Question: No loading dock at all makes it kinda hard. I have a step deck van (like a furniture van) and I'd like to haul this the last week in August. Is there an equipment trailer with ramps you can put it on and then drive it up those ramps into me trailer? My deck is less than waist high. Thanks, Harold (8/14/2008)
Response: Harold, I just received notice from Uship that my listing expires tomorrow. I'll check it day-after-tomorrow to see if it's still possible to communicate by "answering" one of these older messages. If it's not, I'll repost my listing and you'll need to hunt me down. I believe you were due back around the same time as my listing expires. Hope we can re-establish contact!
Steve (8/23/2008)
Response: My trailer is a step van, just like a stepdeck flat bed but with walls and a roof. I do not have chain tiedowns but I do have alot of 2" ratchet straps. We can back it in up to the step, let the trencher rest on the deck and the loader on the floor and I can secure it with more than enough straps and chalk the wheels. The ceiling is over 9 feet and the width is 99" inside. I carry many types of equipment. I have a small Excavator on the step now and some transformer parts and will have a rescue boat Monday and then I'm heading to Prince George.It's your call.......$1.50/mile? Harold (8/15/2008) (8/15/2008)
Response: Obviously you have the equipment loading and securing drill down pat and I'll defer to the expert.
I wasn't able to reach my guy in Portland today so may not be able to get to him until Monday about finding us a loading ramp but I'll try to catch him at home this weekend.
It sounds like your rig loads from a side door; if that's correct, then a back-in loading dock might not be what we're looking for? It also sounds like you're ready to hit the road north right away so I might not be able to get the loading situation sorted out in time if that's the case.
Would you please let me know what your schedule is so I'll know if we have a realistic chance of hooking up?
If we can find a suitable dock, would you want to be the one driving our backhoe onboard your trailer? It sounds like a close fit and I'd think you might want to be the one maneuvering inside your rig. The dimensions, by the way, are 7'0 wide by 22'6 long by 8'5" high.
Thanks
Steve (8/15/2008)
Response: Steve, I am heading for Prince George with another load now and then will be back to US afterwards and that is when I wanted to get the backhoe. Yes, I'd like to be your truck. No, it will not load from the side but the rear. I'll let your man drive it in but I'll help to guide. I will be available around the 27th. Harold (8/15/2008)
Response: OK Harold, I've located and secured permission for 2 loading docks, a 39" high dock in Portland and a 31" ramp in Anchorage. How does this match up with your trailer's deck? Presumably, the large tires on the backhoe will compensate for some degree of mismatch.
I've been quoted $3,606 from Tacoma to Anchorage by American Fast Freight ($3,038 for space available). I have a friend who will trailer the backhoe to Tacoma for fuel costs. Once here, I could then simply drive it the few miles from the port dock to home.
U-ship says it's a 2,549 mile trip; at your quote of $1.50 a mile, that would come to $3,823.50. What would you say to $3,200 and a hundred gallons of diesel(highway legal) out of our pump in Portland? I don't want to beat you out of a fair profit but this backhoe is a 1969 model and is only worth about what I'm paying to ship it.
Hope your trip to Prince George went well.
Regards,
Steve (8/19/2008)
Response: I can do that! Harold (8/20/2008)
Response: Harold, I just received an alert from U-ship that my listing expires in 3 days. I suppose you are on the road right now but just wanted to let you know I'm scheduled to disappear soon. If, for some reason, you can't get back to me before then, I'll post a new listing.
Steve (8/21/2008)
Response: Steve, I won't take that long, mid Sept, to get it up there. I have another guy who is very skidish about getting his boat hauled up there. Somebody stole it last time he had it shipped and he finally got it back. I think we're ready so I will post my bid. Harold (8/24/2008)
Question: Steve, Sorry I hadn't gotten back or bid. I lost my signal the other day in Montana and then I went on into AB and BC and could not get online. I am back in WA now and will get my bid in BUT I lost another piece I was going to take up there and I need to find something else to go before I can bid because I can't go with just your backhoe. Hang in there a minute. Harold (8/23/2008)
Response: Thanks for the update. I certainly understand that you can't make the trip all the way up here with just our load for anything we could afford to pay. We can wait another week or so for you to round out your load but we have to be back in Portland in mid-September and I don't have anybody to unload the backhoe for me up here.
Please stay in touch and let us know how it's going and we'll do the same. As I mentioned, this listing expires tomorrow so I'll possibly have to post it again to maintain contact.
Thanks, Steve (8/24/2008)