Concrete Batch Plant Transport

Concrete Batch Plant Hauling Services

Concrete batch plants are among the most frequently relocated pieces of heavy industrial equipment in the construction industry. Contractors who follow highway, bridge, dam, and large commercial projects move their batch plants from one job site to the next as project schedules dictate. Ready-mix producers expand into new markets by transporting plants from their existing network to new facility sites. Equipment dealers buy and sell used plants at auction and across the country, requiring transport between states. R&RM LLC has been handling concrete batch plant transport since 2011, serving contractors, ready-mix producers, and equipment dealers nationwide.

Types of Concrete Batch Plants We Transport

Portable Drum Mix and Ready-Mix Plants

Portable ready-mix concrete plants — the type used by highway contractors who need a temporary plant near a bridge or paving project — are designed to be relocated and are the most common category of batch plant transport. These plants consist of a series of skid-mounted or trailer-mounted modules:

• Aggregate bins and weigh hoppers: Multi-compartment aggregate storage bins in the 60-to-200 cubic yard total capacity range. Large four- or six-compartment bins can be 16 to 20 feet wide in transport and require overwidth permits plus pilot car escorts.
• Mixer unit: The central mixing drum or twin-shaft mixer, typically mounted on a standalone trailer or skid. Twin-shaft mixers with capacities of 3 to 6 cubic yards per batch can weigh 40,000 to 80,000 lbs and require an RGN or heavy-duty flatbed for transport.
• Cement silos: Bulk cement storage tanks of 300 to 2,000 barrel capacity. Silos in their vertical transport configuration on a wheeled carrier are typically 10 to 14 feet in diameter and 40 to 70 feet long — tall enough to require overlength and overheight permits when transported at any angle.
• Water and admixture tanks: Water storage tanks and admixture chemical tanks, typically 5,000 to 20,000 gallon capacity, transported on flatbed trailers.
• Control house and batch control system: The electronic batching control system housed in a climate-controlled operator's trailer, transported as a standard load or slightly overwidth load depending on the trailer dimensions.
• Conveyor gallery and loading bays: The conveyors that carry aggregate from the bins to the mixer weigh hopper, and the charging conveyor or skip hoist that lifts the batch to the mixer inlet. Long conveyor spans in transport configuration can exceed 60 feet and require overlength permits.

Central Mix Plants (Stationary)

Stationary central mix plants used by large ready-mix producers and precast concrete manufacturers are not designed for frequent relocation, but they are relocated when a producer expands to a new territory, when an aging plant is replaced, or when a facility closes and the equipment is sold. These plants involve heavier and larger components than portable plants:

• Large twin-shaft or drum mixers: High-production central mix units in the 10-to-12 cubic yard batch size range can weigh 100,000 to 200,000 pounds and require multi-axle lowboy or RGN transport with overweight permits.
• Structural steel framework and support towers: The structural steel that supports the mixer, aggregate charging conveyor, and weigh hopper system travels as structural steel sections on flatbed trailers. Tall support tower sections in the 40-to-80 foot range require overlength permits.
• Large aggregate bins: High-capacity aggregate storage bins with 400 to 1,000 cubic yard capacity are much larger than portable plant bins — 20 to 30 feet wide in transport, requiring overwidth permits, pilot car escorts, and in some cases time-of-travel restrictions on congested routes.
• Large cement storage tanks: Permanent-installation cement silos of 1,000 to 3,000 barrel capacity. When relocated, these tanks travel in sections or in their complete vertical configuration on a special transport carrier — overlength, overheight, and often overweight depending on tank size.

Volumetric Mixer Trucks

Volumetric concrete mixers — units that carry separate compartments for cement, aggregate, water, and admixtures and mix concrete on-demand at the delivery point — are self-propelled units that typically travel under their own power. However, volumetric mixers that are non-running, damaged, or undergoing delivery across long distances may require transport on a flatbed or heavy-duty RGN, and their height in travel configuration can exceed standard legal limits in some states.

