Precast Concrete Transportation: What You Need to Know

There’s a lot of consideration and organization that goes into moving concrete products, especially if you need to transport precast concrete. From highway barriers to pipes to manholes and more, it takes the right heavy haul partner to get your goods on the road.

How do you transport precast concrete? You’ll find there are three main movements relating to the transportation of hardened concrete products. These steps include movement from the concrete plants to the yard, yard to truck transportation, and truck to site transportation. You can transport precast concrete with a dedicated heavy haul trucking service.

What is Precast Concrete?

Precast concrete is a rigid construction material made using a mold to cast a reusable form of concrete. Usually, manufacturers cure the precast concrete in an environmentally controlled facility. They then transport it to the installation or construction site. There are also precast stones that consist of fine aggregates made to look like naturally occurring stones.

Manufacturers often use expanded polystyrene as the core material for precasting wall panels. There are advantages to using precast concrete systems, which makes them more convenient for construction purposes. These advantages are as follows:

• Their production can be carried out at the ground level, and this helps improve safety.
• The quality of the concrete material can be well regulated.
• Quality can be controlled in precast plants better than construction sites.
• They can be reused on several occasions before being replaced.

What Is The Difference Between Precast And Poured In Place Concrete?

Precast concrete and poured in place concrete (site-cast concrete) differ in several ways.

1. Quality control: Because precast concrete manufacturing takes place in controlled facilities, there is better control over its quality. On the other hand, site-cast concrete may be exposed to extreme humidity and temperature conditions.
2. Labor efficiency: Factory-produced precast concrete makes use of more machines, and this leads to improved labor efficiency. Conversely, poured in place concrete is labor-intensive because more unskilled manual workers are needed.

3. Curing conditions: In factory facilities, the production of precast concrete can be sped up without compromising on quality. This is because curing conditions are controllable, unlike in the case of poured in place concrete production whereby any attempt to accelerate curing will likely sacrifice quality.

4. Full Strength: With precast concrete, hardening takes place in the time before transportation. 

On the other hand, site-cast concrete isn't always ready to use. The site-cast concrete takes time to harden, and this can delay construction projects.

How Do You Transport Precast Concrete? 

You need a strong heavy haul trucking partner to move precast concrete. To transport precast concrete, you need to move them from plant to yard, from the yard to truck, and from the truck to the site. If you want to preserve the product’s quality throughout the transportation stages, you need to follow the best practices. Before moving the products from yard to truck, ensure that they have attained good strength for transportation.

Check all quality control measures to ascertain that the precast concrete can withstand transport stress. If you lift the products sooner than expected, there is a possibility that they will crack. The truck driver’s level of experience and skills also plays a crucial role in determining the transported slab’s safety.

Thankfully, our experienced drivers are well-trained on the DOT requirements for load handling. They also have in-depth knowledge of the precast concrete loads and their safety precautions, as far as transportation is concerned.

What Equipment Do You Need to Transport Precast Concrete?

Assuming that the product’s initial transportation will be done with embedded lifters, you will have to examine the lifting inserts’ capacities. This evaluation needs to take place during the early phase of the precast concrete strength development. Many precast factories apply forklifts and hydraulic clamps to move the products within the yard. 

The lifting contractors’ methods need to suit that of the design of the manufacturer. For example, if the contractor uses a lifting technique that doesn't agree with the manufacturer's methods, problems could occur during the transport stage. 

For a truck to site transport, you will need to call on the services of flatbed trailers and multi-axle trailers. These trucks have enormous amounts of strength and space to move your precast concrete and other bulky goods to ensure that they are transported safely.

Checking the state of embedded lift cables, sizes of lift holes, and the tonnage of the embedded lifting inserts are critical factors worth considering if you want a particular trucking company to transport your precast concrete. 

The rule of thumb is that the transport company should have the right lifting and handling hardware to pick up your concrete products.

Precast Concrete Transportation with Heavy Haul and Oversized 

If you are looking for reliable, dedicated flatbed carriers to transport your precast concrete, Heavy Haul and Oversized should be your stopping point. Our highly experienced freight experts offer you the best deals you can get for flatbed freight transport. Irrespective of the sizes of the products you want to ferry, there is always a solution with Heavy Haul and Oversized.

Focus on working on your core projects while we handle the logistics aspects of your business. Clients choose us because of our robust transport machines and our unmatched safety records. 

Heavy Haul and Oversized we do more than just transport precast concrete in time to start work on your project. With us, you are assured affordable freight rates from a leading trucking company and flexible vehicle options for your flatbed cargo needs.

Leave route-planning and permits to us. With access to our cranes, chains, slings, and cheaters, loading challenges are a thing of the past. You can move precast concrete with ease when you partner with Heavy Haul and Oversized.

Partner with us today to enjoy the benefits of having a logistics service you can trust. Our team is eager to listen to your inquiries and help you find suitable logistics solutions. Request a freight quote or call us at (855) 490-2433 today and start planning your next job site shipment.