Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers
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Shipping issues
My fuselage and finishing kits arrived yesterday by truck in a large crate. I talked to the shipping company that morning and asked if I needed anything at my end to offload the crate. They said the driver would have everything that's needed. Wrong!
The driver's first question when he arrived was "do you have a forklift?". Because the crate was 10+ feet long, his pallet jack would only lift one end and he didn't think he'd be able to turn it to get it on the power lift on the back of the truck. I told him what the office said on the phone that morning and his comment was that they have no idea in the office what's needed.
To make a long story short, the driver left to make some other deliverys and said he'd be back later. I was lucky to find a fork lift at my airport and I've had enough experience with them to use it. The driver came back later and we took the box off the truck. I lowered one end with the fork lift, and he lowered the other end with the power lift.
This is the first time I've had a kit shipped, and would probably be the last even if it weren't my last kit. I live in Illinois, so Mexico, MO isn't too long a trip.
It looks like something was dropped on the lid, but, so far, no indication of any damage to any parts.
My advice - if you're having a kit shipped to you, have a lot of strong friends around when it arrives, or a fork lift.
Comment
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Comment by Jim Belcher on June 9, 2011 at 8:38am
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Shipping IS a problem. It's expensive, and the shippers Zenith use don't always serve your end. If they deliver to your house, you'll almost certainly need a fork lift. I have no fork lift, and delivery trucks have a hard time either finding, or reaching my house. There's something about a narrow rock road on a 12 degree grade that runs them off. :)
I'll share what I did, not because everyone will have the same situation, but it might give someone some ideas.
I picked up the kit at Mexico, Missouri (1100 miles), on my trailer, and just pulled the whole trailer into my shop, where I removed pieces of the kit as I needed them.
When I needed larger replacement parts, I had them delivered to a dock, where they had the facilities to put them either on my trailer or my truck bed. Once I had them on home turf, I had more time to deal with them. Zenith's shippers do not deliver to my town. We found out where they do deliver (150 miles away), and I drove to that location.
It may be my imagination, but I get the impression that shipping is not only more expensive than it was, it doesn't have as good a connectivity. As someone else has commented, some of the rules are very dependent on the individual shipper.
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Comment by Dale Medendorp on June 8, 2011 at 3:44pm
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Different shippers might have different methods or equipment. My shipper was Estes Shipping. You might check with Zenith and find out what the shipping options are and then check with the shippers.
I should add that Zenith does a good job of packing the crates. Nothing shows any damage or even significant shifting the crate. But I don't think that would have been the case if the crate was dropped off the back of the truck ;-)
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Comment by Paul Sanders on June 8, 2011 at 9:20am
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Yes I have the wings coming in August and have no idea how to get it off the truck. I don't have a group of friends who can help or any equipment so that I can do it myself. So I am probably going to have to pay someone to do it or maybe just push it out the back of the truck, its all just metal right ? :)
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Comment by Thomas Jackson on June 4, 2011 at 7:48pm
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Dale, it sound like you are making real headway with your 601. The last time 790 had a visit to your hangar the project was looking good.
Good Luck with the fuselage.
Tom
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Comment by Bob McDonald on June 4, 2011 at 4:56pm
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Zenith does an excellent packing job of the parts...short of shving a fork lift spear through the crate you should be good. Get that rivet gun "popping" .
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