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Pick up and Deliver Courier Services for Large Items

Freight Quote Australia specialises in the pick up and interstate delivery of large, heavy and bulky consignments. Shipping large or heavy item freight comes with its own unique set of challenges, but, as a specialised courier provider, we understand these challenges, and will happily provide you with a quote for your specific task. Simply fill in our courier quote form to find out what we can do for you.

The below list is in no way an exhaustive collection, but provides some examples of large equipment and bulky or heavy items our couriers can transport and deliver for you:

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bulky gym equipment, furniture items, boxes and parcels

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garage items, including lawnmowers, work bench
and bulky tools
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large pieces of timber, bales of insulation and other building materials

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machine and automotive parts, such as wheels, tyres, engines, gearboxes etc.

While Freight Quote Australia does specialise in large item delivery, it’s important to state that a courier for large items is not the same as a removalist. As such, it is important that large boxes and other bulky goods to be picked up should be placed ready (in advance if possible) either at the entrance of the building, on the driveway or even next to the kerb, if it is safe and responsible to do so.

Our heavy item couriers cannot be expected to lift a large package in excess of 25kg or max 30kg unaided, before or after the shipping, but may offer to help to load a heavier item together with you. As a general rule, goods to be shipped should not stand more than 1.8m tall and ought not be longer than the tray of the vehicle they are being loaded onto.

In order for us to provide you with a bulky item courier or heavy haulage services quote, we will require some specific information from you. The courier quote form takes only a couple of minutes to complete, and we are able to respond to most quote requests in less than 30 minutes.

How Much Does It Cost To Transport
A Large, Bulky Consignment?

While practically every consignment is different, there are certain common factors which will impact on the large items courier costs. Below is an overview of the most common cost-increasing factors, together with our own explanation as to why these factors impact on the cost of the freight. We’ve also included some tips for steps you can take to ensure any extra costs are kept to the absolute minimum when you’re booking in a large freight courier.

In the table below, the term “consignment” refers to the item(s) being transported, including any pallet, crate or other packaging material.

Factors Which Will Impact on the Freight Quote you Receive

VOLUME (I.E. SIZE)
WEIGHT
URGENCY
LOADING/UNLOADING METHOD

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

The larger the item, the less space on the vehicle for other items.  Large items may also be more cumbersome to handle than smaller items.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

Generally there are only two ways to reduce the size of the consignment: Reconsider sending only the most critical part(s) of the item, or reduce the volume of the packaging. For example, if an engine will fit into a small crate, then this will generally cost much less than strapping it to a full sized pallet, since freight is calculated in cubic volume.

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

Transport vehicles have a maximum weight carrying capacity. If one or more consignments are very heavy in relation to their size (e.g. a crate full of lead pipes) then the capacity of the transport vehicle may be used up even while there appears to be more space available.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

As with the volume – consider whether the entire item needs to be sent, or whether something (i.e. something heavy and almost worthless) can be trimmed off. Also consider the packaging – a 50kg item shouldn’t require a solid hardwood pallet weighing almost 40kg in order to be transported safely.

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

Due to economies of scale, transport providers are able to transport bulky goods across the country at a fraction of the cost, compared to what it would cost the average person to him or herself. This efficiency is greatly reduced once a delivery becomes more “urgent”, since the transporter will have restricted opportunity to combine the delivery with other consignments to and from the same locations.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

Avoid requesting an urgent delivery, unless it really is urgent. Plan in advance, and allow reasonable timeframes for the booking, pickup, transportation and delivery of your bulky consignment. Factor in a time buffer incase an unforeseen event such as a road closure or vehicle breakdown might cause an unexpected delay. Non-urgent deliveries with flexible pickup and delivery time frames will always be the cheapest option.

Why this impacts the cost of freight

While a small item can be easily loaded and unload by hand, large, heavy and bulky items will require other means. As a general rule, anything which requires a special purpose transport vehicle (typically a tail lift or a HIAB/crane truck) will result in increased costs, simply because these vehicles are more expensive to operate, and there are less of them available.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

For consignments over 30kg, the best option is an appropriately sized pallet, with forklifts available to load at the sender’s end, and to unload at the receivers end. Alternatively (if either the sender and/or the receiver don’t have a forklift) see if it’s possible to split the consignment into two or more individual items, each weighing less than 30kg. The latter option would mean that a hand-load and hand-unload should be possible.

