Recommendation, Courier from Adelaide -Melbourne?

Submitted: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 07:46
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G'day, can anyone recommend a Courier Company need to get two small water tanks from Adelaide to Melbourne? Thanks in advance. John
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Reply By: olcoolone - Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 08:09

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 08:09
If they can be handled easily by a single person you could try Couriers Please, are you buying them from a company here in Adelaide.
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Follow Up By: Member - John - Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 13:37

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 13:37
G'day, no have bought them from a private source, mate picked them up and I was going to pick them up, but now can't make it. Thanks for the info. John
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Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 08:27

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 08:27
I use www.e-go.com.au if the sender in adelaide is willing to weigh, measure, pack and label it. You can save 50% with depot to depot or 25% with depot to door. Its easy to do an on-line quote.
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Follow Up By: Member - John - Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 13:38

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 13:38
Thanks.
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Follow Up By: rumpig - Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 18:58

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 18:58
have used e-go myself before, was a good option as the person who bought the item from me arranged everything (paid for by them), and then emailed me the con notes. all i had to do was put the items in a box, tape it up and attach the con note. placed the box on my verandah and it was picked up the next day. not alot of places want to do pick ups from a residential address for the average Joe Blow, most will only do pick ups for companies.
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Reply By: Ron N - Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 10:35

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 10:35
John - I use Temando. Temando put your request out to several companies and give you about 4 quotes.

Tanks are like tyres, they are costly to transport because the are bulky and light. As a result, you pay on cubic measure, not weight.
Transport companies work on 333kg per cubic metre as the break point between weight and cubic measure.
If your item takes up a cubic metre, but weighs only 50 kgs, you pay the equivalent price of an item that weighs 333 kgs but which only takes up a cubic metre.
If you cube the overall measurements of the tanks, and multiply by 333, that will be the weight equivalent you're paying.

If the items weigh more than 25kgs, you'll need to supply loading/unloading assistance, such as a forklift, or have to order and pay extra for a tail-lift truck.
If you state that both sender and receiver are businesses, and have loading/unloading facilities on site, you'll get the best quote.

If your delivery address is residential, you need to ensure that someone is home all day to receive the tanks, or you'll be hit with a "undeliverable" fee of about $50.
Make sure that a mobile contact number is included in the order, so they can contact you in the case of problems (courier unable to find exact address).
All transport companies use subcontract couriers with utes, vans, and light trucks, and a lot of these subcontractors aren't the brightest bulb in the house.
When you find out what they're being paid, you can understand it.

Make sure your sender packs the tanks properly, so they're protected from damage by the gorillas working in transport depots.
Forklift drivers are the worst - they all think they're F1 drivers, and shoving forks through items is common, and dropping the item, is the next most common problem.

You can specify insurance for your item on Temando, which usually runs to about 1% of the freight charge.

The missus ordered a "flat pack" sauna last month, and it came in 3 big boxes. Despite the sender sticking a dozen big "fragile" stickers over every side of every box - someone managed to drop one of the boxes off the back of a truck, and the result was a heap of busted components.

https://www.temando.com/

Incidentally, I'm currently transporting a big 3-phase air compressor (157kg and 145cm x 113cm x 52cm) from an inner-city Sydney suburb to a Perth inner-city suburb (door to door).
I just tried e-go.com.au for a quote on that move, and they quoted $368. I booked the move through Temando, got 4 quotes, and it cost me $168.
Northline are doing the movement. Allied & Northline are usually the cheapest quotes on Temando.
I did advise them that the compressor pick up and delivery points were businesses and that there was a forklift each end (which is true).

However, if you have 3 mates available at delivery time, who can wrestle a heavy item off, having a forklift isn't critical.
It's just that courier and truck drivers won't unload anything over 25kgs by hand, and demand assistance.
Most couriers and truckies are pretty helpful and easy-going, but you can help by making the job as easy for them as possible, too.

Be aware that if you organise depot pick-up, the transport depots are often a nightmare of safety regulations. If you go to a big modern depot for a pick-up, you usually have to sign in, wear a hi-vis vest, follow an employee at all times, and never deviate from the painted lines on the floor. Traffic is always one-way through the depot, don't try and turn around and go out the gate you came in.

Cheers - Ron.
AnswerID: 484789

Follow Up By: Member - John - Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 13:41

Wednesday, May 02, 2012 at 13:41
Thanks Ron, very informative. Maybe easier driving over and picking them up, LOL. Cheers.
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Follow Up By: Muntoo - Thursday, May 03, 2012 at 10:31

Thursday, May 03, 2012 at 10:31
Hi Ron

Interesting, very informative.

I have recently been quoted for a few items i want freighted, but cant for the life of me work out how they have quoted it.

Anyone care to help?

2.57594 cubic metres and 250kg =$341.38

2.7848 cubic metres and 80kg =$343.12

.729 cubic metres and 175kg =$130.81

I cant work out if they have charge per cube or per kg as none of my calculations work out the same.

They wont tell me either. I wanted to add some more items but want to work out how much more i can add until it becomes too expensive.
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Follow Up By: Ron N - Thursday, May 03, 2012 at 11:25

Thursday, May 03, 2012 at 11:25
Muntoo - The quotes will vary constantly. The reason being, the transport company has a constant eye on the loadings for each trip, as well as the ease of pickup and delivery.

Trucks are scheduled, the same as buses. They leave on set days and within fairly tight time frames. If a company have a truck leaving with only 1/2 or 3/4 of a load booked, they will drop the rate to pick up extra freight to help fill the truck.
They lower rates on "backloads" when trucks run lightly loaded (Perth to East Coast destinations).

Trucks travelling Melb-Perth leave Friday afternoons to get into Perth on Monday mornings. They leave Perth Monday afternoons to hit Melbourne Thursdays.
"Overnighters" leave late afternoon to reach destinations that they can reach within 12-15 hrs driving by the following morning.

If a company sees a pick up and drop off, that are in suburbs that are frequently serviced by their subbies (typically major industrial areas), they will lower the rate.
If your job is in the boondocks (semi-rural area), you can look to pay more.

If you give them plenty of time for pickup and delivery, you'll get a better rate.
If you want your item picked up today, and delivered yesterday, you can expect to pay more.

That's why Temando is good. It gives quotes from multiple competitors, and most times they are very competitive.

In general, the more weight you can pack in to a box, carton or pallet, the better your quote will be. The less hassle there is in handling your item, the better your quote will be.
If your item is top heavy, has lots of awkward projections, is odd-shaped, or needs careful handling, you'll pay more.

The rates are best value for heavy items, well packed into evenly-shaped boxes or strapped onto pallets, that can just be easily picked up by forklifts and dropped into place in the truck.

My compressor arrived yesterday in fine shape, with just a little paint missing off the tank where it had been strapped down. The sender was remiss in not putting some shrink wrap protection around it, as he said he would.

Shrink wrap is a necessary part of securing stuff that is not in a solid box or carton. It stops stuff from getting lost where there's more than one item, and it also prevents examination of contents by snoopers, and pilfering by light-fingered employees.

Cheers - Ron.
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Reply By: olcoolone - Monday, May 07, 2012 at 14:59

Monday, May 07, 2012 at 14:59
John just wondering if you have found a courier for your tanks..... we have one of our service vehicles going over to Melbourne next week and may have room.

If so you can get them dropped at our workshop in Adelaide.
AnswerID: 485197

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