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Niederwimmer

Shipping a motor

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Niederwimmer

Quick question...How would I go about shipping a motor to someone? I'm sure some people on here have experience with this but I don't know where to begin. Any better companies to ship through than another? Any ideas on packaging?

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Sparky

Drain all fliuds, bolt it to a piece of wood, stick it in a cardboard box with some packing peanuts and ship it.

I bought a motor on e-bay once and the fool that shipped it left oil in the block and a small amount of fuel in the tank, stuck it in a plastic tote and shipped it UPS. The motor tipped in the plastic tote. UPS called me and said come get it after the delivery driver smelled gas or oil. Luckily for me it was only 50 miles away and not 200!

  Mike..........

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rmaynard

Drain it, crate it, and ship it UPS. They will take up to 150 pounds. Or you can take it to a local shipping franchise in your neighborhood and have them do all the work, but be prepared to pay an arm and a leg.

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Niederwimmer

Thanks guys!

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boovuc

There are also a lot of LTL carriers, (less than trailerload), that will take freight and deliver to residential areas using a drop gate. I think the best is R&L Carriers. If you have over 150 lbs, this is the way to go but I would check R&L even if you are under 150 lbs.

They are easy to talk to, great web page and their communications are great. I use them at work occasionally and I used them to ship a P220 Onan from IL to PA a few years ago right to my door.

And for God's sake, please make sure that all the fluids are drained as stated above.

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rydogg

I take my smaller engines (under 80 lbs) to FedEx and let them box and ship them that way I can't be blamed for poor packing if an insurance claim needed to be made.  Fex Ex automatically insures to $100 and I think it is a dollar for every $100 of extra insurance.  I have not tried UPS yet but I know they will ship more weight than Fed Ex will to a residential address.  My little engines usually ship for around $70 but I did ship an overweight engine that cost $120 and it had to be shipped to a Fed Ex store.  Drain the fluids, bag it up and shrink wrap it just in case it has a little residual oil or fuel that leaks.

Edited by rydogg

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clemedc

If its 70lbs and under including packing USPS. Just drain all fluids and pack it well. I have received Engines that were simply packed in a cardboard box with plenty of other cardboard boxes under, over and around it to cradle the engine. It worked well. Just pack it as tight as possible trying to not crush governor arms and such.

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MarkPalmer

To ship engines under 60 lbs:

 

1.  Drain all fluids from the engine.

2.  Remove, if possible, any components that are sharp or protruding from engine and pack them separately.

3.  Get a roll of bubble wrap with the LARGE (approx. 1 inch) bubbles.  Wrap the engine COMPLETELY in ALL directions with at least 6-8 inches of bubble wrap, and tape it securely.  Basically you make the engine in to a ball of bubble wrap. Other forms of “protection†such as newspaper, packing peanuts, foam from your old couch cushions, or those big air filled pillows are virtually worthless in holding back a heavy engine so don’t bother with them.

4.  Get either a DOUBLE WALL box of appropriate size, or better yet form a true double box by fitting one single wall box inside another.  Single wall boxes used alone when shipping an engine are the number one reason an engine gets damaged.  Number two are the worthless packing materials listed above. 

5.  Pack engine in box, and make sure it doesn’t move around a lot.  Use extra bubble wrap to fit the wrapped engine snugly in the box.  Tape box securely.

6.  To do it right and have the best assurance against damage, any engine weighing much over 60 lbs. (this includes most of your cast iron Kohlers and the like) needs to be crated in a fully enclosed minimum ½ inch thick plywood crate with the engine bolted to a wooden support secured to the crate that won’t allow the engine to move if the crate is tilted in any direction.  This in addition to draining the fluids.  As long as the engine can’t move, no additional packing is needed. 

 

I send these instructions to everyone I buy a small engine from off of E-Bay.  I have had too many collectible engines and blocks get cracked or broken through shipping by packaging that was a complete effortless joke. 

 

-Mark-

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AMC RULES

You can always tell...when someone wants an item to arrive on the other side in the same condition it left. 

