Our forklift moving service in Toronto covers two kinds of jobs for warehouses, plants and equipment dealers across the city and the GTA. The first is forklift transport: a forklift, reach truck or pallet truck collected from one building, carried on a trailer and handed over at another. The second is moving machines with forklifts: our machinery movers and riggers bring heavy-capacity lift trucks to unload, carry and set down equipment that a warehouse forklift cannot handle.
Most of Toronto’s industrial activity sits in its Employment Areas, which held over 381,000 jobs in 2025, including 90% of the city’s manufacturing and warehousing employment, according to the City of Toronto. Tapscott, South Etobicoke and Rexdale-Airport had the most proposed projects; Downsview, Keele–Finch and the Port Lands are other industrial districts we serve.
- Industrial jobs only: lift trucks, plant equipment and machinery, never furniture or household goods.
- The same crew from pickup to placement: collection, tie-down, haul, unloading and positioning.
- Fast quotes: a reply within 2–4 business hours. Estimates are free.
- Coverage: all of Toronto plus Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham and the rest of the GTA (see our service area).
Want a ballpark first? The Heavy Lifting & Moving Calculator returns an instant price range for your move.
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Forklift Transport Across Toronto and the GTA
Forklift transportation looks simple until you weigh the truck. A warehouse forklift is short, dense and heavy at the back, because the counterweight or the battery often outweighs everything else on it, and a reach truck’s mast is usually the tallest part of the load. We size the trailer, the loading method and the tie-downs to the unit in front of us, not to a standard pallet job.
Moving Day, Step by Step
- Survey: serial plate, service weight, lowered mast height and a photo; we check both sites and the route.
- Trailer: a tilt-deck or a low flatbed for most units, and a lowboy for a tall mast or a heavy yard truck.
- Making it safe: forks flat on the deck, brake applied, key out, battery isolated or propane cylinder shut.
- On the deck: driven up if it runs; lifted with a gantry or a heavier lift truck if it does not.
- Load securement: rated chains at the tie-down points, and four or more on any unit heavier than 4,500 kg, as the cargo securement standard of Canada’s National Safety Code requires.
- On the road: a route clear of the restricted expressways, with a City or MTO permit when the load is oversize.
- Handover: unloaded at the new building and parked in the aisle, bay or charging area you choose.
Electric, Propane and Diesel Forklifts
Electric counterbalance trucks and reach trucks carry heavy batteries, so we isolate the battery and check the combined weight before choosing a trailer. Propane units travel with the cylinder valve shut, and diesel yard forklifts are often wider and taller than they look in a photo. Order pickers, walkie stackers and pallet trucks can ride on the same trip when a whole fleet is moving.
When a Forklift Won’t Start
Towing a dead forklift on its own wheels risks the drive train and the brakes, so we don’t do it. The unit is lifted on and off the trailer with a gantry or a heavier lift truck, which also works for a forklift with a seized mast or a flat battery. Mention it in your request and we plan for it.
Fleet Moves, Auction Pickups and Forklift Removal
Moving a warehouse? We relocate whole forklift fleets between buildings, for example from a Rexdale distribution centre to a new site in Vaughan, and stage the units so your operators keep working until the last shift. We also collect forklifts bought at auction or from a dealer, and handle forklift removal from closing plants. For a full clear-out, see plant closure and auction removal in Toronto.
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Movers With Forklifts: Machine Moves in Toronto
A search for movers with a forklift usually means one of three situations: a new machine is arriving at a building with no dock, a CNC has to go from one bay to another, or a crate has to come off a flatbed in a tight laneway. Those are rigging jobs, so our crew brings lift trucks sized to the heavy machinery involved and rigs each load properly instead of improvising with a pallet forklift.
Forklift Unloading Service for Deliveries
Our forklift unloading service takes machines, crates and skids off flatbeds and out of sea containers, carries them inside and sets them where your layout shows. Need the item collected first? A delivery forklift and trailer can pick it up from the dealer or the auction site and bring it to your door. Larger machines and full trailers are covered on our heavy equipment loading and unloading in Toronto page.
Unloading on a Toronto Street: Street Occupation Permits
Downtown and midtown sites often have no dock and no room on the property. If a forklift, a boom truck or a parked trailer has to work beyond your property line, the City of Toronto requires a Street Occupation Permit. We plan the unload to stay on your property where possible and arrange the permit when the street is the only option.
