Cheap way to ship a scooter  By  psychedelicode (Read 2,514 times)

I would take it apart and find a crate just like it came,,I bet one of those truck companies would do it for $100 or so...thats what i would look into,,call Yellow.

If not maybe a friend of a friend that drives a big truck would take it for you when he goes south...just saying.

Take the wheels and fork off and stuff it in the trunk it will not close but just tie the trunk down, Wheels and fork in the back seat area.

Just about all STATE to STATE shippings are by RAIL(very cheap), then the sellers get a local delivery trucking outfit to pick up the shipment from the train and then it gets delivered to the customer.

Rent a cube van to haul the bikes and put the car on a flatbed trailer towed behind the van.

So here's what we've come up with so far. 3-6 seem the best but tell me what you think.

Option 1. There would not be room for the scoot inside the car at all. I have alot of stuff I am moving and thats being very minimalistic. I have and entire house full of stuff that I've already begun donating.

Option 2. A box van is over $1500 just in rental, fuel would be about $800 for the trip given current fuel rates (which are most likely to skyrocket come spring when I'm moving). I would save a bundle by putting the bikes in it instead of riding them but my friends REALLY want to ride down there with me

Option 3. Looking at the photos of the work it took to but the hitch on, It seems like if I just cut the tailpipes off and left the muffler that the stock Contour hitch would fit the way it was designed (What does it look like to you guys?).
It would not cost much of anything to have them welded back on so they would clear the new hitch. That and I already have an old snowmobile trailer I could put the scoot on. That brings the cost of the hitch plus fuel down to about $400. Scoot and my stuff can go on trailer and in trunk. Python in the back seat with its heater running off an inverter, Dog playing navigator.

Option 4. Break the scooter down and ship it on greyhound. This would run about $225 but, I would have to make a 200mi drive to go pick it up from Albuquerque and shove it in the car because that is the nearest greyhound station to Taos.

Option 5. Sell the scooter and hope I can find a nice Piaggio down there to replace it.

and finally 6. Sell the car and get a Truck or Full size van. But I love my car. I bought it new just out of RTC for the Navy. One of 1500 built.
If it were not for getting a new job much better than my current I would not make this trip. Its a huge hassle and I have to give away all the stuff I've worked and paid for in the last 6 years. But then again stuff is just that, stuff. However you won't ever be able to pry my hands off of my toys. A guys gotta have his toys

Option 7. Make one of your friends drive the scooter or take turns riding it. Get insurance on it first, including protection for the rider/s, then drop the insurance after the trip.

You might check with Amtrak also but they have size limits. I don't know what other train services there are. You might throw the scooter in with someone shipping cargo there by train already. 

There may be forums for such things and there's always craigslist. You might get lucky and find someone there to haul your scoot. A trucker I know used to use an online service to find cars to carry back on return trips for as little as $300.

I'd probably go with the hitch and keep all my junk.

The scooter is not highway legal, Just a stock 50cc. Riding it would turn a day and a half trip into a week long affair and would take all the fun out of it for my friends. Since they are going to be donating their time for this trip I really don't want to disappoint them.

I have not looked into CL but I already called BNSF and Amtrak today and Amtrak said its a no go...only on their vehicle express line which goes nowhere near Taos. BNSF said I need a full car load to ship.