PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

Hi guys, I have a question that you might be able to help with. I'm shipping a NWHT GeeBee Y but the wing is joined and it's 90" with a 16 or 18-inch chord. According to these measurements and figuring for minimal padding/packing to keep it safe, the box for the fuse would be WAY over UPS's maximum oversize allowance. The wing would be borderline. Way too big for Greyhound too. I'm out of ideas, so I'm happy to listen to any suggestions. I have a potential/willing buyer in Canada, just don't have a shipping method yet that doesn't include a Peterbilt and a very expensive crate in the formula. Thanks for any thoughts you might have.

Jim

Dr1Driver

Too big for Greyhound? They can ship up to 100" or 110". If they can't take it, motor freight is the only way for something that big.

Dr.1

DENNIS C

My Feedback: (99)

Greyhound max length is 82"

RK-Aircraft

My Feedback: (81)

Forward Air.

1Eye

My Feedback: (2)

Aside from "Greydog," Forward Air seems to be a consensus choice among those I know with experience. Here's an informative thread you might consult for more information: [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_2805979/anchors_2815569/mpage_1/key_crating%252Cjets/anchor/tm.htm#2815569]Crating/Shipping (Jets)[/link]

Dealing with our Canadian cousins' customs dept. is another matter as things move slowly on that side of the border it seems! [>:]

Mike

bpryor

My Feedback: (45)

Here's a link to an article I wrote a few years ago on crating and shipping giant scale planes: http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=241

It's a bit out of date, but still has a lot of useful info. Forward Air is the way to go with something this big. They're the most reasonable and usually reliable. FYI, they are a trucking company and nothing is shipped by air, but their locations are all near airports and you have to deliver(and pick up) your crate to them at their location. The downside is Forward Air isn't everywhere, and you need to have one near the origin and destination to make it work.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

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bpryor

My Feedback: (45)

Yikes, I'm sure glad everyone doesn't feel this way. []

>>Crating and shipping planes is just so expensive that the buyer could usually buy and build the plane himself for less.

Huh? What type of giant scale plane can you build for $250; the cost to build a crate and ship a 40% plane anywhere in the U.S.

My take; it's easy and cheap to build a crate, easy to ship, 99% of the time there's no damage, and from my experience, there's a tiny little market for giant scale planes in most locals, that's why shipping makes sense. RCU let's you reach 1000's of potential buyers, instead of the one close to you that you probably won't find anyway.

>>Or mothball it in the rafters of the shop and dig it out 5yrs from now.

I doubt many people can afford to mothball a multi-thousand dollar plane in the rafters.

Scar

My Feedback: (3)

There ya go, Jim_Mainer! bpryor will build you a crate & ship it for $250! Sounds to me like the best way to go!

Good luck,
Dave Olson

bpryor

My Feedback: (45)

Very funny. I guess I asked for that. I'll help you with the math. Shipping cost by Forward Air should be in the $150 range for the size crate that he'll need. $100 for materials. More than enough to make a very nice crate. Labor: $0. As with all our modeling activities our time has no value(except for the pros of course), as we prove over and over again. And, IMHO, you should never charge labor to the buyer for the crate, and even materials and shipping cost is just part of the negotiation for the price of the plane. I never charged anyone anything for the crates. I always figured it was part of the cost of the sale, and I sold the plane accordingly. It all balances out in the end.

I do not understand the attitude that you'll spend 30-500 hours putting together a giant scale plane, but then you'll say it's too hard to spend 3 hours of your time building a simple little box to ship it. Seems pretty silly to me.

RK-Aircraft

My Feedback: (81)

Hey, What would you guys say to a generically sized, RE-USABLE crate that weighed 1/4 of the weight of conventional ply & 2x construction and still protects your big birds at 1/2 the price to build??? Collapses for storage and reusable for those of us that travel by air and can send our birds ahead. Reusable for selling a big bird and have the crate sent back. You don't charge the buyer for crating, just for sending back as part of the shipping costs? Do I have your attention yet?? [:-]

TLH101

My Feedback: (90)

If you use Forward Air, make absolutely sure you can document value, and also be sure to buy the damage coverage. I shipped 2 aircraft by F/A, 1 was damaged, by a forklift run through the crate, and the other was totaled when the crate was crushed, (yes, a wood crate, labeld in red, "fragile, top load only" ). The destroyed aircraft was paid for by F/A, but I still dont have any word on the damaged model.

bpryor

My Feedback: (45)

Sounds very interesting garcay. You've got my attention...where can I read the details and see pictures....and the cost?

