How best to ship a tuba?

[djwesp]

If anyone has any experience with Greyhound, is it possible to get one's insurance cap increased? The limit posted on their website is $350, and that's obviously insufficient for shipping a tuba.'

Here we go. I get torched when I say this, but I'll say it again.



Not once, have I had a pleasant experience with greyhound. I've literally had a horn stolen by a Greyhound employee! I will say it every time the question pops up, DON'T ship greyhound. If you can get an insurance policy to cover the extent of the horn, do it (you may be able to get it from somewhere besides them).


I don't know about the 350 thing, mine said up to 1,000.



Wes "sure that people will chime in with, "this was just your experience--- I've shipped them numerous times without trouble"" Pendergrass

[tuba]

I know this isn't really an answer, but if it's within say, 400 miles, drive the horn yourself to the destination. Don't ship it.

Just my $.02.

[sc_curtis]

I know this isn't really an answer, but if it's within say, 400 miles, drive the horn yourself to the destination. Don't ship it.

Just my $.02.

Ohio to Florida?

[Chuck(G)]

If you ship via Fedex (ground), ship the horn in the bare case. I've been told this by Fedex reps--the statement was essentially "Please ship in the bare case and not in a box. We don't read what's printed on the waybills or on boxes. At least this way we can see that it's a tuba."

That big Holton I just sold was shipped clear across the country that way--the latches on the case were securely duct-taped closed (I couldn't use cable ties or I would have). It arrived at the destination just fine. A few "this end up" signs couldn't hurt.

[bill]

I have had good experience with Amtrak but, it you truck ship, R & L / Gator was always very good to me and very careful. They palletized the horn alone and shipped it that way and not expensively. Put a volleyball, partially inflated in the bell of the horn so it can not move in the case. For Amtrak, wrap it fully in plastic shipping wrap and leave the handle of the case usable. For truck, pack the case in a larger box surrounded with Styrofoam in both peanuts and solid pieces to stop movement end to end in the box. It is always a chancy operation but it can be done.

[pierso20]

i've always shipped UPS or Fed-ex...if you get it properly insured then it's covered.

Of course....close distance makes driving a better option..as long as your car will survive, or gas cost doesn't exceed shipping cost

I've always sent the horns in a hard case with the latches taped, and taped, and taped....and then its usually go...afterall, what is a hard case good for?? travel...

[Chuck(G)]

What a bunch of ----------------
...
So If I sound uncareing it's because I just don't believe in prety tubas - to me it's all about the sound. (It's just a tool)

Sure, that's fine if it's your own tubas. You can use them for wheel chocks for all anyone cares.

But if you're selling a tuba, you'd rather not deal with your buyer receiving a crushed mess. Telling your buyer "it can be repaired" or "just make a claim against the carrier" isn't going to earn you points.

Similarly, imagine being the buyer of a horn and receiving it severely damaged. You paid for an item in a certain condition and "Looks don't matter" isn't going to make you any happier.

A little knowledge about the better carriers and packing precautions can be very valuable.

FWIW, Cerveny/AMATI used to (in the 80's) ship their tubas in a wooden crate.

[Dan Schultz]

The bottom line here is... unless the horn is packed to the specifications of the carrier, you'll play hell getting a settlement if it's damaged. I've had deliveries damaged by just about every carrier known to man and the standard operating procedure is for them to deny the claim. Too bad the 2nd responder had bad luck with Greyhound. I've shipped 100's of items including tubas and sousas with them without a problem of any kind. If have a horn that you really want insurance coverage on... the ONLY way to insure it is to bite the bullet and buy stated value insurance on your own. If you are an amatuer, perhaps your homeowners will cover a horn as 'personal property off premises'.

[Alex C]

I recently shipped a tuba by DHL and had a good experience. The maximum box size is a total of 107 inches. If it is half an inch larger they will not have take it.

I works better to arrange the shipping online, print the waybill and take it to a pickup point.

My packing was good. I used two boxes, the outer box was a Jupiter tuba box (scrounged from a local music store) and the inner box was made up for me at a local box store. Peanuts inbetween the two boxes, Bubble wrap inside the second box around the tuba.

Like Elephant, I don't take shipping lightly. A bell can easily be damaged beyond repair and generic bell swapping isn't my cup of tea.

[Donn]

If a tuba is top-loaded (w-a-y) up high in a truck that isn't full (and it isn't secured up there), its likely a goner no matter the name painted on the outside of the truck.

I think the palletized option Bill mentioned is where truck shipping starts to make a difference. In my limited experience it is not astronomically expensive, and it seems to be the recommended way to ship heavy-ish equipment. Tubas by comparison aren't as fragile, really, because they're so light, and palletized freight probably isn't economically justifiable (and it gets a lot more expensive if you need door-to-door.) In my case, the shipper knew where to get a cheap rate, knew how to make up a proper pallet, and I just had to drive my old heap down to the freight depot and let the nice lady fork it in, and it cost less than $200 for ca 1000 miles. Not knowing how to do all this myself, I'd probably end up paying twice as much to ship something myself.

[Alex F]

I've shipped a tuba via DHL. I chose them because they are one of the few carriers who will pick up from a residence. The tuba, a VMI 2103 was shipped in a MTS hard case. I stuffed the bell, puts foam insulation and bubble wrap around all key stressor points (the tuba was pretty tight in the case) and bubble wrapped the outside, leaving the handles and wheels free. DHL ground, Chicago to Kansas, about $95. It got there in less than 48 hours with no damage. The pick up driver told me it was advantageous not to have it in a box. I also recently shipped a trombone to Lee Stofer via DHL. Also no problems and got there in less than 24 hours.

