MLAS 436 shipping carton?

That is true about having UPS pack them so they will guarantee it.  I forgot about that expensive feature - they charge a lot of money for that.  In the case of the CJ Premier Fives, what do you do when they hand you a check for the insurance and you are $30,000 short of replacement amplifiers?   I have no problem insuring them for retail if the model is still available, but retail for a newer, replacement model?  I think I would want that in writing from someone who can authorize that kind of insurance.

My advice to you is this:  Make the road trip.  First of all, freight and insurance now is horribly expensive.  I had to ship my speakers from CA to NY and I had to make the boxes as mine decomposed over the years.  I spent a total of $6800 in freight, insurance, and shipping materials to get them there.   For me, if they were destroyed in freight, the company can simply build new ones for me as they are still in production so I insured them for replacement costs.  Note, I had to ship two crates as one crate would be too heavy and too big for FedEx or UPS and truck freight would not insure them.

However, in the case of my two Conrad Johnson Premier Fives Monoblocks, I have another problem besides no shipping containers.   If one of them gets destroyed I am out of luck, as they are no longer available.   I can't insure them for replacing with something current, as that would constitute fraud.   I could make an argument of basing it on $/Watt compared to a new one, but if only one is destroyed, I am still out nearly #30,000 assuming the insurance actually paid for the amplifier.   Best bet, either drive them cross country or have them serviced by someone reputable and local.   

That leaves the last problem - how does one determine they are reputable and if they are, will they do a good job on what is today a pair of $30,000+ amplifiers?

The good news in all this is good quality equipment like this is serviceable, whereas other expensive lesser brands may not be serviceable, even though they also carry that big price tag.  

PS:  I forgot to mention that any MLAS box you get for your amps will likely be in a similar decomposed state - those boxes aren't getting any younger. 

I never thought about this, but the best way to preserve them is painting them with a clear polyurethane varnish.  It will stop the decomposition from time and moisture but I really don't know if it will affect the ability of the box to protect the unit from shipping.  Given the weight of this stuff, that is a consideration indeed.