Rod Shipments

[Ryan808]

How do you ship your rods out? Is there a cheaper alternative to the good ol' PVC tube?

[clamkin]

PVC isn't horribly expensive for the protection it offers, IMO and IME.

Most the rods I ship average around $300 in value. Cutting corners on the packaging to send it into less than friendly environments of the carriers is not an area where I feel good about cutting corners. You might save a couple of bucks, but after the first major loss and all the hoops you'll have to jump through on a claim, you may not think it's such a good tradeoff.

[StickFish]

PVC and bubble wrap, don't forget to pad the ends

[Ryan808]

Ive been using PVC and capped with PVC ends, I just get that weird look everytime I go to the post office with a tube being over 99" long. The difference of 103" and 99" with a 2" tube was over $40. I was thinking of trying those triangle shaped boxes, but getting a supply is another issue. At the end of the day PVC probably gives the best protection, bit passing on savings to the customer is also something I value.

[Ryan808]

Ive been using PVC and capped with PVC ends, I just get that weird look everytime I go to the post office with a tube being over 99" long. The difference of 103" and 99" with a 2" tube was over $40. I was thinking of trying those triangle shaped boxes, but getting a supply is another issue. At the end of the day PVC probably gives the best protection, bit passing on savings to the customer is also something I value.

[StickFish]

Most of the rods I build if they are one piece top out at 96", most are 84" or less. I use the bubble wrap to make arbors every couple of feet so the rods are snug in the middle and can't rattle around. In come cases with larger off shore rods I can't use 2" PVC.

I have let UPS pack them as well and insure the heck out of them and they use the triangle boxes. Black plastic drain tile also works and comes in larger diameters.

Also, Styrofoam blocks can be notched and used as arbors instead of the bubble wrap.

[okie man]

i use the pvc rectangle down spout pipe from home depot. a good trick when shipping 2 rods is tape them together tip to butt. that way if it gets dropped on the end the thicker butt section takes the impact. if shipping a single rod tape a 3/4x3/4 stick of wood to the rod to protect the fragile tip section. what ever you do do not use a cardboard tube. that's just asking to get your stuff broken.

[Kerry Hansen]

Check past posts on this subject.

[Twitchs_Tackle]

There are different thicknesses of PVC tubes which greatly effect shipping weight.

If using USPS, I can ship a PVC tube for a rod up to 70" for less than $7 with delivery confirmation. Just sent three rods to NFC for $6.80

Conversly, if using anything other than PVC, I'll only ship FedEx. They seem to actually understand what "FRAGILE" means on the side of the tube.

[RustyDog]

if your looking to go chep with good protection, go to your local carpet store and ask for a roll core,its thick carbord 12ft long about 6in tall, cut to fit ship,free is good!!!

[Thucker]

I flew over to Idaho last year and wanted to do some fishing on the drive back, so I shipped my rods over there. 4 rods, in a 6" PVC tube, with bubble wrap around each rod. Cost me like $10-12.

[bassdad54]

Hey Ryan

Just a quick note.If you check with some cabinetshops in your area alot of them get these long 12ft paper tubes that a cap and cove metal comes in and when they are empty they jsut get cut up and thrown away into recycle or garbage.They would make perfect tubes for shipping.Another place is floor covering places.the carpet and vinyle come rolled around them.

[jcft2007]

I use the corrogated sewer pipe in 10' lengths. Get it at Lowe's or Home Depot pretty cheap and its lightweight compared to the pvc/abs stuff.

For caps, I cut a piece of cardboard to fit then ducktape the snot out of it.

Not only is the length an issue but don't forget about the weight. Also, I like to at least triple the insurance on most items especially rods. Shippers will usually pay only about 75% or so. Don't ask how I know......

Joel