How do I move my "orchestra" across country?

[40bpm]

Greetings Cafe Members - I am getting ready to move from Seattle to Wash. DC with my collection of instruments. I have 28 wonderful instruments and I'm looking for ideas on how best to get them safely across country.

My "orchestra" is valuable to me because I love them all - not to mention the $$$ value. Anybody got any ideas about reasonable air/overnight shipping? I got a quote from a shipping store of $6,000 (ouch!).

Any pilots out there that will fly them for me? It's worth a couple thousand dollars to get them there safely.

Right now, my best option seems to be putting them in one of those moving pods, locking with my padlocks and having them trucked.

I have taken out transport insurance with Heritage Insurance, but I don't want to have to make an insurance claim - I want my instruments safely delivered.

Any and all ideas welcome. Below is picture of a few of my beauties - some of you might recognize one of "your" instruments in my collection.

Thanks for reading.

Jan Lautzenheiser

[catmandu2]

Have you a hardshell case for each? If it were me, I'd much prefer to drive them myself. Ship everything else and drive your instruments out in a van. This way, you'll know they're safe with you--and as long as you're in comforatble temperature, they will be as well. Temperature fluctuations--my foremeost concern when traveling--are more gradual and less extreme driving than flying. Detension the strings and make sure case humidifiers are well soaked before packing up, and ensure they're not overheating at any point during transit...cold is okay.

Doesn't look bad to me--mostly mandos . My arsenal includes double bass, hammered dulcimers, upright piano, drum kit... However, I'd recommend selling any pianos and reacquiring those when you get where you're going. Nice collection you have there.

[40bpm]

Thanks for the reply catmandu2. Yes, hardshell cases for each. I've de-tuned them to take the pressure off, as you suggested. The previously attached picture is only a part of the orchestra - lots more great instruments not shown.

I hadn't thought of using humidifiers in each case - so that's a great idea.

I considered driving them in a rental truck, and I still might. However, that means I'd have to tow my car and I don't relish the idea of driving a truck and towing my car in the dead of winter. I've pulled trailers thru snow and it's a white-knuckle ride.

I thought about renting an RV so I could stop at an RV park every night and keep the temperature up. I'd still have to tow the car behind the RV.

Jan

[mrmando]

Those shouldn't cost more than an average of $100 per instrument to ship, individually boxed (unless you do have a piano or two). Or, I bet you could get 28 instruments in a UHaul cargo van.

Of course you shouldn't leave your instruments in the van overnight ... just get motel rooms on the ground floor and load in when you sleep.

Considering the bucks you'll save on shipping, you could hire an underemployed friend to drive your car to D.C. and then fly home. Maybe $500 for the job, plus motel rooms/per diem for food, plus the plane ticket, plus gas ... might cost you $1800 all told, but that's less than $6K. Or sell the car and buy a new one when you get to D.C. ...

[catmandu2]

You'll be going from high humidity in Seattle to drier climate across the high plains--but going in winter is much better than summer. Take standard precautions about not leaving anything in a sunny window for any length of time. Happy travels!

[mandomania7923]

just send a couple to me, i'll even pay shipping, will that help? :D

[mrmando]

Here's another idea, Jan: I'm up in Edmonds. I'll box and ship 27 instruments for you if you let me keep one. Either the blond K5 or the Jazzbo. I might even pay half the freight costs.

[Jeff Harvey]

Hi 40bpm, I own a moving company. Have for 28 years. I am a Mayflower agency. I ship goods all over the world. I have handled one of the top instrument collections. I know your instruments are special, mine are as well. We have special divisions that handle commodities other than household goods. High value loads worth miliions of dollars, government goods, art gallery collections, etc. Just as a precaution, I would steer away from pods and doing it yourself in a rental has a lot of risk. Feel free to call me about this....Jeff Harvey/Allways Mayflower toll free 800/221-2562.

[journeybear]

Have you considered using United? I'm sure they're ready to bend over backwards to improve their performance and public relations in this area.




Kidding aside, how can you do better than a Café member with a Mayflower agency? What a stroke of luck!

