Wheels & Tires
Nick Roshon Send an email
13 43,483 6 minutes read
I’ve shipped dozens of sets of wheels & tires across the country several different times (yes, I have a wheel hoarding problem!) without a problem, so I thought I’d write a quick post to detail my process.
In this post I’ll go over how I package wheels (either with or without tires) as well as how to ship wheels cheaply through various carriers.
Typically you can find everything you need to package the wheels around the house (especially if you’re an Amazon Prime addict like me and get boxes from them all of the time) except for maybe plastic wrap and foam padding and a good box cutter which you can pick up cheap from Amazon (and get even more cardboard to boot).
Generally I budget about $50 per wheel+tire or a little less if is just wheel only. Get the buyer’s zip code and use both FedEx and UPS shipping quote estimators to get a more accurate cost.
Depending on the wheel and tire size the weight may vary, but I usually guesstimate about 50 lbs if mounted to a tire or 25 lbs if unmounted. These estimates are great for quoting a shipping price to the buyer so they can understand the final cost – then you can try to make a little savings to add a little profit to your margin that will help cover the time and hassle (and material cost!) of packaging and dropping off the wheels:
If you’ve recently sold something on UPS in the last 60 days, go into your recently sold item and print a new shipping label and you can get an even better discount.
When I filed a claim UPS picked up the hood to return to sender, but then the guy ghosted me and I never got a UPS pay out since he wouldn’t talk to UPS on my behalf and didn’t have the hood anymore either. To this day I think the person kept both the hood and the insurance settlement, but since he lives across the country from me I was never able to hunt him down and find out. A company like Shipnex is much safer than trusting a random person on the internet, but still less direct than working with FedEx or UPS yourself.
Be sure to include ample insurance, it doesn’t really cost much (if anything?) extra and you’ll be glad you have it if something happens…do all of the packaging yourself and print the label at home, so that when you go to a drop off center you’re just literally dropping the package off. If they print the label in the store, it will cost more since they give a discount for printing online.
If the wheels still have tires mounted, then cut out cardboard circles to cover the wheel itself (like pictured at the top of this post – it doesn’t need to cover the tire, the rubber can be exposed).
Tape the cardboard to the tires and then pick up some plastic wrap and just totally cover the entire wheel/tire.
Slightly deflate the tire just so the rubber gives a little more cushion and the sidewalls get a little thicker, then stick a packaging label and you’re all set.
I can normally just find old Amazon boxes lying around to get the cardboard to cover the wheels, and if the boxes aren’t big enough you can basically tape two boxes together.
If you want to be extra cautious you can use dish foam padding to create a little extra padding between the wheel face and the cardboard.
If you’re not comfortable with the above method, which is my preferred method, you can just find a huge box and put them in there, too.
There isn’t a downside to this option other than it’s hard to find boxes big enough, and you still have to protect the faces of the wheels by cutting out cardboard circles. In fact, I’ve done this once, mostly because I had the boxes on hand and it seemed easier.
I cut the cardboard circles to protect the faces of the rims, then placed inside the boxes and used extra padding. I then combined two boxes into one large box to save on shipping costs.
Here is what the full wheel & tire looks like in boxes (which I then bought bigger boxes to combine them into):
The only thing with the above is that UPS/FedEx don’t like boxes that look worn, so they made me buy a new larger box to combine two wheels into. It ended up saving me money so it was fine, but be warned they can be strict about the box condition.
If the wheel is unmounted, that is fine too.
There are a couple of options – if you know a good tire or tuning shop in the area, give them a ring and see if they have any extra wheel boxes they’d be willing to give to you. Places like Discount Tire or even car dealerships get tons of wheels shipped to them every day, and generally they just throw out the boxes.
This is easiest option since wheel companies have boxes built made specifically to ship wheels so you can just place the wheels in the box and be done.
If they’re asking for money or saying no, you can often go dumpster diving and just fetch them yourself if you feel like being aggressive about it. If this isn’t an option, then head to a local grocery store and ask if they have any boxes lying around – they’ll typically give you all sorts of boxes they’ll give you for free, or you can even look in the dumpsters behind big business like this and they’re full of cardboard boxes used to ship items that are then tossed out nearly daily.
Cut out circles like before to cover the front and back faces of the wheels, but keep the circle a little larger than the face of the wheel so you can bend the cardboard down to protect the full outer edge/lip of the wheel. Once the cardboard is covering as you see fit, use foam padding and plastic wrap to hold everything place and add extra cushioning.
Then get a medium or large box depending on the dimensions of the wheels (this 18x18x16 is perfect for two 18×8 wheels, for instance) and place two wheels in each box, with plenty of cardboard between them for padding so the wheels don’t clank together. Fill the empty spaces of the boxes with old magazine or newspaper crumpled up so nothing shifts.
Shipping wheels is easier than you’d think; plan to spend $50 per wheel in shipping costs, and then maybe another $5-10 per wheel in packaging expenses. The easiest way to ship wheels is to leave tires mounted and cut out cardboard circles, then deflate and wrap in shipping wrap. If that isn’t for you, you’ll need to find oversize boxes and then pad the faces accordingly.
