The Cannonball: Options for shipping a bike to the start

[BoschZEV]

It's spring, when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of... well, shipping his crated motorcycle to Portland ME. Have any of you researched this and found the "best" options for the actual shipping company as well as for a secure site in Portland where it could be delivered and stored for up to a week?

Another question is about truck rental. My "team" will need a truck big enough to, worst case, haul two broken-down bikes. Have any of you researched this question and found the "best" option for truck rental?

[kunzog]

Best deal I found on truck rental was from Penske thru Home Depot. I rented a 12 truck with unlimited miles, I think for $45 a day. If you rent at one location and drop off at another it is considered "One Way" even if in the same city. Actually the front cab is a van and a 12 foot box in the back. It had a long loading ramp and plenty of tie downs along the sides.

[silentgreyfello]

You can ship to a local cycle dealership in Maine.

[BoschZEV]

Best deal I found on truck rental was from Penske thru Home Depot.

You can ship to a local cycle dealership in Maine.

Thanks for both those suggestions. Although there doesn't seem to be an Ariel dealer in Portland but I'll make some calls to find out if some other dealer is willing to house my 1928 Model C for me despite that.

[Architect]

I have shipped bikes before via Federal Transport. They will work out for you drop off and pick up details. They can even pick her up at your house/shop for a nominal fee. They also will work out the dates based on when you need to pick it up and probably it will arrive days before you do. Last bike I shipped to Salt Lake was there almost a full week before me. I would then fly into the airport, pick up my rental truck and drive to the pick up point. As they are a shipping company, it is usually an industrial area with loading docks, close to the airport. For me, as I was going to ride the bike, I just took a cab to the warehouse, got on my biker and left. Drop off same thing, drove to warehouse, dropped her off then grabbed a cab to the airport.

On a return trip from San Francisco the warehouse was not open on Sunday, for a small fee I dropped the bike off at Dudley Perkins, they held onto it till the shipping company could come and get it. Shipping of bikes is more common then you would think.

[silentgreyfello]

I've had quite a few bikes shipped to me via uship.com and I have always been pleased with the result. Federal is good too, but more $$$

[BoschZEV]

I have shipped bikes before via Federal Transport.

uship.com ... Federal is good too, but more $$$

Thanks very much for the recommendations. I'll contact both to find rates, drop off point, etc. Again, thanks.

[pisten-bully]

FWIW our warehouse is 3 hours from Portland, you're welcome to ship it there where you can get it anytime you'd like (weekends or after hours okay). Loading dock or ground access.

[BoschZEV]

FWIW our warehouse is 3 hours from Portland, you're welcome to ship it there ...

Thank you very much for this generous offer. I'm still investigating the various options and will send you a PM if it looks like VT is a good choice.

My preferred option would be to ship the bike and tools in an enclosed trailer and then rent a pickup in Portland to haul it across the country. Unfortunately, although companies advertise shipping of trailers and RVs, I haven't been able to get an estimate, and the only company I could find that rents pickups with trailer hitches has a higher rate than a large box van.

Again, thanks very much.

[Architect]

You have to do the math, but cost of shipping the trailer, truck rental, flying yourself and crew to Portland, etc, it may be cheaper to just drive there and back. Maybe one of your crew is a retired fellow and will do it for the fun of it, pay for his meals etc. Just a thought but it seems like your costs (before the Cannonball) are starting to mount. Sometimes the easiest thing is the best. Good luck.

[BoschZEV]

it may be cheaper to just drive there and back.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a good option, only a choice between bad ones. My teammate and driver/mechanic are flying in from Ireland along with one bike, and Google says Portland is 40 hours by road from my house. Although it would be cheaper to drive than to ship my bike and fly, I'm just not willing to squander that much of my life droning across the country on the Interstate.

I drove two Gold Stars to Texas last fall for my Irish teammate and I to take part in a ~1200-mile "British singles" ride, requiring "only" 12 hours each way to get to the start/finish, and that was about 9 hours too much for me. Some people love car/truck trips. I hate them. I travel a lot and like being places, not getting to them.

If you read the thread below you'll see I'm doing a pretty comprehensive rebuild of the Ariel, so maybe I can save money on shipping costs by not sending any tools or spares...

http://www.britbike.com/forums/ubbth...l-c#Post691207