[40bpm]

Well, the amazing Cafe members come thru again with some great ideas. Thanks.

To those who offered to lighten my load by taking some of those pesky instruments off my hands - ummmm - I'll have to pass on your generous offer .

The suggestion to use United made me laugh! Maybe I could end up making a youtube video and become famous (I'm already infamous!).

To Mr. Jeff Harvey - I'll be in touch.

Thanks again to all - I'll post the outcome when it's all done so others might learn from my experience.

Jan

[sgarrity]

I'm about to move 8 instruments across the country and I thought that was gonna be work. But 28....WOW. That's a heckuva collection! It's amazing how much room just 8 cases takes up.

[allenhopkins]

Seventy-five-plus instruments...I'm never going anywhere!

[40bpm]

Yes, 28 instruments in cases is really a huge pile of stuff! I've been buying and selling instruments for several decades and have acquired some wonderful and unique instruments.

Don't tell anyone, but a year ago I had 40 instruments and decided to downsize. Of course as I sold off instruments I "found" a few superb instruments to buy. You know, sell 4 mandos to buy 1 great mando kind of thing.

Good luck moving your collection sgarrity.

Jan

[barney 59]

To ship an individual instrument via Ups should cost no more than $25 per instrument and insurance would run something like $2.00 per $100 in value. 28 instruments would be +- $700 and if the collection is worth say $50,000 the insurance on that would be an additional $1000. If you don't ship them all on the same day all your stuff is not in the same place at the same time in the event of some accident or screw up..

[sgarrity]

To ship an individual instrument via Ups should cost no more than $25 per instrument......

When was the last time you shipped an instrument? It usually costs me at least double that, and that's going to the UPS warehouse not one of the UPS Stores. Not to mention finding enough boxes and packing material and the actual packing of each instrument. Shipping a collection via UPS, FedEx, etc. would be the last choice on my list.

[40bpm]

Mr. Barney 59 - thanks for the advice. Trouble is, where do I get 28 boxes? Not only that, but I'm overwhelmed with other packing and moving stuff and it could take considerable time to pack each instrument in each box.

Mr. Hopkins, you're right - as Mr. Dylan once sang "You ain't goin' nowhere" .

When I was 8 years old my Dad decided he "had" to have a Wurlitzer Theater Organ. He bought a 1927 pipe organ in New York City that hadn't been played or even seen since the early '30's. Took us 8 trips to NYC to uninstall it, pack and drive back to VA. Spent the next 10 years restoring and installing it in our home.

[mandotopia]

Unrelated to your shipping question but "orchestra" caught my eye. When you get to DC look up the Takoma Mandoleers Mandolin Orchestra. They rehearse every tuesday in No. VA. I was a member when I lived there. Great people and a whole orchestra worth of beautiful mandolin family instruments to see.

[40bpm]

Thanks mandotopia - I will do just that! Sounds great.

Jan

[barney 59]

I haven't shipped anything in a few weeks but the last thing I sent was an Epiphone Texan guitar and case that was a pretty heavy and full size-- SF Bay Area to NYC and it did cost more than $25- it was $26.50 + insurance. They picked it up from my wifes office where they go everyday anyway.I have a pretty good relationship with our local driver and if it's something that shouldn't be left out and no one is home he'll deliver it to my wifes office or track me down walking my dog or flag me down if he sees me driving. Small town and I rarely leave so I'm around somewhere and he knows that. Boxes I get from music stores that seem to love for me to take them. I'm a great new fan of the packing popcorn that is made from rice --I ate one! I wish everyone would use that -just pour water on it and it turns to sludge. I guess it would be a daunting task to package all of that but this all started with not wanting to pay $6000 for someone else to handle it. There are those guys that pack and ship art and such but I bet it costs.

