No-Gi

I have to ship a set of 16 inch wheels to Cali from Fla. I will just box them up. Who is the cheapest carrier? UPS is a bit on the expensive side. I heard DHL and Fed ex are a bit cheaper! Any truth?

nsxtasy

They all give rate quotes on their websites, so it's easy to compare rates. I've priced them all numerous times (including USPS and Greyhound as well as the three you mentioned), and FedEx Ground is consistently the least expensive.

When choosing a box size, keep in mind that the claimed dimensions are measured at the bead where the tire mounts. So, for example, a 16x7 wheel is actually around 17 inches in diameter and 8 inches in width if you measure it at the edge of the lip, which is what you need to do when selecting the box size's interior dimensions.

No-Gi

r.wright

iTrader: (58)

i have shipeed (4) 16"wheels w/o tires in a box 26x26x18...and i still had plenty of room for sufficient packaging material..the least packages and the least weight will be the least expensive and fedex is the way to go for sure. when i did (4)16x7 w/ 205/45 tires i did (2) 26x26x18 boxes w/cardboard in between and on the top and bottom.

i have shipped 17" wheels w/ tires from socal all the way to maine one time for $120


Modified by mrrlx at 9:55 PM 5/17/2006

nsxtasy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mrrlx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have shipeed (4) 16"wheels w/o tires in a box 26x18x18...and i still had plenty of room for sufficient packaging material..the least packages and the least weight will be the least expensive and fedex is the way to go for sure. when i did (4)16x7 w/ 205/45 tires i did (2) 26x18x18 boxes w/cardboard in between and on the top and bottom.</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you've got 16x7 wheels without tires, you can fit two of them in a box 18x18x18 with room for a couple of layers of cardboard on all sides. You don't need anything bigger. I get boxes that size at the UPS Store (and then ship the stuff via FedEx).

However, maybe you made an error on that second statement; there's no way to fit wheels with 205/45-16 tires in boxes that are 26x18x18. Maybe the boxes were actually 26x26x18?

EG6_GUY

FedEx - "Home Delivery" has been the most reasonable for me in the past.

nsxtasy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EG6_GUY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">FedEx - "Home Delivery" has been the most reasonable for me in the past.</TD></TR></TABLE>

FedEx "Home Delivery" is simply what FedEx calls its ground service when it is being shipped to a residence. Technically, "FedEx Ground" only refers to shipping to businesses, but it's really the same thing. I think FedEx and UPS both charge slightly more for residential addresses (recipient's address) which is why FedEx makes the distinction when you're preparing a shipment.

r.wright

iTrader: (58)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

If you've got 16x7 wheels without tires, you can fit two of them in a box 18x18x18 with room for a couple of layers of cardboard on all sides. You don't need anything bigger. I get boxes that size at the UPS Store (and then ship the stuff via FedEx).

However, maybe you made an error on that second statement; there's no way to fit wheels with 205/45-16 tires in boxes that are 26x18x18. Maybe the boxes were actually 26x26x18?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha..i stand corrected, homie...memories not the same as before. sorry if i mislead anybody-hehe

92acclude

Magic

Jeremy D. Swain

I like to use greyhound for shipping big items like wheels/tires, and body panels. I shipped a set of 16x7's with tires from Alabama to California for 76 dollars. Wheels arrive usually in 2 to 3 days. They get a from me!

nsxtasy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jeremy D. Swain &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I like to use greyhound for shipping big items like wheels/tires, and body panels.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've used Greyhound for body panels, because they're oversized and I think they are better able to deal with odd shaped oversized items loading into the cargo compartment of the bus than on a truck.

However, with wheels (that are boxed) or wheels/tires (that can be boxed or just have flats taped to the sides), FedEx and the other carriers do just fine. For those items, Greyhound tends to be a lot more money than FedEx or even UPS. BTW, the website for Greyhound's cargo service is shipgreyhound.com.

Let's look at an example. Let's say you have two wheels in a box that's 18x18x18, they weigh 35 pounds total, and you want to drop it off and ship it from Chicago 60601 to a residential address in Los Angeles 90001 via ground service and insure it for $200. Here's how much it will cost, according to the carriers' websites:

FedEx $28.58
USPS $32.80
UPS $33.82
Greyhound $39.60 (assuming recipient will pick up at bus station)
DHL - could not get a quote including extra insurance from their horribly-designed website, not recommended for this reason

old man neri

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

DHL - could not get a quote including extra insurance from their horribly-designed website, not recommended for this reason
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I just checked out their website. I managed to get a quote for those exact critera and it came in at $25.59. I don't know if that includes tax or how tax exactly works in your country/states.

nsxtasy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by old man neri &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just checked out their website. I managed to get a quote for those exact critera and it came in at $25.59. I don't know if that includes tax or how tax exactly works in your country/states.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It didn't work for me. I could get a quote of $24.09 before insurance, but every time I went to specify a value, it gave me an error message, "Server session timeout has occured. Please resubmit your request." Even after I enabled cookies.

I don't have the time to try debugging poorly-designed websites, which this one obviously is. (I also don't know where DHL packages are accepted, whereas FedEx has offices all over the place.)

old man neri

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

It didn't work for me. I could get a quote of $24.09 before insurance, but every time I went to specify a value, it gave me an error message, "Server session timeout has occurred. Please resubmit your request."
</TD></TR></TABLE>

The insurance was only 1.50. In any cause it's pretty close to FedEx ground, a whopping $2. Go with whatever one feels most comfortable with and whatever is most convenient.

REAL TIME

iTrader: (5)

i shipped my itr wheels w/ tires at fed ex w/ their boxes about $120

REAL TIME

iTrader: (5)

did you sell the wheels? If so then why should it matter? Buyer should pay for it

nsxtasy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spoon_Fed_EM1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i shipped my itr wheels w/ tires at fed ex w/ their boxes about $120</TD></TR></TABLE>

Most of the shipping services will provide boxes only if you use their premium, overnight service, and otherwise you have to pay for the boxes.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spoon_Fed_EM1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">did you sell the wheels? If so then why should it matter? Buyer should pay for it</TD></TR></TABLE>

That depends on the way the deal is arranged. Usually a price is quoted as "plus shipping" but sometimes it is quoted as "shipped" (i.e. including shipping).