Cold Planers & Milling Machines Shipping
A Wirtgen W150, W1800 or W2000 cold planer goes in one 45 ft high cube in our loading records. Large planers such as the W 210 Fi are 2.70 m wide and ship on a flat rack or by RoRo.
Overview
Cold planers come in two sizes for shipping. Compact and mid-size machines fit a container once the discharge conveyor is folded or taken off. In our loading records a Wirtgen W150, W1800 and W2000 each went in one 45 ft high cube, which is 13.56 m long inside, and a CAT RM300 reclaimer went in a 40 ft open top and a 40 ft high cube.
Large planers are wider than the 2.34 m container door. Wirtgen prints the W 210 Fi at 12.9 m long with its conveyor folded, 2.70 m wide and 3.0 m high, at 31,700 kg shipping weight, and 8.8 m long with the conveyor off. A machine like that goes on a 40 ft flat rack with the conveyor separate, or drives aboard a RoRo ship from Baltimore or Brunswick where a lane serves the destination.
The milling drum housing, conveyors and water system are cleaned of asphalt and drained before loading, because destination ports inspect for residue. The picks stay on the drum, the conveyor is folded or packed separately, and the machine is chocked and lashed through its tie-down points.
Cold planers are often bought from highway contractors and at auction. We check the drum width and conveyor length against the manufacturer's sheet for your machine, and confirm the plan with photos before booking.
Send the model, serial number and the cutting width of the installed drum. A spare drum or a second cutter assembly often sells with the machine and ships in its own crate. The drum housing, conveyor and tracks must be cleaned of asphalt millings before the machine reaches the port.
Typical Specifications
| Loaded in one 45 ft high cube | Wirtgen W150, W1800, W2000 |
|---|---|
| Wirtgen W 210 Fi, conveyor folded | 12.9 m long, 2.70 m wide, 3.0 m high, 31,700 kg |
| Wirtgen W 210 Fi, conveyor off | 8.8 m long |
| Container door, 40 ft and 45 ft high cube | 2.34 m wide, 2.58 m high |
Recommended Shipping Methods
Worked example
Wirtgen W 210 Fi, conveyor folded: 42 ft 4 in / 12.9 m long, 8 ft 10 in / 2.7 m wide, 9 ft 10 in / 3 m high, 69,900 lb / 31,700 kg.
The ladder below is worked out from these figures. Larger or smaller units of the same type can land on a different rung.
Cheapest first: the shipping cost ladder
We price every machine from the bottom rung up. A machine only moves up a rung when a measurement rules out the cheaper method.
Wirtgen W 210 Fi, conveyor folded is 42 ft 4 in / 12.9 m long, more than a 39 ft 7 in / 12.06 m flat rack deck, so it drives or tows aboard a RoRo vessel.
- Rung 1
Container
Lowest cost
When: Fits through a 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m × 8 ft 6 in / 2.58 m door and under 59,500 lb / 27,000 kg, whole or after we take off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels.
- Rung 2
Flat rack
Mid cost
When: Too wide or tall for a container door, but within 14 ft 9 in / 4.5 m wide, 13 ft 1 in / 4 m tall and 86,000 lb / 39,000 kg on one rack.
- Rung 3
RoRo
Mid cost
Best fit for Wirtgen W 210 Fi, conveyor folded
When: Drives or tows aboard, under 19 ft 8 in / 6 m tall and 110 US tons / 100,000 kg, going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
- Rung 4
Breakbulk
Highest cost
When: Past flat-rack and roll-trailer limits, or shipped as modules lifted aboard piece by piece.
Container
RecommendedMid-size planers in one 45 ft high cube with the discharge conveyor folded or off.
Flat Rack Container
RecommendedLarge planers wider than the container door, with the conveyor shipped alongside.
RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off)
RecommendedA running planer driven aboard whole where a RoRo lane serves the destination.
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
01Container
- Work needed
- We partially disassemble when needed (bucket, boom, cab, wheels), or take larger machines further apart across several high-cubes and open-tops, then crate, block and lash every part.
- Destinations
- Widest: almost every port worldwide, plus inland delivery by rail.
- Typical cost
- Usually the lowest, with no out-of-gauge surcharges.
- Protection
- Sealed steel box; loose parts and attachments travel locked inside.
- Best for
- Most machines: compact ones as they are, others after partial disassembly, and large ones split across several containers.