I'm just sayin'... :handgestures-thumbsup: 

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Niederwimmer

Good luck to whoever I ship these to, because I'm making a trip to Lowe's soon to buy what I need to get a professional crate built. Hope these folks have power tools haha

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Jeff-C175

 

bolted to a wooden support secured to the crate that won’t allow the engine to move if the crate is tilted in any direction.

 

I myself might even go one step further because I can visualize the Samsonite Gorilla THROWING the crate and having the bolt hole mounting flanges broken off the engine.

 

Make sure that the wood you bolt the engine to is substantial enough that the bolts don't pull through the wood.  I could see this happening with 1/2" plywood.

 

If I had access to a banding machine (I do, you may not?) I would run a couple bands around a part of the engine to relieve the strain on the oil pan if the crate does get dropped.  Just be careful that they are placed such that they won't cause MORE damage, say to the tins or the fins, in the event something like that does happen.

 

If you don't have banding machine, maybe one of those nylon webbing ratchet type straps would suffice?

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rydogg

MY :twocents-02cents:.... Plywood box seems like a lot of work when the engines the shop orders kohler, briggs, honda etc. come in a cardboard box with no problems, plus wood is a lot heavier than cardboard so shipping is substantially more....personally I have shipped around 10 engines in doubled up cardboard boxes and never had a problem I let Fed Ex do the work and all they use is paper for packing material, I just shipped a 1930's briggs model A engine to Utah with no problems.

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MarkPalmer

MY :twocents-02cents:.... Plywood box seems like a lot of work when the engines the shop orders kohler, briggs, honda etc. come in a cardboard box with no problems, plus wood is a lot heavier than cardboard so shipping is substantially more....personally I have shipped around 10 engines in doubled up cardboard boxes and never had a problem I let Fed Ex do the work and all they use is paper for packing material, I just shipped a 1930's briggs model A engine to Utah with no problems.

 

Many of the lighter weight engines aren't a problem when packed the right way in a substantial (double wall minimum) cardboard box.  My experiences have been if they are much over 60 lbs though, cardboard isn't adequate.  Myself, I don't mind paying the extra cost of shipping a crate as assurance the engine arrives in one piece.  With some antique/classic engines, one crack during shipping and the engine goes from being a jewel to a paperweight, and it's heartbreaking when one arrives at your door that way.  I have two 1946 Clintons sitting in my storage area with their blocks damaged during shipping because they were shipped in single wall boxes with little padding and spent the whole trip beating their way out of the box. 

 

-Mark-

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MarkPalmer

This applies to packaging anything.  The standard, “rule of thumb†and question to ask  when packaging in a taped cardboard box that will be shipped UPS, USPS or FedEx is will the package withstand a 3 foot drop in any direction without the contents being damaged?  Sounds like a lot?  This is derived from the scenario if the package falls from one of their transport conveyors, which it’s well known that they do on occasion due to the volume of packages they ship.  When you are attempting to ship a 70-80-100 pound plus engine that way, it is simply too much for cardboard and tape to withstand, regardless of what you put inside to pad it.  It also aggravates package handlers to the point they aren’t going to go out of their way to be gentile with it- quite the opposite.  If it’s something stupid that can be returned, no big wash.  But when it’s an old engine that is rare, valuable or unique and it gets ruined, many times there is no way that any amount of money can replace it.  Crates are handled differently by shippers who handle crates.  They know and expect the contents to be heavy, hence no surprises, and that it should only be handled facing in the direction marked up.  It’s still not a perfect thing with a 100% guarantee, but gives an engine the best chance of survival when shipping. 

 

(This comes from my days as a general freight trucker.  LOL.)

 

-Mark-

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Jeff-C175

When it comes down to the bottom line, it's all about 'risk management'.

 

OVER pack and minimize risk, especially, as Mark says, if it's an irreplaceable item.  No amount of money will help if it's destroyed.

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Niederwimmer

Good points and well said. Thanks for the help guys!

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clemedc

I spent many years as a teamster at a freight company. Anything can be harmed by a fork lift FORK going thru the package at 5mph or being dropped 4 or 5 feet as they try to stack it on top of freight or onto racks in the truck etc. Dont over engineer the box just package it to ride and stay in place. For the  most part UPS USPS and the freight companies do an excellent job.

Disclaimer

All the above is subject to acts of God etc. LOL

Clem

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