Foo - Freight shipping, ideas needed

I just placed an order for a milling machine :D :eek: :) :D :p . Shipping weight is 372 pounds, not your UPS package. My big challenge is going to be getting this off the truck if I cannot use a friends pickup and get this at the terminal. I am told not to expect a liftgate service, which is the ultimate answer.
How have other people dealt with getting large packages off a truck? I need ideas

call a courier or delivery service with a straight truck with liftgate and have it delivered to where you want it, isnt cheap(I used to deliver stuff like this and its a license to steal), expect to pay depending on distance and location as much as $125 for delivery, maybe more, maybe less--depends on the carrier, most cities have lots of air freight carriers to handle this sort of thing, even if its coming off a ship terminal

or if that proves too expensive, rent a dock high truck w/liftgate and go get it yourself

Oh well actually how it works is....
Grizzly ships the package, using whatever freight shipper is designated for my area. In my case, NH.
The freight shipper brings milling machine to the terminal, calls me. I have the option of going over there with a pickup truck, they will forklift the mill onto the back of the truck. This may not be an option for me though.
Or they will schedule a time to delivery the package, its all the same cost regardless.

THe thing is, the trucker is in no way obligated to help get the package off the back of the truck when he pulls into my driveway. Once I get it onto the pallet on earth, its okay. Its just the 38" from truck to earth that is a rocky road...

build a ramp out of a couple 2x4's, if the driver has a pallet jack(he should) and its on its own little skid(it should be) or in a big cardboard box it wont be hard to get it onto the ramp and let gravity do the rest........it will slide down, Ive had to do that too twice.........scary but it worked, you can wrestle a box or skid onto the ramp pretty easily even if it weighs a whole bunch, Ive moved 1200lb skids around in the back of a truck before just by brute force on the slippery floor of the truck

works best if the truck can back up to a patch of grass so the ramp cant move, a couple cross pieces to hold it together and it works fine, just make sure it isnt gonna come apart in the process, it doesnt have to be fancy---put one cross piece near the truck end and notch the ends of the 2x4's so you dont have a very big lip to get the box onto, friction will probably force you to actually help it down the ramp---it isnt that heavy, just be careful and dont split the ends of the 2x4's(reason for cross piece there)

Bribe friends with pizza, soda, and candy to help you unload.


In my experience, truckers are very willing to help...they just want to be on their way..ASAP

You need a bike messenger, preferably on a fixed gear.

372lb is heavy, but not that heavy, get a couple of 2x4's like pedex said and a strong friend or two and it shouldn't be that hard. If you even get more people, should be able to just carry it off.

What kind of truck is delivering it? 38"? I guess a small box truck? Might have a aluminum ramp which should suffice. If the truck driver helps, make sure you tip him...

Worse case, soft grass + metal mill machine + 3 foot drop = dirty mill machine and a dent in ground.

Congrats on getting a mill, how much is it costing you total? I've always wanted one...........

do you have like 4 other strong friends?

That should do it

Yea I will need a few friends. I would think the trucker would at least help, I dont expect him to get it off solo. I was thinking about the ramp idea. If I can wrap some rope around the box, I should be able to slide it slowly down the ramp using the rope to stabilize. I have some 2x6's that I can use to make the frame of the ramp, more than enough strength.

4 strong friends would be great. Maybe I can get my neighbors involved.
The thing comes in a thick plywood box, supposedly well packaged. Heres a picture:
http://www.tedatum.com/thms/shop13.html

The mill I have now cost me 300 dollars frm HF, it was a POS. I bought two extension kits that made 2 worlds of a difference, another 170 dollars. I am selling that one now on ebay to finance the new mill.
Here is the one I am getting:
http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0463

For the price, I think its pretty good. It seems well made, has many happy users who report it being very accurate.

A grand is a lot to drop in one shot..

its in a crate strapped to a skid, wood on wood has lots of friction, make a ramp, you will have to help it slide down the ramp,slide it to the tail of the truck, tilt back a bit and wiggle it onto the ramp, let it stand up on the ramp, then get off the truck and slide it down, your problem will be after that !! moving it on a hand truck would be good

A grand is a lot to drop in one shot..
I agree. To get to this point required a lot of extra time at work and saving every penny I find.

Dolly == :love:

THe thing is, the trucker is in no way obligated to help get the package off the back of the truck when he pulls into my driveway.

Most drivers are glad to help get stuff off of their trucks if it means they can get the hell out of there ASAP. The are not getting paid while unloading/loading, so it is in their best interests to get the stuff off. The best way to get them to help is to start with a plan that is so idiotic they are basically forced to tell you what to do in order to get the hell out of there.

Looks like I am all set. My boss said I can just have the package delivered right to the shop. This way he can just go with a forklift and have removed in 20 seconds and the trucker is on his way. I dont think the freight shipper (New Penn freight) will have any problem, my guess is that they would much rather deliver to a business anyways.

Cool. Hope everything works out :D You reallyu need to post photos one of these days of what you do with all this stuff :p

I will post photos of the recieving process :). It turns out shipping weight, according to Grizzly, is 448 pounds. Not sure why their website lists it as 372, I hear the machine is 300. So where does the extra weight come from, guess I will find out. According to New Penn's shipping calculator, it will take one day from PA to MA (their nearest terminal).

maybe the crate used is a different type of wood than previously.

It happens sometimes. I've seen wooden pallets range from 8lbs to 29lbs for the exact same size pallet.