How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Crusher or Grinder? A Heavy Equipment Freight Guide
What it costs to transport a crusher, grinder, or screener: trailer types, permits, distance, and how to get an accurate delivered price before you buy.
Freight is the number that kills more used-equipment deals than any other — and the one buyers forget to budget for until the machine is already bought. A crusher or grinder that looks like a great buy three states away can stop making sense once you add the delivered cost. Here's how heavy equipment freight actually prices out, and how to get a real number before you commit.
What drives the cost
Distance is the obvious one — but it's priced by the loaded mile. Rates fluctuate with fuel and truck availability, but as a rough planning range, expect somewhere around $4–$9 per mile for an oversize load, with the higher end on longer or harder-to-cover lanes. A 1,000-mile haul on a big crusher can land anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000+ depending on the machine and the route.
Size and weight decide the trailer — and the permits. This is where it gets real:
- A compact screener or small grinder may ride on a standard step-deck at legal width and weight — the cheapest scenario.
- A tracked crusher or large horizontal grinder is usually an oversize/overweight load requiring a lowboy or RGN (removable gooseneck) trailer.
- Once you exceed legal limits (generally ~8'6" wide, ~102,000 lbs gross, or roughly 13'6" tall), you're into state permits, and past certain thresholds, escort/pilot vehicles — sometimes one, sometimes two, plus daylight-only or no-weekend travel restrictions in some states.
Each permit and escort is real money, and they stack per state you cross.
Loading and access. Can the machine drive/track onto the trailer under its own power, or does it need a loader or crane? Is your yard accessible to a 70-foot lowboy, or is there a low bridge, tight turn, or soft ground in the way? Difficult access adds cost and time.
Cross-border and remote lanes cost more — customs brokerage into Canada, port logistics for overseas, and thin carrier coverage into rural areas all push the number up.
How to get an accurate delivered price
1. Have the real specs ready. Freight quotes need transport dimensions (working vs. transport height matters — many machines fold down), operating weight, and whether it's self-loading. Guessing the weight is how you get a quote that changes at pickup.
2. Confirm pickup and delivery access. Exact addresses, ground conditions, and any low-clearance or weight-restricted obstacles. A carrier that shows up to an inaccessible site is a canceled load and a lost day.
3. Get the delivered price, not just the machine price. Always evaluate equipment on its landed cost. The cheapest machine on the market isn't cheap if it's on the wrong coast.
4. Use a broker who quotes freight up front. The best time to know your delivered number is before you buy — not after.
Why this matters more on material processing equipment
Crushers, grinders, and screeners are among the heaviest, tallest, widest machines that move on the road. Freight isn't a rounding error on these deals — it can be 5–15% of the purchase price. Building it into the decision from the start is the difference between a good buy and an expensive surprise.
At RPG Equipment, we quote the delivered number up front on every machine and coordinate carriers across the lower 48 and into Canada — permits, escorts, and access all handled. If you're looking at a crusher, grinder, or screener and want to know what it actually costs to get it to your yard, call (413) 478-2525 or browse current inventory at rpgequipment.com/listings.
RPG Equipment is a heavy equipment brokerage based in Worcester, MA specializing in grinders, crushers, screeners, and material processing equipment. Contact us to buy or sell equipment, or browse more articles.