Shipping a drum kit?

[Chris Shaeffer]

Anyone have some insight into shipping a 5 piece kit to Hawaii?

I have a 70's Rogers kit that I want to get over to Hawaii but couldn't fit it on the boat shipment with the rest of the gear. So now I have to box and ship it. Expensive, but I'm trying to figure out the most efficient (i.e. cheapest) way to do it.

I was thinking of stripping everything off the shells, putting them inside each other, padding the crap out of it and putting it all in one box. All of the other hardware has already been shipped so I don't have to worry about stands.

Am I on the right track? Never done this before and I'd hate to screw the kit up because I don't know what I'm doing...

Thanks,
Chris

[petermiller]

that would be the way to do it if you want to send it in one box. just make sure to keep the bearing edges protected. Bubble wrap between shells would be fine.

[fritzmusic]

Leave as much intact as possible and just use more boxes. It's the combined weight they charge for, not quantity of boxes. Assembled or not, tearing your drums down to fit in one box would only convenience the shipper more than yourself and won't change it's total weight.

[PYRRHO]

DO break down the kit...you're on the right track.

Sending 2 large and 3 medium boxes of moderate weight will cost more than sending 1 large, heavy box of the same total weight. Besides the more boxes you put into the system means the more likely you'll be faced with damaged and/or missing items.

And please...

When using bubble-wrap...the bubbles face TOWARDS the item being wrapped, not away. When wrapped with the bubbles out, you may as well use newspaper...it does nothing.