Motorcycle Shippers

[Jerryd]

Have you tried calling Dan?  He's based in New Jersey.  After all, I did find you the Calvin!

Sorry, I didn't. I guess I just thought he was expensive by the looks of his site. I know that's not a good reason. I will try him today.

Is he your brother ;)

[Cam3512]

Sorry, I didn't. I guess I just thought he was expensive by the looks of his site. I know that's not a good reason. I will try him today.

Is he your brother ;)

No interest in it for me.  He shipped my Stornello from CA for a very reasonable price.

[rocker59]

did the "trucker" take advantage of the wood floor and block the golf cart and bike?

No.  I asked if he had any blocking and he just looked at me kind of puzzled.

[Jerryd]

No interest in it for me.  He shipped my Stornello from CA for a very reasonable price.

I was just kidding! I wonder if they can get one one of their big moving vans down Mike's street?

[lomax]

Before you use USHIP you might want to read this.  :o

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1030226

Marc

[Jerryd]

Before you use USHIP you might want to read this.  :o

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1030226

Marc

I wasn't planning on using them. I didn't have good luck using them to move a sailboat.

[rocker59]

Before you use USHIP you might want to read this.  :o

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1030226

Marc

Wow....    :o

[Jerryd]

So I assume a deal has been struck?

I've used these guys not too long ago. Dan has a vintage snow mobile and motorcycle museum in NJ.

http://snowmobilebarn.com/d-k-service/

He's on the road a lot, and moves Billy Joel's bikes for him.

 ;-T
[/quote

Hey Cam, I finally got in touch with Dan. Sounds like a nice guy. He's at a car auction in Colorado but is going to let me know next week if he can help me. However it looks doubtful :(

[Travlr]

haulbikes.com

no crating, no draining fluids, keep you updated with pick up, route & delivery dates & times.

I'm trying to get a bike from Sioux City, Ia to Arizona.
I've had several good experiences with U-Ship and one bad one.

So I called haulbikes.  An ok price until they tell you they are charging a 22% fuel surcharge!

Ouch.  At todays gas prices?

Mike

[Thunderbutt]

I am in the process of having a bike shipped from Texas over here to Florida.  Tried to do as much research as reasonably possible, seven different companies, and spoke with Paul at Shipping Masters who appear to be a clearing house for other companies. He advised my bike will be shipped using Keyboard Motorcycle Shipping out of Kentucky who have been transporting bikes for over ten years.  So far they have been very helpful and advise the bikes are tied down on pallets and transported in enclosed trailers which several companies do not. They also insure the bikes for up to $20,000.00 with more available if necessary.  I have found their price to be very competitive.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

I also have experience with a privately owned transport company that transported a bike I sold in western New York down to Indialantic, Fl. This same company was used by a relative to transport a bike from North Carolina up to western New York.  Both times with great results and good rates. I contacted them about the bike in Texas but they wont be available till March or April.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Jerry

   

[Triple Jim]

Before you use USHIP you might want to read this.  :o

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1030226

Marc

The thread is informative for sure, but it's hard to blame U-Ship.  All they do is set up the auction.  When I used them I understood that it was up to me to choose which carrier to trust my cargo with.  

[GearheadGrrrl]

U-Ship is aiding illegal trucking- The feds and every state require that anyone hauling stuff or people for profit meet safety standards and have insurance adequate to cover any damage they could do. U-Ship never checks to see if any of their truckers are legal, and thus most of their truckers meet no safety standards and only have the minimum required liability insurance for a light truck in private use. Thus if they crash and destroy your bike, their insurance will refuse to pay for any damage to your bike and you'll probably have to pay towing and storage charges just to get it back. To sort the "wheat" of responsible haulers from U-Ship's "chaff", make sure they have a DOT number and motor carrier authority, then run those numbers to make sure they're not stealing somebody else's DOT number and authority- U-Ship truckers have been known to do that.

[bpreynolds]

The thread is informative for sure, but it's hard to blame U-Ship.  All they do is set up the auction.  When I used them I understood that it was up to me to choose which carrier to trust my cargo with.  

Exactly.  There are sad bike shipping stories out there to be had for sure but you can't point and blame U-Ship for your own failure to do good research

U-Ship is aiding illegal trucking- The feds and every state require that anyone hauling stuff or people for profit meet safety standards and have insurance adequate to cover any damage they could do. U-Ship never checks to see if any of their truckers are legal, and thus most of their truckers meet no safety standards and only have the minimum required liability insurance for a light truck in private use. Thus if they crash and destroy your bike, their insurance will refuse to pay for any damage to your bike and you'll probably have to pay towing and storage charges just to get it back. To sort the "wheat" of responsible haulers from U-Ship's "chaff", make sure they have a DOT number and motor carrier authority, then run those numbers to make sure they're not stealing somebody else's DOT number and authority- U-Ship truckers have been known to do that.

