Shipping a Grady

[Pete1313]

Ok - so things are looking good on my purchase of the GW 248 Voyager....still have some hoops to jump through and a survey/engine check but....now I need to look into shipping.

Any recommendations on reputable shipping companies? Southern Cali to NW Washington State....

I do not want the boat just towed...I want it on a flatbed (don't want that wear and tear on the trailer).

Ideas?

Thanks!

Pete

 

[BobP]

Can we presume you are buying boat with a trailer?

 

[Pete1313]

Yes-- its on a trailer, but I do not want it towed that far if I can avoid it...I do not know the full condition of the trailer, and want to avoid that kind of wear and tear if possible.

 

[jellyfish]

go to USHIP.COM and make a bid, you will get tons of quotes.

 

[BobP]

At your home location, how do you expect to have boat unloaded from trucking vehicle or otherwise delivered to you? Home? Marina?

Typically long haul truck/trailer used then transfer then to smaller vehicle for drivewy blocking, or othewise have to deliver to marina who has travellift or forklift for your size boat.

Hired boat movers use their own vehicles, why trust someone else's (?).
So they haul your trailer too, not necessarily under boat, nor even on same payload.

I understand you can get a quote on Uship.com

 

[HMBJack]

I used Uship.com a year ago. Had my 265 Express towed from Southern Florida to Northern California. My 9,000 lb. boat sat on a 3 axles 12,000 GVWR trailer with 2 axle disc brakes. I got lucky and had a terrific driver named Jeff Farmer who moves only boats. Took 8 days but it all worked out. If your trailer is not up to the task, you will pay dearly to have it moved via flat bed. If you wish to discuss further, send me a PM. Good luck and congrats! - Jack

 

[jellyfish]

how much did it cost you Jack? Make sure you get a person who knows how to fix tires and hubs in case it brakes down and have a spear tire and make sure the tires are in good condition.

 

[Pete1313]

Thanks everyone for the info. Here's what I've discovered -

Trailer seems to be up to snub, so I will probably have it towed. Cost from Ventura, CA to Bellingham, WA: $1300 - $1500 based on uship bids/quotes.

A flatbed door to door (with boat on its tandem trailer) is 1900, assuming the boat is 11' or less from ground to highest point. The 248 I'm looking at is 11' 11" w/ radar arch and radome (no hardtop). Too tall. Here's what I learned:

Anything over 11' will probably require a pilot car due to height. That will be hugely expensive. They do make a few lowboy trailers which are low enough for a boat under 12' to not be overheight, however those are hard to find and they vary slightly in height, and it is possible they could show up and still be overheight.

So, I think I am going to go with a tow. The trailer was just serviced, new surge brake actuator (drum brakes), repacked bearings etc.....

I"ll post how things go once the deal goes through!

Thanks again everyone...

 

[BobP]

Remove the radar arch and radome for the trip, reinstall later.

 

[jellyfish]

I have had 3 Gradys on trailers towed from the east coast to the west coast and all were on 2 axle trailers. Both had problems on the trip out west, both were from uship, one guy was a con man and the other guy was very good. Good Luck, 1300 miles and all being on the west coast should be a cake walk.

 

[derx2]

shipping

hi

I had my boat shipped from the east coast to west coast on its own trailer via uship 9 months ago, no problems at all.

as you are finding the flatbed route was too expensive and added about $150 at each end for sling loading / unloading

On Uship, i posted a nice pic with good description of dimensions + weight, I also did a provider search on uship and sent out bid requests to providers that looked like they had their act together from their profile/pics and reading their feedback profile. This helps get your listing seen by providers. Also I answered questions quickly and was ready to move when bids were within my budget by a well reviewed shipper. I did not go with the cheapest bid.

my shipping provider was Dennis, with a uship username of: Orangitis
I recommend him highly.

 

[gwwannabe]

Pete1313 - I learned a valuable lesson about boat trailers, more specifically wheel bearings, when I trailered my boat home from NJ. Three of the four wheel bearings failed so badly that the repair tech was able to remove the tire, brake drum and all, just by jacking the axle up. He said that a trailer that mostly sits will cause microscopic distortions in the roller bearings and races over time and when subjected to a long(er) tow, they'll self destruct. My trailer was only used twice a year and then only a few miles each way. I made it only about 150 miles before the problem was discovered and was delayed about 8 hours which was pretty miraculous considering the problem occurred late on a Saturday afternoon.

I would recommend that you have new bearings and races installed on the trailer before beginning the trip home. It'll be a lot less expensive than breaking down somewhere along the highway, to say nothing about the inconvenience.

