Shipping a car?

[Jon_Dal]

Hi,

We were caught out by the 20 minute scramble to register for east. Long story short, we're going to California and we're in Nova Scotia. Has anyone had any experience shipping their cars to competition and if so how? Trucking companies have not been very helpful so far but I'm looking at rail. We were planning to take a truck when we were going to Detroit....but it's a very long drive to California. Thanks for the help.

[Jon_Dal]

Hi,

We were caught out by the 20 minute scramble to register for east. Long story short, we're going to California and we're in Nova Scotia. Has anyone had any experience shipping their cars to competition and if so how? Trucking companies have not been very helpful so far but I'm looking at rail. We were planning to take a truck when we were going to Detroit....but it's a very long drive to California. Thanks for the help.

[Kenny T Cornett]

You should just crate it and then say you have a crate that is L x W x H that weighs XXX pounds and see what shipping companies say then.

The train companies will ask the same things.


Also, don't be afraid to check into FedEx or UPS... they offer custom trucking solutions for stuff just like this

[GSpeedR]

It might be better idea to decide on a shipping company and build a crate to their specs, since many companies often have standard sizes before you waste time making your own. We (U of M ann arbor) shipped our car by boat to Japan and it is necessary to line the insides with plastic to prevent rust. this may not be an issue across the rails but better safe than sorry.

Also, don't skimp on the bracing, the crates have to be picked up by forklifts.

[olsen5]

we built a custom crate for our car to go to Germany in August. DHL was quite helpful with shipping details. They might be able to get the car moved for you with minimal hassle (still lots of work). Got pictures of the crate build if you think they will help i can email them to ya, just give me an address.

[mangel83]

We shipped our car from Venezuela with FEDEX, they were very helpful, try visiting your local FEDEX and see how can they help you.

Bret, if you could e-mail me those pics. masp1810.at.yahoo.com

I also have pics of our crate, just tell me where to send them

[Zanini]

Hi Jon

ABCO/Cole

The company goes by both names. They seem to have offices across Canada. They were responsible for shipping our car to England 4 of the last 5 years. We've gone by air and sea with them. They are really helpful

We had a custom crate made (probably best option) but depending on the country you are shipping to there are fumigation standards (I don't know what the US ones are). If you ship by ground you need PAPS. This is a new bar coding system the US put in place May of last year (either the shipper or your University should have this in place already). If you ship by ground without PAPS expect delays.

Also a Carnet (www.chamber.ca) is really useful and expedites going through customs (ask shipper about this).

Our trip to East is just a rental truck but for shipping to England we have had to consider pick-up, delivery, drop-off and storage costs. Also by air you can't pack a fire extinguisher, and you may need a dangerous goods form (for oil, cleaners etc).

Of note when shipping back: remove all cloth or place in water-tight bag/container
We have had more problems with mold not rust.

Zanini

[Jon_Dal]

Thanks for the tips, I'll certainly look into those. Most companies I've talked to so far don't really understand what the car is for/etc and it has been a bit of a hassle so far. If anyone would like to send me pictures send here fsae@dal.ca
Thanks

[olsen5]

email sent to Jon and Mangel

[Matt Gignac]

Wow, Halifax is 15hrs by car from Montreal, and California is maybe 4 days away from Montreal... ouch, have a good drive.

And nice car on your webpage!

Matt Gignac
McGill Racing Team

[Jon_Dal]

Last May we went to Detroit as spectators and did the drive in 20 hrs flat no stopping (which isn't a good idea by the way). Montreal is closer to 10-11 hrs from here. Regardless, California is pretty much forever away so we might end up flying.

[Jon_Dal]

I guess it depends how fast you drive....

[Tech Guy]

A word of caution about shipping by rail.

In the past some OEM's have had some unusual failures on new cars shipped across the country by rail. The railcars and tracks must set up some unusual vibrations. If you can do it economically by truck, it would remove one level of uncertainty.

[Jon_Dal]

Ha.....that does look suspiciously like a McGill car eh? We're a new team and are in the process of constructing our car. People always want to know what a car looks like so we put a vague (not vague enough I guess!) pic up. I'll get the guy that does our site to add a little caption there if you like.

[fsae_alum]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tech Guy:
A word of caution about shipping by rail.

In the past some OEM's have had some unusual failures on new cars shipped across the country by rail. The railcars and tracks must set up some unusual vibrations. If you can do it economically by truck, it would remove one level of uncertainty. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah....I'll agree with this. I'm working on designing a military component and we have to work to a number of different transportation specs and by far the rail spec is the worst of the bunch in terms of vibe. Truck or air is MUCH beter than rail.