Again, you can't really hold U-Ship accountable in the way you would an individual company so to speak; they are mainly and only a kind of website devoted to connecting people with individual contractors who each have their own differering levels of insurance and that kind of thing.  Again, this is why it is ever so important to do the research.  But the issue here is not so complicated.  You want to spend the dime and go with a company you can literally hold accountable or you can trust your own research/judgment and go with a U-Ship contractor.  Even with my one bad experience (mostly my fault), I had 3 other bikes shipped no issues whatsoever.  I would use U-Ship again without hesitation if given the time to research the companies placing bids on my shipment.

[lc4dakar]

Again, you can't really hold U-Ship accountable in the way you would an individual company so to speak; they are mainly and only a kind of website devoted to connecting people with individual contractors who each have their own differering levels of insurance and that kind of thing.

I disagree.  U-Ship takes a good sized fee for their service ( on top of the transport bid, and it is something you have to look through their finest print to find in advance).  They are profiting from each transaction and are a company, so there should be some accountability.
If it was an enthusiast website I could see some latitude.  But they are a business.  $500 million dollars in revenue since 2004.

[Jerryd]

I am in the process of having a bike shipped from Texas over here to Florida.  Tried to do as much research as reasonably possible, seven different companies, and spoke with Paul at Shipping Masters who appear to be a clearing house for other companies. He advised my bike will be shipped using Keyboard Motorcycle Shipping out of Kentucky who have been transporting bikes for over ten years.  So far they have been very helpful and advise the bikes are tied down on pallets and transported in enclosed trailers which several companies do not. They also insure the bikes for up to $20,000.00 with more available if necessary.  I have found their price to be very competitive.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

I also have experience with a privately owned transport company that transported a bike I sold in western New York down to Indialantic, Fl. This same company was used by a relative to transport a bike from North Carolina up to western New York.  Both times with great results and good rates. I contacted them about the bike in Texas but they wont be available till March or April.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Jerry

   

Sent you a PM

[rocker59]

I'm trying to get a bike from Sioux City, Ia to Arizona.
I've had several good experiences with U-Ship and one bad one.

So I called haulbikes.  An ok price until they tell you they are charging a 22% fuel surcharge!

Ouch.  At todays gas prices?

Mike

Fuel surcharges are a normal part of the trucking industry. 

What was the shipping rate?  If they are quoting linehaul + fuel, that is normal in the industry.

[Jerryd]

I received the same price. Higher then most MC shippers and a 22% fuel surcharge effective 12/14/15. They were the only one I spoke to that added a fuel surcharge.

[Travlr]

>What was the shipping rate?  If they are quoting linehaul + fuel, that is normal in the industry.

I think the quote was $640 Iowa to Arizona plus the 22% fuel surcharge.

Mike

[rocker59]

>What was the shipping rate?  If they are quoting linehaul + fuel, that is normal in the industry.

I think the quote was $640 Iowa to Arizona plus the 22% fuel surcharge.

Mike

So, $780 to ship your bike in an enclosed semi-trailer from Iowa to Arizona.

On the high end, for sure, but their equipment is top notch.

I've never used them, but they seem like a very professional outfit.

I know the suspender snappin', corncob smokin' Guzzisti in all of us would prefer a rate of $200-$300 for that, but the risk of loss for using a $200 U-Ship gypsy would just not be worth it to me. 

[Leo]

Keyboard is also another good shipper that I've used but they do not service western states.

http://keyboardmotorcycleshipping.com/

I used Keyboard for a midwest to east coast shipment, they were super professional, highly recommend.

[Triple Jim]

I disagree.  U-Ship takes a good sized fee for their service ( on top of the transport bid, and it is something you have to look through their finest print to find in advance).  They are profiting from each transaction and are a company, so there should be some accountability.
If it was an enthusiast website I could see some latitude.  But they are a business.  $500 million dollars in revenue since 2004.

I compare them to eBay.  eBay controls things by their feedback system, and by enforcing policy rules and forcing refunds as needed.  If U-Ship doesn't do that, they should.  I know they have a feedback system, but I don't know how much they police their system, eBay-style.  I assume if they receive complaints about a shipper, they do something about it, but I haven't researched what they do.

[GearheadGrrrl]

A feedback system is useless when the "trucker" damages your load and has no insurance to cover it.

Consider this scenario: Guy with a pickup loses his job and needs money to make the payments. So he buys an old trailer and gets listed on U-Ship. With your bike and who knows what else on board he has a blowout and the whole rig ends up on it's side in the ditch. Guy's in the hospital with no health insurance so he's broke for life, and his car insurance refuses to pay for even his vehicle because he was using it commercially and didn't tell them, and no way will they pay for your crushed bike. Consider yourself lucky this was a single vehicle accident- If he'd hit another party they could sue you for allowing him to carry your freight when he wasn't insured to do so.

