Moving a Montage 8 1700 miles...

[Michael W]

So I have a Montage 8 that never leaves my home as I do not play out.  I do not have a case, nor even a box, as it was a GC floor model and they gave me an additional discount.

 

It now appears that my wife and I will be moving across the country (US) - about 1700 miles.  It is likely that we will use a moving company to get our stuff (including our two Honda cars) out there.  I am struggling with what to do about my Montage, which weighs about 65 pounds.  It seems as though I am going to need to suck it up and get a hardshell case for it, which could be from $400 - $600.  The Montage will have to go on the moving van unless I ship it separately somehow.  I would likely never use the case again, as future moves will be relatively local, where I can drive my stuff in my car.

 

So I am struggling with spending this kind of money for a single use.  I suppose I could try and sell it once I get to our new place.  We are older people who live in apartments, so storage space isn't exactly abundant.

 

I've done a bit of searching around on the Internet looking for a box that could be used to ship the Montage, which is about 57x18x6".  I haven't found one yet, and am not even sure I'd be comfortable putting the Montage on a moving van packed into a cardboard box with towels or something similar packed all around it.

 

I don't think there's a miracle answer for this but I am open to any other suggestions.  Like I said, I may just have to buy a road case for it.

 

[ElmerJFudd]

Is the Mrs. not feeling adventurous for the drive?  If you stuck it in the car with a few other things you’re concerned about fragility skip the flight and stop to see a few things along the journey.  You don’t have to do drive not stop.   Make it leisurely. 

[Motif88]

I had the same issue with my 48lb RD-2000. I wrapped it in moving blankets plus 3 layers of heavy duty bubble wrap, inserted this cardboard strips at the front of the keys, marked it fragile and made sure the movers handled it with care. 

[Michael W]

25 minutes ago, Motif88 said:

I had the same issue with my 48lb RD-2000. I wrapped it in moving blankets plus 3 layers of heavy duty bubble wrap, inserted this cardboard strips at the front of the keys, marked it fragile and made sure the movers handled it with care. 

 

So you didn't use a box, really - just wrapped it in moving blankets?  That's a pretty good idea.

[JamPro]

1) Jury-rig a padded box using bubble-wrap and old cardboard.

2) Sell it where you are and buy a new one at your destination.

3) Build a protective shipping package out of plywood.

4) Buy a hard-shell case.

5) Do nothing, hope for the best, and ask the shippers to re-imburse you for any damage to the unit.

5) Drive it yourself to the destination.

 

I built my own hardshell case out of plywood and foam rubber sheets.  It cost me about $150 for materials, and of course my own time.  I used this case to gig my RD-2000.  It definitely added to the weight when moving the RD2000, but it was solid as a rock and the RD2000 never suffered any damage while gigging.  The jury-rigged bubble-wrap and old cardboard might do the trick, particularly if you mark the package prominently as fragile, and tell the movers you want it on top and not under other things.

[Docbop]

One of my many corporate moves they moved my car too. I asked and they said they will just drive the car up into the back of the moving van with everything else.   So when packing I put my guitars and other fragile stuff in the car and left enough space for someone to drive the car.     So my gear rode in the van the the suspension of the car absorbed a lot of the shocks of the ride in the moving van. 

[Michael W]

7 minutes ago, Docbop said:

One of my many corporate moves they moved my car too. I asked and they said they will just drive the car up into the back of the moving van with everything else.   So when packing I put my guitars and other fragile stuff in the car and left enough space for someone to drive the car.     So my gear rode in the van the the suspension of the car absorbed a lot of the shocks of the ride in the moving van. 

 

Yes, I've thought about this as well, having done a couple of such corporate moves myself.  Once they put our cars on the truck, another time they were shipped by carrier separately.  When I get moving quotes I am going to ask about the car situation, as what you did is a great idea.

 

 

[Michael W]

1 hour ago, ElmerJFudd said:

Is the Mrs. not feeling adventurous for the drive?  If you stuck it in the car with a few other things you’re concerned about fragility skip the flight and stop to see a few things along the journey.  You don’t have to do drive not stop.   Make it leisurely. 

 

I wouldn't mind doing that, even myself, but I have physical issues that make such an adventure unwise.  That doesn't come without cost, though, because of the gas costs and a couple of nights in hotels.  We also have two 15-year old cats that we need to move, and doing that via car and hotels just isn't going to work.  It looks like we're going to book a nonstop and bring the cats there via plane.  Better to do 3.5 hours on a plane vs three days in a car with them.  It's miserable either way.

[LarsHarner2]

25 years ago, I had a UPS Store actually build a box and packing for my Fatar Studio 900 and it arrived perfectly- of course at the time it was $200+ to ship (which I used my relocation allowance for)

[Delaware Dave]

25 years ago I purchased an Ensoniq TS-12 (57 pounds).  I had bought it used without the box. I contacted Ensoniq and they shipped me the box for $15.  I needed it because I was moving and I wanted the keyboard properly protected and figured the box and styrofoam ends were probably the best protection for it.  Try contacting Yamaha and see if they can ship you the box/packaging material.  Way cheaper than a hard case. 

[M_G]

 

Sell your Montage8 and get a new Montage8+ in October delivered to your new location !

😉

 

[Bobby Simons]

When we moved a year and a half ago, my computers, TV's and my P-515 (wrapped in a moving blanket, some foam and some clothes) went in my car. I went down a couple of days before my wife and the movers, so this was pretty much all I had in an empty house. The piano sounded great! 😛

[Motif88]

On 8/13/2023 at 12:46 PM, Michael W said:

 

So you didn't use a box, really - just wrapped it in moving blankets?  That's a pretty good idea.

Correct, very well wrapped in padded moving blankets plus 3 layers of heavy duty bubble wrap. Pay special attention to the end caps and use cardboard between the keybed the front of the unit frame to limit the keyboard shifting during moving.  

[Michael W]

On 8/13/2023 at 10:34 PM, Delaware Dave said:

25 years ago I purchased an Ensoniq TS-12 (57 pounds).  I had bought it used without the box. I contacted Ensoniq and they shipped me the box for $15.  I needed it because I was moving and I wanted the keyboard properly protected and figured the box and styrofoam ends were probably the best protection for it.  Try contacting Yamaha and see if they can ship you the box/packaging material.  Way cheaper than a hard case. 

That's a great idea.  Thanks.