Cost to ship a container.

[Ryanjax]

I'm getting ready to retire from the navy in a year or so and will be moving from Jacksonville FL to South Bend, IN when I do. My plan is to pack up my shop into a 20' or 40' shipping container and have it shipped.

Has anyone ever done this? What costs are involved besides the container? Roll off? Shipping? Insurance?

I had debated an enclosed double axle trailer but not sure about putting my milling machine and planer in one of those. Plus I think I'd enjoy the added storage once I move.

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[HOTFR8]

Start looking at transport companies that can move a container. You could even find a contact on this forum that can help or advise.

 

[619DioFan]

When you get out the military will pay for one last move to wherever. no reason for you to foot the bill. you also will have the option of a DITY move ( if you think you can fit it all in a 26 rental truck ) good way to make some cash. you can load into a semi trailer such as ABF upack but I am not sure if TMO will accept that for a dity as you need weights. shipping a can that distance will be rather costly IMO. I work in the moving and storage industry and do mostly TMO ( or DMO or whatever they want to call themselves these days ) moves. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Ryanjax]

When you get out the military will pay for one last move to wherever. no reason for you to foot the bill. you also will have the option of a DITY move ( if you think you can fit it all in a 26 rental truck ) good way to make some cash. you can load into a semi trailer such as ABF upack but I am not sure if TMO will accept that for a dity as you need weights. shipping a can that distance will be rather costly IMO. I work in the moving and storage industry and do mostly TMO ( or DMO or whatever they want to call themselves these days ) moves. PM me if you have any questions.

Yes, my last move will be paid for up to 14klbs. I should have about 20k just in my shop. Mill, planers, jointer, bandsaw, welders, spindle sanders, grinders, drill presses.... I plan to have my house moved by the Navy but move the shop myself.

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[Hot Rod Grampa]

I have had the containers and could not find anyone to move it full. I would have to rent a legal trailer, fill it then hire a trucker to pull it to Florida then I could unload it. That was cheaper than pods. I ended up buying a diesel motor home and a 24' enclosed trailer(heavy duty not out of Georgia) and made several trips. Then sold the mh and trailer.

 

[619DioFan]

Yes, my last move will be paid for up to 14klbs. I should have about 20k just in my shop. Mill, planers, jointer, bandsaw, welders, spindle sanders, grinders, drill presses.... I plan to have my house moved by the Navy but move the shop myself.

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In this case I would consider using ABF upack service. this will be the most cost effective way. the downside is loading heavy shop equipment into a freight trailer using just the loading ramp they send is " challenging " as the deck in a freight trailer sits much higher off the ground then in a u-haul truck. a fork lift is helpfull ( could rent one ) abf charges by the cube ( 5 feet floor distance minimum ) hard to stack shop equipment so might take a whole trailer ( 26 foot pups is what they usually send ) cube out your shop stuff and see what it fits in.

 

[gte718p]

I have yet to find a good way to move loaded containers from ground level. There are some swingloaders that can do it, but they are a rare bread. I see them occasionally a military surplus auctions, but I have never been able to hire one in the wild.

Best bet I have found hire a moving van or a container on a chassis. Rent a fork lift from sunbelt or similar for a day at each end.

I've also used riggers to offload full containers. If you don't happen to be at a container or boat yard that has large equipment sitting around, that can set you back as much as the move.

 

[54stude]

I would look into buying a used 53’ semi trailer, paying someone to move it for you, and selling it when you get to South Bend.

Or, if you could buy a 40’ container and a chassis for under it, I think it would be easier to broker it as a load.

 

[ScottsGT]

I would look into buying a used 53’ semi trailer, paying someone to move it for you, and selling it when you get to South Bend.

Or, if you could buy a 40’ container and a chassis for under it, I think it would be easier to broker it as a load.

This sounds like the best option, but I would contract out the driver first and get his ideas on where to place the loads for proper weight distribution.

 

[climb.on]

You could put the load up on uShip.com and see what kind of bids you get. It's a site that truckers can bid on loads when they deadhead (have an empty load back). So they can bid on loads for pretty cheap, especially if you are flexible on pickup and delivery times.

I used the site to ship a skidloader. The hauler picked it up at the dealer, hauled it 350 miles and dropped it off at my door for under $300. At that price, I could barely have paid for gas to go get it myself.

 

[cvairwerks]

One thing you need to understand, is that most guys that can haul a container loaded, don't have a way to load it, so you will need a crane and crew. For most locations, unless you have lots of open space where the crane is only going to have to do a vertical lift, you are looking at needing a 50 ton or larger crane. They'll charge you a half day or so minimum, and you are probably looking at somewhere in the 1500$-2000$ to do the lift. Then you have the same issue at the destination.

BTW...40' HiCube is somewhere around 9,000 lbs, empty, so by the time you are loaded, I would bet you are close to 35K.

