Shipping large slabs

[strunk57]

Hello all, I recently come across some larger than normal ERC. I sawed one log yesterday that was roughly 22" and solid. Posted it online and sold several pieces this morning for around $4 a bdft. I was thinking I may be able to move a lot more if I could ship them but have no idea where to begin. I was hoping someone could help me with the process of shipping these 14-24" slabs

[strunk57]

 

 

[strunk57]

Frank Seaman?? anybody?

[Seaman]

Hey Bud! I have never shipped, so I am no help. If they continue to be in your way, mabe I could come pick up a few as a favor ! With friends like me.......
Glad to see your doing well.

[yukon cornelius]

They can be wrapped in cardboard and shipped. It needs to look like a decent box in the event one is destroyed in shipping. They will call it insufficient packaging if it wasn't. How can they destroy a slab you ask? With a forklift and people who don't care handling them. You can use FedEx shipping estimator to get close on a quote but pad your shipping quote some to cover overages. I double box them. Take a picture of it and the box you put it in. We just recently had an issue and they denied the claim even though they destroyed the box, the item and half of both didn't even make the destination. I would love to save someone else some problems if I can.

[yukon cornelius]

 A few other tips we learned. Check a few varying sizes. To trim an inch or so can cut the shipping cost in half. They seem to have slots. 4 to 6 foot ships very affordable. Above that starts getting pricey.  For shipping ground to home the weight needs to be under either 100 or 150 I forget which one. Also entering length width and heighth a few different ways can save money. Such as.  You measure length 6 foot, width 12 inches, and heighth 2 inches enter those dimensions but also enter them like length 12 inches, width 6 foot, and height  2 inches. Doing this can really save money even though it may seem ridiculous.

[redprospector]

I've never shipped slabs, but we used to ship a lot of furniture, and "dust collectors".
One thing that I learned is that UPS has very little, or no sense of humor. Never, never, never write on the side of a package; "This Package Is UPS Resistant". It just doesn't work out well.  :D

[scleigh]

LTL freight on a long pallet is the only way to ship a slab that long. UPS and Fedex will destroy a slab wrapped in cardboard. I've worked at UPS for 25 years, big heavy items just don't fare well.

[WDH]

For all the issues mentioned above, that is why I don't do it. 

[xlogger]

I worked for Roadway for 29 years. If you ship a heavy slab make sure you set it on a pallet and attach it to the pallet also, if using straps to attach make sure that a forklift will not cut them when it goes into the pallet. They push the dock and drivers to get everything done fast and we didn't bend over and try to pickup anything heavy.  I'd cover it with a cheap plywood, top, bottom and sides on the pallet also.

[justallan1]

Whenever I have to ship slabs or crates I put cheap plywood or waferboard on all sides and attach the thing to a pallet, then use plenty plastic wrap on the entire thing. The folks at the shipping companies understandably don't want to handle by these crates by hand and have to maneuver them around with forklifts, give them something other than your wood to abuse. Make darned sure to get pics of what you are sending, before and after you crate it up. Take a look at insurance costs.
Where I live it's just much easier to find a business in town with a forklift to ship and receive large crates for me.
I've used Fed-Ex and they do okay and are easy to deal with, but have had one crate demolished by them. I'm just glad that one was steel.
I highly recommend against using a shipping broker unless you personally know they have a good history of being reliable. A shipping broker is using the very cheapest way of getting something somewhere and in my experience will use unreliable trucking companies so they can save a buck. They can have your crate changing trucking companies at every major city and every time it changes truck it's getting handled and abused.
I'm still plenty sore about losing a 500 pound crate of burls heading for Michigan and ended up getting found in a warehouse in Dallas 2 months later. The broker tried his best to sidestep any responsibility, but was pretty quick to offer 10 cents a pound "just to do the right thing for me" :D
My best advice is to stick with nationally known companies that have built a name for themselves.

[scsmith42]

We ship long stuff all the time. Several things to keep in mind.

First, if the trucks have to wait excessively long for you to load them they will charge you extra. The lesson here is be ready to load the truck quickly when it shows up.

Second, you get the best rates by using a freight forwarding co. I use Unishippers and Dave Lane Transport.

Third, you need to palletize the lumber so that it can be picked from the end or the side. Typically on a 12' or longer piece I will put a pallet under each end, aligned do that it can be forked from the end. The middle section is left either empty of with a pallet aligned so that it can be forked from the side.

Put some thought into where you place your banding so that the forklift forks don't hit it. Use several wraps of banding at the ends so that the stack stays together if/when forked from the end.

Usually in the shipping warehouses they skid the pallets along the floor, so be sure that your banding is placed where it won't break.

[Cedarman]

Just did my taxes and our shipping charges last year were $53,000.00  We ship flat bed tractor trailer loads and use plastic banding.  Some get tarped others not.  We ship supersacks in box van double stacked.  We use FEDEX for boxes under 70# and 140#. Lengths just shy of 8' at max.  Multiple boxes are sometimes less expensive than using a pallet and LTL.
We use LTL for GM pallet size up to 20' lengths, never wider than 43" total weight under 10,000#.
Knowing the weight of the lumber and pallet weight is very important.
We ship  2 to 3 LTL shipments per week.
We build our own pallets out of poplar lumber with a footprint determined by what we are shipping.
Rough lumber is simply steel banded with banding going just inside the bottom board at each end and several more (4 or more total depending on length) along the rest of the bundle.  We do not cover the rough lumber.  If planed or finished lumber, we cover sides and top with cardboard.
Before getting quote, make sure you know the length, width and height and weight.  These figures determine class.  Most likely class 70.  Peeled poles and logs are class 50.  If you can get density to 30# or more per cubic foot, rate is 55.  Lower class is more economical.  Cedar is right at 36# per cubic foot, so is very difficult to get a density of over 30# per cubic foot. Pallet is included in dimensions.
Shipping to a business with dock or forklift saves from $20 to $150 over shipping directly to a residence.
Have extensions on your forklift will let you load long bundles.  If you only have one forklift, you can place the end of a long bundle inside the truck, have helper place a pallet on end to set the other end of long pallet on.  Then go to end, pick up, remove pallet , and push load into truck.
We have had one problem with damage in last 3 years.  It was not worth the hassle to get the trucking company to pay the $100.  I was able to replace and ship the small amount damaged by FEDEX.
Use cardboard protectors at corners where steel straps could damage wood.
For firewood we use stretch wrap along with boards nailed up the sides and over the top to keep firewood in place.  Firewood is used for firewalking.
We use Freightquote for most LTL shippers.
Just found out about Unishippers and they seem a lot cheaper.  Will give them a try.
Taking pictures is a very good idea.
If shipping to a home, tell home owner he will need a tin snips to cut banding.  Saves time.
Do not use lift gate. The charge is $75 to $100 extra.
We get shipping quote at time of order.  Goods and shipping are prepaid so I don't worry about getting stuck with not getting paid.
I charge $20 or $30 per pallet used depending on how big it is.

[strunk57]

Thank you cedar man For the detailed explanation, I am leaning more toward eBay to sell some slabs. Cedar man, how many of these logs do you get that's 20-23"v

[Cedarman]

We get very few.  If tree length and they have some good measure in the first 12 to 20', I stockpile the whole log.   Most big logs have doughty wood in the butt, but they will make great architectural logs and command a good price.  Just had 18 loads come in and not a single log that measured 14 to 15" at 16'.  But they get bucked into great sawlogs.