Modern Vespa

I'm about to store then ship my two beloved scoots (and all our other stuff) in a 40" shipping container, from the island of Oahu, to the Big Island here in Hawaii. Anybody ever used a shipping container to transport your babies? If so, I would really appreciate any tips or guidance you may have. Crated? On a pallet? Just securely strapped down? On center stand or off? I SO don't wanna screw this up. 😬

In 2018 I moved from the UK to Cyprus and back to the UK 3 years later. I obtained a second-hand timber batten/plywood shipping crate with timber fork-lift skids. It was slightly too wide, but I packed it out with boxed personal effects and soft goods around my GTS. The crate was shipped as a part-load in a mixed goods shipping container.

You can see in the second picture I built a timber chock for the front wheel, so the scooter was shipped with 'stand up'. The tightly packed personal effects stopped any lateral movement during transit. The crate was a tad too short so I had to remove the numberplate and holder to get it in.

When I got to Cyprus I dismantled the shipping crate and stored it flat-packed ready for my return back to the UK 3 years later. There was zero damage to the scooter after both the journeys.

*Prior to shipping I disconnected the battery and rode the scooter until the yellow fuel light came on.

No direct experience, but I used to work in cargo handling industry.

'A container inside a container', a wooden crate like above, for example, is a good idea.

Those large metal containers can get quite rough handling...so prepare it to be well shaken AND stirred, then you should be OK.

Also depends on the type of the vessel, ro-ro vessels, those where the trucks just ride in to the cargo bay, have less phases where the container is moved around, which is good for delicate stuff....ro-ro vessels are very common for island traffic in general.

Never shipped a scooter but did ship a Harley from USA to Germany, basically did the same as this video, using an old pallet as a starter then some plywood and wood, just made sure battery and fuel out of bike, as battery and fuel is often forbidden, grab as many old cushions or pillows to put around scoot, and strap it down to death as some boats really get thrown around in choppy seas, also the dockside cranes.

**Many thanks! You've given me much to consider, I really appreciate it!
🤙

**Many thanks! You've given me much to consider, I really appreciate it!
🤙

**GREAT advice! Thank you!

**THANK YOU! Very helpful! Our local inter-island shipper isn't known for their 'gentleness'…I appreciate the advice!

Your welcome, just a flashback, I also put sponge and cloths under the straps as to not rub the paintwork.

I sold a Honda Elite 50 to a buyer in Hawaii. He used uship.com to get it there. The only way they would take it is if it was crated by a Honda dealer. I dropped it off at Fay Myers, and it was put in to a wooden box like shown above.

**I will totally do that. Thanks again!

**We had them pro-crated & then packed them into a uPack container with some other stuff to get them here from SF 5 years ago. Our plans re: the 40ft container may be shifting, and we may now be doing something closer to how we originally sent them here. No crating services here (that I can find) so will likely be building my own this time, using some of the EXCELLENT posts here on MV as my guide. THANK YOU MODERN VESPA COMMUNITY. YOU RULE!

You need to watch this:

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WHOA! You were right, I DID need to watch that. Awesome video–thank you!!!

Is there a ferry from here to there you could use to transport your Vespa?

**No ferry service here. But that sure would be convenient.