The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Shipping a disassembled truck

All -

Fantastic forum, can't say enough good things about it. Hoping to get a few ideas from the folks here.

I am currently on active duty for some training and have been for 6 months. Done 29 Jan and there is a possibility that my company is going to move me from Texas to Virginia for a new job, possibly as soon as early Feb. That means I'd need to ship my truck.

Now the problem. Before I left I was just starting to reassemble the truck, so it currently is just the frame with cab bolted on, wheels, brakes (but no master cylinder) and a tranny just hanging underneath with straps (sold the motor). Everything else, steering, glass, all body panels, trim, seat, etc is in a storage unit.

So my question: is there a way to ship a disassembled truck that doesn't even run, steer, or brake? The truck is in my garage which has a decently steep little driveway 10 yards down to the road.

Not sure if I could get a closed transport to put the truck in plus all loose body panels, tranny, and parts? How would they get the truck in the transport? I was thinking I might be able to hire a tow truck to back up to my garage, winch the truck on a flat bed, then put it down on my street, and then a closed transport truck might be able to winch it on?

I'm not sure as I've never shipping a vehicle of any sort, but I know this whole situation is stressing me out a bit. No way I'm going to get rid of the truck, too much work put into it. But just not sure how to make it work.

Any advice is appreciated!

v/r

Rob

Never moved a truck but I would rent a box truck to move all the parts. As far as getting it from your driveway to the street, rolling 10 yards shouldn't be too much of a problem. Flat bed for the chassis.

There are lots of brokers out there that claim they can move vehicles, but when it gets down to it all they do is post it on a load board and hope someone takes the load. I would suggest contacting these guys. http://www.dasautoshippers.com/ They are based in Mesquite, TX and have a guy contracted in SA with a wrecker. He would pick it up at your home with a wrecker to his yard out Austin highway. They would them load it on a transport to their nearest destination and then wrecker it to the final destination. Another option is to get a 28 foot trailer from these guys. http://www.upack.com/moving-quotes/quote.asp?NLOView=2 A wrecker can load a non runner vehicle into one of their trailers. I have done it before. I lifted one end of the vehicle and put one end of the vehicle into the trailer. Then chain the vehicle to the trailer leaving enough slack in the chain to lift the other end and and push it in the trailer. The trailer will either have a wood floor that you can nail blocks to or it will have nailer strips. You might try this hauling board. I bought a wrecker in PA last summer and pulled a flatbed up there and picked up vehicles both ways to help pay for the trip. Too bad this didn't come up then. I would have been glad to help and I drove right through Virginia. If I can be of any more help, email me. [email protected]. I have been in the trucking business over 45 years. I don't have trucks running to the east coast, but knowing people helps. I'm in Fredericksburg.

Is the bed disassembled? I'd suggest doing some measuring inside a 24-foot U-Haul box truck to see if the frame/cab assembly would fit inside, with enough room left over for the other bits & pieces. Just don't tell U-Haul what you're planning to do with their truck- - - - -they might get a bit testy about that kind of cargo.
Jerry

Bad experience makes wise judgments. what ever you do don't use a flat bed trailer and expect all the loose parts to remain in the trailer at highway speeds (wind) and bumpy roads.

My suggestion would be do contact on of the container companies. PODS is the one I see in my area. They will drop a container at your home, you load it, they pick it up and ship it to your new location. You unload it.

http://www.pods.com/

These guys will bid against each other for your business. I have used this service to ship motorcycles.

http://directory.uship.com/

I've only used U-ship once, but I was happy with the results.

Holy cow. Thought I'd log in to see if I had gotten any responses yet and see that there are half a dozen ideas I never even thought of. This is fantastic.

crenweldge, you are describing basically what I thought would be necessary to get a shipping company to do this. Glad to hear that you've done this sort of thing before, and awesome idea about nailing blocks to the floor of the trailers.

Will have to price out that option as well as PODS and U-Haul. I would be in VA while my wife finishes the school year in TX, so I could always fly back and load everything into a PODS container and have it shipped/stored in VA. Or I could rent the U-Haul and drive back.

These are all awesome ideas. Feeling so much better about the logistics behind getting 'Dottie' to her knew home.

Now just keep your fingers crossed that I get this job!

Thanks all!!

We used PODS for a move from Seattle to Portland. The containers supplied were 3/4 inch plywood boxes with plastic tarp material stapled on. They worked for us, but I'm not sure I'd rely on them for anything heavier than furniture.

you will want to either remove the transmission, or build bracing for it as it will flop around during the move. I recommend an enclosed vehicle like a u-haul or an enclosed car hauler and haul it yourself.

If you haul it yourself, roll the chassis into the truck or trailer, put blocking under the frame, then air down the tires and strap it in good.

The problem with PODS, is the truck will break thru the bottom and you then own the POD and your truck may or may not be in it when you get it.

A 20' ISO container is another method.

Loose body panels will be scuffed at the least as they rub together going down the road. I used lots of cardboard and padding and made a box for my sheetmetal. I then bolted the hoods on top of it, and strapped them down

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2062240040101989507adCmwZ

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2370163070101989507JSDfoB

So would the truck break through the bottom of a U-Haul truck? I'd imagine it has a metal subframe or something? The 26' U-haul truck has a max load of 7,400 lbs. Interior dimensions are 23'6"l x 7'3"w x 6'9"h. Think it'll fit?

I'm thinking with all the input that using a Uhaul myself would be the best solution.

Would definitely pull the transmission and brace everything inside.

It should fit. I would assume the floor to be laminated hardwood because they have to withstand hand trucks. The body would have a frame like the truck and then cross members about every 24 inches. The sides of the U haul are actually part of the structural framework. I would tie an old tire to the front bumper and roll it all the way to the front. It will want to go forward when you hit the brakes. Be prepared to get about 5 or 6 miles to the gallon. A 26" box catches a lot of wind and they are way undepowered. Figure on a lot of 55 mph driving.

The floor in a U-Haul truck is aluminum. The van on those trucks is designed for hauling furniture and household goods. They don't offer much in the way of tie downs for big stuff. I'd look more into a truck from Penske, they have 24 and 26 foot trucks designed for hauling freight. As Kenneth mentions, be prepared for a lot of 55 mph and lots of $$ for fuel. Also plan your route and know what is in front of you. You can go onto U Hauls website and see more information about the trucks they have.

I would look at a U Haul truck. If they are aluminum floor, I would stay away from them. Anything metal will slide all over the place. We have aluminum floors in our dry freight vans, but we have wooden nailer strips. Actually U-Haul specs their trucks to haul household goods, runs them into the ground and then they wind up in the hands of flea marketers, etc. Penske specs trucks like they spec their semis. They maintain them well and run them a few years and sell them to commercial users. I would certainly look at a Penske before U-Haul. I have bought several wrecked Penske semis for parts because they are speced with premium parts.

Rob,rent a u-haul.I moved my tuuck from rapid city, iowa to toronto,canada.Rental unit was a 24 footer.The garage i rented from had a drive on hoist,so we pushed my truck on,put it up,then backed the rental up to the door,put down some ramps and bobs your uncle she was on.Lots of memories from that trip!Not as hard as it sounds.

Roy