Gary 89 Overnighter

 

[jellyfish]

make sure the trailer has trailer tires on it. If it brakes down on the road it will cost you big time.

 

[HaleNalu]

I towed my last Sailfish home from San Diego to Portland, OR. I completely replaced both axles on the trailer and put a new actuator and disc brakes on before the tow. Took a day and drove straight to San Diego, spent the night, and then turned and drove back home.

Be ABSOLUTELY sure the trailer is good, especially if you are paying someone to tow it home. One thing I learned was that while not bad in a car, I-5 in California is atrocious and very hard on trailers. In many places it is poured concrete slabs so you have small gaps between the slabs, and this pounds trailer suspension pretty good.

Since you are in the NW, there are a lot of guys on the Ifish.net board in the Salty Dog forum that have towed boats, or know guys that move boats from CA to the NW. You might pose your question there as well.

 

[HMBJack]

In addition to the above suggestions (all good), I'd convert the brakes from drum to disk. You're going to do that anyway right? So why not now before such a long trip? Drum brakes are famous for self destructing on boat trailers and do not stop as well as disks (that's why cars converted to them a long time ago). SS Disc brake conversion kits are fairly cheap and easy to install. Plus, you already have the brakes lines on your trailer now (simply connect to the disc calipers). Good luck!

 

[JOSH S]

In addition to the above suggestions (all good), I'd convert the brakes from drum to disk. You're going to do that anyway right? So why not now before such a long trip? Drum brakes are famous for self destructing on boat trailers and do not stop as well as disks (that's why cars converted to them a long time ago). SS Disc brake conversion kits are fairly cheap and easy to install. Plus, you already have the brakes lines on your trailer now (simply connect to the disc calipers). Good luck!

Actually this is a common misconception that disk brakes stop better than drum brakes. Drums have superior stopping power. Drums, however, are not a good choice for boat trailers dues to repeated immersion in water and they are much higher maintenance. Disks are less prone to fade. That is why they are are on the front end of most passenger cars nowadays.

 

[Grog]

Drums can lock the tires easier because the roatation of the drum aginst the pads puts more pressure on the brakes. I'll take disc over drums any day! Less fade, they still work when going through a puddle, better braking moduation, less moving parts,... The main reason some vehicles have drum rear brakes is they're cheaper. A parking brake drives up the PIA factor and costs.

I have a Venture 7200 for my '91 Sailfish, I wouldn't want to put a 272 on it. Unless Venture changed, the # is the trailer capacity not the GVW, a 9000 pound capacity would work for you but it's not as nice as the upper $ trailers are.

 

[HaleNalu]

I looked at the Venture trailers when buying the new one for the 282. They seem look good trailers at really good prices.

I did find out that there are some differences in the way aluminum I-beam trailers are made. The place I am getting my trailer from sells Venture as well as other models, including the Seahawk that I am buying. One of the main differences is that less expensive I-beam trailers typically are single bends in the I-beam, and come together at the front in a V. Double bend I-beams come back together parallel to each other at the tongue. Supposedly this creates a more rigid trailer torsionally. ???? I don't know if that is true or not. I do know that my Loadmaster I-beam trailer was a double bend, and I absolutely loved it. I opted for a little more expensive model than the Venture, but I don't know for sure how much better, if at all, it is. Not sure why, but all of the higher end $ trailers I looked into were double I-beam.

 

[Pete1313]

Wow - thanks for all the responses. I am inquiring of whether the bearings and races were recently replaced. I know the trailer was just serviced professionally, including repacking/greasin bearings (trailer has bearing buddies). A brand new surge actuator was installed. Tires were inspected etc. The trailer is not i-beam, but it is a heavy duty galvanized trailer.

I think I'm going to pull it. I just had an offer I can't refuse - my neighbor's father (retired) offered to drive my truck down, pick up the boat, and drive back, all just for the cost of gas. Guess he has some friends down there and wants to visit...figures its a free trip for him since he has alot of time. Good thing is, he's knowledgeable in trailering and has insurance to cover any problems.....so...

If I were to have bearings totally replaced, and I'm 1300 miles away, where should I have it done? Les Schwab? Discount Tire?

 

[HaleNalu]

That's great. Be sure to notify your insurance agency that a friend will be pulling it back. This will be covered under your standard boat insurance. If you had a commercial outfit pull it back, you would need an additional rider.

The places you mentioned would be fine. You can also look at an RV place as they work on RV trailer bearings all the time.