# Shipping a Machine Across the Country



## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

We are in the market for a used multi-head embroidery machine and have found one we really like. We're in Missouri, though, and the machine is near Seattle, Washington. Anyone ever bought a machine from an individual that is a comparable distance to this? Not sure how to even go about it. I would appreciate any suggestions.

The price is about $20K less than a new one, so that is certainly worth some extra effort.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

Use a commercial shipper that handles this type of equipment. Depending on this size it can either be crated or just tied down inside a trailer. Get insurance as well.


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## dptk (Aug 14, 2009)

I've worked in the transportation business for 10 years, your best bet is to use a carrier that has experience moving embroidery machines, option 2 is to use a commercial mover they are used to items that need special handling (Atlas Van Lines, ETC) , option 3 use a 'blanket wrap' carrier who will strap the unit, anchor it in the trailer and blanket wrap. Regardless of which of these methods you use , there is a chance of it being damaged in transit and if that happens nobody is going to be willing to take the blame, you'll have to have a rep taking pictures before it is loaded, when on the truck and when you take it off the truck. another good option is a 'hot shot' truck (normally a pickup with 40 ft trailer) , your cheapest option of these would cost you from $1200-$1500 ,


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## JAF (Oct 12, 2008)

A friend of mine bought a 6 head. Shipped from California to NY. I might not be explaining this correctly but she paid extra for the machine to be loaded on a truck and it was never removed until it got to NY. I understood that sometimes freight can be taken off a truck and transferred to a different truck. So more chance of damage that way. The extra cost is worth it.


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## JAF (Oct 12, 2008)

Also, isn't a crated machine less likely to be damaged?


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## dptk (Aug 14, 2009)

the moving company would be able to advise if the item would be better off crated, it all depends on the machine.


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## dptk (Aug 14, 2009)

JAF said:


> A friend of mine bought a 6 head. Shipped from California to NY. I might not be explaining this correctly but she paid extra for the machine to be loaded on a truck and it was never removed until it got to NY. I understood that sometimes freight can be taken off a truck and transferred to a different truck. So more chance of damage that way. The extra cost is worth it.


absolutely, you would never want to ship a machine like this and have it be taken off the truck.


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## myfinishingtouch (Nov 21, 2009)

Let us know how it works out for you...there are probably many of us that would like a used multi-head and haven't pursued the idea because of the shipping issue.


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## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

I plan to go to Seattle first just to check it out and get a feel for the previous owner and how he runs his shop. I will also plan to take lots of pictures. We run a pretty tight ship here, so I need to get a good feel for how the machine has been treated and maintained. (I'm also not opposed to going back when it's crated and then flying home to be here when it's UNcrated....am I obsessing????)

Shipping a _new_ machine to us was going to cost $1500 so that price is comparable, and we're still saving a lot of money buying used. I never thought about the machine being unloaded during shipment, though, so that is a very good thing to know - and also a very good thing to pay extra for.

Another thing we've thought about is hauling it ourselves. My dad is retired (and is always up for a good road trip no matter when or where) and he also has a great trailer we could haul it in. The thing about that, though, is what we would do in the unlikely event we have an accident. If we hire a company, won't that service also come with optional insurance? I'm afraid if we haul it ourselves and something happens, we're just out altogether. Anyone know?

We're still a long way from purchasing this machine, but the machine is exactly what we want, the price is right, and I'm not giving up on it until I'm sure it won't be feasible.


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## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

Oh, by the way, it's a 3-year-old, 4-head SWF. The owners are apparently retiring, which is why they are selling.


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## dptk (Aug 14, 2009)

I would talk to your agent about getting insurance if you haul it yourself, let him know you OWN the item, and that you are not hauling it for somebody else. Damage in transit would be covered by a commercial carrier, but you need to have the value of the item in the initial contract with the carrier,also you are going to fight to get anything out of them if you actually have a claim, it's not like they will just write you a check, I'd still say use a carrier that is used to hauling those machines. I always selected my carriers based on how familiar they were with the items, there will be special equipment used to load and secure that machine. I'm guessing when you buy one of these machines they have a local rep or contractor that helps you install it, talk to one of those folks and they may be able to give you an idea of what you are getting into if you attempt to haul it yourself, if it is a top-heavy item, you guys may be in for a bit more than you bargained for if you haul it yourself


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## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

All very good points to consider. 

The research continues.....I'll keep you posted.


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## myfinishingtouch (Nov 21, 2009)

If it's the one on the yellow pages and really only has 4.5M stitches I don't see how you could go wrong. Heck, I put 1M stitches on my Barudan just doing five 200k stitch jacket back patches. At that price, I'd be afraid that if you don't snap it up quick someone else will before you make up your mind. Money in the hand and that sort of thing.


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## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

Don't look now...but I think we're going to go for it! :-D

I talked with the gentleman today, and all seems very good - so I'm off to Washington. Wouldn't hurt if a few of you would keep your fingers crossed for us. LOL


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## lizziemaxine (Nov 14, 2007)

crackerjackshack said:


> Don't look now...but I think we're going to go for it! :-D
> 
> I talked with the gentleman today, and all seems very good - so I'm off to Washington. Wouldn't hurt if a few of you would keep your fingers crossed for us. LOL


Fingers are crossed. Good luck.


