How to ship an axle?

[yungupgrade]

Never done this before. Do I need to build the pallet? What carriers/ methods are the best for shipping? Did some quick reads and found that Amtrak can ship but on their website it says they suspended that service. I don't know of any small freight companies off the top of my head. Not sure if UPS or similar could be more convenient. Buyer is paying full shipping cost but I would like to get it cheaper for him. Any advice relating to this is appreciated.

[Pete M]

been a loooong time since I shipped an axle, but I used RL Carriers.  they had liftgate service.  now a days you can use Uship or other services that take your needs and give them to various shippers.  we shipped the Camaro that way.  they tack on a fee though, so it'll be cheaper if you can get as close as possible directly to the guy driving the truck.

[saveevryjp1998]

I've never done one because of the cost. I did work at Old Dominion Freight and for different furniture moving companies over the years. Many times we would be at the dock yards doing direct pickup and drop offs for special items often international large rare goods. All the major carriers will have direct drop at the terminal to definitely save a lot of money. It's time consuming though. The shortest wait time will be midday on a Monday at about any carrier. Most freight just hammers in after 2 pm when trucks and workers follow in shift to move it. 4-5 pm or later, could be waiting hours simply because the workers are slammed with quotas to meet and often to keep their jobs. Nobody wants to help you because the time will kill production  numbers needed to keep your job. Daytime is a completely different world on the docks. 

[boxyjeep]

Strap it to a thin pallet and us FedEx Freight or one of the other LTL carriers.  Not gonna be cheap.

[Drahcir495]

Geeze, I can’t remember what auto parts store around here (advanced auto??) has axles delivered to us , but they use a pretty sweet composite box to ship them in. I can figure out who on Monday if you need me to? It’s a pretty steep deposit on the container as I recall, so you are compelled to get them back lol. 

[Salvagedcircuit]

Fastenal used to provide cheap and relatively easy freight shipping (if you had experienced fastenal workers). Then fastenal decided to split their service in half in one of the stupidest moves of the century, and now they no longer deliver coast to coast.

 

Greyhound also used to transport goods, but I don't know if they still do.

[yungupgrade]

Thanks for the replies. I made a pallet so far but I was curious if anyone knew offhand what the weight of certain dana 30 components were? I'm only shipping the housing, diff, and knuckles. Fluid has been drained.

[Pete M]

standard bathroom scale should be able to weigh it.   

[ghetdjc320]

You can ship a Dana 30 as loose cargo through FedEx or ups ground (under 150lbs). Take it off the pallet and shrink wrap it. You could save even more if you remove the knuckles and ship them in a flat rate box. 
 

You can use pirateship to get good ups rates unless you already have an account.