How Vertical Balers Are Shipped
Ever wonder why some vertical balers are shipped on their sides, while others are shipped standing up? Or why some are transported with their cylinders dropped, and some have their cylinders ready to use right away? We have the answers here!
Harmony Enterprises has been leading the recycling industry with the design, manufacturing, and shipping of quality vertical recycling balers for over a half of a century. Its through that vast experience that we are happy to share the reasons vertical balers are shipped the way they are.
This can be helpful information when it comes to the installation and set up of your long lasting Harmony recycling equipment.
Why Some Balers Are Shipped On Their Sides

These two T60XDRC balers, power units, and conveyors all fit onto a straight flatbed truck when laid on their sides.
Some larger balers, like our M48HD, or mill-sized M60CB, M60STD, S60XD/XDRC, and T60XD/XDRC are shipped on their sides. This allows them to be moved using a straight floor flatbed, rather than a drop deck trailer. A drop deck flatbed (also known as a step deck or lowboy trailer) is a platform semi-trailer with no roof, sides and doors, and it has two deck levels. The floor drops down after it clears the tractor unit. The lower deck allows for hauling taller loads than a regular straight floor flatbed.
If they were shipped standing up, they would be over the legal limit for tall cargo. Strapping them to the larger flat surface area of a straight floor flatbed allows them to be shipped on a style of trailer that is typically more readily available and less expensive to hire.
One thing to keep in mind when installing any of these larger vertical balers is that we recommend using a 5000-15,000 lb. forklift to tip these balers upright and move them into their operating positions.
Vertical Balers That Are Shipped Upright
Other vertical balers, like our M30STD, M30HD, M42HD, M60MD, and M72HD are all shipped standing up with their cylinders dropped to allow for maximum deck space on the trailer.
Raising the cylinder during the installation of these balers if very routine for qualified service techs and can be handled by most maintenance staff with little instruction.
These instructions are included in detail in every owner’s manual. If you would rather watch a video of this process, our video library includes several helpful resources, including a video that shows how to raise the cylinder of a vertical baler that was shipped with the cylinder dropped!
Harmony’s M42BC Vertical Stockroom Baler is the “white unicorn of the group!With its innovative space-saving design, this baler can be shipped upright with the cylinder attached and ready for use.
It has a shipping height of 78″ with an overall height of just 93”.
The M42BC is even manufactured with swivel casters to allow it to be rolled under a normal doorway and into position under a normal 8′ ceiling!
Do You Have Questions About Shipping Vertical Balers?
Harmony is here to help! We include shipping specifications as part of the drop down information found under the gray Product Specs tab on each product page.
This is located beneath the image gallery, product video, and product diagram/literature tabs on the lower right side of each product page.
You can also use our live chat feature on our website to chat with a customer service representative in real time who can help you with questions you might have related to how vertical balers are shipped.
If you still need help, our knowledgeable sales team, customer service, and logistics experts are a phone call away at (507) 886-6666, or you can fill out this simple form to answer any questions you might have about how your equipment is shipped and installed.