I have found that Fed Ex is cheaper than UPS or USPS for heavy items. be sure to check all carriers, I would prolly build a crate out of wood. the dif would be bolted in.
Bottom of the bucket is gonna bust out and you'll get a gutterball I know Portland has thrift stores Do you think they ship bowling balls in buckets?
I ship 80-120 lbs all the time in cardboard boxes. The trick is the right size box and not allowing the item to shift at all. The wood frame sounds good, then reinforce the sides with more cardboard and you should be good. use the scotch brand clear packing tape. it holds the best.
Just bring it into the UPS store and they will figure it out for you. I have brought in drop axles and stuff and they manage to figure it out and box it up for you for pretty cheap. i sent a drop I beam axle to Alaska for $55
The bucket will work if you pack the rear end in a garbage bag ,put a s**** of wood under the rear fill the bucket with expandable foam cut off the over fill put on the lid
I've heard (never tried) GreyHound works well, maybe buy it a seat I use DHL and have shipped Transmissions and (OLDS & Chevy) Drop Outs in card board boxes I've made without a problem. I had a BW ST-10 ****** shipped DHL to me rolled up in a carpet When I make a cardboard box for such items I get the double corrigated cardbord from a friend at a Body Shop, pack it tight, use expanding foam from the hardware store (make sure it has time to cure) and wrap the box with nylon stranded tape. On the drop out rear ends I make a "band" or "ring" out of cardboard to set the rear end on that holds the ring gear off the bottom of the box. I was always better at Industrial Arts in High School than "read'n and writ'n"
I just received one in a paper box, like copier paper. Lined with many layers of cardboard and mummified in tape. It was almost round, but no tears. DHL carried it for about $60, anywhere in US.
I'm a UPS driver and the tips that I would give would be to clean all of the grease out of it, because wet spots indicate a leaking item and could be stopped for possibly being hazardous material. Put it in a trash bag to catch any grease that may be left. Not all boxes are equal. Get a box with a heavy burst strength which can be picked up at any office depot or staples stores. Cut a layer or two of additional cardboard for the bottom of the box and for additional safety the sides of the box. What happens many times with item like third members is that the item can move inside the box even if only slightly. When this happens the metal edges eat at the inside of the box, essentially eating their way out. It doesn't take a lot of movement either, just being able to move at all will do it. Boxes of pamphlets and catalogs are the worst at this. The sharp cut corners of the paper eat the corners out of the box just from the slight amount that the box flexes as the trucks bounce down the road. The best meathod for stuffing is to put a layer of spray foam down in the bottom, set the third member in it before it completely sets up, then spray foam around the sides. The trash bag will keep the foam out of the gears. Nothing moves around inside of the foam. The second best method is to fill the bottom of the box with tightly wadded up balls of paper. Don't skimp on the paper, pack it in as tight as you can get it. Set the third member on the layer of paper balls then pack more wads of paper around it. The tighter you can get it packed the less of a chance that it will have to move around. Packing the contents tight also help prevent the box from crushing from the weight of the third member trying to roll. Do not use foam peanuts. The contents shift to the bottom and all the peanuts move to the top essentially doing nothing. Lastly don't skimp on good tape. The office supply places have heavy mil packing tape. Use at least three strips on the top and bottom. Using only one allows the flaps to pull out from under it. I would also reinforce the corner where the box is glued together with more tape. The last tip would be to attach an additional to and from address to the third member in case it does come out of the box while traveling through the system.
...Should fit in an empty 5 gallon conpound bucket, tape up good. Or just double box it, and place a piece of plywood on the bottom.
St Vincent De Paul my young friend. Or any other thrift store good source for old people stuff. The last on I shipped was in a carboard box, granted it was a pretty substantial card board box but that and greyhound worked like a champ.
We use a wooden crate. Easy to build and ***emble with screws. Easy to get apart and the brown truck guys can't hurt it. $.02c's
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