Trusted Shipping Companies

[dtowndiesel]

I need to ship a chassis, not a complete quad, from the east side of the country to michigan. I obviously know about fed-ex and UPS, but I was wondering if you guys had anybody else to recommend. It is disassembled and can be packaged to fit inside a box (removeable subframe, etc). I've never shipped a quad or something this large so I would appreciate your help! I'm comfortable driving long distances and I would normally pick this type of item up, but fortunately I'm busy at work and this seems like a better option. Thanks

[thedeatons]

Scott at Dream Time Transportation is the cheapest/best quad shipper I know... $400 for cross country shipments.

Not sure about shipping a chassis though....

James

[250Renvy]

You should be able to ship a chassis for $80 via UPS or possibly Fed ex. Why risk it with some other company?

[Saul76]

After having them lose my 4.0 gallon Clarke tank I'll NEVER use UPS again. :mad:

[86 Quad R]

Originally posted by Saul76
After having them lose my 4.0 gallon Clarke tank I'll NEVER use UPS again. :mad:


you still havent heard anything on that? ............ sun-uva----:eek2:

[2-330s]

i used usps to ship to cal. $65 from wis. i taped the shipping label where the radiator should be.

[danhung11]

I would use UPS or FEdEx, and get insurance of. Take some dated pictures of before and when the package arrives, have the recepient check the chassis in front of the delivery man.

Also, insure the package for at least what the sale price was or what the part(s) cost new.

I recently was awarded a claim from UPS on the appeal level. I also suggest you shipping directly from a UPS Store in your name, so you can act on it in case something goes south. Save the original packaging.

Lastly, ship using business addresses if you can, it's a lot cheaper.

Give me a call if you need more details, I saved all my emails and paperwork.

Good luck,
Dan

[Saul76]

Originally posted by 86 Quad R
you still havent heard anything on that? ............ sun-uva----:eek2:

No. They closed the case and consider it lost. All I got back was 30 bucks.

[destey]

I work for an OEM and we use both FedEx and UPS, both are very hard on packages. We get a significant number of machines back (about the same size as your frame) where the box looks like it was dropped 100ft from a helicopter.

If you want it treated better I'd send it with someone like land-air, ABF, Estes, Yellow, or some other freight company. Build a pallet around a crate and it should be ok.

Might cost you $100-200.

[Fear250r]

You can also go with New Penn, they're also one of the better freight companies.

[thedeatons]

I worked for a company a few years ago that had a very special packagin design for its products being shipped to military bases. They used to ship in standard packaging, but the parts would arrive DOA (dead on arrival), and would need to be shipped back for return.

Finally someone installed an accelerometer in a box, and shipped it to the military base.

The accelerometer registered over 4 G-forces on the trip from Sacramento, CA to the east coast.

After that a special team of engineers was conceived to design packaging that would withstand that type of force. Since the new design there have been zero DOAs.

James

[dtowndiesel]

Dan, check your pm. Thanks




Originally posted by danhung11
I would use UPS or FEdEx, and get insurance of. Take some dated pictures of before and when the package arrives, have the recepient check the chassis in front of the delivery man.

Also, insure the package for at least what the sale price was or what the part(s) cost new.

I recently was awarded a claim from UPS on the appeal level. I also suggest you shipping directly from a UPS Store in your name, so you can act on it in case something goes south. Save the original packaging.

Lastly, ship using business addresses if you can, it's a lot cheaper.

Give me a call if you need more details, I saved all my emails and paperwork.

Good luck,
Dan

[bananas]

Did you get it??? Chris said he was shipping the parts last week.. Was it ok?

Troy

[dtowndiesel]

Originally posted by bananas
Did you get it??? Chris said he was shipping the parts last week.. Was it ok?

Troy

Troy, I got it! I was on vacation this past week so I didn't get to open it until last night. It is MINT!! There is minor shipping damage and I want to adress it with ups before I do anything else. I'll keep you updated. Once again Thanks for all your help.