Thanks.

Wow, TLH101, you've had some really bad luck. I've shipped more than 10 GS planes(27-40%) by Forward Air and never had an issue. You're right about documenting the contents though. I always take pictures of the contents the last thing before closing up the crate.

RK-Aircraft

My Feedback: (81)

Terry,
I remember reading your nightmare a couple of weeks ago. [:@] I was hoping you would caution the guys. I would have but didn't remember the details.[]

matus777

no joke, but i've heard cardboard cremation caskets?

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

Hey guys, thanks for the great response. garcay, I love the idea of a reusable crate but don't need one that's reusable. In truth, I can easily build one myself. The issue really isn't whether I spent a lot of time building this one ( I didn't, Dick Pettit built it for a review) versus whether I feel like spending time building a crate. The issue is having the time right now to crate it up right for shipping, what with winter bearing down on Maine and about two dozen decent-sized jobs still waiting to be done first. But I admit that I'd be taking a day to meet somebody for a hand-off, so I would be using the same amount of time either way. So, if Forward Air can handle this and if Forward Air goes to Canada, maybe we can pull this off.

Out of sheer laziness I'd still rather sell this GeeBee Y locally, and in all likelihood may have no choice once all the shipping costs are figured up and facing the buyer.. Anyway, here it is: http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemID=137239

But since this fellow in Canada has expressed a willingness to pay for the shipping costs, I'm exploring possible ways to get it there. I'm hoping that customs is not going to be a huge hassle, but I suspect that it could be, and from past experience I think THAT could be the thing that costs me an extra day. One thing I will NOT do is jump through major hoops for customs to ship a model to Canada.

bpryor, actually, I AM mothballing this model in the rafters because I have too many of them. I'm selling off most of my giants because I don't have as much time for this as I used to and I'm making some room for smaller, easier-to-handle and store models.

If I do use Forward Air I'll remember to get the full coverage and to document everything before sending.

Keep these ideas coming, guys. I kinda like the cardboard cremation box idea. Probably not long enough, but that's the general idea!

Jim

bpryor

My Feedback: (45)

Hi Jim,

Not to get picky over semantics, but if you're trying to sell it, you aren't mothballing it. Boy, I wish I lived near you; you're offering a great deal to some one.


Forward Air ships to a limited set of locations just over the border on the Eastern side of Canada. Here's Forward Air's location map: http://www.forwardair.com/locations/falocations.htm

BTW, your thread inspired me to update my crating and shipping article, which I've been meaning to do for a couple of years. The revised version should be online soon. I wish garcay had answered my question about his post so I could have included information on his reusable crate in the article. I guess that can wait until the next revision in a couple of years.

RK-Aircraft

My Feedback: (81)

You're not kidding.....

http://www.forestlawn.com/funerals_c...oduct_id=15465 [sm=stupid.gif]

matus777

39 bucks not bad and i have seen many of these while at work (no, not in that field) and they are durable to say the least....add some styro peanuts or bubble packing and if right sized you're good to go....so to speak!

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

Does Forest Lawn ship those to you or do you have to go pick them up? Seems like the perfect thing to ship my built models out of the Alaska Bush when I move.

Don

TailTouch

My Feedback: (54)

Did anyone actually try this ?
What are the dimensions of the box...

Thanks.

evan-RCU

This is why I don't sell big airplanes, I wanted to sell my BIG Quaker, my avitar, a 16' span, 10'+ long fuse, heck the horizontal stab is 5'!!

Anyway the only way I would do it is to drive it to the person or they pick it up...

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

I called them but they were out of stock. Must be a lot of planes being shipped.

Don

airborneSGT

My Feedback: (15)

I have shipped several large planes as well. I have built crates as well as boxes which were very sturdy and lined with foam.

I think after doing some carpentry you realize its not so hard at all. Of course its much faster if you use a nail gun and have a plan to go off of. On a concrete job here in FL we built like 88 forms in two days. We had an assembly line going of a few guys cutting and measuring the wood, a few nailing the forms and bracing them, and then a few setting them in place. The nailing together of the forms took only a few minutes.

Be really careful with the 16penny/framing nail guns. Those nails tend to go right through the bone if you miss somehow. The coolest thing for me to use was the DeWalt cordless nail gun. No hoses, no compressor, no noise!