Shipping heavy transformer

rke[pler

Diamond

Joined

Feb 19, 2002

Location

Peralta, NM USA

• Mar 18, 2019

• #1

I've been trying to find a decent method of shipping a TR-9753 from New Mexico to Mark Anderson in Washington. The problem is that either the quotes I get are absurd ($300 from Fastenal) or exclude it on weight (I weighed the transformer and it came in at 130 pounds). I could wrap it in wood and throw it to UPS but I somehow doubt it'd make it (I tried to price things on the UPS site and it's unusable {finally got an estimate of $173 UPS ground, $215 for ground at freight prices as a class 50 and 150 pounds}). I've used Forward Air before but the nearest terminal to Mark is Seattle and 500 miles.

All the prices I'm seeing seem kind of extreme. Am I just missing some options? Something LTL that's a little more reasonable? I'm planning on tossing it on a 30x30 pallet and crating over it.

 

L

labeeman

Hot Rolled

Joined

Mar 29, 2016

• Mar 18, 2019

• #2

Have you tried FedEx freight?

 

D

dalmatiangirl61

Diamond

Joined

Jan 31, 2011

Location

BFE Nevada/San Marcos Tx

• Mar 18, 2019

• #3

You might want to check out U-Ship, I've used them many times for small odd loads. If in a hurry use the "instant quotes", they will all be major carriers. If you have time to wait, put it in the bid section, this is where the small time shippers work. I have had fairly good success listing in the motorcycle transporter category, they have little niches leftover from the bikes. In the bid section you will get high quotes, sometimes absurd quotes, but eventually you might get a more reasonable quote. Beating the $200 mark might be tough, UPS ground is probably best bet, but making it there undamaged gets iffy with conveyor sorters that run 70mph and use baseball bats to sort. The good thing about shipping freight is they do not run on conveyors, or get pitched by gorillas.

 

L

lectrician1

Hot Rolled

Joined

Mar 6, 2012

Location

Las Vegas

• Mar 18, 2019

• #4

under 150 lbs you can ship it fedex ground. that is the cheapest. go online and set up an account.

 

2

220swift

Stainless

Joined

Oct 19, 2004

Location

Montana

• Mar 18, 2019

• #5

Yesterday's tractors.com
Sometimes has people hauling freight that will pick up freight.
Worth a look.

Hal

 

M

Mark999

Aluminum

Joined

Mar 29, 2018

• Mar 19, 2019

• #6

I really appreciate your efforts in getting this shipped. I just checked for a quote and got $266. If that $173 quote is valid that would work for me.
Thanks,
M

 

Chip Chester

Diamond

Joined

Dec 13, 2007

Location

Central Ohio USA

• Mar 20, 2019

• #7

If you're not in a hurry, find someone shipping something light, but large, and having to pay 'dimensional weight'. Then, put your thing in their thing and ship, sharing the cost.

Might have to wait a bit for that opportunity, though. Greyhound used to be a reasonable way to ship stuff like that -- in the belly of the beast. Drop off/pick up at their passenger terminals. Don't know if they still do it or if other bus co.'s do it...

 

A

alexwiremesh

Plastic

Joined

Mar 20, 2019

• Mar 20, 2019

• #8

You can split the machine into parts and ship them to your destination before assembling.

 

swatkins

Titanium

Joined

Jul 24, 2011

Location

Navasota / Whitehall Texas

• Mar 20, 2019

• #9

Are you sure the Fastenal quote is correct? 350 lbs from near Pittsburg to near Houston was only 230.00 a few days ago...

 

rke[pler

Diamond

Joined

Feb 19, 2002

Location

Peralta, NM USA

• Mar 21, 2019

• #10

swatkins said:

Are you sure the Fastenal quote is correct? 350 lbs from near Pittsburg to near Houston was only 230.00 a few days ago...

Click to expand...

$295.89, and I'd underestimated the weight at 100 pounds instead of 150. The quoted at Class 70 and I'd have used Class 50, but the value was put pretty low. I could sent you the quote if you're interested.

 

rke[pler

Diamond

Joined

Feb 19, 2002

Location

Peralta, NM USA

• Mar 21, 2019

• #11

alexwiremesh said:

You can split the machine into parts and ship them to your destination before assembling.

Click to expand...

I could do that but putting the transformer back together on the other end is likely to be difficult.

 

M

medsar

Cast Iron

Joined

Jan 13, 2017

Location

Washington, USA

• Mar 21, 2019

• #12

One thing to consider as an option to decrease your shipping costs -- get an account with the shipper. I had a number of boxes that needed to be shipped by Fed Ex (long story) to my shop. The original online and in person quote was $650. I signed up for a free account with Fed Ex (didn't even need business info -- it was in my personal name) and the quote dropped to $400. This is with a brand new, fresh account that is non-commercial. My experience is that the price drops about 25%. Your results may vary though. UPS has a similar service. On caveat is that you have to link your credit card to the account, but that's not a huge issue.