Shipping / Freight

[POS Racing]

So I sold a machine which is always good, but now I need to get it to San Antonio and customer told me to arrange the freight.

So any advice for a newbie, I don't have a clue what a decent freight rate would be. I would like to find my customer the best deal I can.

Any of you kids got experience with shipping stuff?

TIA

[POS Racing]

BTW. it is bigger than a bread box:

It’s 1900 lbs. on a skid; class 100

Depth = 54”
Width = 38”
Height = 82”

[Titus]

From what I have heard, it might be less of a hassle for you to just drive it down there.

Also, if pick up or drop off location does not have a loading dock and fork lift, the cost jumps up a good bit.

[Ataim]

Does it need to covered? Hot shots are sometimes less expensive on short hauls like that. Especially if you can find one that would be going back home empty. I'd call hot shot in SA and see if they are coming this way.

[POS Racing]

From what I have heard, it might be less of a hassle for you to just drive it down there.

Also, if pick up or drop off location does not have a loading dock and fork lift, the cost jumps up a good bit.

No dock here at the World Headquarters, normally when I get theses machines they show up on a lift gate truck, so we can move them with a pallet jack. So I guess I need a truck with lift gate capability, glad I posted this I totally forgot about the lift gate....

Does it need to covered? Hot shots are sometimes less expensive on short hauls like that. Especially if you can find one that would be going back home empty. I'd call hot shot in SA and see if they are coming this way.

If it wasn't raining for the next couple of days I'd say open would work, but with monsoon in the forecast I'd feel better if it went in a closed trailer, since I also get to install and warranty this machine.

Are hotshots normally just open trailers??

[Titus]

No dock here at the World Headquarters, normally when I get theses machines they show up on a lift gate truck, so we can move them with a pallet jack. So I guess I need a truck with lift gate capability, glad I posted this I totally forgot about the lift gate....

Yeah... I have been hearing horror stories from people trying to get LSiS kits shipped to them.

"The delivery location doesn't have a dock? That means we are going to need a truck with a lift gate... That is going to cost more $$."

"You need it to come on a truck with a lift gate? My normal shipping company doesn't offer lift gates. We will need to find a company that does. That is going to cost more $$$."

"The delivery address is a residence? That is going to cost more $$$$. You know what, why don't you just bend over right now and we can get started."

[Billy Blaze]

Talk to Cam on the board.

[jrj512]

I used to get Ryder trucks with lift gates from the Ryder on I-35W and (I think) Berry St when I hauled our trade show booth up to Chicago. Diesel engines, manual transmissions, driver's seat with the built in shock, and all. It worked out well for us. You might want to try them out, as they seem to cater to freight needs rather than apartment movers.

Another idea if they do not have a dock is to tie a rope around the skid and tie the other end to the phone poll. Put the truck into drive, floor it, and either the skip will slide right out the back or you will have a phone poll drop. Hopefully the prior. Regardless of the outcome, just keep driving.

[Titus]

Another idea if they do not have a dock is to tie a rope around the skid and tie the other end to the phone poll. Put the truck into drive, floor it, and either the skip will slide right out the back or you will have a phone poll drop. Hopefully the prior. Regardless of the outcome, just keep driving.

[VFR750]

I have used www.freightquote.com many times for shipping motorcycle engines I have sold.............

[altiain]

Are hotshots normally just open trailers??

We hotshot a lot of our smaller parts, and I've only ever seen them come in on open flatbeds.

Would a tarp and an open flatbed not work? How sensitive is this machine to water contamination?

[cam76034]

Yeah... I have been hearing horror stories from people trying to get LSiS kits shipped to them.

"The delivery location doesn't have a dock? That means we are going to need a truck with a lift gate... That is going to cost more $$."

"You need it to come on a truck with a lift gate? My normal shipping company doesn't offer lift gates. We will need to find a company that does. That is going to cost more $$$."

"The delivery address is a residence? That is going to cost more $$$$. You know what, why don't you just bend over right now and we can get started."

This is all true. Any services outside of standard commercial dock to dock delivery always have additional surcharges. You would be wise to look closely at those, as they can vary widely between carriers. Make sure any fuel surcharges and insurance are included in the final quote.
$475 (depending on zip code)
Residential $25 (per occurrence)
LG $40 (per occurrence)
Overnight service only.
Insurance .50 per $100 declared value.

[channelmaniac]

We hotshot a lot of our smaller parts, and I've only ever seen them come in on open flatbeds.

Would a tarp and an open flatbed not work? How sensitive is this machine to water contamination?

Machine shop tools? I'd say pretty sensitive.

[CosmosMpower]

freightquote.com is pretty cheap usually. You do have to be careful about extra charges, LTL companies usually charge extra for inside delivery, liftgate, fuel surcharges etc etc and sometimes even send a second seperate bill with the BS charges.

If you're interested I know a few people at FedEx freight and might be able to get you a good deal. I mostly work with under 150 lbs packages myself though.

[POS Racing]

This is all true. Any services outside of standard commercial dock to dock delivery always have additional surcharges. You would be wise to look closely at those, as they can vary widely between carriers. Make sure any fuel surcharges and insurance are included in the final quote.
$475 (depending on zip code)
Residential $25 (per occurrence)
LG $40 (per occurrence)
Overnight service only.
Insurance .50 per $100 declared value.

Wow you sound like you know what your talking about! Any recommendations on who to use??

[cam76034]

Another idea if they do not have a dock is to tie a rope around the skid and tie the other end to the phone poll. Put the truck into drive, floor it, and either the skip will slide right out the back or you will have a phone poll drop. Hopefully the prior. Regardless of the outcome, just keep driving.

But you got such a cheap rate! Actually there are a lot of bootleg guys out there on freightquote that do worse than this.

Once upon a time one of our clients needed to ship an entire helicopter airframe cross country. They found someone who would do it much cheaper than our quote. When it arrived at the destination, the tail assembly was bent and full of tree limbs. The main rotor shaft was bent, with extensive damage to the transmission. As I recall, it was over $350,000 of damage. They never collected a dime from the carrier, as they didn't read the fine print release of liability jargon on the bill of lading.

[cam76034]

Wow you sound like you know what your talking about! Any recommendations on who to use??

Been doing it for close to 30 years. Started out building shipping crates for exports to Saudi Arabia in 1977. Speaking of which, this thing is properly crated, right? That quote is what we would charge. If you'd like a recommendation of who NOT to use, I can PM you the name of the outfit that damaged that helicopter.

[POS Racing]

OK Question, I went to a rate quote website, and got some rates, then I went to the actual freight company website and requested a quote. The freight company was almost twice as much as the rate quote price.

How can that be??

[cam76034]

Was the web quote through a broker? That's the first thing that comes to mind.

[jrj512]

Just buy a 12-pack, rent the Ryder, and we can all drive it down there. How hard can it be?

NMT - Not My Tool