Who knows how tires are shipped??

I need to have 4 tire/wheels shipped from Boston to California.

My brother,due to shipping volume, gets a very good deal on UPS, and can issue a call tag for pickup. These tires are NOT for my truck, and the tire wheel combo weighs noi more then 55#, so UPS WILL ship them, but



What I need to know is how are the tire/wheels PACKAGED for shipping...



Has anybody here ordered tires from an online retailer, like discounttire.com or tirerack.com, and then seen how they were packaged when they arrived??



Are there special wheel shipping boxes available??



I am NOT so concerned about scratches and damage as much as ease of packaging for the private party that I am buying them from... . IDEAS??



TIA

 

I have shipped just tires before and all that was needed was a address tag attached to tire no boxing or wrapping needed should be pretty easy

 

I have rec'd tires that have cardboard cut round to be the same diam as the tire, then just taped on real good in many places . . that way they don't damage the sidewalls or rims. Also gives them a place to put the label.





CD

 

I have bought several sets of tires from TireRack and they all come unboxed by UPS. Smaller tires are banded in sets of two, truck tires are shipped as singles. They tape the labels on with clear packaging tape around the tire through the hole. If they are mounted on wheels there is the concern with wheel damage and the cardboard idea sounds like it would work, as long as the weight is acceptable to the shipper.

 

Excellent info, guys... many thanks... I'll let you know how it goes.

 

I shipped four rims and tires to CT via Fedex. Got a roll of shrinkwrap from UHaul,and four, round cardboard pieces the size of the rim to protect the shiny side. I taped the cardboard piece to the outer,shiny side of the rim with an addressed piece of paper inside. Next we mummified ea. with shrinkwrap. Fedex weighed and tagged it. 84# ea. Shipped,insured to CT from San Diego for $210 otd. I have an account with them and that was two years ago. They arrived in perfect condition.

 

last time I shipped tires it was in the belly of a greyhound bus. It was cheep but it did take 5 days for delivery, You have to live close to a bus stop to make it cost friendly. Hope this helps. I even have had a Harley trike frame and rear end sent to me from the east coast.

 

Thanks, I'll check this out if UPS is too expensive... I am hoping that my brothers discount makes this all feasible!!

 

As a UPS and Fed-Ex frequent flyer I would like to add the following...



Check to see if you will get hit with a surcharge if the product is

"Not Encased In Cardboard". That may be assessed to the shipper after the product is long gone and delivered, will show up on the weekly statement.



I get a 5. 00 to 10. 00 bill back everytime we ship a part like that when there is no logical way for the shipper to pack it in a box.



Not a big issue but could add 20. 00 to 40. 00 to your shipping costs on 4 tires.



We do receive a lot of small tires that come UPS for the tire department and they arrive naked with a shipping label shunk wrapped to the tread.



Mike

 

Like said before tires are easy to ship and 99% of time do not require a box just a name tag

 

This past summer I received 5 tires mounted on 17. 5" aluminum wheels with caps and lug nuts for my RV. Because of weight limitations, the vendor shipped these as two shipments with 3 tire/wheel combos in one and 2 in the other.



In both cases, the tire/wheel combos were stacked with cardboard covering the top and bottom and then completely shrink wrapped. The boxes with the hubs and lug nuts were inside the shrink wrap. These came via FedEx ground, IIRC.



Rusty

 

I've received four utv tires packaged "1 front & 1 back" shrink wrapped together. Makes two packages of equal weight & size.

 

You might want to consider shipping all 4, banded to a pallet with a sheet of card board in between each to protect the rims, and ship them by motor freight and pick them up at the carriers local terminal. Just have them put them out on the ramp, cut the bands with 2 adjustable wrenches and load them in you truck, give the pallet to the carrier