Best Way to Ship PA28 Seats Across Country

Deelee

Deelee

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Deelee
Wanted to see if anyone has any advice on shipping bulky items across the country. Here's the situation - we are buying two front seats and one rear (bench) seat from a PA28R-200 Arrow that's getting parted out in CA. We're in VA. Seats need to get from CA to VA. We are responsible for arranging shipping and I have no clue where to start. Never had to ship anything bigger than a breadbox before. Also coming with the seats are all the side panels, carpeting and some panel plastics. But the seats are the big items.

I would imagine UPS and FedEx are the two main options here, but wanted to see if any of you have arranged something like this and get your advice. Any other shippers that are better than FedEx/UPS? Seller said they could shrink-wrap everything. Guess that's good enough? Or does all this stuff have to go in crates?

Apparently I suck at logistics. Any help/guidance/opinions would be appreciated!

Thanks!
 
Talk to a freight forwarder or broker that offers boxing services. I had a diesel powered generator shipped fed ex ground, but was done through a forwarding agent. They picked it up ad my dads house. Built a palled for it. Had FedEx ground deliver it from Baton Rouge to Boston. 865 lbs, it took a week, and delivery driver wheeled it into barn.
 
Mikey52 said:
Talk to a freight forwarder or broker that offers boxing services. I had a diesel powered generator shipped fed ex ground, but was done through a forwarding agent. They picked it up ad my dads house. Built a palled for it. Had FedEx ground deliver it from Baton Rouge to Boston. 865 lbs, it took a week, and delivery driver wheeled it into barn.
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Thanks! I didn't even know such a thing existed.... I'll use le google to find some brokers... do you remember who you used? Looks like FedEx wants around $700 to ship but needs to be on a pallet. (that's using my estimated weight for these things... seller needs to send me that info still)
 
Greyhound bus used to offer package express that lots of guys used to rely on for odd bulky items and at a great rate. The car guys would ship bumpers with them googling says it got discontinued in 2022.

you might try Uship or one of the similar sites.
 
uship worked well for me, but others have had varied experiences.
 
Deelee said:
We are responsible for arranging shipping and I have no clue where to start.
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Deelee said:
Also coming with the seats are all the side panels, carpeting and some panel plastics. But the seats are the big items.
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You have a number of options depending on how involved you want to get.
Walk-in retail FEDEX and UPS tend to be on the high side cost-wise for these type shipments.
Freight costs are based on size, shape, and weight.
While I dont think weight will be the issue, the shapes/sizes will. And how these items will be boxed/crated will affect your options/costs.
One tip is if you are still working see if your company has a shipping department and talk to someone in there for recommendations.
Unfortunately, without at least some basic dimensions/weights or the ship/receive zip codes can't really offer much else.
However, as mentioned there are various expediters that can assist you with this type of shipment.

Are you also responsible to have these items boxed in CA and delivered to the shipper? If so, may want to work for a solution on your side.
 
I know it is a long long way, but when I buy stuff like this(bulky and can be easily damaged) I go get it myself. I usually make a "vacation" out of it especially that far away.
You will never know the condition before shipping and all the small parts and bulky parts(side panels etc) you mentioned is not going to get packed well. And will be very expensive to ship, especially now a days.
If the seller is not a experienced shipper/seller than you can't count on them to build crates or skids even if you pay them.
I have seen these kinds of deals go sideways many times before because the details are not taken care when crating, even from a pro shipper.
That is why I haul myself if I really want it in the condition it is in at the sellers location.
Is there not the same salvage parts closer to you?

When I was younger I made so many road trips in my pickup truck to pickup expensive used racing parts. Be on the road for 48-72 hours with only a little sleep in rest areas. But I got my parts un damaged and was able to learn stuff from the seller.
Good luck...my buddies PA28R-200 is 30' away from my plane. He had his interior done last year here in town for 8000 bucks.

Those items will have to come by truck, because they are too big for UPS or Fedex. Unless everything is broke down, more labor and packing cost.
 
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Your better shipping stores will crate things and call the freight company for you. I've shipped a big box of engine parts (a mount and all the baffling) and a propeller this way just fine.
 
I thought the answer was always “Bonanza.”

Did I miss a memo?

:blueplane:
 
Thanks, guys. I called the local UPS store and got some info. Also called a local (to the seller) freight company and they were very helpful. Started up a quote on uShip and it looks to be reasonable. Seller is going to put everything on a pallet, take measurements and snap some pics today. Plan would be to put everything on the pallet and shrink-wrap it. Then ship it. Thanks for all the advice! Really helped.

NOW - next question (I may end up starting a new thread on this) ----

Has anyone replaced the seats on a '69 arrow (or any cherokee, I guess) with seats from a '70? These are both PA28R-200 (Arrow II) before the fuselage was lengthened. So interior bits should fit. Wondering about the seats now... Should fit on the seat tracks. Anybody ever done this? A/P signoff ok or is this a FSDO question at this point? I'm thinking more from an Annual perspective and eventual resale perspective.... I'm confident they will fit and work just fine, but don't want to run afoul of anything that would cause issues at Annual or with a (very future) buyer.

Thanks again!
 
I just drove out to Colorado to pick up an engine (FWF), Seats, Cowling. Fortunately my daughter lives in CO Springs so we visited her for a few days then picked up the engine and drove home. Cost about $700 in gas. Not sure how that would have compared to shipping but was planning to visit my daughter this summer anyway. Other than the 4 days of driving I feel better moving it myself less chance of damage.
 
I had a VW engine shipped from Washington to Iowa using Amtrak

www.amtrak.com

Amtrak Express Shipping Service

Amtrak offers small package and less-than-truckload shipping services between more than 100 cities.
www.amtrak.com www.amtrak.com

It has a lot of limitations, but the service was available to me, so I used it.
 
I have a rate with a carrier of about $450 as long as the pallet is under 2500lbs and less than 48 x 48 x 48
LA area to Philly Area
 
EdFred said:
I have a rate with a carrier of about $450 as long as the pallet is under 2500lbs and less than 48 x 48 x 48
LA area to Philly Area
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That's a great price. I got quotes in the $600-$700 range for standard pallet 48x40 no more than 48" high non-stackable. Which I'm willing to pay since Texas Air Salvage wanted like $1400 a piece (plus shipping) for two roached-out seats that would have to be re-cushioned/reupholstered after the fact. So we're getting front/rear seats, full carpet pieces, all interior panels and he's throwing in all the plastics (panel, etc.) for $3000 plus shipping... Interior is in good to great shape and is like 10 times better than what we got now. Plus the seats have headrests (ours don't).
 
Deelee said:
A/P signoff ok or is this a FSDO question at this point? I'm thinking more from an Annual perspective and eventual resale perspective
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I dont believe I ever swapped seats on a PA series but from a sign off point it would fall under a minor alteration. If Piper had an SB or SI on it would be the easy route. Perhaps check a part manual for aircraft serial number split vs seat info?
Regardless, the only issue I see could be if your APIA is not a believer in such type alterations. For reference I would swap Cessna seats between models provided they fit and functioned properly all under a minor and log entry.
 
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