# Everyone's Thoughts If You Have Had A Delivery From Roadrunner Trucking



## qualitymachinetools (May 1, 2015)

Hey guys, I wanted to take a poll and see how many of you have had a problem with Roadrunner trucking when we shipped a machine out. And how many have had a good experience with them.

 Over the last few years, we have had pretty good luck with them, and they have the lowest rates on a lot of shipments. We try our best to keep the rates as low as possible, and as many of you probably know, the rates we charge for shipping usually do not cover the actual freight costs, so we try to keep them as low as possible. 

 But if the freight company is causing problems, its no good. None of them are perfect, but recently we have had about 4 that were really slow to get to the destination. Although 1 was in Montana, way out there, and one right now is in South Dakota, they have had for 12 business days (Which ends up being 3 weeks to the customer and they are getting frustrated), and I had to have it handed off to another freight company to make the delivery, because they didnt offer lift gate delivery in that area. 

 I was just wondering if these are a few isolated cases because of location, from others I have head that Roadrunner was fine, but I wanted to get some more opinions. 

 The hard part is that they are much cheaper than others a lot of the time. I think that freight costs are a lot higher than people think it is. So I was just wondering what to do here, if we drop them our shipping charges have to go up, which I sure do not want to have happen.


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## jds (May 1, 2015)

Sir, 
I had a fork through the side of the lathe crate, no damage to the machine.  I picked up my machines from the terminal.  Other then the company not calling to advise me, that they had been sitting there for three days, no other problems to address.
JD


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## Duker (May 1, 2015)

Matt, 

I had no issues with them as far as timeliness as they called to notify me that my shipment was in and they were able to move me up in their schedule as I told them I would be out of town later in the week. 

Now as for the unloading it was a little unnerving as my driver was not very big and struggled to unload the crate and was also reluctant for me to help at first. There was one a moment when the crate was perched precariously on the lift gate as he was trying to swing it around to clear the deck and it started to tip. Fortunately I was able to stop it before it swing too far or you would have a mill to use for parts back at the warehouse!  

Their lift gate barely accommodates the 935 mill I received. To get it to clear the deck to lower it down we had to have one lift rung of the pallet jack sticking half way off of the lift gate.  

Other than the unloading which in the end was successful they were fine in my particular case. 

Now if I only had my light and DRO I would be great!


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## TomS (May 1, 2015)

+1 on what Duker said.  Roadrunner did not make the delivery to my house.  They handed it off to a local freight company.  The local freight company was on time, polite and did a good job unloading my PM932M mill.  However, the crate was trashed and very unstable.  I can't believe the amount of crate damage was done by the local freight company.  The mill had quite a bit of cosmetic damage but no mechanical damage.  I had to repaint the entire mill and stand to make it look presentable.  So my vote is that you find someone other than Roadrunner.  They are inexpensive for a reason.

Thanks for asking and listening.  

BTW - The mill is great and Ray C. was great to work with.

Tom S.


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## Doubleeboy (May 1, 2015)

Grizzly uses Fed Ex Freight, there is constant tracking, the local office calls you ahead of time to tell you what day it will arrive and to make arrangements for delivery to you, your rigger or keep at warehouse for pickup.  They no doubt are more expensive but they are on the ball.  In my experience and the experience of more than a few machine shop owners in this area, is that low ball freight companies are a nightmare.  They could give a rip about the customer and his machine.  If price is a concern Freightquote is pretty good at finding common carriers at good prices.  Message me by PM if you need a contact, I have used them for private party shipments to me with good results.

michael


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## GA Gyro (May 1, 2015)

Both of my machines (PM935 and PM1340GT) came via UPS freight... to the Metro Atlanta area, they were delivered to a dock at a supply house I trade at.  

The deliveries were on the day scheduled, the boxes had no damage, and the drivers knew what to do.  

Personally, given the cost of replacing a machine tool... IMO the lest costly freight line, if they behave like the least costly freight line... may not be the best choice.


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## qualitymachinetools (May 1, 2015)

OK thanks for the comments so far. As far as Grizzly, they do not use FedEx only, if you had something delivered by them, they are probably one of their carriers, but they use others too. And Freight Quote could not touch our prices, they have tried, not even close. We use a variety, FedEx, UPS, R&L, Roadrunner, Estes, Etc. 
 The problem is that sometimes I am talking the difference between $400, compared to $800.00. Not like it is 2% or something. There are huge differences sometimes. 
Its just a matter if is it worth it for someone for that kind of difference in money. UPS Freight is decent, but I had them lose a machine for a week about a week ago going to Georgia. They found it and delivered, all was well, but still. 
 Would be a lot easier if there was ONE carrier that had good rates, good service, and that was it. But UPS might be good to one spot, Roadrunner to another, FedEx somewhere else, and R&L To another place.

