Prefab home delivery and installation is the step where a small oversight can cost a whole day. A wendy house kit fits on a flatbed or a bakkie and trailer; a park home, modular unit or container home needs a crane truck or a long trailer, and sometimes a permit and an escort. Then a team sets it on the base, joins it, fixes it down and closes it up for the plumber and electrician. Send one free, no-obligation request and transport and installation teams near you quote you directly.
Kinds of delivery and installation
- Flatbed or bakkie and trailer for kits and panels, offloaded by the crew or with a small crane, then built on site.
- Crane truck for container homes, small modules and site units, lifted straight onto the base.
- Low-bed or long trailer for wide park homes and big modules, often with a separate mobile crane.
- Erection crews who stand panels, fix roofs, join modules and seal the joints.
Some makers include delivery and erection in their price; others leave it to you to arrange.
Prefab home delivery and installation: checking access
Before you book, walk the route from the road to the base and measure. Check:
- Gate and road width, tight corners, steep driveways and soft ground where a heavy truck could sink.
- Overhead cables, trees and roof overhangs where a crane boom has to swing.
- Where the truck stands: firm, level ground close enough for the crane to reach with the load.
- The street: whether parked cars or a narrow road will block the truck for a while.
Send photos and measurements with your request so the crew can choose the right truck and crane.
Permits, the base and common mistakes
A wide or heavy load may need an abnormal load permit and an escort vehicle, which the transporter usually arranges. The slab or plinths must be finished, level and set before the unit arrives. Common mistakes:
- Booking the truck before the base is ready, then paying for a wasted trip.
- Not mentioning a slope or a narrow gate, so the crane can't reach.
- No one on site to receive the load and check it for damage.
- Forgetting the electrician and plumber, who connect the services and issue certificates afterwards.
What affects the price and what to ask
Delivery and installation are quoted per job. The price depends on the distance, the size and weight of the load, the crane size and hours, permits and escorts, the access, and how much erection work the team does. Ask each transporter or crew:
- Is the crane included, and how many hours does the price cover?
- Are permits and escorts included for a wide load?
- Is the unit insured on the truck and during the lift?
- Does erection include joining, fixing down, sealing and clearing up?
If you still need a builder for the rest of the job, ask for one quote that covers both.
What to put in your request
- What is being moved and its size
- Collection and site addresses
- Photos of the gate, driveway and base
- Overhead cables or trees near the base
- Whether you need erection as well
Delivery and Installation for different clients
- Homeowners: a crane lift of a modular room or container over the house onto the slab
- Backyard landlords and families: kit loads for several rental rooms delivered to a narrow township stand
- Farms and smallholdings: a long haul of a park home or container to a farm down a dirt road
- Lodges, guest farms and resorts: units trucked to a remote bush site and craned onto stilts or plinths
- Schools and creches: classroom units delivered and craned in during the holidays, with access checked
- Contractors and mines: site offices and camp units moved from one project to the next on a crane truck
- Shops, offices and small businesses: a container shop or office lifted into place on a business stand
- Municipalities, churches and NGOs: emergency housing units trucked in and set up quickly after floods or fires
Frequently asked questions
How much does prefab home delivery and installation cost?
Can a crane truck reach my back yard?
Do I need a permit to move a park home or modular unit?
Can a prefab home be moved again later?
Delivery and Installation by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg