a single haul can touch City, Regional, Niagara Parks and provincial roads, so the route is planned before the truck is booked.
- Industrial work only: forklifts, machines and plant equipment; no house, apartment or office moves.
- Single crew: transport, unloading, rigging and set-in-place handled together.
- Quick replies: quotes within 2–4 business hours.
- Minimum job: 3,500 CAD. Most industrial jobs cost more, and your written quote shows the full price.
- Coverage: St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and the Niagara Region, plus hauls to Hamilton and the GTA.
Need a number before you call? The Heavy Lifting & Moving Calculator gives a rough price range in a minute.
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Lift Truck Transport in St. Catharines and Niagara
Moving a forklift is mostly about weight you can’t see. The counterweight, mast and battery make even a compact warehouse truck heavy for its size, so the trailer, the chains and the route are chosen from the data plate, not from a guess.
How a Forklift Haul Works
- Send the basics: make, model and a data plate photo, plus whether the truck is electric, propane or diesel.
- Tell us if it runs: if the unit doesn’t run, say so up front; we confirm the method before quoting.
- We plan the route: City, Regional and provincial roads, canal crossings, and any permit the load needs.
- Loading: forks lowered, battery disconnected or the propane valve shut, then the truck goes up a tilt-deck, beavertail or lowboy.
- Securement: chains at the tie-down points, with at least four tie-downs on wheeled equipment over 4,500 kg, as Ontario’s load-security rules (NSC Standard 10) require.
- Delivery: unloaded and parked or placed where you need it, keys handed over.
Trucks We Move Around Niagara
- Electric counterbalance trucks and reach trucks from warehouses and distribution sites
- Propane forklifts from bottling halls, packing sheds and greenhouses
- Diesel yard forklifts from building-supply and steel yards
- Order pickers, pallet stackers, and electric pallet jacks or pump trucks
- Forklifts with clamps, side-shifters or fork extensions
Units That Won’t Start
Tell us if the unit doesn’t run; we confirm the method before quoting. A truck that can’t drive, steer or brake changes how it gets onto the deck, so photos of the truck and the spot where it sits help us give a straight answer.
Seasonal Moves for Wineries and Greenhouses
Niagara’s farm-based businesses move equipment on the calendar: a winery may want forklifts brought in before harvest and crush, and a greenhouse may swap trucks between growing seasons. Book early in the season, because the same weeks are busy for every grower.
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Machine Deliveries and Forklift Unloading in St. Catharines
A lot of forklift work is not a lift truck on a trailer at all: it is a forklift and crew meeting a delivery, unloading it and placing it, or pulling a machine out of a building and loading it for shipping. Invest in St. Catharines highlights automotive and mobility technology, home to the GM St. Catharines Propulsion plant, and greenhouse systems automation among the city’s sectors, and both receive heavy deliveries.
- Delivery unloading: machines, crated equipment and tooling taken off flatbeds and step-decks
- Placement: carried inside and set on the floor or on skates for final positioning
- Load-out: sold machines loaded for the buyer’s carrier
- Line work: packaging, bottling and printing equipment shifted during a changeover
Your licensed electricians disconnect power before a machine moves and reconnect it afterwards; we handle the lifting, moving and placing in between.
Forklifts, Skates and Trailers We Use
- Heavy-capacity forklifts, with fork extensions for long machines
- Machinery skates, pallet jacks and dollies for tight rooms
- Hydraulic gantries and jack-and-roll when forks can’t do it
- Tilt-deck, beavertail and lowboy trailers
- Chains, binders and edge protection
- Crane lifts through licensed crane partners when a lift needs one
For heavier rigging, see our industrial rigging services in St. Catharines; for whole relocations, our machinery movers in St. Catharines; and for machining centres and lathes, our CNC machine movers in St. Catharines.
Permits, Canal Crossings and the Border Around Niagara
Most forklifts travel at legal size and weight on a low deck, so a typical haul needs no permit. When a load is oversize or overweight, each road owner on the route issues its own:
- City of St. Catharines: a City permit for loads over Highway Traffic Act limits, applied for with a sketch of the vehicle dimensions and the travel route; it covers City roads only.
- Niagara Region: a Regional permit for Regional roads, with an annual permit for regular movements; loads over 63,500 kg crossing Regional structures pay an extra Ontario Bridge Formula check fee.
- Niagara Parks: vehicles over 5,000 kg may use the Niagara Parkway only with written permission, and only when it is the sole route.
- Province: the QEW, Highway 405, Highway 406 and Highway 420 are provincial, so oversize loads there need an MTO single-trip permit, applied for at least 5 business days ahead.
The Welland Canal adds its own timing. The QEW crosses it on the Garden City Skyway, a high-level bridge with no lift span, while local crossings such as the Homer Lift Bridge are raised for passing ships, so a haul across the canal on a local road is planned around the shipping traffic.
Hauls to New York State
Cross-border forklift hauls to Buffalo and elsewhere in New York State are quoted per trip. Of the three Niagara Falls bridges, only the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge takes trucks, reached from the QEW and Highway 405; the Rainbow Bridge takes no commercial vehicles and the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge is for NEXUS cardholders. Your customs broker clears the shipment.
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Forklift Moving Cost in St. Catharines: Price Factors
Every forklift move is quoted per trip. These are the things that change the price:
- Weight and size from the data plate, including mast height
- Running condition and how the truck can be loaded
- Number of trucks travelling together on one trailer
- Route: Regional roads, canal crossings, the Niagara Parkway or the border
- Permits when the load is oversize or overweight
- Timing: harvest season, shutdowns, evenings and weekends
Estimates are free and quotes are in Canadian dollars. Want a range now? Use the Heavy Lifting & Moving Calculator.
