OTish: Riggers to move a Bridgeport from Minnesota to Florida?

TeachMePlease · Jul 2, 2017

So I just bought my first house. I want to put a Bridgeport and a (Hardinge) lathe in my garage eventually. My boss basically offered me a free Bridgeport, if I could get someone to move it from Minnesota to my house in Florida.

What options do I have to get a company to go pack it up, and drive it to me? Do you have specific recommendations for a company? Roughly how much should I expect to pay? I figure anything under 4K is a savings, beyond that, I could probably find something local and (carefully) move it myself. Not a lot of industry here, so it would be a gamble.

Forrest Addy · Jul 2, 2017

I hope I'm not raining on your parade by bringing this up:

Can you afford to ship a free Bridgeport? Minnesota to Florida is nearly 2000 miles. My guess for 2500 # over the road shipping would be $1200 to $2000. Your boss got a load going to FL? Got a buddy with a truck heading your way on other business? If you went to fetch it you could figure ten days plus fuel and lodging.

Nice of your boss to offer, but sometimes "free" is expensive once the total bill in funds, frustration, and time is settled

Jaxian · Jul 2, 2017

Not sure on distance from you to him but I will relate my recent shipping cost.

Hyundai-Kia SKT-250 13,000lbs 7'x7'x10'. Distance was 900 miles from Seattle to Santa Cruz. Total cost without cover was $845, cover was $50 extra. The dealer could load and obviously with a machine this size I just had it taken directly to the rigger to unload.

If you can unload something as small as a Bridgeport on your end that would be that. Will need to rent a fork if you don't own one to get it off a flatbed though. No prybars and rollers crap with LTL truckers. They get antsy.

The broker I used was a nationwide outfit named Armstrong Trucking. But I got a few different quotes and they were all in the same price range. This was insured for the full replacement value of machine. YMMV.

This was set up through my local used machinery dealer who has lots of work with shipping brokers. I got the impression if I tried to do it myself it would have been more. How much, I have no clue. I do know that a 1000lb machine from Nevada to me was $400 on the dealers shipping account and $2200 on mine. So it pays to know someone I guess.

Mike1974 · Jul 2, 2017

Forrest Addy said:
I hope I'm not raining on your parade by bringing this up:

Can you afford to ship a free Bridgeport? Minnesota to Florida is nearly 2000 miles. My guess for 2500 # over the road shipping would be $1200 to $2000. Your boss got a load going to FL? Got a buddy with a truck heading your way on other business? If you went to fetch it you could figure ten days plus fuel and lodging.

Nice of your boss to offer, but sometimes "free" is expensive once the total bill in funds, frustration, and time is settled

Just wondering where you get 10 days travel from? I have driven from mid Fl to northern IN in about 18-20 hours, not racing, and not really taking our time, just a 'regular' pace... Of course that is in a (comfortable) car, not a flatbed truck or anything, but still I would think about 3-4 days tops, including a full day to load, and at least one stay at a motel.

projectnut · Jul 2, 2017

I think you're going to find the cost of shipping a Bridgeport from Minnesota to Florida is extremely expensive. I got estimates from two companies earlier this year to ship a Sheldon Lathe from the Chicago area to Madison Wisconsin. The low bid was $2,200.00. The high bid was over $3,300.00. I ended up renting a drop bed trailer and doing the job myself for less then $200.00.

You don't have enough equipment for a full load so the riggers will have several other stops delivering equipment for other people or businesses. Ten days sounds about right given there can be as many as a dozen stops between Minnesota and Florida. The other thing is that they won't even make the trip unless they have a full or nearly full load. That means it could be weeks or even months before they get enough equipment to make the trip. The only way to get it there in a day or so is to pay for a full load. When our company equipment shipped equipment across the country 20 years ago the cost of a full load was in the neighborhood of $50,000.00 per load. The company I worked for regularly rebuilt machinery in house and had it shipped to our production facilities. We had a standing contract with a local rigging company and paid about half the going rate for a single load.

ernieflash · Jul 2, 2017

I shipped Two Bps from RI to FL and a 13x30 clausing and I got a trucker to do it for 600 .as long as you are not in a rush.
USHIP.com

rustytool · Jul 2, 2017

Call Tyler at Satellite Transportation. 541-772-9934.
He can get you a quote for the whole shebang. Rigging, trucking. Air ride flat bed by reliable trucking company.

Bobw · Jul 2, 2017

projectnut said:
I think you're going to find the cost of shipping a Bridgeport from Minnesota to Florida is extremely expensive. I got estimates from two companies earlier this year.......etc....

That's the same problem I've had with shipping big stuff, when I go
out for quotes, the prices are fricken crazy...

I've learned to let somebody else arrange the shipping.. If you are going to need a rigger
on the far end, or the near end, get them to do it.. If there is a machinery dealer involved,
get them to do it...

Even if its full private sale, and no riggers involved, I would make a call to my local machine
tool salesman, order some coolant or something, ask about some new machines, then ask for a favor..

I figure shipping machines is like having a fence* put it... Its cheaper and easier to make
one phone call and let the professionals work out the details.

