Advice needed packing tube amp for shipping

Keira-WitherKay

Ok , so i'm shipping or rather freighting prob by curior service a tube amp fronm me in pta to ct

ok so i will box it and pack it with foam , my main question is do i ship it with tubes in their sockets or should i pull em all out and wrap and box em separately ?

So opinions please

Chocklit_Thunda

I work for my dads shipping company so I've had my fair share of dealings with airlines and couriers and I'd be willing to Bet money that your tubes would be damaged in the amp... Your best bet would be to remove them, wrap them in bubble wrap, then in polystyrene or even better would be to get a small wooden crate/box built (those tomato box plank ones) and just wrap them tightly enough that they cannot move and that there's enough bubble wrap to cushion a blow if they are dropped. Also fragile stickers. You'll need lots of those (even though they probably don't care at the courier....)

IceCreamMan

i would guess that amps when shipped from country of origin leave the tubes in the sockets .....

they shuold not break as this is how amps are shipped all over the world...

just my thoughts

AlanRatcliffe

Double-boxed it isn't usually a problem - as Aja says, that's how they ship them from the distributor to the shop. MDS Collivery, the courier in question has always been pretty good with my stuff anyway - including guitar cases and guitars in cases, without boxes (I figure they are made to transport...).

Any box large enough will do as long as it is packed so that the amp does not move inside. However, I do prefer removing valves, either putting them in valve boxes or bubble wrapping them individually, putting them in the cab and packing the back loosely so they do not bounce around inside.

Don't go too nuts with things like wooden crates though, it will add significantly to the weight and thus to the shipping charge.

Chocklit_Thunda

IceCreamMan wrote: i would guess that amps when shipped from country of origin leave the tubes in the sockets .....

they should not break as this is how amps are shipped all over the world...

just my thoughts

Indeed this is so but remember most of these are shipped in bulk orders. Usually packed tightly together on hard pallet racks or crates. Stronger packaging. And also IF one had to get damaged (which happens often), they have another 50 more in stock to replace it and also replacement parts are cheaper for them (Direct from supplier)
It's always more of a risk shipping smaller items. they get manhandled often and also there's a risk of having larger items placed on them/falling on them etc.

@Keira you could remove them, box them then put them into the same box as your amp for added safety?

Keira-WitherKay

Thanks everyone i will wrap them separately just to be safe

deebee

I'd go with Choc, he's in the business and knows the ins' and outs, seems like good advice from him. My pennies worth.