I've also received horns via Amtrak, Greyhound (from Dan), and FedEX (WWBW). No problems. I guess I was lucky.

[sloan]

What a bunch of ----------------
I HATE THIS TOPIC I've flown My tuba arround the world two and a half
times. Not just the plastic ones either! I took My 1931 B&F to China.
I took the other brass one to Europe and the caribian AND YES they got some damage. My plastic ones were a special thing so I guess they don't count. BUT ULTAMITALY - GET OVER IT THEY CAN BE FIXED !!
IF you order a Cervany they will sent you TWO boxers one with a case in it (empty) and the other SINGLE LAYER cardboard box with only bubble rap packing penuts and the tuba. these tubas are known to be extreamly thin and dent prone but that's how the manufacturer does it.
So If I sound uncareing it's because I just don't believe in prety tubas - to me it's all about the sound. (It's just a tool)

Yes, I agree. But...if the tuba is in the case, it cannot be adequately bubble-wrapped. If you want to do it the way Cervany (and others) ship - then you need to ship two boxes. The case is a no-brainer, but the tuba should be so wrapped in bubble-wrap that you can't tell from the shape that it's a tuba - just a huge ball of bubble-wrap.

For one-time shipping to a customer, this works. For a tour of the East Coast states looking for a job, that's too much wrapping and unwrapping (and the expense of shipping TWO boxes on every leg).

I tend to agree with the attitude: "do the best you can, and accept the fact that things get broken/wear out/degrade with use and travel". But...some people like smooth shiny things - and need them to work withOUT an emergency trip to the shop.

It comes down to schedule vs. safety.

[jeopardymaster]

I've had good experiences with all but UPS. Two weeks ago I took delivery of a sweet old Reynolds Contempora bass trombone. Signature feature of which is a bronze bell - that lends a most unique and very distinctive character to the sound. It came packed every-way-to-Sunday --- but on unpacking I discovered that that bell had been crinkled to hell with a twist. It looks like the UPS guys dragged it behind their truck. The seller and I are still waiting on word from them on the claim. And I'm getting PO'der by the minute. UPS, I hope you read this.

[sloan]

I've had good experiences with all but UPS. Two weeks ago I took delivery of a sweet old Reynolds Contempora bass trombone. Signature feature of which is a bronze bell - that lends a most unique and very distinctive character to the sound. It came packed every-way-to-Sunday --- but on unpacking I discovered that that bell had been crinkled to hell with a twist. It looks like the UPS guys dragged it behind their truck. The seller and I are still waiting on word from them on the claim. And I'm getting PO'der by the minute. UPS, I hope you read this.

Has *anyone* ever received $1 on a UPS claim?

[jacojdm]

Has *anyone* ever received $1 on a UPS claim?

Yes. I have twice had items that I shipped destroyed in transit, and UPS paid the claims.

[Chuck(G)]

My big worry with Greyhound is not about damage, but flat-out loss. Depending on where your horn is headed, it can change buses many times--and sometimes, the transfer is to a non-Greyhound bus line. Given the $300 (unless it's changed lately) limit on liability, this might not be a good way to ship a valuable instrument.

As others have mentioned, one important aspect of packing the instrument is protection for the bell. I used to use partially-deflated beach balls (small ones) between the end of the bell and the surrounding container, but given the poor quality of these things, I've simply triple-bagged a bunch of "styrofoam popcorn" and used that instead of a ball inside the bell.

[billeuph]

Has *anyone* ever received $1 on a UPS claim?

Nope. I'm 0 for 3. All three times they claimed that since the box wasn't destroyed, my packing was at fault. All three times the box was heavily damaged but not destroyed. At least nothing of great value was involved. I'd never use UPS for shipping a Tuba.

Bill Anderson

[MaryAnn]

Nope. If it is a *new* item and you can show box damage that correlates to instrument damage, you *might* get them to cough up repair costs (of course it isn't new anymore, then, is it?) But if it is used and had *any* prior damage, they can say the damage you're complaining about isn't new damage, it was there before, and refuse to pay no matter what condition what used to be the box is in.

To me, shipping UPS is a self-invitation to damage. Best shipping I got was when Matt Walters shipped me my tiny MW 182 F tuba via trucking company; the box was so big I had trouble finding it in there. BUT the box itself was in pristine condition, not a mark on it.

I'm not shipping tubas any more.

MA

[MartyNeilan]

I have shipped both a bass trombone in a gigbag and an F tuba in a gigbag via USPS (aka The Post Office) and did not have any problems either time. However, I did take packing to an extreme.
Lots of bubble wrap, several layers of heavy cardboard boxes built around it, good bell protection - used a fiberboard straight mute in the F tuba to take any direct-on-the-bell drops. The tuba just made it within size regulations; if it was much bigger it wouldn't due to all the packing.

[MartyNeilan]

Ladies and Gentlemen of the TNFJ: This man is not kidding. I could ship my wife overseas in Marty's homemade box! (Though I doubt she would wear the mute to avoid cranial damage. She would just wear a mountain bike helmet.) I could probably camp in that box!

Hmmm,
Wife, mute...
I think Wade is on to something!