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## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

Well.....WE DID IT!! It was a very tense process, but all-in-all it was well worth the time and effort. I can say this - even if you think you've planned for everything, nothing will go as planned! LOL If anyone is interested in the details I'd be happy to share, but suffice it to say we got the machine, hauled it from Toledo, Washington to SW Missouri in 2 days, and it's in production at our shop today. The thing is nearly brand new, so I feel like we got a super good deal! At the same time, I'm sure glad it's over )


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## dptk (Aug 14, 2009)

yes . let's hear the details, what type of truck did you use, and what did it cost ?


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## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

We reserved a u-haul truck in Toledo, WA that we were supposed to pick up last Thursday morning. We flew to Portland, but the day we flew out, we still did not know if the truck had been delivered to the pick-up point or if we needed to pick it up in Portland. While we were waiting to board the plane, we finally got someone at gouhaul.com to confirm that the truck was in a town about 30 minutes north of Toledo. (Keep in mind we reserved the truck A WEEK AND A HALF before we needed it!!)

Once we arrived in Portland, we then coordinated with the owner of the embroidery machine to pick us up at our hotel, drive us to test the machine in Toledo, and then drive us to pick up the u-haul in Chehalis. Yes...he was either very gracious or was really ready to sell that machine! (Of course we compensated him for his time and trouble).

Once everything tested OK, we had to get the thing loaded onto the truck. The ramp on the 14' uhaul had a lip on either side that made it about 1" too narrow to wheel the machine right onto the truck. (This was when the knot in my stomach started to form!) 

The guy's neighbor had a tractor with a forklift on it, so he came over and lifted the machine into the air while the owner used his tractor with a bucket on the front to roll the machine onto the truck. This makes it sound like it was all a simple procedure, but I'm sure there was about a 15 minute time frame when I did not take a single breath! LOL

Once it was loaded and strapped down (we positioned it diagonally in the truck so the weight would be distributed) we headed for Missouri. We drove 2240 miles in 2 days, so we trucked and kept on trucking! When we finally arrived in Missouri, the uhaul drop-off location was located right behind our shop. The owner there was very gracious and gave us permission to use the 26' truck with the larger ramp to unload the machine.

Our plan was to use the bigger ramp to transfer the machine to the larger truck, and then use the ramp to unload the machine into the parking lot. Of course, the clearance on the bottom of the machine wouldn't clear the ramp edges so the wheels could roll onto the ramp. (Nothing in life is EVER simple, is it?)

We decided then, since we had the two trucks, we would use two small wooden/metal ramps to wheel the machine into the larger truck so that it would be straddled between the two trucks. We backed the two trucks together as closely as we could, and transferred the front wheels of the machine to the larger truck. Once we had one set of wheels on the 26' truck and the other set on the 14' truck, we SLOWLY pulled the trucks apart just enough to allow a forklift (owned/operated by my landlord) to get into position under the machine. 

The forklift raised the machine just barely enough to get the wheels off the truck, and we slowly pulled the trucks away. Then, the landlord slowly lowered the machine to the ground and we wheeled it into the shop.

It was a NERVE-WRACKING experience, but looking back, everything really went pretty smoothly considering all the things that could've gone wrong.

And let me tell you....the machine is a BEAUTY!!

The cost of the move was close to $2,000 and that included everything. The estimates we got from trucking companies far exceeded that amount by the time they crated the machine and hauled it as well. It was next to impossible to find a company that agreed not to unload the machine while it was in transit - so the $2K we spent not only allowed us to get the machine here, but to oversee that it was handled carefully during the trip.

The only thing I would recommend is to try to find a machine closer to you! There were many times on that trip I questioned why God couldn't seem to lead me to a machine I could've bought in Illinois or Arkansas! LOL


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## jemmyell (Jan 26, 2010)

Hi Sandy,

Congratulations!

I am glad to see you take the next step up. I know you have been wanting to do this for a while.

I will get my first commercial machine in January. I have bought Embird and everybody is learning all that they can.

-James Leonard


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## lizziemaxine (Nov 14, 2007)

crackerjackshack said:


> The only thing I would recommend is to try to find a machine closer to you! There were many times on that trip I questioned why God couldn't seem to lead me to a machine I could've bought in Illinois or Arkansas! LOL


My stomach was in knots just reading about this adventure. I am so glad it worked out for you.


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## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

Yes, James, we have been waiting for the right opportunity to upgrade and when we saw this machine and how well it would fit into our setup, we made the jump.

Hope you are enjoying Embird! I love it! Let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of help.


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

LOL, I can certainly appreciate what you went through! We had to get our SWF-1501T down into our basement... fortunately we have bilco doors on the back of the house and were able to remove the steps. A friend about a mile away has a greenhouse and let me borrow his forklift - you should have seen the look on my neighbors faces when I came driving down the street with it  We strapped from the forks down to the machine, lifted it up, moved it over the hole and lowered it down to the basement floor. Took all of 5 minutes once we got everything positioned but like you said, talk about nerve wracking...

Good luck with the new toy!


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## crackerjackshack (Dec 4, 2009)

Good to know I'm not the only crazy loon on a forklift!


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