7 Dec
2004
7 Dec
'04
3:46 p.m.
Well here's a fine mess I've gotten myself into...
I need to ship a MicroVAX 3800 (BA213 case, about 110 pounds, give or
take) to Pennsylvania. Granted, it's no 11/780, but it's certainly
bigger than I've ever shipped before. Does anyone have any suggestions
about the cheapest way to do this? (Hopefully one that will also ensure
that the beast gets there in one piece, of course!)
For reference, dimensions on a BA213 are approx. 14" by 20" by 26".
-Seth
7 Dec
7 Dec
5:28 a.m.
(BA213 case, about 110 pounds, give or take)
My large shipping experience (to another lister) involved a trip
to Home Depot for smallcell semihard wall insulating foam.
Makes a great inside the crate shock absorber and is cheap
enough at the Home Depot scale. Of course while you are
there you get the rest of the crating materials: Plywood, 2x4,
nails/screws.
John A.
4:04 p.m.
Seth wrote:
Does anyone have any suggestions about the cheapest
way to do this?
For reference, dimensions on a BA213 are approx. 14" by 20" by 26".
Ideally you would crate it, but it may be OK to put it on a pallet,
secure it to the pallet somehow, and wrap it with some padding then
cling-wrap. Securing it to the pallet may be a bit tricky since the
BA213 has casters.
Either way, you then need to send it via a freight company. If you
can take it to a major airport, and if the recipient can pick it up
from one, you might get a good deal from Forward Air:
http://www.forwardair.com/
4:34 p.m.
110 pounds - it's not *that* big. It can go FedEx (149 pound limit for
regular FedEx) as well as UPS - but that would be "pricey".
You might check out the USPS - if it was packed well, and within the
"length+girth" bullshit that they use.
(Have you considered disassembling it partially and using more than one
box?)
Then there's my current favorite, BAX Global, who are usually much less
than FedEx for the same package to the same address.
If you do a bit of homework, you might be able to come up with some
competitive rates, but it ain't gonna be cheap, no matter what. And if
you go with FedEx or UPS, be aware that they're raising their rates right
after the first of the year.
Cheers
John
5:08 p.m.
John Lawson wrote:
110 pounds - it's not *that* big. It can go FedEx (149 pound limit for
regular FedEx) as well as UPS - but that would be "pricey".
A PDP-11/34 in the 10.5" cabinet, *very* solidly crated, cost $50 to
ship from Phoenix AZ to Austin TX with ForwardAir. 192lb, and frigging
BIG. Although I think the BA123 is bigger.
I see their requirement that you deliver and pick up at their dock as
an advantage. Most all shipping damage seems to happen between the dock
and your door. They also refuse to insure or warranty *anything* that's
not in wood, which is another big plus with me. It says "We Give a
Shit." :)
If you ship it on a pallet, ship it on its side.
Doc
5:18 p.m.
110 pounds - it's not *that* big. It can go FedEx
(149 pound limit
for regular FedEx) as well as UPS - but that would be "pricey".
Actually if you pull the power supplies, and all the boards, then
ship the boards in one carefully packed box, and the power supplies
in another, you might be able to get the weight of the BA213 down to
the point where shipping it wouldn't be to expensive. I think the
magical weight point for UPS is 70 or 80 pounds, not sure what the
size (dimensions) limit is. Once you hit that magical limit, it gets
very spendy to ship using them. Breaking the package up can be a big
help.
OTOH, there is definitely something to be said for properly crating
the system shipping it by someone that specializes in transporting
large heavy objects. The downside is that the shipping is likely to
cost more than the unit is worth.
Zane
--
--
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
| | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
6:42 p.m.
Best to call/surf Freightquote.com
Really.
At 08:18 PM 12/7/2004 -0800, you wrote:
Tocqueville, Alexis de (1805-1859) There exists in the human heart a
depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to
lower the powerful to their own level, and reduces men to prefer
equality in slavery to inequality with freedom.
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
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43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, Cisco Certified CCNA
110 pounds -
it's not *that* big. It can go FedEx (149 pound limit for
regular FedEx) as well as UPS - but that would be "pricey".
Actually if you pull the power supplies, and all the boards, then ship the
boards in one carefully packed box, and the power supplies in another, you
might be able to get the weight of the BA213 down to the point where
shipping it wouldn't be to expensive. I think the magical weight point
for UPS is 70 or 80 pounds, not sure what the size (dimensions) limit
is. Once you hit that magical limit, it gets very spendy to ship using
them. Breaking the package up can be a big help.
OTOH, there is definitely something to be said for properly crating the
system shipping it by someone that specializes in transporting large heavy
objects. The downside is that the shipping is likely to cost more than
the unit is worth.
Zane
--
--
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
| | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
7162
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6 comments
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participants (7)
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allain＠panix.com -
doc＠mdrconsult.com -
eric＠brouhaha.com -
healyzh＠aracnet.com -
jpl15＠panix.com -
sethm＠loomcom.com -
tpeters＠mixcom.com