Donate a concrete mixer, from a portable drum to a full mixer truck

Where donated mixers come from

Ready-mix companies and concrete contractors send the trucks. A mixer truck comes off a fleet on a mileage or drum-wear schedule, and the resale market for an older unit is thin enough that a donation is often the cleaner exit.

Towable and portable mixers come from contractors, masons, farms and estates. A one-bag or nine-cubic-foot mixer sits in a shed for a decade after the last patio pour. They are inexpensive to haul and they sell steadily.

We also see volumetric mixers and plant equipment: batch plants, bins, conveyors and cement silos. Those are handled case by case, and the deciding question is always whether dismantling and hauling leaves anything for the cause.

A truck drives; a towable rides

A mixer truck that is road-legal and running is usually driven rather than hauled, which is far cheaper and keeps more of the sale with the cause. It needs current registration, brakes that pass and a driver with the right endorsement, all of which we arrange.

A mixer truck that does not run goes on a heavy lowboy, and that is an expensive move. On an older unit it is sometimes the case that the haul plus the auction fees exceed what the truck will bring. If that is where your truck sits, we will tell you and point you toward a local buyer instead.

Towable mixers hitch to a pickup. Portable and electric mixers ride in a truck bed. Both are simple, and if you have several they travel together on one trip.

What decides what a mixer brings

• Drum condition. On a mixer truck this is the whole question. Blade wear, buildup and drum shell thickness set the price before the engine is even started.
• Chassis, mileage and emissions tier. Engine emissions tier affects where a truck can legally work, which affects who will buy it.
• Running or not. A running mixer truck can be driven to the sale. A dead one needs a lowboy, and that cost comes out of the proceeds.
• On towables: motor and drum. Whether the engine or motor runs, and whether the drum and ring gear are intact.
• Quantity. Several small mixers, or a mixer plus other equipment, share one trip and one pickup cost.

Makes and models we accept

Mixers are shopped by body maker as much as by chassis.

• Mixer truck bodies: McNeilus, Oshkosh S-series, Continental, London, Beck, Terex Advance Front Discharge, Rex.
• Chassis: Mack, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, International, Western Star, Oshkosh.
• Volumetric and portable: Cemen Tech, ProAll, Multiquip Whiteman, Crown, Stone, Kushlan, Gilson, Essick, Marshalltown, Con-E-Co and Vince Hagan plant equipment.

Not seeing yours? The list above is a search aid, not a restriction. We accept any make or model in this category, named here or not, including orphan brands and builders long out of business. What decides a donation is the condition and the paperwork, never the badge, so put yours on the form even if it is not listed.

Manufacturer names appear here so you can find your own machine. No manufacturer sponsors, endorses or is affiliated with this program.

The paperwork, and what you can deduct

A mixer truck is a titled vehicle. The title has to transfer, and if it is missing we will walk you through your state's replacement process on the state title rules page. A towable mixer may or may not be titled depending on the state; a portable mixer is not titled at all and a bill of sale is enough.

Giving Center sells the mixer and your deduction is the gross sale proceeds, reported on Form 1098-C. A running mixer truck will normally clear $5,000, which means a qualified appraisal and Form 8283 Section B, at your expense and by your choice. A portable mixer typically sells under $500, where you deduct the lesser of fair market value or $500 and we issue a written acknowledgment.

If the truck is a business asset that has been depreciated, or if you are donating a mixer truck out of a company fleet, have your accountant look at it before the pickup. Business property rules differ from personal donation rules.