Taking Delivery Soon, Questions about unloading

[hahuang65]

Hey guys,

My order from Rich Kamp is about to ship out. He's working on setting that up, but he's mentioned that I'll need to figure out how to unload it.

 

He mentioned that door-to-door delivery will require me to have a forklift (with extra long tines for the chassis crate) and an operator since I can't operate one.

He said an alternative would be to ship it to a local truck depot, and have them load it onto a box truck that I rent, then I can drive it home and break down the chassis crate and have 3 people lift it to unload from the truck.

 

Wonder if you guys have had to deal with this and if you had any recommendations. I've called around, and I haven't found a place that'll rent out a forklift with an operator.

[hahuang65]

IIRC @UglyFast also ordered from Rich? Did you have to deal with this?

I'm sorry if I'm completely wrong about this.

Edited August 5 by hahuang65

[JohnCh]

I went with option 3: my dealer is local to me and had the crates loaded onto a trailer then we used two pallet jacks to remove them and position them in the garage.  If you have a few people to help, then using either a box truck or trailer and breaking down the crates in situ might be the cheapest and easiest method.  I have dimensions and weights of the three crates if you need them.

 

-John

[JohnCh]

I forgot to add that the engine crate is over 300 lb.  Even with three people, you will need to figure out a way to get that off the truck if it doesn't have a lift gate.  With a tilt trailer, you will have more options.

 

-John

[hahuang65]

@JohnCh Rich said the chassis crate is 600-700 lbs I think. Was the engine crate the heaviest for you? 

[KillerB]

I also purchased (420R) from Rich; but we just showed up at his shop with a U-Haul truck, and he loaded. Assuming he's having the three crates shipped directly to you, since you're in Houston? If so, yes you'll need a forklift since it's a commercial truck (U-Haul: we just slid down the ramp into garage, but there was four of us). Local trucking/moving company should be able to handle.

[JohnCh]

These were the measurements printed on the crates and converted from metric.  My car is an SV so the chassis crate should be slightly heavier, but I imagine Caterham standardizes the crates across chassis sizes.:

• Chassis: 130" x 51" x 54", 590 lb
• Assorted boxes: 78" x 47" x 56", 538 lb
• Engine: 67" x 35" x 33", 304 lb

[hahuang65]

1 hour ago, KillerB said:

If so, yes you'll need a forklift since it's a commercial truck (U-Haul: we just slid down the ramp into garage, but there was four of us). Local trucking/moving company should be able to handle.

Thanks for the input!

 

Just to be clear,are you saying a local trucking/moving company can be a substitute for the forklift?

[hahuang65]

[hahuang65]

1 hour ago, JohnCh said:

• Chassis: 130" x 51" x 54", 590 lb
• Assorted boxes: 78" x 47" x 56", 538 lb
• Engine: 67" x 35" x 33", 304 lb

Awesome this is super helpful. I've found a company named Craters and Freighters that might be able to accept the crates and then deliver them to me. This will be info I need to give them.

[JohnCh]

29 minutes ago, hahuang65 said:

Awesome this is super helpful.

 

In return, you are now obligated to start a build thread once the crates arrive    We love a good build thread!

 

-John

[KillerB]

2 hours ago, JohnCh said:

These were the measurements printed on the crates and converted from metric.  My car is an SV so the chassis crate should be slightly heavier, but I imagine Caterham standardizes the crates across chassis sizes.:

• Chassis: 130" x 51" x 54", 590 lb
• Assorted boxes: 78" x 47" x 56", 538 lb
• Engine: 67" x 35" x 33", 304 lb

Hey John, check your engine crate dimensions; mine was ~35” cubed, and 330lbs…..just an engine! 😉

[KillerB]

1 hour ago, hahuang65 said:

Thanks for the input!

 

Just to be clear,are you saying a local trucking/moving company can be a substitute for the forklift?

Yup!….and they make it look easy too! 😉

[CBuff]

  
sorry I don’t have dimensions. This was what it looked like when it arrived at time machines.  Thankfully I didn’t have to unload it.  420r

[JohnCh]

10 minutes ago, KillerB said:

Hey John, check your engine crate dimensions; mine was ~35” cubed, and 330lbs…..just an engine! 😉

 

They may not be standardized.  Or Caterham put the wrong dimensions on the crates.  I never put a tape measure to them to verify but these were photos I took at Beachman Racing before my kit arrived at the garage so I could map out where things would fit.  C3 is the engine crate:

 

 

 

 

 

 

-John

[JohnCh]

I was curious, so dug through my phone.  The photos I shared above were from a 420 kit that had arrived at Beachman Racing in April of 2022.  I just found the pictures of my crates when they arrived on the trailer in October 2022.  The dimensions printed on that engine crate are 38" x 26" x 40" and 343 lb.  So much for consistency.  Bottom line @hahuang65, they are big and heavy

 

 

[hahuang65]

3 hours ago, JohnCh said:

We love a good build thread

I would love this! What separates a good build thread from an okay one?

What sort of things should I be putting in the thread?

 

I'm thinking I would keep my own journal/blog type thing, and can mirror it into the forum, but I'm not sure what sort of details I should be keeping track of.

[hahuang65]

1 hour ago, JohnCh said:

they are big and heavy

Yeah, I'm sort of stressing out about it now lol. Seems like I'm going to have to end up coordinating quite a few things.

[JohnCh]

36 minutes ago, hahuang65 said:

I would love this! What separates a good build thread from an okay one?

What sort of things should I be putting in the thread?

 

Pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures.  And details from day 1.  Document how you do some of the less mundane aspects that can be accomplished in more than one way, or when things don't go according to plan.  I'm sure others will jump in with additional advice.  

 

To me the benefits of a build thread are twofold. 

 

First, and selfishly, it becomes a great reference for you in the future.  It's amazing how many of the little details you forget over time that come in handy down the road.  Memorialize them in the thread and they are easy to find.  I've quickly located part numbers, torque settings, thread locker compounds, assembly sequences and more, just by searching one of my build threads.   Some may say the forgetful aspect is just old age, but I think a lot of it is down to PTSD and intentionally blocking out the bad aspects of the experience.  And yes, there are bad aspects  

 

Second, people follow along and become invested in your success.  Run into a snag or need a sounding board?  There are people who happily jump in to help, not just because they are nice, but because they've developed a personal interest in seeing you reach the finish line. 

[slowdude]

On 8/5/2024 at 11:47 PM, JohnCh said:

 

Pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures.  And details from day 1.  Document how you do some of the less mundane aspects that can be accomplished in more than one way, or when things don't go according to plan.  I'm sure others will jump in with additional advice.  

 

To me the benefits of a build thread are twofold. 

 

First, and selfishly, it becomes a great reference for you in the future.  It's amazing how many of the little details you forget over time that come in handy down the road.  Memorialize them in the thread and they are easy to find.  I've quickly located part numbers, torque settings, thread locker compounds, assembly sequences and more, just by searching one of my build threads.   Some may say the forgetful aspect is just old age, but I think a lot of it is down to PTSD and intentionally blocking out the bad aspects of the experience.  And yes, there are bad aspects  

 

Second, people follow along and become invested in your success.  Run into a snag or need a sounding board?  There are people who happily jump in to help, not just because they are nice, but because they've developed a personal interest in seeing you reach the finish line. 

Cannot stress this enough. Then if you go to fix something in the future you have it documented. And if for some reason you sell, new owner has a history of the car.