of a large collection of stuff that's been sold. It has to go from Cleveland all the way to suburban Birmingham. I think the best bet might be to find a driver who's delivering north and wants more work for the return trip, or someone from around here who simply wants more stuff to squeeze onto his trailer before going south. The stuff is basically on standby and can be ready to go on rather short notice.

Are there any forums on which to post a request like that?

And (dumb question) how much does a trailer hold? This stuff is heavy. I estimate its weight at about 12,000 lbs and volume 700 cu. ft.

Thanks, Jeff

You may want to check with ABF (just google it); they have a service called U pack we ship (or something like it) where they will drop (park) a pup trailer (28' long) at a place of your choosing. You load it, they retrieve it and take it to your destination. ANd then you unpack it (duh!). COuld be just what you folks need.

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LOL! Is that truck in your avatar in front of the tire or under it?
Thanks for the tip. That's the best option I've found so far. At least it's available this month. I'm still hoping to find an driver with a half-full trailer as it may be cheaper, but there are a trillion logistics and forwarding companies in the phone book.

No no no, forget the forwarding and logistics companies. It's entirely too much hassle that way. I work in LTL freight dealing with shipments such as yours on a regular basis, and I can tell you that the phrase "too many cooks spoil the broth" is no more true than in my line of work. The broker will give the carrier wrong information and things will get all screwed up.

What you want to do is call a carrier directly. ABF may be able to help you. R+L Carriers offers free liftgate service, as another option.

The first thing you need to do is package the stuff for transport, meaning secured to pallets and stretchwrapped, because the carrier needs to be able to handle it easily and efficently. If it's large, you need to have a way to load it, because liftgates are only good for standard size skids.

Once you do this, call the corporate office of the carrier of your choice and ask for their rates department. You'll need to describe the shipment, meaning how many pallets, or how big it is if it's a density item, and you'll need to tell them the estimated weight, and the destination.

They will then quote you a price. Take note of the quote number, for when they transfer you to their collections dept. if you want to pay for it then and there with a credit card.

You could also send it "collect", meaning the receiver will be responsible for the freight charges at the time of delivery. But he better know about this ahead of time or he may refuse delivery and the shipment will come back to you.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.

You might consider calling a moving and storage agent for an estimate. Don't use an outfit you find on the internet though, call an agent affiliatd with a bona-fide transfer co., i.e. Allied, Bekins, Paul Arpin, Mayflower-United, etc.
rx

Wow, thanks. Now I finally feel confident that what I was hoping to find can be found. I have some names to call instead of a LONG phone book list (friggen phone book doesn't separate local/area from interstate).

I have a few more questions that'll probably seem ridiculous to you:
What's the size of a standard pallet and how high can they be stacked?
How much weight will a pallet jack carry? This stuff is heavy (30 lbs./cu. ft., maybe more).
Whose insurance usually covers freight like this, anyway? The sender's, the driver's or the recipient's? Do you think it matters whether it's sold merchandise or just stuff being moved from one residence to another?
MT

I can only give you a few answers:

A standard skid (pallet) is roughly 4'x5', and most pallet jacks are rated for at least 1000 lbs if not 1500.
When you setup the shipment, the company will ask you for a declared value, because their insurance will cover a certain amount that it's worth; if your freight is worth more, then you can purchase additional coverage then. And the value is important, because if it gets damaged then you will surely want to replace it.

Oh and BTW, yes that small truck is UNDER the dump's tire. The caption to the photo read 'that's why you don't park in the Ore Truck lane'. Gotta love it!

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No, these questions are not ridiculous.

48"x40"

It depends on the items in question. Some things handle stacking better than others, such as tile.

I will assume for the moment, from the information you've provided, that the freight in question is dense, and is packaged in 1 cubic foot boxes. You should be able to put 60 of those on a standard size pallet, and a 30 lbs per ft, that would be an 1800 lb skid. That's heavy, but it's doable with a pallet jack.

This will work out to about a 12 skid shipment.

You need not worry about this. Most pallet jacks are rated for 5000 lbs or more.

The carrier (not the driver) has insurance that covers the freight they carry.

Matters not, freight is freight. The carrier's job is simply to move it from here to there.

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Z-Lady's devoted hubby.