Shipping vinyl tack trunk cross country

[IPEsq]

I’ve seen some useful threads on what carriers to use for shipping tack trunks. My question is about packing it for shipping.

Assuming I decide to use a service like FedEx Home Delivery, how should I prepare my vinyl trunk for shipping? “Santa” brought it a million years ago, so I don’t know how it was shipped originally. It’s an old Warner’s vinyl trunk with vinyl lid, so pretty sturdy in itself. It’s the small size show trunk, and I could ship it packed with some not too heavy soft goods or empty. Do I need to wrap it in furniture pads and build a cardboard box or two around it? If so, any suggestions on how to put handles on it and where to get heavy duty cardboard this size?

Anyone who has sent a vinyl trunk this way in a move or to ship back to the manufacturer (e.g., McGuinn) for repair or new panels, please let me know how you did it! Thanks!!

[DMK]

I dropped my McGuinn off at their trailer when I had panels replaced, but my memory of how they shipped it back to me was via freight and it was in a very sturdy cardboard box - sort of like appliance type box - definitely thicker/more rugged than normal fed X cardboard boxes

[ybiaw]

Since it’s a sturdy box in and of itself, it doesn’t really make any sense to me to put anything inside it. The challenge is just to protect it from any cosmetic damage (dings, dents, etc). So, I would ship it empty, do a couple layers of large-bubble bubble around it, and put it in a nice sturdy box, like a large moving box that you can get from Home Depot, Uhaul, etc.

[hype]

shipping vinyl trunks

The trunks are pretty heavy and a regular box isn’t going to protect it very well. I would suggest going to a box store and having them pack it up for you. I’ve seen corners of the boxes (even ones packed from Phoenix West) ripped open and they had scraped on the wooden bumpers. Insurance covered it but it was still inconvenient.

It might be an extra $40 but you’ll get it to where you need it to be in one piece. Also, the last few times I’ve sent things via FedEx that were insured, they have checked my packing and made me repack a saddle and wrap it in bubble wrap. It was insured for more than a trunk but they are getting pretty particular on not paying out insurance unless it is properly packed.

The small trunks can go any of the major carriers, the large trunks need to go with a freight company.

[Brigadier]

I worked at FedEx Ground (Home Delivery) for years in Quality Assurance, and spent much of that time processing damages. The vast majority are due to improper packaging by the shipper.

-A tight fitting box around the trunk, with sturdy Styrofoam to protect all corners and edges. Attach the foam to the trunk itself. Wrap the latch in plastic or something cushy so it doesn’t rub through the cardboard and make a hole. One of the worst things you can do is pack something in a box that is too big. Your best bet will probably be breaking down a few large boxes and wrapping the trunk. Tape everything!!
-If you are including the tray and grooming box, attach them to the bottom of the trunk so there will be minimal shifting. Bubble wrap wouldn’t hurt.
-I also suggest putting your address and phone number inside the trunk, in case the label gets damaged and they have to open the box. Tape the lid closed.
-Marking “this end up” means nothing, it will end up upside down a LOT.
-Expect it to arrive with lots of footprints (The FedEx Ground Seal of Approval). -Use some of that yellow tape that says “75+ Lbs” if you can, they are supposed to use two people to lift those packages.
-Don’t include handles in your cardboard box, they will just tear and package handlers are trained to avoid them because of this. If your box has them, tape them closed.
-There is no such thing as too much tape…as long as there is no tape over the barcode.
-Be nice to the QA clerk if there is damage, this is a rough time of year!

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

Just as an outside thought - consider shipping via rail/bus. Here in Canada I have had people send me big bulky items (i.e. saddles) via Greyhound. Minimizes the handling as one person puts it on bus… 3 days later I pick it up from the bus depot.

[IPEsq]

Thanks everyone.

That’s a good tip about the tray and grooming box. I wouldn’t have thought of that and probably turned them both into sawdust.

Based on lack of time to hunt down a lot of Styrofoam and large pieces of double walled cardboard, I think I’ll take it to a local packing and shipping service and hope it won’t be outrageously expensive. I’ll make sure they use tape liberally.