Home From Toronto, Canada to Johanessburg, South Africa - October, 2015

From Toronto, Canada to Johanessburg, South Africa - October, 2015

Submitted by crawfordonly
Route
Shipment From: 
Toronto, Canada
Shipment To: 
Johanessburg, South Africa
Shipper details
Contact person name: 
Ivonne Bowers
Company name: 
W.G. McKay Limited
Contact person email: 
IBOW...@WGMCKAY.COM
Contact details: 

PHYSICAL ADDRESS IS:
5425 DIXIE ROAD, ROOM 302
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO, CANADA
L4W 1E6 (postal code)
This is a suburb of Toronto
FAX: 905-602-1485

Travellers Impressions of the shipper
Recommended?: 
Yes
Rating: 
5/5 - Excellent
Information about this Shipment
Shipping Method: 
Air
Shipping date: 
October, 2015
Cost Paid at Start (US $): 
$1500 each bike
Cost Paid at Destination (US $): 
0
Comments: 

You won't find a more thorough, competent, professional shipper than Ivonne Bowers, who is the freight manager at McKay Limited. My riding partner and I lined up everything in advance with her via emails. Her response time was very fast and accurate every step of the way. She put us in touch with Topax, a commercial crating company in the area, who prebuilt our 2 bike crate to our interior dimensions we provided via email. When we arrived at Topax on the scheduled day, all the crate components were preassembled, all we had to do was roll the bikes onto the base and remove the front wheels and unbolt the handlebars to reduce the overall size of the crate. It went like clock work. Topax delivered the crate and both of us back to the shipper, McKay, that same day and we were finished. That simple.
Total charge for the 2 bike crate and shipping of 2 bikes, (a KLR and a DR 650), including packing the crate with all of our luggage and riding gear, was $3000 USD.
I would definitely use them again.

Comments

Hi Crawfordonly - this is a great price. We want to ship from Toronto to South Africa also so I have been in touch with Ivonne and Topax. Our price comes out quite a lot more than yours above.
Do you remember the inside dimensions of your double crate? and the packed weight?

Did you have any additional charges importing into SA?
Thanks
Sally

Submitted by sally.simpson on 20 September, 2016 - 18:26.

Hi Sally,

I am reading from the final quotation letter from Topax dated 9-14-15
ID inches 82 x 46 x47high. OD inches 85 x 49 x 55
The gross Weight in pounds was 1389 bikes and crate combined.
Mark and I calculated the interior dimensions by removing the front wheel and unbolting the handlebars where you could manipulate them around to lower the overall height and to reduce the width. Our two bikes with tons of gear and 4 extra tires fit like a glove.
Total price for the crating was $1135 CAN = $908US at that time.

No fees at J'burg that I remember. Perhaps there was some small incidental fee at customs but nothing to be concerned about. But watch out when you go to get your carnet stamped at customs. Even though they made us wait for their carnet "specialist" she had no idea how to stamp a carnet. We actually got into an argument when I insisted she stamp my bike in properly. They brought the crate outdoors where we opened it up and discarded the wood into the dumpster sitting there. Bikes and gear were perfect.
Good luck and enjoy!

Submitted by crawfordonly on 20 September, 2016 - 20:34.

Hi Crawfordonly, Thanks for replying so quickly. WOW - you must have squeezed your bikes together really closely! - it's a lesson for us -we'll have to try out a nose to tail arrangement and see if we can reduce our width. We've got 2 x DR 650s with aluminium panniers, so on our next rest day we'll have a go at how small we can make our bikes for a better quote from the craters.
And just to confirm - you paid about US$908 for the crate, and about US$2100 for the airfreight? all up, all costs US$3000?
Cheers
Sally

Submitted by sally.simpson on 25 September, 2016 - 23:42.

 

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