What we buy
Ranges we buy on this page
This guide explains weight and width thresholds, when a pilot car is required, and how North Carolina issues oversize and overweight permits for transformer hauling. It is for plant engineers, utility asset managers, facility directors, and demolition crews preparing equipment for removal.
| Phase | kVA | Voltage | Fluid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-phase | 10 - 333 kVA | up to 25 kV | Liquid or dry |
| 3-phase | 50 - 20,000 kVA | 115 kV | Liquid or dry |
Who we buy from
Six kinds of seller
- Recyclers
- Electrical contractors
- Equipment dealers
- End users
- Demo contractors
- Distributors
Fast offers
A written offer the same business day, based on your photographs.
Dedicated logistics
Our own crew, trailer and crane, not a brokered haul.
No broker fees
One buyer from first call to cleared pad, with nothing skimmed.
How it works
Six steps from photograph to payment
- 01
Take pictures
Photograph the nameplate, the inside of the cabinet and the tank from both ends. Four frames on a phone are enough to price most units.
- 02
Send them to us
Email or text the photographs with the site address and whether the unit is still energised. We reply the same business day with questions or a number.
- 03
Review the offer
The offer names the unit, the site, the price and the pickup window. It is written, dated and good for thirty days unless the unit changes hands.
- 04
We schedule freight
A crew, a trailer and a crane if the pad needs one. You get the date and the arrival window, and the site does not have to close for it.
- 05
Testing on arrival
Winding resistance, insulation resistance and a turns ratio check, plus oil analysis where the unit is liquid-filled. Results travel with the unit.
- 06
Get paid
Payment is released against the signed bill of sale and the scale ticket, by check or ACH, with the paperwork copy left on site.
What we handle
The parts sellers dread
Rigging
Crane, skates and a route survey for anything that will not roll onto a trailer.
Oil containment
Pans, absorbent and a spill plan before a drain plug is touched.
Bill of sale
A document that clears a lien, a lease or a bankruptcy file, not a handwritten note.
PCB paperwork
Testing and manifesting for pre-1979 oil, handled before the unit moves.
On the ground
What it is
An oversize or overweight permit authorizes a vehicle and load to exceed specified highway limits under written conditions. For a transformer on a lowboy, those conditions can govern the route, travel hours, axle loading, warning equipment, and escorts.
The permit does not authorize entry onto private property.
North Carolina Department of Transportation issues oversize and overweight permits through its permitting process, including an online application system. The carrier submits the loaded dimensions, weights, vehicle configuration, and proposed movement.
Route review may identify bridge restrictions or clearance problems before a single-trip permit is issued.
Local reality
Why it matters when you sell
A removal schedule can fail before the crane arrives if the loaded transformer cannot cross a bridge between the plant gate and the interstate.
Plant engineers should provide the carrier with the actual exit address, gate location, and any known restrictions on the public approach road.
Transformer Buyers NC buys used, surplus, failed, and obsolete transformers across North Carolina.
For a unit leaving a hospital service yard or demolition site, permit planning helps establish whether pickup requires radiator removal, a different trailer, or escorts staged outside a gate with limited turning room.
Around the site
The numbers
Use 8 feet 6 inches as the usual legal width benchmark and 80,000 pounds as the standard gross-weight benchmark for highway screening.
Federal Interstate limits generally include 20,000 pounds on a single axle and 34,000 on a tandem; axle spacing and route restrictions also matter.
Measure width across the widest attached radiator, bushing guard, or bracket, not just the tank. In North Carolina, loads exceeding 12 feet in width generally require pilot-car escort arrangements.
Escort placement and additional requirements depend on road configuration, dimensions, and permit conditions; use the issued permit as authority.
Where it sits
Common mistakes
Using nameplate weight without checking what it includes can produce an incorrect permit application. Shipping weight may differ from operating weight with oil, radiators, and accessories attached.
The carrier needs total loaded vehicle weight and axle distribution, not a tank weight copied from an old equipment schedule.
Another mistake is treating a pilot car as a substitute for route approval. An escort cannot make an underpass taller or increase a posted bridge limit.
Check loaded height from the pavement, including trailer deck and bushings, and confirm that the permitted route matches the actual plant exit.
On the ground
How it affects value
Permit requirements affect the practical recovery value of a transformer by changing removal complexity. A wide radiator bank may require escorts even when tank weight is manageable.
Removing that bank could reduce transport width, but it introduces oil handling, gasket work, lifting steps, and additional site coordination.
A failed transformer with distorted lifting lugs presents a different removal problem from an intact unit with documented shipping dimensions. Accurate photographs, measured dimensions, and a clear route from pad to gate reduce uncertainty.
Missing axle information or an unresolved bridge restriction can prevent a firm pickup plan.
Local reality
What to do next
Before arranging removal, collect the nameplate photograph, outline drawing, shipping weight, oil quantity, and dimensions with accessories attached. Mark which radiators or bushings can be removed safely.
Include photographs of the pad, gate, overhead conductors, and the first public-road turn so the carrier can evaluate access.
Have the carrier confirm its trailer configuration, loaded height, axle weights, permit status, and required escorts before dispatch. Match the permit route to the pickup address and check its travel restrictions.
Keep a site contact ready to open the gate and coordinate loading within the authorized movement schedule.
Get started
Get an offer in minutes
Five fields is all it takes. Photographs help, but a nameplate and a town are enough to start.
No fee, no obligation. We reply the same business day.
Tell us what you have
We reply the same business day.
Questions
Straight answers
Equipment types
Does every transformer haul need an oversize permit?
No. A transformer haul needs review against the legal dimensions and weights for its vehicle configuration and route. A narrow tank can still create an overweight load.
Service area
When does North Carolina require a pilot car?
Width exceeding 12 feet generally triggers pilot-car requirements, but width alone does not settle the escort plan. Road configuration, loaded height, and other permit conditions can change the requirements.
Payment
Can removing radiators avoid an oversize hauling permit?
Removing radiators may bring loaded width within the usual 8-foot-6-inch benchmark, but it does not resolve excess weight or height. Measure the remaining bushings and brackets, then recalculate the transport configuration.
Logistics
How it affects value: what should a seller know?
Permit requirements affect the practical recovery value of a transformer by changing removal complexity. A wide radiator bank may require escorts even when tank weight is manageable.