Shipping a sousaphone

[Jimkinkella]

The title says it.
I'm looking to get a sousaphone from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles.
Does anyone here know anyone that would have a shipping box for that beast?
From maybe Volkweins or Johnstonbaugh?

thanks

Jim

[Doug Elliott]

I threw away a souse case I had.
At one time there was a lot of talk on TubeNet about shipping by Greyhound as the cheapest option. But there's no tracking and you will never know where it is until it arrives.

[Jimkinkella]

I remember the Greyhound idea.
Just not comfortable with the randomness of it.
It's not a valuable instrument, but sentimental, it's my grandfather's old horn.
I may end up just driving cross-country, local beers from one end of the country to the other...

[greenbean]

Greyhound may sound random but it is WIDELY used by tuba players to move tubas around the country. Upside: Very few reports of damage. Downside: Tracking is mostly worthless, transit time varies wildly (a few days to a few weeks), and declared value is limited to $1000. This is what you can claim if lost by their fault. I have shipped at least a dozen tubas using Greyhound with good results.

[greenbean]

FedEx and UPS are okay, too. More expensive. And forget USPS. The hardest part of shipping a sousaphone is finding/building a box if there is no case!

[SimmonsTrombone]

Baltimore Brass shipped to me using Old Dominion truck line. On the tuba forum, someone put an Apple tracking device on a tuba shipped by Greyhound. It appears a good part of the ways, the tuba actually traveled by Estes truck line. You might check with whoever is close to you and particularly ask about the need for a pallet. Mine from Baltimore Brass just came in a box.

[greenbean]

Palletizing and shipping as freight would be a good choice for big-money tuba that you want to minimize the risk of damage. But it is overkill for an older sousaphone, IMO. Boxed up, the sousa will be acceptable to FedEx, UPS, and Greyhound - I would use one of them.

[biggiesmalls]

Does anyone here know anyone that would have a shipping box for that beast?

Your best bet for a box is to source a couple of washer/dryer boxes from a local appliance store.

When I shipped an ancient Cerveny 4-valve rotary tuba to Germany last year, my local appliance store provided me with a free washer box, along with a free matching dryer box that just happened to be a fraction smaller.

I cut both boxes to the appropriate height, added a layer of cardboard to the bottom of the dryer box, then packed the bubble-wrapped tuba into the dryer box with cornstarch peanuts. I added a layer of cardboard on top, then slid the washer box over the dryer box, yielding a finished box that was double-walled on all sides.

[jbeatenbough]

Why ship a sousaphone? If you drop one in enough water, it will sink and you never have to see it again.



okokok, I'm just kidding... if someone gave me a sousaphone, I would even keep it.