Equipment on Our Trucks
- Heavy-capacity lift trucks for machines, not just pallets
- Skates and dollies for the last metres indoors
- Hydraulic gantries for low ceilings and floors that cannot carry a forklift
- Jack-and-roll for the heaviest machine bases
- Tilt-deck, flatbed and lowboy trailers with rated chains and binders
- A licensed crane partner when a lift calls for a crane
Moving a production line or a CNC rather than a forklift? Our machinery movers in Toronto handle full machinery moving projects, and our industrial rigging services in Toronto cover the work of rigging contractors without transport.
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Oversize Loads, Permits and Restricted Roads in Toronto
Most forklifts travel on a trailer without a permit. A large yard forklift, or a unit hauled together with its attachments, can push the load over City limits: a truck and load reaching 4.15 m high, 2.59 m wide, 21.33 m long or 50 t needs a City of Toronto single-trip oversize load permit, normally 7–10 business days, and the hauler has to scout the permitted route 48 hours before the move. Pilot vehicles join the load at 3.7 m wide, 24.5 m long, 4.15 m high or 63,500 kg.
Oversize loads are not allowed on the Don Valley Parkway, Black Creek Drive, the Allen Expressway, the elevated section of Lake Shore Boulevard West or the Gardiner Expressway east of the Humber River, so routes into the core use city streets. Highways 401, 427, 400 and 404 are provincial, and an oversize load there needs an MTO permit, applied for at least 5 business days ahead.
Forklift Moving Cost in Toronto: The Main Price Factors
Our forklift moving services are priced per job, on the details of each move. These change the number most:
- Size and weight: heavier units and tall masts need bigger trailers.
- Condition: a forklift that will not drive needs lifting at both ends.
- Distance: inside the city, across the GTA, or out of province and into the US.
- Site access: a dock and a clear yard, or a street unload that needs a permit.
- Permits: City oversize permits, route scouting and escorts.
- Fleet size and timing: how many units, and whether the move runs at night or on a weekend.
A quote that includes pickup, the haul and placement is the easiest one to compare. Estimates are free; prices are in Canadian dollars (CAD).
Service Area: Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area
As a forklift moving company, we work in every part of the city: Etobicoke with the Rexdale-Airport employment area and South Etobicoke, North York with Downsview and Keele–Finch, Scarborough with Tapscott, and the Port Lands. Across the GTA we serve Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Pickering and Ajax. Neighbouring pages: forklift moving service in Mississauga and forklift moving service in Brampton.
The map shows the core area our Toronto crew covers, roughly 50 km around the city.
Key Cities We Serve Around Toronto
| City | Province | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Ontario | Canada |
| Mississauga | Ontario | Canada |
| Milton | Ontario | Canada |
| Vaughan | Ontario | Canada |
| Markham | Ontario | Canada |
| Richmond Hill | Ontario | Canada |
| Brampton | Ontario | Canada |
| Bolton | Ontario | Canada |
| King City | Ontario | Canada |
| Whitchurch-Stouffville | Ontario | Canada |
| Oakville | Ontario | Canada |
| Burlington | Ontario | Canada |
| Whitby | Ontario | Canada |
| Ajax | Ontario | Canada |
| Pickering | Ontario | Canada |
| Newmarket | Ontario | Canada |
| Aurora | Ontario | Canada |
| Oshawa | Ontario | Canada |
| Georgetown | Ontario | Canada |
| Halton Hills | Ontario | Canada |
Forklift shipping beyond the map, to Ottawa, Montreal or across the border into the US, is quoted per trip.
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Why Toronto Warehouses and Plants Call Us
- Both halves of the job: our forklift movers transport lift trucks and also use them to move machines.
- Industrial only: warehouses, factories, printers, labs and equipment dealers.
- Toronto routes and permits handled: restricted expressways, 48-hour route scouting and street occupation permits are part of the plan.
- Rigging when a forklift is not enough: skates, gantries and jack-and-roll from the same crew.
- Quote replies within 2–4 business hours.
A good fit: forklift transport between Toronto buildings or across the GTA, fleet moves, auction and dealer pickups, forklift removal from closing sites, and machines that need a forklift to unload or place.
