Where do you guys get the heavy carboard tubes for shipping rods? Who's service is best to ship with - UPS, USPS, etc?

Thanks,

I've had fewer rods broken shipping via Fed Ex, although to be honest I have not shipped as many by them as I have by UPS.

Surprisingly, I have had very good luck with normal USPS service, although I am sure others will have their own horror stories.

Pack carefully and make sure the rod cannot slide inside end to end. The mysterious broken tip syndrome in otherwise perfect looking packages is caused when the tube is strongly slid across the floor and suddenly comes to a sudden stop. The tube is undamaged but inside the rod has quickly shifted and slammed the tip top into the tube end. Breakage usually results. It's the old egg shell and egg yolk thing.

Foam pipe insultation makes good packing material for rods.

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like dick said pvc is best i have found shipping via the good ol post office is cheaper and just about as fast hope this helps ..John T Burford aka Tightline Rod's

As mentioned, pvc is great for shipping blanks. So are the heavy cardboard cores of carpet rolls. If you've got a carpet dealer nearby, check it out. The dealer near my house is only too glad to give them away. Some are a little on the heavy side, however, and may add a bit to your shipping charge.
Clyde Dent

I have found that regardless of what is used, pvc or heavy paper tubes, the chances of damage are almost equal.

If you are interested in paper tubes, you may need to have them made for you. We had many made in Massachusetts by Marshall Paper.

Greg Rodrigues

We at Rainshadow use PVC tubing. We also use end caps from Niagara Plastics, out of Erie, Pa. The caps are very reasonable, and fit the PVC perfectly.
We also use UPS, Fed Ex, USPS, and Airbourne as our shippers. Mostly depends on the length of the product, and the region to be shipped. We decided to use more than one shipper just in case of a strike, like had happened some years back with UPS. If another labor strike would occur, there is already a relationship with other shipping companies, and our customer may may be assurred of delivery.
Bob Batson

Thick wall PVC and USPS priority mail, a winning combination for me. The only drawback is the USPS will not take a package via priority mail that is over 108 inches. This is measured by (girth x 2) + length. If package is larger than that, go to FedEx.

Be SURE to insure the rod for replacement cost at least. Had a buddy just recently ship a broken in PVC tubing and the USPS busted the PVC and rod both. His once 2 peice rod is now a nice travel 5 piece rod. Fortunately, he insured it.
Elrod

be very careful shipping rods longer than 84" wil the post office. If the lenght and Girth exceed 84" they will charge you or the reciepant the cost of shipping a 15lb. package. It is a new rule that went into affect last July. I got caught in that one. I ship everything FedEx ground and all I have to pay extra is the additional handleing which is about $2.00. I use 2" schedule 20 PVC pipe and have no problems


Good Luck

What I don't like about usps is that if they obviously abused your package and you didn't have it insurred, they will not pay for it. I had received some gardening supplies in a quite large box that was over 24" cubed. I received the box with Rotenone all over the place. the box had been harpooned to the very middle of the box. I agree that I should buy insurance if I am concerned about breakage due to normal handling (maybe that is the problem), but I don't feel the handling I got on my package was nomal handling. I think I got abnormal handling. All they wanted to know is if I had insurance. When I said no, they said sorry. If they had dropped it in front of a steam roller and it was smashed, I believe they would ask If I had insurrance and if I didn't, all I would get was a SORRY. So if I can help it I will not ship by USPS because they won't take responsibility for their obvious mishandling!

Kerry