 As far as the liftgate, the problem is we are dealing with large machines that are pretty much over the capacity of a liftgate. That would make life a lot easier too if trucking companies all had good lift gates, but they don't. And its impossible to know what they have when shipping. 

 Maybe I can have an option for economy freight, and then premium freight or something. Not sure what to do on that.

 But Damage is no excuse, thank god thats pretty rare.


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## marcusp323 (May 1, 2015)

The mill I got I had to contact RR myself for, as the dock manager was under the impression I was picking it up myself evidently. When the dispatcher finally got to read the paperwork, they arranged for liftgate delivery quickly. Don't know who they use locally, but delivery went well. The lathe they were right on top of. Scheduled date & time for dropping it off & again, a local outfit did the actual delivery. Bit of a tougher time for the guy getting it off the truck, (he wouldn't back into the driveway), but nothing got damaged.


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## dave2176 (May 2, 2015)

Roadrunner delivered a 7x12 bandsaw 2,000 miles away in perfert condition. They arrived before I got home from work but the driver was courteous with my wife and placed it right in front of the garage door. UPS delivered my lathe and mill in different shipments, both without incident right inside the garage. FedEx lost my buddies lathe, delivering only the 2 stands and after 10 days they found the machine crate and delivered it sitting on its pallet with sides and top of the crate in good condition.  Only after unbolting the lathe and lifting it off the wooden base did he see the hole in the bottom of the crate where some object punched between the ways busting the headstock off the bed. Grizzly replaced it but it took FedEx several days to finally get it 15 miles to his home after arriving at the FedEx depot. My wife and I cringe every time we get notice that something shipped via FedEx. We've had them throw things from the curb at our front door frequently missing and landing in the roses, window well or flowers.
Dave


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## wrmiller (May 2, 2015)

Hey Matt,

My recently delivery of my 1340GT was done by RR. Took 3 days to get from your place to Denver, then sat here in Denver for 4 days until I called and they were like "Oh! OK, we will have it delivered tomorrow!" 

Then the lathe shows up with quite a bit of damage to the crate and the stand boxes and the 3 phase motor were just banging around loose on top of the lathe crate. One stand box smashed through the top of the lathe crate. The local driver wasn't even sure the 3 phase motor was mine as it looked like it had been bounced around by some gorilla sized baggage handler (you ended up sending me a new 3 phase motor...huge thanks for that!).

Local guys were great though. Even showed up with an electric pallet jack and drove the lathe right up my steep driveway all by himself. Best delivery I've had to date from the local guys.


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## qualitymachinetools (May 2, 2015)

So it sound like I should start my own freight company and delivery ourselves! 
  This is the problem, even the companies that charge higher rates (Ups, FedEx, R&L, Etc) have problems too. 
If I could eliminate any problems, I would not mind paying a bit higher rates. 
 The good news is that most of the machines we ship seem to be delivered without any problem other than maybe a bit of a delay. But sometimes its not that easy.


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## Tony Wells (May 2, 2015)

It would take some time, but you perhaps could map out the normal shipping areas and create zones where there seems to be more problems using certain carriers and decide based on that who to use where. That is, if there is any consistency to it, and you had time to do the analysis.


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## Ulma Doctor (May 2, 2015)

i have rec'd freight from all of the big freighters before at one time or another. 
I prefer Fed-EX freight when i have a choice, they aren't perfect -but i know exactly where my shipment is- they are more expensive.
one thing i learned about roadrunner is they are cheap for a reason, 
no bells- no whistles- not 1 single on time delivery that i can recall,  many damage claims on equipment that seem to get drawn out way too long before resolution.
I became so frustrated that i no longer take delivery from their trucks, i go straight to the depot for the best service and even then i'm not thrilled mostly,
it saves an average of 2 days delivery.

here's the kicker. the depot is less than 3 miles from the shop


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## Coug67 (May 2, 2015)

We get shipments at work using just about every carrier.  All of them come in occasionally banged up or with the pallets trashed.  My 1340 came in ok.  The boxes on top were a little torn up, and bottom pallet was so trashed the driver could barely get a pallet jack under it, but otherwise everything was in good shape.  You probably won't gain much going to another carrier.  My biggest gripe with freight I've had shipped to my house is dealing with a third-party local delivery after it hits town.  Shipment to their dock is generally pretty quick, but then (as others have said) it sits locally for up to a week waiting for the local carrier to schedule delivery.  Nothing that can be done about that on your end.  I've found that if you call the main carrier, they are pretty good about lighting a fire under the subcontractor to get the shipment to your door.  My two cents.


