shipping advice needed

[bobman]

I may need to ship my Long hunter across the country to a guy considering purchasing it.

I've never shipped something this long and am wondering what's the best way to package it to keep it from being damaged.

And does UPS take things this long?

Its a 68 inch long longbow

Thanks

Bob

[JB]

Package it tightly in a PVC tube. Pad up the tips and make sure it dosent move around in tube.  The pipe that Home Depot sell isnt good for much else but makes good tube for bows. get some caps and tape them on securly.Yes UPS can take it.

[Mark Normand]

JB has good suggestion, or

Carpet stores have free leftover heavy cardboard tubes, used them many times. Pad inside and duct tape some cardboard end caps.

[bobman]

Thanks

[Pat B.]

I know several of the bowyers are shipping in cardboard boxes, really !!

I've received quite a few shipped this was and so far had good luck..

[JRY309]

I would ship it in a 3" drain pipe you can pick up at a Home Depot or a Lowes for around $8 to $10.Try to keep the package under 84" total length which is length plus girth.A 3" pipe is around 10.5" in diameter and a 70" in length will keep you under the 84" limit.If you go over that you will just get hit with an oversize surcharge,just will cost more to ship.Total weight and destination zip code will affect shipping cost.

[KOOK68]

PVC tube. I also use the pool noodles to cover the tips. Split a small section of the noodle to cover the riser. It will fit snugly in the pipe that way.

[dnovo]

I use a light weight 3" PVC tube but then put it in a box that fits it tight. If the longbow is over 66" it might put you in oversized which will double your cost. I do it this way cause it doesn't roll. I have seen PVC broken in shipping cause they roll

[SKITCH]

Originally posted by Mark Normand:
JB has good suggestion, or

Carpet stores have free leftover heavy cardboard tubes, used them many times. Pad inside and duct tape some cardboard end caps.

Yep. Shipped a couple recently and used a really heavy duty carpet or linoleum tube that they gave me (free) at a local Lowes.  I think this thing would not break as easy as some of the PVC I've seen out there.  Pretty tough stuff. Used the big bubble wrap on bow and made good padded plugs for each end. I like the pool noodle idea!

By the way, I used USPS.  I've heard some pretty bad things about bows and UPS.  Maybe others will chime in.  Do a search for info in shipping bows.

[vermonster13]

Somewhere on here there was a build-along I did on shipping with carpet tubes three or four or maybe five years ago.

[Ricker]

Use clean out caps to plug the end and tape them up.  It will save you just enough inches to stay out of being charged as an oversized item.

[JamesV]

Shipping USPS is the cheapest. I ship in heavy cardboard boxes and have never had a problem.

[rick7]

i have used carpet tubes. never had a problem with them

[SELFBOW19953]

The oversize charge kicks in when you reach 1,728 cubic inches (1 cubic foot) and applies to any shape package.

I cut 2X4 circles that fit inside the shipping tube for end caps and secure them with sheetrock screws.

[2treks]

Carpet tube or PVC. Ship it USPS priority and you will have a hard time keeping the 68" bow under the balloon charge. Your best bet will be with the 3"pvc. I have shipped a couple bows, and most of my 66"+ will get hit with the balloon charge. Still runs about $25-$30 for most bows. Never had one over $35.

UPS scares me.