[Inspector]

Bingo.... Good ole UPS. I will never use them again. I have heard countless issues. Good luck contacting UPS for a claim. You will lose..... You may be the first though.

[dtowndiesel]

Well heres the story. I bought a rare Titanium Lonestar chassis from a guy in NY,NY. Huge thanks to Troy(bananas) for the hook up. Instead of going with my original plan of picking it up(13 hours each way) I decided to have it shipped. I have a friend who has a commercial business account with UPS so I could ship it for only $80, it seemed like a no brainer. I received the package and everything looked fine until I opened it and realized that the left side lower subframe mounts had been bent and cracked off. The box was dropped far enough or hard enough that the tabs punctured through three layers cardboard, before they were bent over and cracked off. Obvoiusly I was very dissapointed and filed a insurance claim. I saved all the packaging, took lots of pics and eventually the claim was denied because the box wasnt new, haha. I instantly disputed the decision and within 24 hours I recieved a call from UPS saying they reveiwed the case and decided to award me the money. In my opinion theres no good way to ship a chassis, I wish I would have picked it up. Overall UPS was fairly decent to deal with but I'm still upset it was damaged. So now I'm going to send the frame to Lonestar and have it repaired, as I don't know or trust anybody to weld TI. Moral of the story as I see it, it could have been worse, but if you can pick your chassis/large item I would reccomend that!!!! Thanks for all the help and advice guys especially danhung11.

[Inspector]

Originally posted by dtowndiesel
Well heres the story. I bought a rare Titanium Lonestar chassis from a guy in NY,NY. Huge thanks to Troy(bananas) for the hook up. Instead of going with my original plan of picking it up(13 hours each way) I decided to have it shipped. I have a friend who has a commercial business account with UPS so I could ship it for only $80, it seemed like a no brainer. I received the package and everything looked fine until I opened it and realized that the left side lower subframe mounts had been bent and cracked off. The box was dropped far enough or hard enough that the tabs punctured through three layers cardboard, before they were bent over and cracked off. Obvoiusly I was very dissapointed and filed a insurance claim. I saved all the packaging, took lots of pics and eventually the claim was denied because the box wasnt new, haha. I instantly disputed the decision and within 24 hours I recieved a call from UPS saying they reveiwed the case and decided to award me the money. In my opinion theres no good way to ship a chassis, I wish I would have picked it up. Overall UPS was fairly decent to deal with but I'm still upset it was damaged. So now I'm going to send the frame to Lonestar and have it repaired, as I don't know or trust anybody to weld TI. Moral of the story as I see it, it could have been worse, but if you can pick your chassis/large item I would reccomend that!!!! Thanks for all the help and advice guys especially danhung11.

I just purchased a frame that will be shipped across the US by
UPS. As I metioned in an earlier post I have had bad luck shipping with UPS. Maybe this time I will be lucky. I will let you know of the outcome when I recieve my frame.
I will ask my sender if will use a "new box". I have never heard such crap.

[danhung11]

Originally posted by dtowndiesel
......Moral of the story as I see it, it could have been worse, but if you can pick your chassis/large item I would reccomend that!!!! Thanks for all the help and advice guys especially danhung11.

Glad it all worked out for you dtowndiesel! Just make sure they package it nicely back from Lonestar Racing. :p

The funny thing is...my claim was denied without even seeing the photos I sent. :ermm:

Good day,
Dan

[250Renvy]

The one thing that everyone must know about UPS, is that their system is setup so it's mostly automated. I almost shipped a frame just wrapped in bubble wrap, but they told me they couldn't insure it because stuff is loaded onto conveyor belts and often drops from chest high. Therefore stuff is prone to get damaged.

I have 2 recent dealings with UPS to account for - one went great the other went bad.

I shipped a motor that was boxed and packaged by UPS personnel and it showed up smashed - I fully insured it, but am unaware of the outcome of the claim at this time.

The other package was a frame/swingarm and a-arms all packaged from UPS personnel and sent from California and that showed up perfectly - luckily because it was not fully insured, but was fun digging through the box full of peanuts.

