Used Trotec and shipping

[Phil Fenter]

Hi there,

Looking at a used Trotec Speedy. What needs to be done to this machine to ready it for shipping? What methods have others used to ship laser systems? Its too far for me to drive. 2200 miles each way.

The owner does not have the original shipping material. Appreciate hearing from anyone having any experience shipping one of these, and have an idea who to contact to do it.

Thank you

Phil

[Kev Williams]

I bought my GCC, which is NOT a small machine, from Gary, who built a crate around it-- I went online and posted my shipping needs to some website (forget at the moment) where shippers bid on the job of getting it from Gary's place to me. Some podunk shipping company I never heard of offered to ship it 800-something miles for just over $300, gas for my Ford truck there and back would've cost more! They picked it up from Gary, and it showed up on time, and in perfect condition. :) It was the ONLY thing in the truck when it showed up...

[Bob Davis - Sturgis SD]

I could ruin your day with some of the horrible shipping experiences I’ve had in the past 10 years. The more “fragile” stickers you put on the crate, the more damage the guys working at the shipping terminal will do to your machine. They will happily stack other heavy machinery on top of your delicate laser and send it on its merry way. It will be somebody else’s problem and they don’t care.

Ok, I got that out of my system, lol. They will want to build a fully enclosed crate, possibly with 2x6’s for the foundation, and bolt the machine to the fork friendly floor. You will want to have them take lots of pictures of the crating process, delivery and uncrating. This will come in handy in court when you are trying to get your claim settled.

Sorry,

Bob

[Phil Fenter]

Thanks Bob, I was kinda of afraid of that. I had good luck using Uship on a piece of equipment 2 years ago. What does the machine need to have done prep wise to move it? Not above going and getting one in my truck with a trailer if I find the right deal.

Thank you

Phil

[Mike Null]

Which model? They are different.

[Bill George]

If your shipping by standard truck, then it needs to be on a regular wood pallet that is like new. Then after you remove and cushion pack the tube inside, along with masking tape so the carriage can not move then build a crate over the machine. If you build a crate without a standard pallet spacing.... it will be abused and perhaps just pushed around instead of forked.

[Gary Hair]

When I moved my Speedy 400 and two fiber lasers from Oregon to Georgia I had two crates made by a crating company, one for the Trotec and one for both fibers. They used 1/2" plywood, 2x4's, and they sat on 3/4" plywood that sat on special foam that reduces vibration. I loaded it into a semi, along with everything else in our warehouse, and off it went. It arrived 100% fine and was working within about 3 hours of the truck arriving. I think I paid just over $800 for the two crates and for the peace of mind it was worth every penny! I packed the interior of the laser bed with foam and taped the X axis beam in place as well as taping the head in place. I don't believe removing the tube is justified, as someone else posted, considering they ship all the way from Austria fully assembled. If I were to ship it all by its self, I would probably use 2x6's for the framing just in case someone decided that they should stack something on it. Make sure you get insurance - shippers pay by the pound, something like $0.50/lb so your 400lb laser is worth about $200 to them.

[Gary Hair]

I think the crate weighed almost as much as the laser but I didn't want any possibility of it arriving damaged!


I bought my GCC, which is NOT a small machine, from Gary, who built a crate around it-- I went online and posted my shipping needs to some website (forget at the moment) where shippers bid on the job of getting it from Gary's place to me. Some podunk shipping company I never heard of offered to ship it 800-something miles for just over $300, gas for my Ford truck there and back would've cost more! They picked it up from Gary, and it showed up on time, and in perfect condition. :) It was the ONLY thing in the truck when it showed up...

[Phil Fenter]

Thanks guys, Another option for one I am looking at is driving to get it. About 900 miles it looks like. I'll bring a pallet Jack and a pallet and rent a small haul trailer for the return. Much more control I think. So it sounds like in that case packing the bed, and securing the X axis, beam and head and I would be good. I can build a plywood base with a foam base of some kind for some shock absorption.

I saw the ad on here for a Speedy 400, and am trying to contact the gentleman. Looks like some fires in his area and he may be occupied..... The other machine is a Speedy 300 in Houston and I have contacted a crating company down there.

I am also looking at a used Universal VLS 6.60 from a dealer in Boise.

I am in Lewiston Idaho about 100 miles south of Spokane.

Thanks again

Phil

[Gary Hair]

Although it might be cheaper, and seem safer, to put it in a small trailer, you might want to reconsider. A small trailer has very little in the way of suspension and shock absorbers, especially compared to a semi-trailer. I think it will get bounced and rattled more and potentially cause a lot of problems. Maybe a small u-haul truck would be an option.



Thanks guys, Another option for one I am looking at is driving to get it. About 900 miles it looks like. I'll bring a pallet Jack and a pallet and rent a small haul trailer for the return. Much more control I think. So it sounds like in that case packing the bed, and securing the X axis, beam and head and I would be good. I can build a plywood base with a foam base of some kind for some shock absorption.

I saw the ad on here for a Speedy 400, and am trying to contact the gentleman. Looks like some fires in his area and he may be occupied..... The other machine is a Speedy 300 in Houston and I have contacted a crating company down there.

I am also looking at a used Universal VLS 6.60 from a dealer in Boise.

I am in Lewiston Idaho about 100 miles south of Spokane.

Thanks again

Phil

[Phil Fenter]

Thanks for the advice. If I can get it high enough the back of my Tundra sounds like a better option then?

Phil

[Bill George]

I used a small enclosed trailer to transport my ULS 300 miles. I did tie it down and secure the gantry so it did not bounce around and removed the RF tube and carried in the back seat of my pickup. No issues.

[Trey Tull]

When my ULS crate showed up, it was covered in shock sensors and tip over sensors, like these 387096. If you have them ship it to you, make sure they put some on the outside of the crate. They will let you know how the crate was handled by the shipping company.