[fishtownmike]

Be sure to place padding around the headstock area in the cases. News paper works well but you can use bubble wrap. Place it under where the neck at the headstock rest against the cases neck support, under the headstock and over. This will help absorb shock if the case is dropped. Headstocks can snap off easily even with strings loose....Mike

[bigbike]

I can tell you that I have lots of antique instruments from the 1890's-autoharps, banjos, etc and lots of "newer" instruments. I moved from the northeast to the southeast 3 Octobers ago. I moved all of mine along with some PA gear in a vehicle that I drove myself. Grant it, I did not have to stop overnight, just a 10 hour drive straight down. Then unload. The hardest thing was leaving enough space INSIDE the cab of the truck to haul the instruments. I would NEVER put my instruments into a PODS type unit or give them over to ANY kind of carrier that was not climate controlled-meaning heated in winter and air conditioned in summer. I would also insist on placing the instruments myself to be sure that stuff was not put on top of or had the ability to shift onto any of my pride and joys.

Moving with instruments is a challenge. Best advise take em in the car with you (or a rented van) take them in the hotel at night with you and load them yourself the next morning. It is not only rapid temp changes, but stuff falling onto them that will damage them.

When I first arrived here in TN, I lived with some friends in a small room in their basement. They wanted me to put my instruments into a non climate controlled storage unit-read below zero temps in the winter and around 95 degrees in summer with rapid fluxuations in temp when the sun comes out or goes in. I told them, the instruments stay at your house I'LL LIVE IN THE STORAGE UNIT! I can adapt easier than the instruments! But then I was able to finally buy my own house and move out of theirs and that ended the arguments over playing instruments. (I worked nights and they worked days, so on nights I was off, I would sit quietly and play with muted strings on various instruments).

[Marni Sorrick]

I shipped an instrument this week, cost $50 for USPS Priority Mail plus insurance. Packed it myself in a box I bought at the U-Haul store. Had first gone to a UPS store for one stop shopping (packaging plus shipping) and they wanted $72. The two guys there scared me because they were talking about how to cram it into the smallest possible box with the least amount of packing material. Decided if I wanted this done properly, needed to do it myself.

[40bpm]

Thanks again for all the good advice. The best solution would be to rent a minivan and unload the instruments every night into my motel room. However, that entails 14 trips between car and room at night and again in the morning. Unfortunately, I have shoulder problems that prevent me from this kind of activity - possible surgery needed .

After speaking with Mr. Jeff Harvey (Thanks Jeff!), we came up with the idea of using a small moving pod (6'X7'X8') and turning it into a padded cell with mattresses strapped upright on the walls, and box springs on the floor. The box springs will alleviate the worst of the road bumps and the surrounding mattresses will provide ample padding plus some amount of insulation to slow down the temp changes.

The instruments will be in their cases standing on edge to prevent the dreaded headstock whiplash, and packed tightly together with moving quilts between each instrument. On top of them will go pillows, linens and clothes in big garbage bags for added insulation.

When all are loaded, we'll strap the whole batch securely to prevent any movement. Nothing else will go in the pod, so there's no danger of something falling onto them. Close the door and lock with my own padlocks (2 of them). The cost of one pod moved from here to there is approx. $750.

Anyway, that's the current plan. I'll let you know how it goes.

Jan

[bigbike]

When I moved from SE PA to NE TN summer of 2008, I got a PODS unit and carefully packed and loaded everything myself into the unit. I then secured and double secured everything inside with as many tie down ratcheting straps as I could buy and use. The result? My glass top for my table was still broken and several other items had managed to "move" during the PODS transition from SE PA down to NE TN. It took PODS 10 days to ship the container from my old driveway in PA to my new one in TN! I drove straight down in 10 hours. What the shipping companies do is move the unit from your driveway to a storage unit nearby, then when they get a couple of units going in the same direction, load them onto a train or a truck and get them moving again. Once in transit, it is anybodies guess as to how they are treated-they are fork lifted on and off the truck to get the other units off and then reloaded etc. They are loaded on TOP of each other-saw that with PODS as I was driving down the interstate and they were doubled up on a truck heading northbound.

All told, I moved my most precious instruments in the truck behind the seat with me. I shipped an old half broken guitar that needed work and a small mountain dulcimer-not much there to damage down in a box for $28 via UPS and it arrived 6 days after I did! How can these places that their sole purpose is to move things from 1 location to another manage to get them there long AFTER I arrived?

Well I am sure we will all pray for your "babies" and hope they arrive safe and sound.