I tried posting this in the Other Off Topic subforum and got no responses. Maybe someone here has some ideas. I'm having trouble getting a quote to ship wheels on a pallet within the US. Can anybody provide some insight? I'd prefer to use FedEx/UPS but I'm open to other services.
Most LTL freight companies should be able to provide you quote with one phone call (some may have websites for that too), but will need to know addresses (or at least ZIP) for both ends, content, overall dimensions and total weight of your shipment and whether it’s stackable. Also, unless you have a commercial account with a given carrier, their quote might be mind bogglingly high + some additional services beyond point-to-point hauling, like residential area pickup or delivery, need of lift gate for loading or unloading, etc, if needed, can easily add several hundred more to it. If you prefer shipping with FedEx Ground or UPS, you might consider packing and shipping each wheel separately.
https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/freight.html You don't ship regular fedex. You ship "fedex freight" and you can put the wheels banded on a pallet and ship them. Been there done that.
Thank you both. FedEx freight gave me the quote I thought I wanted. Until it quoted $1600 from SoCal to Massachusetts -_- I'll leave it up to the buyer I suppose. Individual boxes are gonna be significantly cheaper at about $600 total.
Use a freight forwarder to get the best price. However, if you're going residential to residential, LTL is gonna be pricey no matter who you choose. They don't want to deliver into residential and they sure as hell don't want to pick up there, either. If you choose an LTL carrier, make sure they bring a truck with a lift gate. We've used: CH ROBINSON for years with quite a bit of success. https://www.chrobinson.com/en-us/ However, if it's 4 wheels, might just be easier to go to the UPS store, let them box 'em up, insure and ship for you. Wheels and tires can be a little more annoying to pack up. D
Just as I thought. Having an established commercial account makes a difference. I ship regularly with FedEx Freight and have one, so guessing my cost for same/similar shipment would be less than $400, if business-to-business (or terminal-to-terminal). So it might be worthwhile to check if any of your friends have or work for a business that has one they would let you use. Not to mention higher shipping costs due to added weight and larger dimensions. I’ve never understood why some advertise wheels with aged/old/used, let alone nearly worn tires for sale, especially if there’s a good chance for a need to ship them long distance, although someone buying (& paying for shipping them ?) makes even less sense. P.S. Requesting or use of lift gate (or residential pickup or delivery) with LTL carriers can cost around $150.- for each occurrence.
