diff --git a/clone-backup.sh b/clone-backup.sh
index caecb1e7..3dfe222b 100755
--- a/clone-backup.sh
+++ b/clone-backup.sh
@@ -350,6 +350,17 @@ transfer_backup() {
         echo "No metadata file found, using normal extraction"
     fi
     
+
+    # AFTER SLOWDISK_TRANSFORMS: rewrite remaining var/lib/docker/ members onto
+    # the target's real docker root when it is a cross-device symlink (see
+    # docker_root_transform in volume-utils.sh).
+    local _drt
+    _drt=$(docker_root_transform)
+    if [[ -n "$_drt" ]]; then
+        echo "Target /var/lib/docker is a symlink; appending docker-root --transform (after slowdisk)"
+        tar_extract_opts="${tar_extract_opts}${_drt}"
+    fi
+
     local file_size=$(stat -f%z "$backup_file" 2>/dev/null || stat -c%s "$backup_file" 2>/dev/null)
     
     # Find an available port
@@ -529,6 +540,17 @@ transfer_backup_ssh() {
         fi
     fi
     
+
+    # AFTER SLOWDISK_TRANSFORMS: rewrite remaining var/lib/docker/ members onto
+    # the target's real docker root when it is a cross-device symlink (see
+    # docker_root_transform in volume-utils.sh).
+    local _drt
+    _drt=$(docker_root_transform)
+    if [[ -n "$_drt" ]]; then
+        echo "Target /var/lib/docker is a symlink; appending docker-root --transform (after slowdisk)"
+        tar_extract_opts="${tar_extract_opts}${_drt}"
+    fi
+
     echo "Using direct SSH transfer for $key (file: $(basename "$backup_file"), size: $((file_size / 1048576))MB)"
     
     pv -pterb -s "$file_size" -N "$key" < "$backup_file" | \
diff --git a/clone-node.sh b/clone-node.sh
index ce16def5..d8a076d9 100755
--- a/clone-node.sh
+++ b/clone-node.sh
@@ -319,6 +319,17 @@ transfer_volume() {
         fi
     fi
     
+
+    # AFTER SLOWDISK_TRANSFORMS: rewrite remaining var/lib/docker/ members onto
+    # the target's real docker root when it is a cross-device symlink (see
+    # docker_root_transform in volume-utils.sh).
+    local _drt
+    _drt=$(docker_root_transform)
+    if [[ -n "$_drt" ]]; then
+        echo "Target /var/lib/docker is a symlink; appending docker-root --transform (after slowdisk)"
+        tar_extract_opts="${tar_extract_opts}${_drt}"
+    fi
+
     # Find an available port
     local port=$(find_available_port)
     if [[ $? -ne 0 ]]; then
@@ -500,6 +511,17 @@ transfer_volume_ssh() {
         fi
     fi
     
+
+    # AFTER SLOWDISK_TRANSFORMS: rewrite remaining var/lib/docker/ members onto
+    # the target's real docker root when it is a cross-device symlink (see
+    # docker_root_transform in volume-utils.sh).
+    local _drt
+    _drt=$(docker_root_transform)
+    if [[ -n "$_drt" ]]; then
+        echo "Target /var/lib/docker is a symlink; appending docker-root --transform (after slowdisk)"
+        tar_extract_opts="${tar_extract_opts}${_drt}"
+    fi
+
     echo "Using direct SSH transfer for $key (size: $((folder_size / 1048576))MB)"
     
     tar -cf - --dereference "$source_folder" 2>/dev/null | \
diff --git a/volume-utils.sh b/volume-utils.sh
index b4f73202..6a99fc9b 100755
--- a/volume-utils.sh
+++ b/volume-utils.sh
@@ -294,3 +294,32 @@ delete_slowdisk_targets_for_key() {
   done
   shopt -u nullglob
 }
+
+# Echo a tar --transform fragment (leading space + quoted --transform=...) that
+# rewrites archive members from var/lib/docker/volumes/... onto the TARGET's
+# real volumes root when that path is a cross-device symlink (EXDEV under
+# tar -C /). Key on the DEEPEST static prefix — readlink -f
+# /var/lib/docker/volumes — so we cover symlinks at /var, /var/lib,
+# /var/lib/docker, OR /var/lib/docker/volumes itself (canonicalizing only
+# /var/lib/docker misses a real dir with volumes/ as the symlink).
+# Reproduced rpc-us-32 2026-07-15/18: /var on sda4, /var/lib/docker -> /docker
+# on md0 → volumes resolves to /docker/volumes. Empty when readlink -f
+# returns /var/lib/docker/volumes itself (no-op).
+# Requires SSH_CMD + DEST_HOST (set by clone-*/cache-deploy after multiplexing).
+# Must be appended AFTER any SLOWDISK_TRANSFORMS — tar applies transforms in
+# order; slowdisk-rewritten members start with slowdisk/ and must not be
+# re-touched, while remaining var/lib/docker/volumes/... members still need
+# the rewrite. Per-volume _data static-file symlinks onto /slowdisk remain the
+# SLOWDISK_TRANSFORMS mechanism — this helper only relocates the volumes root.
+# Quoting follows the SLOWDISK_TRANSFORMS '|'-delimiter + single-quote pattern
+# so the script-file listener heredoc expands once without mangling the regex.
+docker_root_transform() {
+  local real
+  real=$($SSH_CMD "$DEST_HOST" "readlink -f /var/lib/docker/volumes" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  real="${real%/}"
+  if [[ -z "$real" || "$real" == "/var/lib/docker/volumes" ]]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+  local rel="${real#/}"
+  echo " --transform='s|^\\(\\./\\)\\?var/lib/docker/volumes/|${rel}/|'"
+}