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## tmarks11 (May 2, 2015)

Coug67 said:


> ....My biggest gripe with freight I've had shipped to my house is dealing with a third-party local delivery after it hits town.


Which is why I always pick up heavy shipments at the local freight terminal.  Easier to fit into my schedule as well (instead of the "be home from 12:00 to 4:00" type of delivery).

Even with mainstream trucking firms, I think most of the damage occurs in the "last mile", when the trucks are almost empty, and driving here and there in stop and go traffic and on windy roads.


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## tomh (May 2, 2015)

( So it sound like I should start my own freight company and delivery ourselves!) 

WELL you had be ready  for more business !!!!   

   # 1 =  customers  will NOT  have to guess when their machine will arrive or the condition it will be in.

   2 =     Because everyone is  tired of the goons on the docks with the long forked lifts, and the hassle 
              of scheduling  & rescheduling  delivery's.  

Tom


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## Btroj (May 3, 2015)

Mine was delivered in good shape.  I did pick it up at the dock, they loaded it into my truck just fine.  
Only issue I had is that they wanted me to pick it up wothin 24 hours of them receiving it, I asked them to wait a few more days as I had a rigging company set up to get it in place.  They were willing to do that.


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## coolidge (May 3, 2015)

Size matters, if you are a Grizzly you can negotiate national contracts with the big carriers at reasonable rates. Most of Grizzly's machines ship anywhere in the US for a set flat fee that's about half what smaller machine companies charge. They use UPS and FedEx but stuff still arrives mangled, UPS is especially bad at delivering small heavy items. The least expensive method is to allow the trucking companies to do what they do best, hand off freight from carrier to carrier, it may sit on a doc or trailer at some hub for days at a time while they fill a trailer, they are not particularly good at communicating, some now do have tracking the customer can follow. I'd offer this as option A, the least expensive but set expectations with the customer that selecting that option may mean a 2-3 week delivery.

If the customer wants the machine quicker and is willing to pay for it then you could offer a premium shipping option via a larger carrier. I priced shipping a 900 pound machine coast to coast via UPS Freight's online tool, the crack smokers wanted $2,000 to ship it. The least expensive shipping option above was about $560. My guess is many customers will opt for the 2-3 week delivery once they know how much expedited shipping will cost them and so this really isn't about picking a carrier but setting expectations with the customer and letting them decide.


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## Doubleeboy (May 3, 2015)

If you talk to 10 different agents at Freightquote, you get several different prices, once you find an agent that will look for a way to get you lowest price, you have an agent to use, forget their online crap, find an agent you can talk to who will work for you and use them.  Like Coolidge  pointed out you can get quotes all over the ball park.  The stuff I have had sent using FQ has all been shipped Yellow/Roadway.   

I am convinced the key to getting stuff there in one piece is to make sure it is on a healthy skid and crated with plywood, not the thin slat boards the Asians are so fond of using on their machines.  It takes some effort to jam a fork thru plywood but they go thru slats like a hot knife thru butter.  All accessory boxes should be wood and strapped to skid,not put on top of machine.  

michael


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## zmotorsports (May 4, 2015)

Matt, my 1340GT was received without a single blemish to the crate.  RoadRunner and the local freight company did an outstanding job. 

The 935TV had tipped in the truck upon delivery, but that was the local freight company and it had nothing to do with Road Runner freight.  I was quite pleased with RR's service, they were a bit slow on updating their website with the actual tracking but not by much and this is really not a big issue as the local freight company had called me to schedule my delivery before it even showed as being at the freight hub on RR's site.

Mike.


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## stevemetsch (May 5, 2015)

I had a 600# Robust wood lathe shipped from Wisconsin to Santa Barbara and delivered by Estes. Lift Gate was too small for the crate, but the driver blocked up his back wheels (with my 4x4s) to level up the truck and maneuvered the pallet jack to make it fit. He ran it up the 100 foot paved driveway and left it by the garage door.
Frankly it scared the wits out of me, but he was confident and clearly knew his job. Crate was dinged at teh corners but was framed with 2x6 and 2x4 and sheathed with 1/2" OSB. Accessory box was nailed and steel strapped to the pallet.


