[rescue] shipping large, heavy things

[Rick Hamell]

On 5/11/13 10:17 PM, Phil Stracchino wrote:
> On 05/12/13 00:53, John Floren wrote:
>> "Freight forwarder", hah! Getting the right set of words to google is
>> like learning a magic spell--I say the words just right and things
>> appear!
>>
>> I'm estimating but this thing probably weighs 150-200 lbs and is
>> something like 3 ft high, 3 ft deep, and 6 feet wide. Can you give
>> some examples of things you shipped and what it cost? $200-$300 would
>> be good, $1000 is more than it's worth.
> My recollection is that having a 600lb safe shipped to me via truck
> freight cost me about $150, but that was nearly 20 years ago.
>
>
I just did a dozen 50-foot trucks for $2400 each from LA to Portland. It 
cost me about $200 to have just one of the pallets shipped the same 
distance. Note that it'd only be about $40 more for me to have shipped 
it from LA to Memphis, because most of the cost in freight is in the 
pickup and drop off.

You're going to need to do a bit of ground work here. UPS will do 
freight of this size, and you can also look at the shipping "PODS" where 
they drop one off, you load it up, they ship it to the new location. 
Some of the bigger shipping companies will do this, but cost wise 
they'll be comparable to UPS so you might as well go that route.

You'll need an oversize pallet for that desk. Look in your local "phone 
book" for a company that specializes in shipping pallets, or cruise 
around the industrial area to find them sitting behind buildings and ask 
the company if you can have it. They usually come in 4, 6, and 8 foot 
lengths, and are usually about 42 inches wide, so a six footer should do 
you fine. You'll want to let the freight company know that they will 
need a lift gate at both ends (unless you have access to a loading 
dock,) that it won't be stackable in the truck, and that they'll need to 
provide loading and unloading services. All of these may add to the cost.

I'd suggest laying the desk upside down on top of a piece of cardboard 
to keep the pallet from scratching it up, then using standard tension 
straps (available at any auto-parts store,) to secure it to the pallet. 
Make sure that you don't run the straps through the ends where the 
forklift/hand truck would pick it up.

The other thing to note is that the truck driver will want to offload 
ASAP, in my case I was receiving shipments three days later but very 
early in the morning. If you need an afternoon or evening delivery, they 
may charge you a bit extra to hold on to it longer, but that depends on 
the company.

-- 
Rick Hamell

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