 

[sierradmax]

My business is constantly shipping 20' & 40' containers, loaded, whether CONUS or OCONUS. Mostly full of construction material. We hire a logistics agency to handle the shipping costs but from experience, most drivers have insurance policies to cover damage to contents. However, our commercial insurance company offers a supplemental policy at $5.95/$1,000 to cover further damage.

I'm sure you can get a 20' or 40' container drop shipped in Jacksonville as it's close JAX port authority. Once loaded, you'll need a crane to load. I'd expect to spend around $1,000. Expect to spend around $4/mile for a dedicated truck, then another $1,000 to offload.

 

[Ryanjax]

With all of these responses it seems like a semi trailer or an enclosed trailer my be the better option. Can a heavy lift wrecker load a full container?

 

[Max]

I agree with 619DioFan. When we moved cross country last April we used ABF upack. We used two of the 26' trailers. The trailers are normal semi height so you'd have to deal with a ramp or rent a forklift. I had about 1/2 of a trailer filled with my shop stuff (mostly woodworking).

We were very happy with ABF. A couple of good things to note - each trailer goes to your new place, so there is no storage, transhipping, etc. to damage your stuff. If you don't fill the trailer then ABF puts a locked plywood wall sealing off your stuff - you provide the locks and keep the keys. If there is enough space in the trailer left empty they move only commercial dry goods in that space. They lock the outer doors of the trailer using their locks as well.

If you pack your stuff yourself, make sure to use lots of blankets and straps. Don't use cord or rope - straps are stronger and will wear your stuff less.

Max

 

[Orionrising]

The large rotator wreckers can. Positioning will matter alot.

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[maxpat82]

Ask the navy which moving compagny they hire. (They must have a contract) and call them to come take a look at your shop and make you an estimate.

I've been moved by myu compagnie and they handle everything (didn't even have to pack anything) even the garage.
I did my motorcycles and 1 trailer(7x14) load of odds and ends, but other then that they handled everything. I don't have real big heavy machinerie, but the guys told me that they do everything and would most probably have done a milling machine no problem.

 

[bgarrett]

I would look into buying a used 53’ semi trailer, paying someone to move it for you, and selling it when you get to South Bend.

Does this really happen? The trailer would have to have license plates and insurance. Do drivers actually pull your privately owned trailer?

 

[619DioFan]

Be aware that if you plan to buy a semi trailer and hire a driver to pull it you will be responsible for making sure the trailer is dot compliant , up to date plates , mechanically sound. if the driver is stopped at a scale for inspection and something is amiss with the trailer such as worn tires , brakes out of adjustment , bad air line(s) etc he can/will be shutdown until repairs are made. if the load is not positioned right and he is found to be too heavy on steer , drive axle or trailer axle he can be shut down until the load is repositioned. there is noway I would pull a privately owned semi trailer. as I mentioned before I think ABF freight upack is your best approach if you plan on DIYing this. you could rent 3 26 foot pensky trucks with lift gates if you have the drivers for them.

 

[nes999]

Can you palletize the everything in the garage? If so it might be cheaper to rent the smallest forklift that can lift your heaviest item and have a broker deal with it. Youll have to fork up the pallets but the driver should position then with a pallet jack. Lately we have been doing this and paying under a dollar a mile for a full truck load.

You'll probabky just need a half day fork lift rental on either side.

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[38Chevy454]

I have done the ABF U-pack in past. It is nice because you have some flexibility if you don't end up with the amount of trailer linear feet used. You can go up or down in the feet required. As stated previously, if you have empty space left, then a wall is placed and ABF fills the balance to maximize the load. You can either have trailer(s) dropped at your house, or for lower cost load at the ABF yard. In your case, trailer at your house is the smart way to avoid handling heavy stuff twice. ABF does not have a weight limit, price is determined by just miles transported distance and feet of trailer used. Agree if you can rent a forktruck, and have stuff palletized it will make life much better for loading and unloading.

On my move last year, I moved garage stuff myself using an enclosed trailer and also filling up truck beds (4) and open trailers (3). If you go this route, make sure you get a good trailer with proper axle weight ratings given you have heavy items. My enclosed trailer is a 26 ft tri-axle with three 5200 lb axles. When I moved I went over scales at the truck stop and had 17K total on the trailer! Good thing I had my F-650 towing it, as that would be a very heavy load for even a 1-ton truck.

 

[rsanter]

If you pack it in a container, how are they going to load the container? If they tip it up will it effect the contents?

A friend that moved a few states away had a semi trailer delivered to his place.
They loaded it with all the stuff in his shop and his motorcycles.
When done the truck came and hooked .up to it and delivered it to the new address.
He had a fixed quote before they delivered the truck

 

[HOTFR8]

Have a look at this topic and see if you can find some one to help you > https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=253132&page=59

Send a PM to thejudges69 and see if he can help you.

 

[GMCGarage]

I'm getting ready to retire from the navy in a year or so and will be moving from Jacksonville FL to South Bend, IN when I do. My plan is to pack up my shop into a 20' or 40' shipping container and have it shipped.

