Shipping a Pin
Here is a Link to instructions on how to ship a pinball machine. Good info if you are sending other than Via NAVL
Here’s some more advice from John Wart via RGP:
Here’s a list of what you will need:
1) Sturdy pallet, big enough for the pin to fit on
2) Stretch Wrap – big roll, 20 or 24″ wide – typical length is 1k feet. Costshould be $15-25
3) Cardboard – get a refrigerator box from a store in town, most will give you one. If you have a distributor nearby, maybe they have a Stern box you can use.
4) Some sort of straps. I have a bander as I use mine regularly, some folks use ratcheting straps. They are cheap at the Harbor Freight store!
5) Insulation – this is optional as you can use cardboard layers for this step too. Either work fine.These steps assume you have a machine with a folding backbox.
1) Remove glass from machine, remove balls from machine. Remove anything loose from the lower cabinet (manuals, spare bulbs, parts etc). Remove shooter or handle, depending on machine title. Wrap balls and loose parts up
and place in cashbox. No cashbox? Put them in a cardboard box. Replace glass and lockdown bar. Latch lockdown bar.
2) Remove power cord, or secure it if not removable. If removable, put cord in box/cashbox along with the cover that goes over the power cord, and any hardware. Open backbox and remove wing nuts/bolts if installed. Make sure
all boards are secure, if not, tighten screws. Replace backglass/translite, lock backglass. Put keys in cashbox or box.
3) Fold down the backbox, making sure to put some sort of cushioning between the backbox and the rails, either the insulation or some cardboard. Remove backbox latch (these seem to get torn off all the time) and place in cashbox. Shrink wrap head to lower cabinet.
4) Lock coin door, Place keys in cashbox/box. Remove back legs, put bolts in cashbox/box. Lift game up on the rear and remove the front legs, putting bolts in the cashbox/box. Shrink wrap the game again, making sure to get the
coin door area. Place machine on pallet. Stretch wrap cash box or box securely to machine where you can find a spot. My favorite spot is on top of the head, but if the machine has a topper, you may have to wrap it to the belly of the pin, along with the legs.
5) Skin the machine in cardboard. Stretch wrap again, to hold the cardboard to the machine. The first layer of stretch wrap will keep the cardboard from
rubbing the pin and scuffing the cabinet to death.
6) Strap the pin down to the pallet. Secure is important, but don’t let your straps cut into the pin either.
7) Label the game. Include such things as ‘fragile, handle with care, do not remove from pallet, and contact info for both the shipper _and_ the recipient in case the trucking companies tags come off the pallet.The supplies you need will add up to $50 or less – considering the price of a decent machine, it’s cheap insurance. If you are likely to be shipping
more later, your cost goes down per machine since you can use the stretch wrap roll for more than 1 pin.I probably forgot something, but I’m sure a few other folks will chime in :)
Good luck, and have fun!
–john
