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Thread: Canadian Shipping?

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario Canada
    Posts
    87

    Default Canadian Shipping?

    Looking for advice and or experience from builder who have shipped a kit to Canada. Detailed explanation of the process - what types of trucks/companies were used... how did it go... overall process etc? Any help would be appreciated. I live in in Eastern/Central Canada and picking up the kit is not really feasible.

    Thanks,

    Dave.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jan 2023
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario
    Posts
    4

    Default Shipping Crate Sizes and Weights

    Having chatted with the OP I suspect there may be some additional info that would really benefit his quest to get this kit delivered to his hangar.

    - How many shipping crates does the factory normally use for one complete kit? If they had to break the shipment down into smaller, more manageable chunks, how many crates would that be?
    - What are the sizes and weights of each of the crates?

    For those who have received their kit via shipping service rather than going to the factory to pick it up, your knowledge of how the factory packed the kit would be very helpful.

    BTW the factory provided an answer that was roughly equivalent to "one huge crate that weighs several times the empty weight of the completed airplane". These numbers don't quite seem "right" so please share your real world experience.

    Sorry, Dave, if I have stepped on your toes here - I thought it might be helpful to convert some of the questions from our conversation into questions here on the forum in hopes others might have gone down this path before you.


    Mark.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Canadian Shipping?

    I just recently arranged the shipping for my SS7 to Alaska, complete kit with firewall forward... everything except the engine, prop, and tires. Heather told me the crate will be 4' W x 7' 2" H x 17' L and weigh 3200 lbs.
    Mike Davis
    Fairbanks, AK
    Kitfox Series 7 SS (received kit on 18 April 2023) N967MD reserved
    Rotax 916iS received, still waiting on MTV-6-R propeller
    Build log - https://n967md.dcsol.com
    Murphy Moose #195 (sold)
    1968 C150H still flying regularly
    Quicksilver MX built and registered as experimental (destroyed in wind storm)

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario Canada
    Posts
    87

    Default Re: Canadian Shipping?

    Thanks for the help from both Mark and Mike.

    Heather at Kitfox has given me the same dimensions as were given to Mike.

    I might have been better to title the original question "International Shipping" as it seems that's what shipping to Canada would be more similar to. However, Kitfox has been great to work with helping navigate the available options for shipping. It looks like the kit will ship to a warehouse close to the border and I will go down and pick it up and broker the import myself. I will report back when we have a final plan in place -- in case other Canadian buyers ever have the same questions.

    Mark -- you aren't stepping on my toes ever... I appreciate all the help I can get!

    Dave.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jan 2023
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Canadian Shipping?

    It's the 3200lbs part that seems, well, perhaps not quite right. Let's say the finished airplane weighs 1000lbs empty. Take off a very conservative 100lbs for the engine - that leaves an extremely conservative 900lbs of "airplane". What else comes in that big box to pad its weight up to 3200lbs? I know the box won't be light, but I also have trouble seeing it weighing a ton or more.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Canadian Shipping?

    It's the box. When I spoke to Heather she said they build it like a house... I guess that's why the crate charge is $2000. It has to be built to hold up to some pretty rough conditions when shipping via ocean.
    Mike Davis
    Fairbanks, AK
    Kitfox Series 7 SS (received kit on 18 April 2023) N967MD reserved
    Rotax 916iS received, still waiting on MTV-6-R propeller
    Build log - https://n967md.dcsol.com
    Murphy Moose #195 (sold)
    1968 C150H still flying regularly
    Quicksilver MX built and registered as experimental (destroyed in wind storm)

  7. #7
    patrick.hvac's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Location
    Ottawa
    Posts
    104

    Default Re: Canadian Shipping?

    I used E-Shipper to broker Day and Ross as the shipper then cleared using Livingston.
    I have also flown to the factory then drove a rental truck back and cleared it myself.
    Both are a PITA.
    🇨🇦CANADA
    Flying | SS7 | G3X | Edge 912

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario Canada
    Posts
    87

    Default Re: Canadian Shipping?

    Yes, Heather told me the same thing -- that the crate is like a tiny home. Given the prices of lumber lately it's no surprise the cost to crate alone... but I will find a way to re-purpose all that lumber.

    The current plan is to ship to Syracuse NY, and I will go down and pick up the crate, that's still 6hrs round trip, but much shorter than going to Boise. I'm just trying to figure out if I need a truck with a lift gate, or if I can come up with some creative way to unload such a large crate. I have a hoist point in the ceiling of my hangar, I just need to figure out the best way to use it for this purpose. It's much cheaper to rent a truck without the lift gate... so any suggestions are welcome.

    With a lift gate - this is my plan: Pull the crate out of the truck while suspended on the chain hoist. Once one end is on the chain hoist and one end is on the lift gate - lower simultaneously to caster dollies and move into position...

    I actually find all this problem solving fun... and that's really a huge part of why I bought a kit. Getting it to my hangar is just the beginning of a long process of solving problems.

    I'm really looking forward to this process.

    d.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Dave S's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    St Paul, MN
    Posts
    1,833

    Default Re: Canadian Shipping?

    I picked up my big box at the local Distribution center/warehouse and used a low bed double axel car trailer. The DC had equipment to get it on the trailer and at home I pulled the box apart and moved everything piecemeal into the garage - no individual parts are so heavy that two people can't carry it. If a person has a ceiling hoist and enough head room that should be a piece of cake.
    Dave S
    Kitfox 7 Trigear (Flying since 2009)
    912ULS Warp Drive

    St Paul, MN

  10. #10
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Toledo, WA
    Posts
    863

    Default Re: Canadian Shipping?

    Without a liftgate: Use your chain hoist to raise the aft end of the crate. Insert a metal pipe under the crate as a roller. Lower the crate onto the pipe and roll the crate aft. Repeat as necessary to get the forward end of the crate within a foot of the rear door. Use two engine cranes with a sturdy ratchet strap between them to raise the forward end of the crate from the lip of the truck floor, then drive the truck forward. Lower the crate to the ground. On smooth level ground, and with some helpers, you might even be able to roll it into your hangar a few inches off the ground.

    Or, as Dave suggested, if you're not up against a deadline to return the truck, just disassemble the crate inside the truck and remove the pieces.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

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