How To Ship Large Exercise Equipment

Sometimes when you’re getting ready to move, things have a tendency to pop up that you weren’t quite expecting. For instance, remember that treadmill that you bought at the beginning of the year thinking that you were going to use it every day because you are determined to lose that 10 pounds that just refuse to come off? Well, you may not have lost the 10 pounds, but you sure did gain a treadmill that you now need to move to your new location. Problem is, it’s ridiculously heavy. And you’re not quite sure how to ship it, or even prepare it for shipment. Well, you’re in luck. In this article we will break down the shipment process for you, and help you to better prepare your treadmill, or other large exercise equipment, for your moving day.

The very first thing that you’ll want to do before even touching the treadmill is find a reputable shipping company that will actually do the moving part for you. In this situation, we suggest and LTL (less-than-truckload) carrier to help get your treadmill to where it needs to go. The reason that we suggest using a LTL carrier is because they actually specialize in these types of materials. The reason for this is because they are used to quarter or half shipments since the whole purpose of this type of carrier is designed with things such as treadmills in minds. LTL carriers are the most cost-effective when it comes to larger items, because their fees are not based on weight. Also, they tend to have the most effective delivery time. Again, this is because these types of carriers typically have well strategized delivery plans, because you’re used to carrying multiple customer loads at one time. Plus, you have less risk of damage when using this type of carrier because they are used to large, bulky, and odd shaped items.

Next, turn your attention to the control panel. If it can be removed then do so. Insert it into an antistatic bag, and wrap it multiple times with bubble wrap or some type of foam padding. Then, put it into a heavy duty shipping box and pack the extra space in with either newspaper or something of the sort. Clearly mark the box so you know what it is, and make sure you write fragile in bold letters on multiple sides of the box.

Once the control panel is taking care of, now it’s time to remove all the different accessories from the treadmill, i.e. cup holders, handlebars, casters, etc. While this isn’t necessarily required, it can just help keep things from getting damaged during shipment. Once you’ve done this, you’ll want to move the machine from its current location to an area where your shipping carrier can better access it. A garage or driveway tends to be your best options. Just make sure that you measure all the doorways, stairways, and hallways to make sure that your treadmill actually fit through the openings. Also, don’t try to lift this yourself. That’s just a disaster waiting to happen. So, be smart and enlist someone’s help to move it to the staging area.

After you’ve moved the treadmill into the staging area, you’ll want to gather together the proper shipping supplies you will need to ensure the safety of your machine during shipment. The different types of shipping supplies you’ll want to have are a moving blanket to cover the machine, bubble packaging to protect it from dust and dirt, and bungee cords to tie together the petals so they won’t move during shipment. Once all of your shipping supplies have been utilized, clearly mark your elliptical as to who it belongs to, and where it’s supposed to go. Then, all that’s left to do is to wait for the carrier you chose to come pick up your shipment. Good luck!

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