Service Area: St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and the Niagara Region
Serving St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, we cover the whole Niagara Region: Thorold and Welland along the canal, Port Colborne on Lake Erie, Fort Erie at the Peace Bridge, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pelham, Lincoln and Grimsby, plus hauls to Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area along the QEW. Our service area covers about 50 km around St. Catharines, shown on the map below.
Key Cities Around St. Catharines and Niagara Falls
| City | Province | Country |
|---|---|---|
| St. Catharines | Ontario | Canada |
| Niagara Falls | Ontario | Canada |
| Grimsby | Ontario | Canada |
| Fort Erie | Ontario | Canada |
| Lincoln | Ontario | Canada |
| Niagara-on-the-Lake | Ontario | Canada |
| Port Colborne | Ontario | Canada |
| Pelham | Ontario | Canada |
| Thorold | Ontario | Canada |
| Welland | Ontario | Canada |
Need a forklift taken further? Our forklift moving service in Hamilton covers the head of the lake, and our forklift moving service in Brantford covers Brant and Norfolk. Hauls to the GTA and across the US border are quoted per trip.
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Why Niagara Plants and Growers Call Us
- Industrial only: lift trucks, machines and plant equipment.
- Transport and handling together: the crew that hauls the forklift can also unload and place your machines.
- Niagara routes planned: City, Regional, Niagara Parks and MTO roads, canal crossings and the border.
- Seasonal timing: harvest, crush and greenhouse changeovers booked ahead.
- Fast quotes: replies within 2–4 business hours.
- Insured: liability and workers’ compensation insurance (WSIB in Ontario), with a certificate of insurance on request.
Good fit: forklift transport between plants, wineries, greenhouses, warehouses, dealers and auctions; delivery unloading and machine placement; line changeovers; plant moves and closures.
Not a fit: house or apartment moves and packers and movers for household goods, forklift rental, forklift repair and forklift service calls, parts, training, and lumper or general freight unloading. For a home or office move, the moving companies in St. Catharines that do household work are the right call.
Have These Ready for an Exact Quote
The quickest quotes come from complete requests. Send these with your quote request:
- Truck or machine: type, make and model, and how many units
- Data plate photo: weight and rated capacity
- Condition: fuel, and whether it drives and brakes
- Addresses: pickup and delivery, with dock, ramp and door details
- Timing: dates, season windows or auction deadlines
- Border details for New York deliveries: the US address and your customs broker
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Other Services in St. Catharines
Browse all our services in St. Catharines and Niagara, or choose a related service:
- Heavy Equipment & Machinery Movers in St. Catharines, ON
- Heavy & Industrial Rigging Services in St. Catharines, ON
- Lab & Medical Equipment Movers in St. Catharines, ON
- CNC Machine Movers in St. Catharines, ON
Location of our sales office:
264 Welland Ave, St. Catharines, ON L2R 2P8, Canada
St. Catharines Forklift Moving: FAQ
A forklift moving service hauls lift trucks from one site to another and uses forklifts to move heavy loads. Around St. Catharines we load, secure and transport forklifts for plants, wineries, greenhouses, dealers and auction buyers, and we unload and place machines delivered to your site. The work is industrial only; household and office moves are outside it.
Loads a forklift can carry safely: machining centres, lathes, presses, packaging and bottling equipment, printing machines, crated machinery and tooling. Machines that are too heavy, too tall or awkward to pick move on skates, a hydraulic gantry or jack-and-roll, or by a crane lift through a licensed crane partner, and we name the method in the quote.
We take the make, model and data plate details first, then pick a tilt-deck, beavertail or lowboy and plan the route across City, Regional and provincial roads. At pickup the forks go down, the battery is unplugged or the propane valve shut, and the truck is chained with at least four tie-downs, as required for wheeled equipment over 4,500 kg.
Tell us if the unit doesn’t run; we confirm the method before quoting. A forklift that cannot drive, steer or brake has to be loaded differently, and the right way depends on the truck, its weight and the site. Send the data plate and a few photos of the truck and where it is parked, and we will give you a straight answer.
Only an oversize or overweight load needs one, and each road owner issues its own. The City of St. Catharines wants an application with a sketch of the vehicle and route, valid on City roads only; Niagara Region permits its roads and charges a bridge-formula fee above 63,500 kg on Regional structures; the QEW and Highways 405, 406 and 420 need an MTO permit.
Only with written permission from Niagara Parks. Vehicles over 5,000 kg, which includes any truck and trailer carrying a forklift, may use the Niagara Parkway only when it is the sole route between pickup and delivery, and then only for the shortest possible distance. Most hauls use the QEW and Regional roads instead, so the Parkway rarely comes into play.
Yes. Cross-border forklift hauls to Buffalo and elsewhere in New York State are quoted per trip. Of the three Niagara Falls bridges, only the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge takes trucks, reached from the QEW and Highway 405. Your customs broker clears the shipment, so send their contact, the US delivery address and the data plate with the request.
Each move is priced per trip from the truck’s weight and size, whether it runs, how many trucks travel together, the route and any permits, and the timing, such as harvest season or weekend work. Estimates are free; the Heavy Lifting and Moving Calculator gives a rough range, and exact quotes come within 2–4 business hours.
No. We do not repair, service or rent forklifts, pallet jacks or pump trucks, sell parts or run training. For a nearby forklift service or pallet jack repair, call a dealer or a mobile service company. When a truck needs to go to the shop, to another site or back to its owner, we can haul it, and that transport is the service we provide.
St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, plus Thorold, Welland, Port Colborne, Fort Erie, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pelham, Lincoln and Grimsby across the Niagara Region. Along the QEW we also haul to Hamilton, Burlington and the Greater Toronto Area, and cross-border runs to New York State are quoted per trip.