So the moral of the story is to dtowndiesel: If you ship UPS, make sure it is packaged properly or the claim/insurance means nothing. Stuff gets lost as much as it does busted, so I would think twice about having the frame shipped back to AZ then back to MI - too much risk IMO.

I'm not sure if they can weld TI, but I would check with KOQ racing in MI or ask around in the MI, OH, IL, IN area.

[dtowndiesel]

[i]
So the moral of the story is to dtowndiesel: If you ship UPS, make sure it is packaged properly or the claim/insurance means nothing. Stuff gets lost as much as it does busted, so I would think twice about having the frame shipped back to AZ then back to MI - too much risk IMO.

I'm not sure if they can weld TI, but I would check with KOQ racing in MI or ask around in the MI, OH, IL, IN area. [/B]


The frame was packaged very well, it was a heavy duty triple layered box. If I do ship it to Lonestar it will be in a framed crate attached to a skid. I do know the machinists that turns parts for KOQ so I'll ask them and get in touch with their fabricators, thanks for the reference. I also had a good friend refer me to a trusted welder so I'm going to check into that also. I'm in no hurry to build this frame, so I'm going to take my time and make sure I make the right decision. I also got the swinger, a-arms, t-pins, airbox, etc, and they were all unscathed.

[aztecgwynn]

I worked for UPS for 15 years and it's quite amusing hearing your stories.
First off I will tell you I worked in the air division for my last 12 years but my first 3 were inside the hub. But I will tell you big items like that are considered irregulars and those that can get in the trailer get thrown, rolled, or pushed into trailer you have one young man loading or unloading a 24 foot trailer.
Now you also have a different 53 foot trailer we used to call an irreg special that a lucky young adult would get stuck loading or unloading all packages over 70 pounds and were big in size and he would also have to roll push kick whatever he had to do to get this thing unloaded before his four hour shift.
Look boys I left UPS on my own terms but my advice to you anything that is big or heavy or anything of value insure it. UPS is a service provider they want job to get done quickly they don't care if it gets damaged they just want it out of their hubs and delivered to your home or business. And when you ship with a large or any size box get a piece of paper and tape put you name address and phone number and put it on product inside box there has been many times I was unloading trailers and box is destroyed or label is missing and product is loose then it goes to a damage cage to find out who it belongs to but no address or phone number guess who is getting their stuff back not you! Just be aware pay the insurance if it's something you value and box it correctly with labels inside and out and you should be fine.

[danhung11]

Originally posted by aztecgwynn
I worked for UPS for 15 years and it's quite amusing hearing your stories.
First off I will tell you I worked in the air division for my last 12 years but my first 3 were inside the hub. But I will tell you big items like that are considered irregulars and those that can get in the trailer get thrown, rolled, or pushed into trailer you have one young man loading or unloading a 24 foot trailer.
Now you also have a different 53 foot trailer we used to call an irreg special that a lucky young adult would get stuck loading or unloading all packages over 70 pounds and were big in size and he would also have to roll push kick whatever he had to do to get this thing unloaded before his four hour shift.
Look boys I left UPS on my own terms but my advice to you anything that is big or heavy or anything of value insure it. UPS is a service provider they want job to get done quickly they don't care if it gets damaged they just want it out of their hubs and delivered to your home or business. And when you ship with a large or any size box get a piece of paper and tape put you name address and phone number and put it on product inside box there has been many times I was unloading trailers and box is destroyed or label is missing and product is loose then it goes to a damage cage to find out who it belongs to but no address or phone number guess who is getting their stuff back not you! Just be aware pay the insurance if it's something you value and box it correctly with labels inside and out and you should be fine.

This should be put in a letter and sent to UPS corporate. Maybe UPS would change their mission statement and save themselves money in paying claims and insurance premiums.

[aztecgwynn]

Corporate doesn't care that is why they have the insurance. People who also pay for that insurance service and receive their parcels in good condition that money that wasn't used for a claim usually pays for someone else"s claim.
Consider your insurance money used as a recycled commodity.