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## cab32 (May 5, 2015)

friendly and helpfull driver  had to wait an extra day for a power lift gate but was able to scheduld delivery to match my work schedule.


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## Smudgemo (May 6, 2015)

RR's tracking system is not what I'd call robust, but aside from the delivery guy scaring the crap out of me while working his liftgate, my mill showed up in perfect condition.  In fact, the pallet and plywood were in such good shape I made a new workbench out of it.  If I ever order that new lathe, I'll be holding my breath.  I'd maybe pay double for shipping were it a guarantee of delivered condition, but I can't imagine that ever being the case.
-Ryan


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## spring5497 (May 6, 2015)

Doubleeboy said:


> Grizzly uses Fed Ex Freight, there is constant tracking, the local office calls you ahead of time to tell you what day it will arrive and to make arrangements for delivery to you, your rigger or keep at warehouse for pickup.  They no doubt are more expensive but they are on the ball.  In my experience and the experience of more than a few machine shop owners in this area, is that low ball freight companies are a nightmare.  They could give a rip about the customer and his machine.  If price is a concern Freightquote is pretty good at finding common carriers at good prices.  Message me by PM if you need a contact, I have used them for private party shipments to me with good results.
> 
> michael


When I just ordered my machines from Grizzly they used UPS Freight and I had some issues, nothing major, but the local freight company they handed off to was great.


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## markknx (May 6, 2015)

Matt,
I fear it is not so much the trucking company as the luck of the draw on drivers, and dock workers. Bad things will happen even to the most careful workers, but I have seen a lot of guys at these freight docks that just don't know or care.
Mark


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## wrmiller (May 6, 2015)

I suspect it's more the "care" part...


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## mcoak (May 6, 2015)

I have had better luck with UPS than Fedex in my area.   Don't usually deal with truck freight companies.  The one time I did recently I picked up the items (solar panels and batteries) at their depot.


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## qualitymachinetools (May 6, 2015)

Yeah thats the problem, MOST shipments go well, but sometimes they don't, and it sure is not just one carrier. And with this kind of stuff, its not worth paying double just to get something 2 days faster, when even that is not guaranteed. Seems that they are all about the same.

  I thought about re-crating every machine before shipping too with heavy plywood, but that would be at least $100-$200 per machine, and there is no way people will pay for that either. It is hard enough to compete with places like Grizzly on price, because I know for sure that we do pay more from the factories for the machines. And margins are really slim to begin with.
    But we are getting what we pay for, they absolutely do a better job during assembly, inspections, etc. But 80% of the people out there just look at a machine, and if another one looks the same but a different color, they buy whichever one is cheaper. Its human nature. But there is a lot more to it than that. And to charge more for something that gets thrown away as soon as you get it anyway is not going to work with most people. And I don't blame them one bit.  

 So who knows,  99% of shipments are fine, but the few that are not sure give me a headache!


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## wrmiller (May 6, 2015)

qualitymachinetools said:


> Yeah thats the problem, MOST shipments go well, but sometimes they don't, and it sure is not just one carrier. And with this kind of stuff, its not worth paying double just to get something 2 days faster, when even that is not guaranteed. Seems that they are all about the same.
> 
> I thought about re-crating every machine before shipping too with heavy plywood, but that would be at least $100-$200 per machine, and there is no way people will pay for that either. It is hard enough to compete with places like Grizzly on price, because I know for sure that we do pay more from the factories for the machines. And margins are really slim to begin with.
> But we are getting what we pay for, they absolutely do a better job during assembly, inspections, etc. But 80% of the people out there just look at a machine, and if another one looks the same but a different color, they buy whichever one is cheaper. Its human nature. But there is a lot more to it than that. And to charge more for something that gets thrown away as soon as you get it anyway is not going to work with most people. And I don't blame them one bit.
> ...



One of the reasons I don't pester you about things I can fix myself. As someone here said: It's a tool, not a work of art.

On the human nature thing? I'm not sure I'd use those words to describe it unless I'm trying to be polite. 

So I'm probably set for a while, machine-wise, but the next time I order one I'll just throw the dice and hope for the best.


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## thayne_1 (May 6, 2015)

Last year I bought a boiler and it was shipped by RR. It came to my employers address. The person that takes the deliveries signed for it. The damage was so bad that I could not use the thing. Long and short of the story. It was a complete loss to me. No insurance because it was signed for.


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