Concrete Batch Plant Transport Challenges

Width Restrictions on Aggregate Bins

Large aggregate storage bins in transport configuration are frequently the widest component in a batch plant move. A four-compartment bin with 14-foot-wide aggregate chambers may transport at 16 to 18 feet wide after the legs and walkways are folded — requiring overwidth permits in every state and front and rear pilot car escorts in most. Some states impose daytime-only restrictions or time-of-day restrictions on overwidth loads of this scale. R&RM LLC plans batch plant moves around these restrictions to keep the project on schedule.

Height on Cement Silos

Portable cement silos in their wheeled transport configuration — tilted to an angle for transport — typically stand 13 to 15 feet tall at their highest point. Larger silos in the 1,000-barrel range transport at 14 to 16 feet, requiring overheight permits and in some cases bridge clearance verification along the route. Silos transported vertically on a purpose-built silo transport carrier may exceed 60 to 80 feet in total height, limiting route options to roads without low-clearance bridges and requiring utility companies to lift overhead power and communication lines along the route.

Multi-Load Coordination

A complete batch plant relocation typically involves 5 to 20 individual truck loads depending on plant size. Coordinating all loads to arrive at the new site in erection sequence — aggregate bins before the conveyor system, structural steel before the mixer — requires dispatch coordination that R&RM LLC provides as part of the project. When the plant must be operational by a specific date to serve a concrete pour schedule, load sequencing is critical to keeping the contractor's project on track.

Brands and Manufacturers We Transport

• Terex Bid-Well, Terex REXCON: Portable and stationary ready-mix plants widely used by highway contractors throughout the Southeast and Midwest
• Rex Con (now Terex): Legacy portable batch plants with skid-mounted modular designs that require standard overwidth permits for aggregate bin transport
• Simem America: High-production central mix and precast concrete batch plants, including large twin-shaft mixers and automated control systems
• Mixer Systems, Inc.: Custom central mix plants for large ready-mix and precast producers
• Vince Hagan: Portable ready-mix plants popular with highway contractors; the Hagan TurboStack system telescopes for transport and deploys quickly
• Erie Strayer: Stationary drum mix and pug mill plants for hot-mix asphalt and concrete applications
• London: Portable ready-mix plants with pre-wired and pre-plumbed modular designs for fast site setup
• Standard Havens (now Astec): Portable and stationary concrete batch plants for highway and airport pavement projects

We transport concrete batch plants from all manufacturers. If your plant manufacturer is not listed, contact us — we have transported batch plant equipment from dozens of custom fabricators and regional manufacturers.

Permit Requirements for Batch Plant Transport

Concrete batch plants routinely require oversize permits due to their width and height in transport configuration. The most common permit scenarios:

• Overwidth permits: Required when aggregate bins, mixer units, or structural components transport wider than 8 feet 6 inches — the federal legal width limit. Most batch plant components require overwidth permits.
• Overheight permits: Required for cement silos in transport position (typically 13 feet 6 inches or taller) and for tall structural components. Some states set overheight permit thresholds as low as 13 feet 6 inches.
• Overlength permits: Required for long conveyor spans, extended structural sections, and cement silos in horizontal transport on standard flatbeds that extend beyond 53 feet.
• Overweight permits: Required when a single load — typically a large twin-shaft mixer unit or heavy aggregate bin — exceeds 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

R&RM LLC handles all permit applications and route planning for batch plant moves. Our team is familiar with the permit requirements along the major construction corridors we travel most frequently, and we flag width-restricted routes and low-clearance bridges before the move begins.

Related Equipment

In addition to batch plants, R&RM LLC transports the full range of construction equipment that appears alongside batch plants on major projects:

• Concrete Pump Trucks & Boom Pumps — the pumps that distribute concrete from the batch plant to the form
• Concrete Equipment — pavers, finishers, curb machines, and slip-form equipment
• Paving Equipment — asphalt pavers, milling machines, and compaction rollers used alongside batch plants on highway projects
• Compactors & Road Rollers — ground compaction equipment for site preparation before concrete placement

Get Your Concrete Batch Plant Quote

Provide the plant manufacturer, model, approximate dimensions of the largest component, and pickup and delivery locations for an accurate transport quote. For complete plant moves, a list of all components and their dimensions allows us to quote the full project as a package.