VOLUME (I.E. SIZE)

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

The larger the item, the less space on the vehicle for other items.  Large items may also be more cumbersome to handle than smaller items.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

Generally there are only two ways to reduce the size of the consignment: Reconsider sending only the most critical part(s) of the item, or reduce the volume of the packaging. For example, if an engine will fit into a small crate, then this will generally cost much less than strapping it to a full sized pallet, since freight is calculated in cubic volume.

WEIGHT

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

Transport vehicles have a maximum weight carrying capacity. If one or more consignments are very heavy in relation to their size (e.g. a crate full of lead pipes) then the capacity of the transport vehicle may be used up even while there appears to be more space available.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

As with the volume – consider whether the entire item needs to be sent, or whether something (i.e. something heavy and almost worthless) can be trimmed off. Also consider the packaging – a 50kg item shouldn’t require a solid hardwood pallet weighing almost 40kg in order to be transported safely.

URGENCY

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

Due to economies of scale, transport providers are able to transport bulky goods across the country at a fraction of the cost, compared to what it would cost the average person to him or herself. This efficiency is greatly reduced once a delivery becomes more “urgent”, since the transporter will have restricted opportunity to combine the delivery with other consignments to and from the same locations.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

Avoid requesting an urgent delivery, unless it really is urgent. Plan in advance, and allow reasonable timeframes for the booking, pickup, transportation and delivery of your bulky consignment. Factor in a time buffer incase an unforeseen event such as a road closure or vehicle breakdown might cause an unexpected delay. Non-urgent deliveries with flexible pickup and delivery time frames will always be the cheapest option.

LOADING/UNLOADING METHOD

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

While a small item can be easily loaded and unload by hand, large, heavy and bulky items will require other means. As a general rule, anything which requires a special purpose transport vehicle (typically a tail lift or a HIAB/crane truck) will result in increased costs, simply because these vehicles are more expensive to operate, and there are less of them available.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

For consignments over 30kg, the best option is an appropriately sized pallet, with forklifts available to load at the sender’s end, and to unload at the receivers end. Alternatively (if either the sender and/or the receiver don’t have a forklift) see if it’s possible to split the consignment into two or more individual items, each weighing less than 30kg. The latter option would mean that a hand-load and hand-unload should be possible.

Factors Which can Lead to Extra Costs Once the Delivery Gets Underway

title INSUFFICIENT PACKAGING and box icon on a blue background

Insufficient packaging

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

Wrong or insufficient packaging can lead to bulky items being damaged during transport. Incorrectly applied packaging which unravels or comes undone during transport, will also lead to delays, and transport companies will often charge extra for the work involved with repackaging goods which were never properly packaged in the first place.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

When packaging bulky items for transportation by a freight courier within Australia, take a moment to consider the journey ahead. If the consignment is travelling interstate, then more than likely it will be loaded and unloaded several times before it reaches its final destination. It may be exposed to wet weather while being forklifted between vehicles, or between a vehicle and a storage depot. Some jolting, bumping and rubbing against other freight is almost inevitable.

title WRANG LABELLING and LABEL icon on a blue background

Wrong Labelling

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

It goes without saying that providing a wrong pickup or delivery address will be almost guaranteed to increase the cost of delivering your consignment. Transport companies incur significant costs from futile deliveries, and from any subsequent redeliveries. Worse still, if the delivery labels become dislodged, a consignment is at risk of getting lost.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

Double check to make sure that the Sender address and the all-important Receiver address are correct on the labels of the large parcel. Fix labels on clearly, ideally covering then with waterproof tape. Apply several labels on the different sides, in case one label should be come scratched or damaged.

title INCORRECT DIMENSIONS and CUBE icon on a blue background

Incorrect dimensions

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

While the dimensions of bulky freight will usually not be verified to the millimetre, if the real dimensions differ significantly from those on which the quote was based, this will naturally lead to an increase in costs. The same applies for the weight of the consignment.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

