fiberglass hardtop in NY to to to CA

miatadon

New User
I am negotiating to buy a fiberglass hardtop for an MGB sportscar. I have a bit of a transit problem, as it is in NY state and I am in California. It is light weight, but is bulky.
Is there anyone that is making a trip west and could transport it?
Could I get estimate and approximate travel time?
 
Another method to think about, might work for you, might not.
MG model B not rare, but not real common either. You want it to get there in good shape. Not knocking the independant haulers, just another possibility.
Have the seller strap it down on a pallet so it can't move around, with plenty of cushion material. Build a plywood box around it for protection. Mark top & sides "TOP LOAD ONLY". Then call his local agent for an LTL carrier such as Yellow, ABF, Con-Way etc. If that carrier doesn't serve your area, they will hand it off to one that does. It will be insured in case of damage or loss. You will also have a local agent to handle any possible claims. Expect about a week in transit. If more than one carrier is involved & there is a claim, they share the cost, just like they share the revenue, but the delivering carrier actually writes the check.
HTH
WJ
 
(quoted from post at 02:01:57 08/28/11) Another method to think about, might work for you, might not.
MG model B not rare, but not real common either. You want it to get there in good shape. Not knocking the independant haulers, just another possibility.
Have the seller strap it down on a pallet so it can't move around, with plenty of cushion material. Build a plywood box around it for protection. Mark top & sides "TOP LOAD ONLY". Then call his local agent for an LTL carrier such as Yellow, ABF, Con-Way etc. If that carrier doesn't serve your area, they will hand it off to one that does. It will be insured in case of damage or loss. You will also have a local agent to handle any possible claims. Expect about a week in transit. If more than one carrier is involved & there is a claim, they share the cost, just like they share the revenue, but the delivering carrier actually writes the check.
HTH
WJ
hen I used to ship stuff regularly NO TOP LOAD meant do not put anything on top of it. but I agree with building a strong plywood box.
 
Be very careful about shipping this top with a common carrier. That's those carriers Willie in MN is describing. As one who ships approximately 10 shipments with common carriers a week, I can tell you, you are flirting with disaster. The reasons? One, coming all the way across country your piece will change trucks and be loaded, unloaded, stacked on, bumped with a forklift, STABBED with a forklift, dropped or otherwise thrown around by monkeys like the luggage you saw in that old Samsonite luggage commercial years ago. And, since it's a used piece the carrier is only liable for close to .10/lb. for the damage. Really! Been there! So, not saying it won't get there safely. Just saying take care to make SURE it's crated securely because putting a sign that says Non-Stackable on it means STACK HERE in most cases. They will do it anyway. Also, there are ways to get as much as a 65% discount over what you pay by calling the carrier yourself. I'd suggest a high volume broker to get you the best rate. Not by calling the carrier direct. One other option? Put it on an independent, not a common carrier. You can put it on an independent and it never moves off the truck. He straps it to his wall and only moves it to hand it to you. I ship lots of stuff this way. When I know the monkeys are going to tear it up, I usually pay just a little more to send it on an independent to get it there safely. The driver may not speak fluent English but he knows what a freight claim is and he hates those. I hope this helps. I know when you find a rare piece you want it to get to you safely.
 
That pretty much parallels my experience with UPS and Fedex with the smaller boxes... Mark the box *HANDLE WITH CARE* and you can be guaranteed that they will use it for a tackling dummy.

The trick with those guys is to use a beat-up old box for the outer packaging. The worse the box looks, the better. They figure someone else must've already done their worst, so they leave it alone.

I wonder if that works with the common carriers too...
 

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