Any other tips, tricks, or tips to get cheap shipping on wheels?
Leave a comment with your favorite tricks and tips!
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No Comments on The Cost To Ship Wheels And Tires – Estimated ValuePosted in shipping By Bob Cut EditorsPosted on
The cost to ship a wheel and tire may vary according to the sizes, dimensions, and weights of both the wheels and tires, the shipping company, and the distance of the buyer.
Various shipping companies like FedEx, UPS, DHL, Worldwide Express, USPS, and NEX have different costs of shipping and it is advisable to visit their websites for better information. The average cost of shipping wheels and tires ranges between 50-100 dollars per wheel, and the same price range per tire.
A more accurate estimate is:
Average cost per wheel: 50-80 dollars each
Average cost per tire: 50-70 dollars each
The average cost to ship already mounted tires and wheels: is 50-150 dollars each.
Weights
Dimensions
Additional costs
Shipping Distance
Shipping companies
Shipping tires and wheels together would naturally cost more than having to ship one or both separately. The combined weight of both usually falls between an average of 50-150 pounds. Specifications of the weight are usually given by manufacturers.
The weight of rims alone may range from 30 to 100 pounds, with trucks, bulldozers, and trailers weighing the most.
Different materials also make rims heavier, as aluminum rims weigh less than steel.
Most passenger vehicles have an average tire size of 14-25 inches, the diameters vary according to the manufacturer’s style.
A better way to take a dimension of a tire and rim is to use a tire size calculator.
It is advised to keep the cost of additional shipping supplies in mind before calculating the cost to ship a wheel or tire.
These may include plastic or bubble wraps, foam packaging for safety, heavy-duty packaging boxes, and occasional payment to shipping companies to pick up the wheels and tires (This costs within 5-10 dollars).
Asides from calculating additional costs and checking the weight and sizes of wheels and tires, another factor affecting the cost of shipping wheels and tires is the location of where the items are being shipped to.
It is only natural that the farther away the location is, the more expensive it will be.
Shipping from the USA to Canada would cost way less than it would cost to ship to Nigeria.
There are different shipping companies, and each of them has different prices for their services. The most popular are FedEx, UPS, DHL, Worldwide Express, USPS, and NEX.
Different factors may affect the prices of shipping companies like where the company is located and other reasons like company policy, additional fees, and a host of others.
While shipping tires and wheels to different locations in the world, knowing details like the weight, sizes, and location of the customer are quite important in determining the price. But there are various ways to save cost, a necessity for everyone shipping wheels and tires.
Cross-shopping between companies like UPS, FedEx, and DHL will give customers the chance to compare prices and choose the cheapest price of all of them as different companies have different prices depending on various factors.
Promos and discounts may be offered by other companies that would not be offered by the one you currently use.
Most customers have found FedEx to be one of the cheapest in the past, although it changes. Customers are also advised to open UPS and FedEx accounts as savings are given for online quotes.
Many customers have also found that shipping to a business address is a lot cheaper than a regular residential address.
So if a customer has a reachable business address close by and provides it, it would save cost.
People that ship in bulk through carriers like UPS and FedEx get awesome rates that a regular shipper would not get. Most of them pay a lot less than the regular retail price. Having someone that runs an online business to ship for you will save a lot of money.
But make sure ample insurance is included in case anything happens.
UPS offers a discount rate to its customers on eBay when they link their eBay sellers account to their UPS account.
This cuts costs for a lot of customers. Also, printing a label for your shipped products helps too.
Although there are mixed reviews, these companies offer good discounts. Also, unlike having to trust random people on the internet, companies like Shipnex are safer to trust.
The cost of shipping wheels and tires varies according to different factors like the sizes, weight, distance to be shipped to, shipping company, and a host of other reasons. The average cost of shipping a wheel or tire is between 50-80 dollars, and the cost of shipping already mounted tires and wheels is between 50-150 dollars.
The average cost of shipping a wheel is 50-80 dollars.
Yes you can use FedEx to ship wheels and tires
Yes, it does.
The Time & Cost Calculator helps you find delivery dates and times for all available UPS express and package services in over 220 countries and territories. You can also use the Time and Cost Application to determine shipping costs for a range of services in the many countries where UPS operates.
Appendix Calculation of terms and costs is in tab Shipment on ups.com.
UPS allows you to calculate delivery times for express and package shipments to any location served by UPS. When calculating the delivery time, you will be offered several options from which you can choose the one that is suitable for sending your cargo to its destination.
You will be able to see the delivery times for each shipping service as well as the latest arrival time of the courier. With the ability to quickly make changes to your details and quickly view the results on the same screen, you can use this information to make the best choice about how your shipment will be shipped.
Use the Time & Cost Calculator to compare guaranteed delivery times and published UPS shipping rates worldwide. With the application for calculating the time and cost, you can:
Freight information is not available for all countries.
If the time and cost app is not available for the countries you have selected, please contact your local UPS office for shipping charges.
Additional Freight Notes:
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