02Flat rack
- Work needed
- Ships assembled, blocked and lashed. Surcharges apply when wider than 2.4 m or taller than about 1.95 m.
- Destinations
- Most container ports, on the same vessels as containers.
- Typical cost
- Moderate; rises with every centimetre out of gauge.
- Protection
- Open to the weather; we protect cabs, electronics and hydraulics.
- Best for
- Excavators, dozers and loaders too wide for a container door.
03RoRo
- Work needed
- Drives on assembled; non-runners go on a roll trailer.
- Destinations
- Fewer destinations: regular lanes to Europe, West Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and parts of Latin America.
- Typical cost
- Often competitive for large self-propelled machines where a lane exists.
- Protection
- Below deck, but loose items and attachments cannot ride inside the cab.
- Best for
- Running machines going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
04Breakbulk
- Work needed
- Lifted aboard piece by piece by ship’s or shore cranes, on its own skids or cradle, then stowed and lashed in the hold or on deck.
- Destinations
- Ports with breakbulk berths and heavy-lift cranes; sailings are booked voyage by voyage.
- Typical cost
- Usually the highest for a single small machine; often the only option for the largest pieces.
- Protection
- In the hold or lashed on deck; we crate, wrap and protect exposed parts.
- Best for
- Pieces too large or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer: transformers, process modules, mining trucks, crane sections.
Handling & Preparation Requirements
- Drum housing, conveyor and tracks cleaned of asphalt millings
- Water system drained
- Discharge conveyor folded or removed and packed
- Spare drums and cutter assemblies crated and listed
- Battery disconnected and fuel drawn down
- Chocked and lashed through the tie-down points
Cold Planers & Milling Machines we have loaded in containers
A spread of machines from our dismantling and loading records, with the boxes each one went in. Open a brand to see every model and its plan.
Road machine
Wirtgen W150
1 × 45 ft high cube
Wirtgen loading plansRoad machine
Wirtgen W1800
1 × 45 ft high cube
Wirtgen loading plansRoad machine
Wirtgen W2000
1 × 45 ft high cube
Wirtgen loading plans
Transport dimensions by model
Published dimensions, a scale drawing and every way to ship each one.
Auction yards that sell cold planers & milling machines
Yards whose published equipment categories include cold planers & milling machines. Each yard page lists its nearest export ports and how we collect from it.
Common Models We Ship
- Wirtgen W 150, W 1800, W 2000, W 210 Fi
- Caterpillar PM300 and PM600 series
- Roadtec RX-series
- Bomag BM-series
Manufacturers We Ship
Brands that build cold planers & milling machines, the ones in our loading records first, with model dimensions and the shipping method each one fits.
Where cold planers & milling machines shipments go wrong
Mistakes we see on cold planers & milling machines bookings, and what avoids them.
- Booking a planer by its length without the conveyor: Wirtgen prints the W 210 Fi at 8.8 m conveyor off and 12.9 m folded, so the plan changes with it.
- Millings packed in the drum housing and conveyor add weight and fail inspection at the destination, so the machine is cleaned before the port.
- A spare drum left off the booking arrives as a separate shipment, so it is crated and listed with the machine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a cold planer fit in a container?
Mid-size machines do. In our loading records a Wirtgen W150, W1800 and W2000 each went in one 45 ft high cube. Large planers such as the W 210 Fi, 2.70 m wide by Wirtgen's figures, are wider than the 2.34 m door and go on a flat rack or by RoRo.
Does the conveyor come off?
For a container or a flat rack, usually. Wirtgen prints the W 210 Fi at 12.9 m long with the conveyor folded and 8.8 m with it off, which is the difference between a long flat rack plan and a standard one.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the documents below, each checked on the date shown. Carriers and authorities revise them, so we confirm the current figure when we book.
- [1]Seaway Export loading records: machines dismantled and loaded at U.S. yards, checked July 2026
- [2]Wirtgen W 210 Fi: manufacturer specification, checked October 2026
- [3]Seaway Project Cargo brand and model guides, checked October 22, 2026
Plan your shipment
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Dimensional Weight Calculator
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Container Space Calculator
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Route Finder
Load port, sailings, duty and rules for a machine and destination.
Ready to Ship Your Cold Planers & Milling Machines?
Send the make, model and pickup location. We quote cold planers & milling machines by container, flat rack or RoRo from the U.S. port that suits the machine.