Shipping a tuba

[Mary Ann]

Driving is the way to go... Echoing what has been said already. I've gotten all of my tubas that way. I'm not that old, and I don't mind driving, but I would recommend a driving buddy to come with you. If nothing else so you don't have to be by yourself. Two people can get 2x the distance! For me, the longest I did was about 12 hours. 1pm to 1am, by myself, with minimal stops. It's doable, and very low damage risk provided nobody crashes the car

Oh I just can't resist. When I moved cross country (RI to southern NM) in my mid-thirties with everything I owned in the car (packed to the roof like a suitcase) -- I did 16 hour days at 55mph which was the speed limit. By myself. I did have family members at convenient points to stay overnight with. Now, I think I'd have to limit myself to 500 mile days, and sleep in the truck in a campground for safety. And for the right deal, I would. Just talked a couple days ago to Chris Combast, who has an "interesting" Mfone 184 5 valve for sale, with a Buescher bell on it. He's in Nashville. I'd have to get a cat sitter and new tires for the truck, so expense out of reach.

[bloke]

I think I know where that instrument came from, and who owned it - quite a while back.

If you are really thinking about driving this way, I might be able to get in as far as my house, because I have people that can piggyback it from the Nashville area to me.

[bort2.0]

When I first moved from NYC to Minnesota, I actually came out here ahead of my wife and stayed here about 5 months while she was still in NY (I was starting grad school, she was pregnant with our first and wanted to stay out there with her doctor and job). I mean, that sucked, but it also meant bi-weekly drives from MN to NY.

That's about 20 hours solo driving each way. I usually did it in 2 days, with an overnight in Perrysburg, Ohio. I loved it. Grab a few red bulls, get the dog set up in the back seat, and download or stream your favorite talk radio so you didn't have to mess with the on-air radio. It's a lot of driving, but you get to see so much on the road.

And yes, I did do one in-person tuba deal during o e of these trips, trading my Rudy 4/4 for a B&S Neptune in a Walmart parking lot in Youngstown, Ohio on a Sunday morning. It was so easy and unceremonious. Each play a few notes while sitting on our open trunk ledges, "yeah sure this is great!" load up and head back onto the road.

[bloke]

If it weren’t that the Internet were so scammy and society were not so litigious (issues with people trying to act like delivery people and then stealing Instruments, risking admitting that one is going to be away from their home on a trip on a specific set of dates, recipients claiming damage that an amateur shipper didn’t actually do, etc. etc.) otherwise it would probably be really good for us to post every time we’re going on any sort of significant road trip…but that’s just not the case.

[dp]

I will say this again. If I want a tuba I will factor in my personally driving 100% of the trip to pick it up. I don't even want the seller to carry it for me.

Ride the dog. Thats how I picked up the first tuba I bought from Norm Barthold, in 1982, redeye from san jose to (near) Encino, he came and picked me up at the greyhound station, showed me the collection in one of the houses, took me back to the statrion, and I rode the bus home with the tuba on the seat next to me.

[the elephant]

Ride the dog.

Never, ever again will I use GPX for anything. They have become absolutely terrible. Garbage service. Zero tracking. 100% dependent on your getting a hold of an employee who is trained in GPX, and those are now very rare at many stations. And at many stations tubas can simply be picked up and taken as they are not held in a secure area but left on the platform. (Not in bigger stations.)

GPX is fecal matter. Anyone who ships a tuba that is anything above a wall hanger in quality and value does so foolishly. GPX is the WORST of the carriers these days.

Things change, Dale, and this is one of those things that has changed a lot.

[bort2.0]

@the elephant , did you miss the line "I rode the bus home with the tuba on the seat next to me."

I wouldn't use GPX either. Actually riding the bus surely has it's share of "stuff," but it's safer for the tuba for sure to have it on the seat next to you.

[the elephant]

@the elephant , did you miss the line "I rode the bus home with the tuba on the seat next to me."

I wouldn't use GPX either. Actually riding the bus surely has it's share of "stuff," but it's safer for the tuba for sure to have it on the seat next to you.

Yep, and I made my very specific comment anyway. How about that?

I have ridden busses a lot more than many of the readers here (who like to talk about them without having spent much time on one RECENTLY).

Today, a Greyhound trip sucks. They have sucked for many years, now.

I would never put a tuba beneath a bus, and neither would I put one in the seat next to me as *I* would not take one unless the trip was less than an hour.

As I said: I DRIVE MYSELF.

ALWAYS.

I *thoroughly* enjoy all the sad stories of smushed or lost tubas because I have learned the hard way, eleven times. ELEVEN. I do not ship tubas or large items. Likewise, I do not ask others to ship to me. I either meet — or — if the seller is not willing to meet me halfway then I have to decide whether it is worth it to me to make the complete trip on my own. If I am not willing to do this then the tuba is not that important to me. So I look for something else.

Amazing how consistent I have been in this regard over the past twenty years now…

[dp]

@the elephant , did you miss the line "I rode the bus home with the tuba on the seat next to me."

I wouldn't use GPX either. Actually riding the bus surely has it's share of "stuff," but it's safer for the tuba for sure to have it on the seat next to you.

Yep, and I made my very specific comment anyway. How about that?

I have ridden busses a lot more than many of the readers here (who like to talk about them without having spent much time on one RECENTLY).

Today, a Greyhound trip sucks. They have sucked for many years, now.

I would never put a tuba beneath a bus, and neither would I put one in the seat next to me as *I* would not take one unless the trip was less than an hour.

As I said: I DRIVE MYSELF.

ALWAYS.

I *thoroughly* enjoy all the sad stories of smushed or lost tubas because I have learned the hard way, eleven times. ELEVEN. I do not ship tubas or large items. Likewise, I do not ask others to ship to me. I either meet — or — if the seller is not willing to meet me halfway then I have to decide whether it is worth it to me to make the complete trip on my own. If I am not willing to do this then the tuba is not that important to me. So I look for something else.

Amazing how consistent I have been in this regard over the past twenty years now…

I prefer driving also, although the next time I head to Seattle to pick up a refinished horn (HINT HINT) I think I will treat myself and take Amtrak.

[Three Valves]

I have ridden busses a lot more than many of the readers here (who like to talk about them without having spent much time on one RECENTLY).

Today, a Greyhound trip sucks. They have sucked for many years, now.

It sucked in the 80s.

It took forever but I did not feel unsafe.

Fortunately, my FHWA will never have to be on one again.

[bloke]

yeah...

Back before I STOPPED shipping tubas by Greyhound - and the GPX office would be unpredictably closed, I would have to stand in the PASSENGER line to ship tubas...and these is the types of creatures I would tend to encounter there.



bloke "The last time I rode a public bus was in 1976, and hell...I don't even ride "symphony runout" buses (for many of the same reasons)."

[RobBCCV]

After reading posts under Shipping a Tuba.
1. Too far to drive 5600+ mile RT MI to CA and back.
2. UPS etc can not be trusted to do the whole job, poor packing, damage etc.
I propose to ship my son's tuba to him by
1. Shipping it inside its hard case, enclosed in a crate.
Padded to prevent bumping around in the crate
Added bonus, there is room to stuff in the gig bag, a stand, and perhaps a few more things.

2. Constructing a plywood crate that barely meets UPS maximum girth 165"
(L + 2W + 2H) this will fit the outer (squared off) dimensions of the case.
(a pre-made crate at ULINE exceeds the girth requirement at UPS.
I have not checked FedEx yet as to weight and dimension constraints.
3. Use UPS or FedEX to ship.

I would appreciate feedback about this approach and any advice about the choice of carrier.