One project, very different freight
A single solar project can involve four or five kinds of freight that each want different handling. Panels are fragile and travel flat. Racking is long, heavy steel or aluminum. Inverters and switchgear are high-value electrical equipment that must stay upright and dry. Batteries can be regulated. Treating it all as "solar freight" is how panels get cracked and crews get left waiting. Each component needs to be planned on its own terms.
Component by component
Panels
Modules ship boxed on pallets, usually in a dry van or on a tarped flatbed. They should be handled flat and loaded the way the manufacturer specifies, because flexing and impact can cause micro-cracks that may not be visible from outside the box. Pallets generally should not be double-stacked unless the manufacturer allows it. Pallet count, pallet dimensions and weight, and how the site plans to unload all belong in the shipping details.
Worked example (illustrative): panels for a 5,000-module phase
One manufacturer's packaging sheet shows what the numbers look like. REC's TwinPeak 2 data sheet lists 26 panels per pallet, a pallet footprint of 68 × 41 in, a stack weight (pallet plus panels) of about 520 kg (1,150 lb), a limit of two pallets stacked for transport, and 884 panels per 53 ft truck (34 pallets). That is 34 × 1,150 = 39,100 lb on one truck, inside the 42,000–45,000 lb payload range the pallet calculator uses for a 53 ft van. A 5,000-module phase of that product is 5,000 ÷ 884 = 5.7 truckloads: five full trucks (4,420 panels) and a sixth with 580 panels, which is 22.3, so 23 pallets or about 26,450 lb. The sheet also specifies a minimum fork length of 47 in for the long side, which is a question for the site's telehandler. These are one product family's figures from the revision of the sheet marked 11.18; every module and every manufacturer differs, so take the numbers for your own panel from its packaging sheet.
Racking and rails
Racking, posts, piles and rails are long and dense — a typical flatbed job. The questions are the longest piece, bundle weights and whether bundles are banded on dunnage so forks can get under them.
Inverters
String inverters ship palletized and can go in a van; larger central inverters are crated or skidded and often go on a flatbed or hotshot. They usually need to stay upright and protected from weather.
Batteries and storage
Battery details — chemistry, classification, packaging and shipping papers — come from the shipper. Whether a shipment can move at all is confirmed per load, and no one should quote it until that's settled.
Transformers and switchgear
Pad-mount transformers, switchgear and combiner equipment are typically moved by hotshot or flatbed, crated, upright and tarped as required. See our guide to shipping motors and switchgear for the details that matter.
Project-phase deliveries
Solar sites receive in sequence: piles and racking first, then modules, then inverters and electrical. The schedule moves when weather, permits or crews slip. For phased work, the full schedule should be shared up front, each phase quoted on its own, and every delivery reconfirmed with the site before dispatch so trucks don't arrive to a site that isn't ready for that component yet. Repeat phases on the same project can run as a recurring lane.
Site access, contacts and unloading
Utility-scale and commercial sites are often rural, unpaved and gated. Before a truck heads out, confirm:
- Address and gate — a precise drop location, gate code or laydown yard, not just the nearest road.
- Access — can a tractor-trailer get in, turn around and stay on firm ground in wet weather?
- Receiving contact — a named person with a phone number who will be on site at the delivery time.
- Unloading equipment — telehandler, forklift with long forks, or crane, and its rated capacity for the heaviest piece.
- Receiving hours — many sites unload only during crew hours.
Planned coverage once we open: Hotshot and flatbed freight nationwide (lower 48). Dry van truckload across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee. USA only — no cross-border, no drayage, no rail, no temperature-controlled freight.
For planning numbers, read what it costs to ship switchgear and electrical equipment to a jobsite and the cost to ship a generator, both sourced and dated, or run the miles in the hotshot estimator. Smaller phased deliveries often ride a hotshot deck.
Have a delivery schedule? Tell us about your freight and include the phases and dates — we'll contact you the day we open.