Has anyone ever done this? What costs are involved besides the container? Roll off? Shipping? Insurance?

I had debated an enclosed double axle trailer but not sure about putting my milling machine and planer in one of those. Plus I think I'd enjoy the added storage once I move.

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I would figure 5K-10K to have it all loaded, shipped and unloaded. You would be better getting a used trailer, and coordinating loading and unloading with a local wrecker company. Sell the trailer afterwards.

 

[tinmanwpk]

Maybe try calling Suddath. The military uses them and they are HQ'd here in Jax.

 

[D45]

Stay in Florida......................Indiana *****

 

[jmarkwolf]

Whichever way you go, please post an account (with pics) of the adventure.

Also, thank you for your service and have a long and healthy retirement!

 

[Xicaque]

When you get out the military will pay for one last move to wherever. no reason for you to foot the bill. you also will have the option of a DITY move ( if you think you can fit it all in a 26 rental truck ) good way to make some cash. you can load into a semi trailer such as ABF upack but I am not sure if TMO will accept that for a dity as you need weights. shipping a can that distance will be rather costly IMO. I work in the moving and storage industry and do mostly TMO ( or DMO or whatever they want to call themselves these days ) moves. PM me if you have any questions.

I get what you are saying. Just retired after 33 yrs in the ARMY. If he has the govt pay for the move, he might end up over his weight limit according to his rank. The OP seems to have some nice tools and I can only imagine how heavy those will be.

I ended up moving some of my stuff in a 14ft double axle trailer and that was about 6k lbs. The other day, I got a bill for about $2100 dollars because my household goods were over my allocated max limit (18k pounds). I already knew I was going to be over 22-24k pounds if they moved EVERYTHING.

If I were him, I would buy a container, load all my toys in there and pay out of pocket. Contract movers **** more that anyone can imagine. My Quincy compressor was palletized/crated and I made sure it was cared for. I lost another compressor prior to the Quincy. Movers actually destroyed it.

No matter how **** you are with the supervision of your household goods packaging, no matter if you buy them lunch every day they are at your house doing the packing, your stuff will get damaged and you will get **** money in return from the company.

 

[Jazz1]

Tilt bed trucks deliver the 20' containers around here and they can set the container just about anywhere. The load in container would be limited to about 10K lbs unless you can find a tandem tilt truck. Loading on to a trailer is cheaper by the mile but then added costs to get it unloaded depending on location

 

[kbs2244]

The bigger problem with containers then moving them is loading and unloading them from the truck or trailer.
It will always mean some serious tipping.
(A roll off tow truck will tilt at least 20 degrees.)
And that means the need for some serious fastening, lashing, of your stuff.

As much as I like the idea of a container, I would think about the of getting a semi trailer to avoid the tipping problem.
Of course, that means getting everything up to, and down from, trailer floor height.

 

[Orionrising]

Heavy wrecker rotators can pick em up vertically on and off flatbeds.

 

[saabman]

I moved my machine shop and part of my automotive shop in to a 40 ft high cube. There is 40K I recon in there. No way to pick it up where it sits. I just had to vacate my shop due to divorce. So my plan is to shuttle move with my 20 by 8.5 cargo trailer. The other thing about packing the container, packing for moving is very different than packing for storage. Mine is packed to the brim and I wound not move it even if I could as there would be carnage.

 

[matt_i]

I've moved machine shop equipment from many places to my shop, and moved my shop twice. One of those was a ~80 mile move, the other, a ~700 mile move.

There's no substitute for the utility of a flatbed open trailer for carrying the machines. They load and unload easily from anywhere along the sides, there' plenty of room so they can be appropriately tied down. The downside is that your stuff has to be tarped so it doesn't get rained or worse, road-salted(!). If its available and reasonably priced, a forklift rental on both ends will make this an easy adventure.

When it comes to other shop "stuff" there's no substitute for an enclosed trailer or moving van as it all can be boxed, crated, and very low chance of exposure to elements.

However, in my opinion, nothing is worse than trying to rig a heavy machine into the tail end of an enclosed trailer, and I imagine a ship container is about the same. Assuming you survived that part now the heavy thing has to be tied down to super thin walls and solid metal or hardwood floors...when you start thinking about a sharp swerve or panic stop could send a 1000# thing crashing thru the sidewall and onto the roadway, that's not a place anyone wants to go.

Which is why I recommend a parallel approach to this.

 

[Adam R]

Having done a dozen or so DITY moves myself, I like using Penske trucks and have had to fly back and grab a second truck as I've added weight and mass over my career. I'm over my allotted weight limit and do not trust movers to transport any goods that I really like, like my shop tools and equipment.

For the items you can get into a Penkse truck, use it as much as you can. They are fairly cheap and work well. I've crammed 13K into the back of 26' truck without issues. For the heavier and more cumbersome items, I'd consider a flat deck trailer or even a larger dump trailer so it would make covering your tools easier. There are plenty of guys who will transport stuff with their truck and trailers if you look around.