The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Transport from Maine to NC...

Hi- just got a truck that is up in Maine and I need to get it here to coastal NC- being that I think it is a 2 ton, big truck, I don't think I want to try and haul it myself- I don't have access to a trailer big enough for the wheelbase. Anyone have suggestions on a transport company to get it down here? Thanks!

John

look in the Hauling section on this very site and post your wanted add there
https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=26&page=1

Also look at www.uship.com and be cautious. I have both hauled and received stuff through that site with no problems but don't have much experience with it. I guess it's recommended, but not highly.

Grigg

Try this site. There is a lot of activity on it. http://www.ytmag.com/cgi-bin/haulquery.pl

John;

I have had good experiences with UShip. You have access to customer reviews and comments for every shipper on the site. Prices were all over the board and that usually reflects whether the shipper is a small operator or part of a larger shipping operation. Make sure of your wheelbase measurements and vehicle weight because that will weed out some of the car and tractor shippers that will try and bid. Good Luck.

SimS

Just curious, how about some details on the truck you've bought? It wasn't a '65 Chevy C80 tandem wrecker by chance???

James

1.5 or 2 ton, if it's the blue '39/40 that you posted about before it shouldn;t be terribly hard to transport. It's roughly the same size as a modern single cab dually pickup truck, and without a bed or rear fenders it will make it easier to find haulers, even more so if the outside duals are removed.
When I was tryin to get my dump truck to CA from WA I had all kinds of fun with quotes, and many of the companis that contacted me couldn't handle something that big anyway. Prices ranged from reasonable to flippin crazy. It was seriously cheaper for me to drive 2-3 days at 50ish MPH, burnin gas at just under 10 MPG.

Someone with a 10K 5th wheel flatbed and a truck could haul that pretty easily, even with a standard bumper hitch trailer it should be ok.
I know you said you dont wanna haul it yourself, but it's a real option if you have any freinds with a 3/4 to 1-ton truck properly set up to haul at least a 10K trailer, you could rent a 10K tilt bed equipment trailer most anywhere, and if you're lucky they'll have some chains too. Properly tied down and driven sanely it's not difficult, & maybe you could even bribe someone into comin along to help load/drive.

I'll second the idea/suggestion of hauling it yourself.

I bought one truck without seeing it in person and was very disappointed, although in the end I had some fun, learned a lot, and got my money back..

Now I don't buy anything of value I'm not willing and capable of driving to go look at and haul. Goes for trucks and machinery and anything that I'd be upset about if I lost my money or if it would turn out to be worse than I expected.
As a result I've driven to SD for my truck, NV and TX and CA for engines, IL for a transmission and again for body parts.

I've seen pictures of your truck in other post, and while it may have been and might eventually be a nice truck, I wouldn't be to excited about bringing that one home. An hour or two perhaps if the price was great, but near 1,000 miles one way (on I-95 at that)... To me it doesn't look like the truck is worth what it will cost to haul it.

Grigg

I disagree with the notion of renting/borrowing a rig to haul it yourself. Maine is home for me and I've made that trip more times than I can count over the years. It's not a trip to be taken lightly as there is a lot of traffic, a lot of urban area, a LOT of bad drivers, a lot of construction this time of year and a LOT of tolls -- especially if you're hauling a trailer along. Oh yeah, and the roads SUCK. It doesn't get easy until you get to the Piscataquis River bridge (Portsmouth). And did I mention the tolls?

And yeah, there are some guys around here who will tell you that hauling a 1.5-ton or a two-ton truck with a pick and a bumper pull trailer is fine ... well, their experience is Southern or Western -- Not the NorthEast/I-95 corridor where hauling like that is a recipe for trouble. I doubt they've been across the Cross-Bronx Expressway, Garden State Parkway, the Saw Mill River Parkway or the Bridgeport/Naugatuck Construction Zones in rush hour (which is pretty much 24/7 anymore). I don't do it with anything less than a dually and a gooseneck -- between the psychotic 4-wheelers, the transsonic 18-wheelers, the randomly placed construction equipment and the Oklahoma-sized potholes, it's not to be underestimated or under-equipped.

Am I trying to scare you? You're darn skippy I am. Pay the money to have it shipped or find a better truck somewhere else. But going to Maine to haul back a Big Bolt on a bumper pull trailer is highly inadviseable.
John