[bpreynolds]

 :beat_horse

Part of the "research" process for U-Ship is reading the reviews, feedback, method of haul, company background, and extent of insurance for each person/company who presents you a bid.  This is all stated right there for you to see. 

[Texascat]

I used both Federal and Keyboard shipping and had a great experience with both.  Highly recommended.  Price wise, Federal may end up being a tad cheaper because of the AMA discount, which I used.
I also looked into U-shipped.  I booked one of they services based on feedback, but he later told me it was going to be an open bed vs enclosed, so I cancelled.  I was refunded most of the cost, but a portion was kept by U-bid toward the balance of a new request which I did to end up using and went with Federal.

[rocker59]

A feedback system is useless when the "trucker" damages your load and has no insurance to cover it.

Consider this scenario: Guy with a pickup loses his job and needs money to make the payments. So he buys an old trailer and gets listed on U-Ship. With your bike and who knows what else on board he has a blowout and the whole rig ends up on it's side in the ditch. Guy's in the hospital with no health insurance so he's broke for life, and his car insurance refuses to pay for even his vehicle because he was using it commercially and didn't tell them, and no way will they pay for your crushed bike. Consider yourself lucky this was a single vehicle accident- If he'd hit another party they could sue you for allowing him to carry your freight when he wasn't insured to do so.

Exactly.

Most of the time, everything works out just fine.  The problem is, when things don't work out, you're screwed.

Theft, crash damage, incidental damage. 

Most of the fly-by-night types throwing out low bids on U-Ship will probably get your bike there just fine. 

However, if they don't, you're hung out to dry.

Just not really worth it to me, though it must be worth it to many, since the service continues to be successful.

[Triple Jim]

A feedback system is useless when the "trucker" damages your load and has no insurance to cover it.

Yes, it's useless to you then, but may have been quite useful to check before you picked that trucker.  

It's been a couple years since I found a shipper through U-Ship, but I think I received a contract to read and approve before the deal was made.  That contract should have documented the amount of insurance coverage and who the insurer was.  I can't swear to that at this point though.

[lc4dakar]

Feedback means nothing.  Checking what is listed on Uship or their website is useless.  The only way you can be sure is to actually check with their insurance carrier that they have a policy and the DOT to see of they actually have MC and DOT numbers.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25702690&postcount=15

[Green1000S]

Whatever its worth, I have received all of my Quota's with help of U-Ship. One from Arkansas and one from upstate NY (in the middle of winter).
I checked their feedback, both of the carriers had insurance and was very happy with the outcome. Bikes were inspected at shipping as well as when received.
Both bikes arrived as promised, price remained as quoted and bikes arrived in perfect shape.
I am looking at shipping my own Quota this summer to Tucson AZ and will look into U-ship again (and do the homework, as previously).

[jdgretz]

I have used JCMotors Shipping (now motorcycleshippers. com) as well as Philly Express.  JC was excellent - good communication, adhered to schedule, etc.  Philly was OK.  Good rates, legit company with insurance, DOT current, etc.  Communication was a little sparse (or that could be I was extra sensitive after the problems I had with Huff Services, LLC), but they showed up when they said they would and the bike came through without damage.  Pricing was several hundred dollars below JCs bid (Guzzi content).

I tried to use Cory Huff (Huff Services, LLC) but somewhere after giving me a bid which I accepted and he confirmed the deal, he dropped out of site and did not pick up my bike.  At first he returned my calls and gave me excuses or assurances that he would go get it, and finally hung up on me after the third time not following through on his promise.  I certainly will not recommend him to anyone other than my ex-wife.

Wolverine Transport sounded good, but we couldn't coordinate schedules.  I'll probably give them first shot next time I need to ship a bike as other folks I ride with have used them and been very happy with them.

jdg

[bigbikerrick]

After reading some of the horror stories with U ship, I realize I was just plain lucky, when I used them to ship the beautiful, one owner 73 eldo I bought off of MGNOC classifieds from Oklahoma to Arizona. I didnt research anything, and used the bidder that could  deliver it the fastest. Turned out to be a nice fellow, ex bike racer that hauled bikes in a nice enclosed toy hauler pulled by a newer GM diesel pickup. Bike arrived as promised, I met the guy on the interstate, and when I pulled up to the truck stop in Tucson, he was putting around the parking lot on my eldo! I didnt check insurance, or anything , just waited for the driver to call me from the road, which he did a couple of times. I guess I was lucky! Cost me $390.
after reading this , I dont think I would use U ship again, just too risky, IMHO.

Also...I had no idea Albuquerque was such a $hithole !

Rick.