*the fence thing, everytime I've had fencing done, I can't even buy the
materials for the price it cost to have someone come in and do it, and do
it right.

moonlight machine · Jul 2, 2017

Forrest Addy said:
I hope I'm not raining on your parade by bringing this up:

Can you afford to ship a free Bridgeport? Minnesota to Florida is nearly 2000 miles. My guess for 2500 # over the road shipping would be $1200 to $2000. Your boss got a load going to FL? Got a buddy with a truck heading your way on other business? If you went to fetch it you could figure ten days plus fuel and lodging.

Nice of your boss to offer, but sometimes "free" is expensive once the total bill in funds, frustration, and time is settled

10 days? By way of LA or what? Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale is about 1800 miles, I'v done it in 24 hours many times.

rke[pler · Jul 2, 2017

I've shipped things like that by having them deadheaded on a trailer through YesterdaysTractors, your cost is usually the fuel and detour, your price is that the load is not well controlled for loading and shipping. They have listings on a board:

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/haulquery.pl

If it were smaller I'd suggest using Fastenal's 3PL service. Pretty inexpensive service from a Fastenal location to any other Fastenal location but the load really has to be crated.

Zahnrad Kopf · Jul 2, 2017

I bought my first Bridgeport while I lived in Miami. It was located in Bronx. I borrowed an F350, drove to South Bronx, forked it into the bed of the F350, secured it with what I now know to be anemic and wholly inadequate ratchet straps, and drove straight back. I did the whole thing in 4 days. It sucked. And it set a very unfortunate precedent that would follow me for decades after... I've since done many, many stupid things similar in nature. I have also learned a lot more about rigging and moving machinery.

Grab a vehicle and trailer and go get it. Rig it properly, bring it home, and enjoy your new machine and adventure.

Make sure you stop by and let me buy you a burger on the way back through.

ewlsey · Jul 2, 2017

I shipped a Van Norman mill from my shop in Illinois to Georgia for $750 for a PM member. I had to go pick it up and a build a crate, so that cost a bit more. It weighed about twice as much as a Bridgeport. Shipped in a regular van trailer.

Figuring a decent Bridgeport sells for $1500 to $4000, you might just break even or come out pretty well.

Forrest Addy · Jul 2, 2017

Mike1974 said:
Just wondering where you get 10 days travel from? I have driven from mid Fl to northern IN in about 18-20 hours, not racing, and not really taking our time, just a 'regular' pace... Of course that is in a (comfortable) car, not a flatbed truck or anything, but still I would think about 3-4 days tops, including a full day to load, and at least one stay at a motel.

I'm an old guy used to budgeting for contingencies. Maybe that influenced my estimate. I figured 500 miles a day 4 day en route, 2 days on site and 4 days back.

When I was 30 I drove from El Paso to Puget Sound in 2 days and I was wiped. The more you anticipate ideal progress the more Murphy's Law is likely to dashed the heady cup of victory is from your lips. Just sayin'.

extropic · Jul 2, 2017

moonlight machine said:
10 days? By way of LA or what? Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale is about 1800 miles, I'v done it in 24 hours many times.

1800Mi/24Hrs = 75MPH So you averaged 75 for 24 hours straight. What sort of plane were you flying? How many BPs in the back?

Try to stay on the subject.

extropic · Jul 2, 2017

Check out the feasibility of using Fastenal. Get a quote from a rigger to pick it up, crate it and deliver it to Fastenal in MN.

Zahnrad Kopf · Jul 2, 2017

extropic said:
1800Mi/24Hrs = 75MPH So you averaged 75 for 24 hours straight. What sort of plane were you flying? How many BPs in the back? Try to stay on the subject.

I''m not as young as I was once, but I used to do those sort of trips at the drop of a hat. Two people in the vehicle, trading shifts, with packed food, and willfully ignorant of slower speed limits make that relatively easy to make possible. 24? No. But 28? Sure thing. It's been done more times than people might like to know. Lot of memories made that way.

extropic · Jul 2, 2017

Zahnrad Kopf said:
I''m not as young as I was once, but I used to do those sort of trips at the drop of a hat. Two people in the vehicle, trading shifts, with packed food, and willfully ignorant of slower speed limits make that relatively easy to make possible. 24? No. But 28? Sure thing. It's been done more times than people might like to know. Lot of memories made that way.

You're absolutely correct. Surviving our bad judgment, hopefully has lead to better judgment.

But none of that has ANYTHING to do with the OPs question, does it?

Zahnrad Kopf · Jul 2, 2017

extropic said:
But none of that has ANYTHING to do with the OPs question, does it?

Maybe not to someone looking in from the outside. But as someone that speaks with the OP outside of this internet forum enough to be able to make personal recommendations, I feel it is absolutely relevant to bring up ( and point out ) to him.

m16ty · Jul 2, 2017

Cheapest way to ship something like this is to ship it LTL. To ship LTL, you will at least have to put it on a skid, a complete crate would be better, but a skid will work. You can usually ship something all the way across the country in the Bridgeport size range for less than $1,000.

extropic · Jul 2, 2017

Zahnrad Kopf said:
Maybe not to someone looking in from the outside. But as someone that speaks with the OP outside of this internet forum enough to be able to make personal recommendations, I feel it is absolutely relevant to bring up ( and point out ) to him.

Brilliant!

OTish: Riggers to move a Bridgeport from Minnesota to Florida?

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