Cart-Away MixKing 100 vs. MixKing 1.75

CMK 175 vs. CMT 100: Which Cart-Away Mixer Is Right for You?

For contractors, rental dealers, and municipalities choosing between Cart-Away’s two flagship mixing trailers

When it comes to portable concrete mixing, few decisions matter more than choosing the right trailer for the job. At Cart-Away, we’ve spent over 30 years engineering, manufacturing, and perfecting concrete mixing trailers right here in Oregon, USA. We’ve watched competitors come and go. We’ve seen cheap imports flood the market and fail in the field. Through all of it, Cart-Away has remained the gold standard and today, thousands of our mixers are actively working on job sites all over the world.

If you’re a contractor managing tight schedules, a rental dealer building a fleet, or a municipality that needs a dependable tool for infrastructure repair, the question we hear most often is simple: CMK 175 or CMT 100? Both are outstanding machines. But they’re built for different demands. Here’s how to choose.

Built in Oregon. Built to Last.

Before we get into the specs, let’s talk about what both models share and why it matters.

Every MixKing trailer is fabricated at our facility in Salem, Oregon using tubular A36 structural steel frames, extreme-duty gearboxes, and top-quality hydraulic systems. The direct hydraulic drive, an industry-leading design that Cart-Away pioneered,  replaced the outdated, failure-prone chain-and-sprocket systems that competitors still struggle with. Our GearSaver knob protects your gearbox from damaging shock loads. Our Tandemflex plastic fenders eliminate the bent and cracked steel fender problem that plagued earlier generations of trailers. These innovations weren’t borrowed they were designed and proven by our team over three decades of real-world use.

Many of the original 1993 MixKing trailers are still in service today. That’s not marketing language. That’s the definition of a product done right.

The CMT 100 — The One-Yard Workhorse

The CMT 100 is the trailer that put Cart-Away on the map. Since 1993, the one-cubic-yard concrete mixing trailer has been the backbone of the mid-sized ready-mix industry across North America. If you need a versatile, proven mixer that tows behind almost any half-ton pickup, the CMT 100 is your answer.

Key specs:

• 7,000 lb. GVWR / 1 cubic yard capacity
• Empty weight: 2,440 lbs.
• Tandem 3,500 lb. axles
• 2″ ball coupler
• ST 205/75 D15 Load Range C tires (1,820 lb. rating)
• 13 hp engine
• Hydraulic surge brakes with four-wheel free-backing
• Dimensions: 15’4″ L × 5’7″ W × 6’10” H
• DOT-approved LED lighting

For contractors doing sidewalk repairs, setting fence posts, pouring equipment pads, or handling utility work, the CMT 100 is perfectly sized. For rental dealers, it’s the go-to fleet trailer, lightweight enough that virtually any customer’s truck can tow it safely, even fully loaded. Cities like Salem, Oregon and Safety Harbor, Florida have relied on CMT 100 trailers for years because they’re simple to operate, easy to maintain, and produce consistent quality concrete at a fraction of the cost of short-load delivery.

At roughly $70 per yard in most US markets, compared to the short-load surcharges and standby fees that big transit-mix trucks stack on, the CMT 100 pays for itself fast.

Best for: Rental fleets, light-duty contractors, municipalities with standard sidewalk and infrastructure repair needs, customers new to trailered ready-mix.

The CMK 175 — When One Yard Isn’t Enough

Sometimes the job is bigger. The CMK 175 gives you a 1.75-cubic-yard drum. nearly double the capacity of the CMT 100 while still towing behind a heavy half-ton or larger pickup without a special license. Same proven platform. Same Oregon-made quality. More concrete per cycle.

Key specs:

• 10,000 lb. GVWR / 1.75 cubic yard capacity
• Empty weight: 2,700 lbs.
• Tandem 5,200 lb. axles
• Pintle ring coupler (standard)
• ST 225/75 15″ Load Range D radial tires (2,540 lb. rating)
• 13 hp engine
• Hydraulic surge brakes with four-wheel free-backing
• Dimensions: 15’4″ L × 5’7″ W × 6’10” H
• DOT-approved LED lighting

The CMK 175 is built for heavier commercial use. Utility contractors who need to pour thrust blocks, set large pads, or complete multi-yard projects without constantly cycling the trailer will find the larger drum a significant productivity upgrade. The heavier axle package and higher GVWR rating make it a workhorse for sustained commercial duty. One customer, a utility contractor, poured 48 yards over a day and a half with a single Cart-Away trailer. That kind of output comes from a machine engineered for serious work.

Best for: Active contractors with larger pour volumes, municipalities with heavier infrastructure workloads, rental operations catering to commercial clients, and anyone who regularly runs up against the limits of a one-yard load.

Head-to-Head: Which Should You Choose?

If you’re building a rental fleet and want the widest possible customer base including customers towing with lighter trucks, the CMT 100 is the smarter fleet investment. If you’re a contractor or municipality with consistent high-volume pour needs and a heavy-duty tow vehicle, the CMK 175 will save you time on every job.

Both models are available with the same extensive options list: electric brakes, disc brakes, PortaWash washout systems, discharge chutes, electric start, diesel engine, CARTShield protective coating, enhanced visibility packages, SplashGuard, and the PortaLoader batching system. Both carry a 1-year warranty and are backed by Cart-Away’s industry-leading parts and support network.

What About Budget Options? Introducing U-Cart.

We know that price matters especially for rental dealers and startups building a fleet from scratch. That’s exactly why Cart-Away offers the U-Cart value line.

U-Cart trailers begin as imported drum units manufactured in China. Here’s what sets us apart from every other importer in this space: Cart-Away installs the axles, brakes, wheels, tires, and all DOT-required safety components right here in the United States before a single trailer ships to a customer. We build them to comply with US road and safety standards. We stand behind them with our support network.

Other low-cost competitors are importing fully assembled trailers directly from China with no US modification, no DOT compliance process, and no domestic accountability if something goes wrong on the road. That’s a liability risk and a safety risk that no rental dealer or municipality should accept.

U-Cart gives you a legitimate, compliant, competitively priced option and we will beat any competitor pricing on comparable value-line equipment. Period.

That said, if proven, high-cycle durability is your priority, if you’re running daily rental cycles, pouring concrete for city infrastructure, or building a contracting business on your equipment the CMK 175 and CMT 100 are in a different class entirely. Thousands of them are on the road right now, all over the world, many having mixed well over a million cubic yards of concrete since the early 1990s.

Thirty Years. One Standard.

Cart-Away has been at this since 1993. We’ve outlasted imitators, weathered market shifts, and kept building while others folded. The reason isn’t luck, it’s that we’ve never stopped investing in our product, our manufacturing, and our support. Our equipment is designed by people who understand concrete. It’s built by skilled workers in Oregon. It’s sold and supported by a team that has helped hundreds of businesses launch and grow in the trailered ready-mix space.

Whether you choose the CMT 100, the CMK 175, or the U-Cart value line, you’re working with the company that defined this industry.

Ready to talk through which mixer fits your operation? Call us at 1-888-649-5464 or email sales@cart-away.com. Our team is available Monday through Friday, 6 AM to 5 PM Pacific.

Cart-Away Concrete Systems, Inc. — Salem, Oregon. Making the world a better place through concrete since 1993.