The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors shipping panel truck seats.... ideas???

Hi all,

I picked up some seats for my 47 panel truck and need to get them home (TN to WY). I was thinking about using Fastenal but haven't found a good way to pack them for shipping. I was thinking plastic totes might work but haven't found any big enough.

Any ideas??

Thanks in advance,

Les

Pilot Freight Services.
You have to drop off at nearest location and pick up the same way.
But very good prices.

Get some large boxes from U-haul or scrounged from a local furniture store and a roll of commercial stretch wrap or HF banding roll. Box them, tape the box, and stretch or band the boxes together then put on a pallet.

Greyhound

.....and boxes from a bicycle shop are handy and the right size if a shop is close to you.

I have shipped several with regular old FedEx. You can try taking backs off and cushions off and mix and nest in suitable boxes. Two boxes or more. Stores that import from China and elsewhere have heavy duty boxes in their dumpsters. As always, the trick to shipping is tight and no sharp corners unprotected.
I am talking stock, bucket bomber, folding panel seats here.

Ya think about taking a drive Les??? Just a long weekend trip.

A few years back, I found a turret for the round ram Bridgeport
mill that I was restoring but it was in Boston. So I decided
to take the weekend Chicago to Boston to Chicago, and pick it
up. Left after work Friday evening, got to Boston at noon
Saturday, had a Micky D' hamburger and a couple cups of coffee
and was back home having lunch on Sunday. Was cheaper than
the shipping, that is, if you don't count you time and wear
and tear on your truck. Oh and I had heavy rain storms all
the way cross New York state Friday night/Saturday morning,
of course I was much younger that I am now, I was 70 at the time.
Turned out nice:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/158651838

dg

Thanks for all of the responses guys!

Yuma, SSRJim,AChipmunk,bartamos and Denny,I really appreciate the feedback. Unless anybody doesn't think it is a good idea I will probably use Fastenal because there is one here and one real close to my friend in TN who is helping me get them packed up for shipping.

I think he also found a good solution for packing totes from home depot.

AChipmunk, a very special thanks to you! These are the very seats that you posted a craigslist link to in the "parts for sale" section a while back. I got them for $350 which I thought was pretty decent seeing how the passenger seat is very hard to find!

Denny, thanks for the picture of your Bridgeport! I have a 12x36 lathe and a mill (not as nice as yours). I'm not a machinist by any stretch of the imagination but it is sure nice to be able to fix or build parts that are no longer available.

Thanks again,

Les

Les,

Please let us know the weight, the from/to ZIP codes, and what it cost to ship by Fastenal.

Thanks,

I will do that Tim.
Les

IF, and I repeat IF, Fastenal falls in the category of FREIGHT, which I think it does, you will pay way more than what I recommended. This is NOT a freight item. You say both parties are near a Fastenal terminal/store. FedEx, UPS and U.S. Post office small trucks run up and down the streets of America every day. They all have neighborhood stores. They have a route they drive. Every Zip code has a truck. Some offer free pickup at your door. Some will pack it for a fee. I do not understand, yet, the use of this company? At least when you get done packing, weigh the boxes, measure the boxes and go online to these shippers I've mentioned and get a quote. You do not have to wait for the quote, it is immediate. Fastenal web site says they are competitive, if they are, I'm wrong.
You may find FedEx is cheapest of the three I listed. BTW: Shipping rates have skyrocketed in the past few months.
I do understand you are trying to make it easy for your friend. One piece in each tote is expensive.
The only problem may be that the three I mentioned may not accept totes because of the "stick out" lip. Be aware of that.
I dumpster dived and got one box for two backs and one box for two seats.
The one time I freighted something, the rule was everything had to be fastened to a pallet.

I used USHIP.COM to ship my 55.2 seat from Mich. to IL.

My comments are based solely on the size of the parts shipped. Not based on seats per se. If someone ships a full seat that is fairly large, beyond oversize limits, the method is different. Choices are different.

For what it is worth.
There was a good thread a while back on using Fastenal. The good the bad and ugly. I have not shipped by them yet but we have one close by and will try some time.
Greyhound is also a much repeated shipper but experience, and many prior post, have found that it depends on WHO is running the terminal where you are at as to what they will or will not ship.
Fed-X vs UPS is a toss up in some area's, per post here, but my experience here in my hometown is Fed-X has beat UPS every time and doesn't rip up stuff like UPS. It also helps if you go ahead and establish an account with them and can ship to a business address which is on their beaten path everyday. Also, Fed-X has beat the pants off UPS every time I have shipped out of the USA.

The U.S. postal service is getting slower and slower and their rates have went up while the priority boxes have shrank.

...as a foot note, smaller is better regardless of weight. They go by Volume as much as the weight so keep the box cut down as small as possible. Heck, on SOME items (flywheel in this case) I actually wrapped it in only a saran like wrap, put an address on it and shipped it with Fed-X.(heavy but small)
Lastly... Never use a UPS or Fed-X store that is NOT really a Fed-X/UPS store but a PRIVATE store "authorized" to package and take stuff in for the big guys. You WILL pay a lot more. Go to the shipping terminal if you can... Some of us may not have a choice?

Location, management and packaging all play a part. It can all vary drastically. Les, in the end let us know how your story ends.

Excellent advice, I totally agree with Alvin. I've had the same experience with FedEx.

I think the deal with Fastenal is that they ship all of their own stuff all over the country and always seem to have extra space in their trucks and are just trying to fill the voids and cover expenses.

I stopped buying from my local/small Fastenal store due to their shipping costs for small parts not in stock (small store - not a lot in stock). Maybe their shipping rates are reasonable for your type of shipping?

Thanks for all of the input! You all raise very good and valid points. I'm not in any big hurry so I'll do my homework and report back what I find. I wish I was in TN to help my friend box them up but he is doing this as a favor so I certainly don't want to push him or cause him undue stress. We'll get if figured out!

Thanks again for all of your input.

Les

Hi all,
Well the seats are on their way. Quite a bit more than I expected but I haven't shipped much stuff so I really didn't know. My friend didn't have a lot of time to mess with it so he got 4ea 20x24x34 half wardrobe boxes and put half of each seat in each box. I'm sure the oversize boxes had a lot to do with the price but I wasn't on the shipping end to do anything different and he really didn't have time to mess with it. Total weight was a little over 100 lbs. His zip is 37148 (TN) and mine is 82009 (WY).

Anyway

Fastenal - wouldn't quote - said their trucks were always full coming this way.

FedEx & UPS both quoted about $90 a box or $360

USPS quoted $120 a box or $480

Greyhound quoted $222 so my seats are taking a bus ride.

Thanks,
Les