Reputable shipper for a motor needed

[DFRESH]

So, my LS3 needs to take a ride from Cali to Virginia. It's crated up and ready to go. Have any of my car family here used a reputable shipping company for a motor, trans, etc. in the past and would you recommend them? It would be a door to door delivery---need a lift gate and a pallet jack to get it done. Please let me know-----thanks in advance.

Doug

[Tim john---]

Fed Ex "Freight" or UPS "Freight" has always treated me well. I personally have never experienced any damage with big items such as drivetrains. Small items I have had different results but that was with standard ground delivery.

Tim john---

[SSLance]

I run a mail and parcel store here in KC and we do a lot of LTL shipments as well. I can probably set up the shipping for you remotely and get you a better deal than if you walked into a shipping company without an account.

Couple of hints that may help... First, LTL companies are not the best at picking up and making deliveries in residential areas. Your experience (and cost) will likely be much better if you can arrange to drop it off at the freight terminal and arrange to have it picked up at the consignee freight terminal. Do you have a way to figure out the weight of the whole pallet pretty accurately? Second, make sure it is secure to the pallet with nothing hanging over the edges and stretch wrapped. It'll be loaded and unloaded off of trucks 5-10 times along the way and anything you can do to make it idiot proof for the forklift drivers is time well spent in preventing damage. Speaking of damage, carrier liability for used items is next too nothing...if it is a high value item, you should look into third party declared value coverage...which I can do for you as well.

If you are interested in me helping you out, send me a PM with the particulars of the shipment and I'll get you some quotes. We use a freight broker that does huge volume with all of the major carriers so we input all of the details and just pick the carrier that best fits our needs. They are all pretty good as far as getting things from one place to another, main thing you need to worry about is just getting it prepared for the shipment properly.

If you can't arrange the terminal to terminal deal, it can be arranged for residential pickup and delivery...just keep in mind that it gets much more pricey and things aren't always as smooth in this regard. Sometimes they'll show up without a liftgate or more likely without a pallet jack and they'll have to reschedule the pickup or delivery.

[DFRESH]

Originally Posted by SSLance

I run a mail and parcel store here in KC and we do a lot of LTL shipments as well. I can probably set up the shipping for you remotely and get you a better deal than if you walked into a shipping company without an account.

Couple of hints that may help... First, LTL companies are not the best at picking up and making deliveries in residential areas. Your experience (and cost) will likely be much better if you can arrange to drop it off at the freight terminal and arrange to have it picked up at the consignee freight terminal. Do you have a way to figure out the weight of the whole pallet pretty accurately? Second, make sure it is secure to the pallet with nothing hanging over the edges and stretch wrapped. It'll be loaded and unloaded off of trucks 5-10 times along the way and anything you can do to make it idiot proof for the forklift drivers is time well spent in preventing damage. Speaking of damage, carrier liability for used items is next too nothing...if it is a high value item, you should look into third party declared value coverage...which I can do for you as well.

If you are interested in me helping you out, send me a PM with the particulars of the shipment and I'll get you some quotes. We use a freight broker that does huge volume with all of the major carriers so we input all of the details and just pick the carrier that best fits our needs. They are all pretty good as far as getting things from one place to another, main thing you need to worry about is just getting it prepared for the shipment properly.

If you can't arrange the terminal to terminal deal, it can be arranged for residential pickup and delivery...just keep in mind that it gets much more pricey and things aren't always as smooth in this regard. Sometimes they'll show up without a liftgate or more likely without a pallet jack and they'll have to reschedule the pickup or delivery.

Thanks Lance. Sent you a PM

[rustomatic]

To second what Lance said, do your mighty best to over-engineer your crating setup. Expect it to be stabbed and dropped by forklifts (between bouts of bouncing and crushing in a trailer), so as to mitigate annoyance and disappointment. Your own packing is your best insurance.

One of the key benefits to terminal-to-terminal shipment is that it can limit handling by dingleberries with forklifts...