Get hold of a tape measure and double check the actual dimensions to avoid any unexpected increase in cost due to incorrect dimensions being provided. If you are unable to weigh the consignment prior to pick up, make sure you at least provide an accurate description of the bulky goods and a reasonable estimate of the weight.

title DEMMURAGE and CLOCK icon on a blue background

Demurrage

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

Demurrage basically means the cost of delays, where the delays are not caused by the transport company. In addition to the direct costs associated with any such delays, there will often be flow-on consequences such as a backlog of deliveries, and lots of extra rescheduling work.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

The easiest way to avoid demurrage is to communicate properly, to remain contactable by phone and to ensure that there is unrestricted access at both the sender and receiver end.

Factors Which can Lead to Extra Costs Once the Delivery gets Underway

title INSUFFICIENT PACKAGING and box icon on a blue background

Insufficient packaging

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

Wrong or insufficient packaging can lead to bulky items being damaged during transport. Incorrectly applied packaging which unravels or comes undone during transport, will also lead to delays, and transport companies will often charge extra for the work involved with repackaging goods which were never properly packaged in the first place.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

When packaging bulky items for transportation by a freight carrier within Australia, take a moment to consider the journey ahead. If the consignment is travelling interstate, then more than likely it will be loaded and unloaded several times before it reaches its final destination. It may be exposed to wet weather while being forklifted between vehicles, or between a vehicle and a storage depot. Some jolting, bumping, and rubbing against other freight is almost inevitable.

title WRANG LABELLING and LABEL icon on a blue background

Wrong Labelling

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

It goes without saying that providing a wrong pickup or delivery address will be almost guaranteed to increase the cost of delivering your consignment. Transport companies incur significant costs from futile deliveries, and from any subsequent redeliveries. Worse still, if the delivery labels become dislodged, a consignment is at risk of getting lost.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

Double check to make sure that the Sender address and the all-important Receiver address are correct on the labels. Fix labels on clearly, ideally covering then with waterproof tape. Apply several labels on the different sides, in case one label should be come scratched or damaged.

title INCORRECT DIMENSIONS and CUBE icon on a blue background

Incorrect dimensions

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

While the dimensions of bulky freight will usually not be verified to the millimetre, if the real dimensions differ significantly from those on which the quote was based, this will naturally lead to an increase in costs. The same applies for the weight of the consignment.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

Get hold of a tape measure and double check the actual dimensions to avoid any unexpected increase in cost due to incorrect dimensions being provided. If you are unable to weigh the consignment prior to pick up, make sure you at least you provide an accurate description of the goods and a reasonable estimate of the weight.

title DEMMURAGE and CLOCK icon on a blue background

Demurrage

Why this impacts on the cost of freight

Demurrage basically means the cost of delays, where the delays are not caused by the transport company. In addition to the direct costs associated with any such delays, there will often be flow-on consequences such as a backlog of deliveries, and lots of extra rescheduling work.

Tips for reducing or avoiding this cost

The easiest way to avoid demurrage is to communicate properly, to remain contactable by phone, and by ensuring that there is unrestricted access at both the sender and receiver end.

Transporting Bulky Freight?
Avoid Demurrage Costs

The term ‘demurrage‘ is commonly used in the shipping and freight industry to refer to delays experienced by the driver of the delivery vehicle either at the pick up point or at the delivery end. It can occur when shipping large items and smaller parcels.

Common causes of demurrage include:

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Driver arrives at pick up address at the scheduled time to find goods are not ready to be loaded.

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The goods to be loaded onto the vehicle are much larger than what was described.

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The courier driver arrives at the delivery address at the scheduled time to find the gate locked, or no-one home.

Demurrage is a costly and often avoidable occurrence, and freight companies will usually have little choice but to pass on the additional cost to the customer. This means that the so called “cheap courier for posting large items” suddenly becomes a lot more expensive.

How to ship a large item in Australia avoiding demurrage:

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When you submit your courier quote, describe accurately the type of goods which need to be picked up.

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Plan for the pickup and delivery of large items; make sure that the address is accessible to the driver on the scheduled day.

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Always keep your mobile phone handy.