Guys, I have a ski boat I'm thinking of bringing from upstate NY down to FL. It's a 20ft supreme, maybe 4500lbs including the trailer, and total length with the platform and tongue might be 25ft. Suggestions? Shipping companies, empty trucks/hitches, etc. I'd thinking U-ship will likely be cheap, but we're talking someone with a pickup truck that expects to hook to my trailer with no insurance and attempt to tow the boat the 1400mi. It really doesn't sound like the best idea to me...

Buy him 6 mo, insurance, it will be much cheaper by far and you can select the coverage you are comfy with your boat in tow, the boat and trailer responsibility usually follows the tow vehicle. Proper amounts, tow for the boat in emergency, etc.
Just what i would look into.
Another thing to look into would be the car train, used to go from ct,--orlando, then rent pickup for day from u-haul to sarasota.
Have a great trip hope all goes well and you will love the boating in fl.

When I bought mine a few years ago, I had it shipped from Michigan to Texas thru U Ship. You can pick and choose who you want to tow your boat, look at their ratings/feedback and weed out the bad ones. You can also check their profile and get insurance and DOT info. My guy had $1 mil in insurance and the proper DOT stuff to make him legal. He did a great job, called me every day to note progress and even delivered earlier than expected. Sometimes, if a couple of those shippers are hungry, they will get in a bidding match for your load and you might get it pretty cheap.

I guess I'll need to look at u ship again

If you do, just be sure that you look at the customer feedback, ratings, insurance coverages and DOT info. If they don't list or don't have a DOT number, I wouldn't use them. Also, drivers should send you copy of their current insurance coverage, so you know if it's current.

Last, you can choose to request bids from transporters that you think you might want, or you can just put your load out there and they will start sending you bids. You can negotiate with them online, so others may try to underbid to get the load. Better for you. By the way, U-Ship rules say they are not allowed to communicate directly with you until you accept the bid (only on computer). At that point, driver will contact you.

I had no problems with them. I picked a guy who lived here in Texas, so I was lucky. He needed my load to get back close to home.

Good luck.

Contact Jim at 716-472-7101, based out of Buffalo, does it for a living and is insured, and highly recommended

called me every day to note progress and even delivered earlier than expected. Sometimes, if a couple of those shippers are hungry, they will get in a bidding match for your load and you might get it pretty cheap.

PM sent.
Thanks, Pat
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