Not a fit: forklift rental, forklift parts and accessories such as rear posts and rear guards, forklift service and repair, new or used forklift sales, forklift licence training or operator jobs, lumper services and general freight unloading, and household moves, which a residential moving company handles.
Have These Ready for an Exact Quote
Attach these to your quote request and we can price the move faster:
- Unit: make, model and a photo of the serial plate
- Does it run? Drives and steers, or needs lifting
- Pickup and drop-off: addresses, docks or ground-level doors, and laneway access
- Street work: whether the truck has to stand on a Toronto street to load
- Timing: the preferred day, and any night or weekend window
- Also moving: other forklifts, pallet trucks or machines on the same trip
or give a call +1-647-846-5179
Other Services in Toronto
More from the same Toronto crew, or see all our services in Toronto:
- Heavy Equipment & Machinery Movers in Toronto, ON
- Heavy & Industrial Rigging Services in Toronto, ON
- Factory & Plant Relocation Services in Toronto, ON
- Lab & Medical Equipment Movers in Toronto, ON
- CNC Machine Movers in Toronto, ON
- Printing Press Movers in Toronto, ON
- Electrical Transformer Moving Services in Toronto, ON
- Heavy Equipment Loading & Unloading in Toronto, ON
Location of our sales office:
120 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, ON M4P 1E2, Canada 👇
Forklift Moving in Toronto: FAQ
In Toronto it usually means one of two things: hauling a forklift or lift truck from one site to another on a trailer, or using heavy-capacity forklifts to unload, carry and set down machinery. Rigging-Busters does both for warehouses, plants and dealers across the GTA. We do not rent out forklifts or operators, and we do not repair them.
Anything a properly sized lift truck can carry without overloading the floor: machining centres, lathes and press brakes, printing and packaging lines in sections, crated equipment, electrical panels and generators. When a base is too heavy or a ceiling too low for a forklift, the same crew switches to skates, a gantry or jack-and-roll. Send the weight and footprint and we choose the method.
We check the serial plate, weight and mast height, pick a tilt-deck, flatbed or lowboy, then lower the forks, set the brake and isolate the battery or propane. The unit is driven or lifted onto the deck and chained at its tie-down points, four or more if it weighs over 4,500 kg. We take a route that avoids the restricted expressways and park it where you want it.
Yes. A dead or locked forklift should not be towed or dragged on its wheels, so we lift it instead: a hydraulic gantry or a heavier lift truck puts it on the trailer and takes it off at the other end. Let us know about a flat battery, a seized mast or brakes that will not release, so the right equipment comes on the first trip.
Only if the truck and load reach 4.15 m high, 2.59 m wide, 21.33 m long or 50 t. Then a City single-trip oversize load permit is needed, normally 7 to 10 business days, and the route has to be scouted 48 hours before the move. Oversize loads cannot use the Don Valley Parkway, Black Creek Drive, the Allen Expressway or the Gardiner east of the Humber.
Only with the right permit. When a forklift, boom truck or trailer has to work beyond your property line, on the road or sidewalk, the City of Toronto requires a Street Occupation Permit. We try to plan the unload on your own property or dock first, and arrange the permit when the street is the only option. Tell us about the site access when you ask for a quote.
Yes. A forklift or a whole fleet can move between buildings in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan or Markham in one trip. Highways 401, 427, 400 and 404 are provincial, so an oversize load on them also needs an MTO permit. For moves that start outside the city, see our forklift moving service in Mississauga and Brampton.
Each move is quoted on its details: the forklift’s weight and mast height, whether it runs, the trailer, the distance across the GTA, access at both ends, any City permit or street occupation, and how many units go. Our Heavy Lifting and Moving Calculator shows a rough range, and a full quote comes back within 2–4 business hours.
No. We do not rent or sell forklifts, supply parts such as rear posts or guards, repair or service lift trucks, or run forklift licence training. Lumper and freight-unloading crews are a different trade too. Our work is moving forklifts, and moving machinery with them, for industrial sites in Toronto and the GTA. For anything else, a forklift dealer is the right first call.
All of it, including the main Employment Areas: Rexdale and the airport lands and South Etobicoke in the west, Downsview and Keele–Finch in North York, Tapscott in Scarborough, and the Port Lands. Across the GTA we serve Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Pickering and Ajax. Send both addresses and we confirm the crew and the route.
