shipping boxes for heavy electronics

When using a pallet, ask the shipper (or do it yourself) to attach cardboard pyramids to the top of the box(es). this is a very common technique (trick) used to prevent carriers from stacking other stuff on top of your shipment ;~)

"When using a pallet, ask the shipper (or do it yourself) to attach cardboard pyramids to the top of the box(es). this is a very common technique (trick) used to prevent carriers from stacking other stuff on top of your shipment ;~)"

Sounds like something that might piss those gorillas off and purposely drop it. You know, like putting "Fragile Do Not Drop" on the box.

I am a contractor for FedEx ground and would offer these suggestions. Look for the pound rating of the cardboard boxes. Pack it in one with the heaviest rating you can find. Often times moving companies will have them available or local suppliers. After you pack the crap out of it, PUT IT IN A SECOND BOX LARGER THAN THE FIRST. Than bubble wrap the first box into the second box.

If any of you ever saw how these packages move thru the system you would never do less than the above. You have to make sure that the equipment in the first box, and the first box in the second box don't move at all!!!

Stuff falls off of the belt lines, boxes fall off of shelves in the trucks etc. One last suggestion: NEVER ship UPS. They will almost never pay a claim on damaged contents. FedEx is VERY good about paying claims. I am speaking from personal experience of stuff that UPS destroyed that was sent to me before working for FedEx. That included a trophy musky that UPS broke every fin of the mounted fish.

I had a very good experience using the UPS Store. I brought my 86lb Classe CA300 amp in and they double boxed it with lots of foam. It was better than the original box and foam. And the cost was quite reasonable.

Here is one for you . . .

I recently had a Jeff Rowland Model 5 shipped to me in the original wood crate using the original high-density fitted foam packaging. Just like you are suppose to do. The entire package wighed in a 148lb.

When I went to the Brown truck to receive package, I noticed that the crate was resting on its side. Since the package was so heavy, the driver just pushed the crate over and let it drop on the floor of the truck prior to putting it on his dolly, like he was delivering crate full of cast-iron cylinder heads.

I also notice that the shipping company put a label on both the top and bottom of the crate so that it could be handled and transported upside down, right-side-up, or on its side. Nice . . .

Anyway, I inspected the amp before the driver left and there was no visible exterior damage; however, once I removed the amp from the wood crate, I heard a clink, clank, inside the amp. Apparently this heavy crate was knocked around so much in transit, and since the later version of the Jeff Rowland Model 5 has two rather heavy plug-in circuit modules, the jarring caused both modules to get knocked out of their respective sockets and of course, most of the connector pins protruding for the bottom of these circuit modules were all bent up. Lucky for me, there was no other internal damage, and I was able to carefully straighten all the bent pins without breaking any. After that the modules could be reinserted on to the circuit boards.

What I learned for this experience is that even thous you paid this comapany $158 to carefully move your package 1000 miles, not even a wood crate can fully protect your heavy electronics from damage, and that a heavy wood crate probably gets knocked around in transit more than a lighter cardboard box. Also, wood crates do not absorb energy as well as cardboard boxes, and for that reason, they transmit impact energy quite well to the item you are trying to protect.

... or maybe I learned, damned if you do damned if you don't. I’ll tell you, no matter how well I pack it, I cringe every time I ship or have something shipped to me like a heavy power amp.

BTW, even after all of this, the amp sounds great.