Delivery

From Our Factory To Your Home

Now that you’ve decided on your hot tub and the options that you want, the next decision is how to get the tub delivered to you. The first thing you should know is that unless you pick up your tub at our shop our hot tubs must be shipped common carrier (semi) because of their size and weight. That said, there are several options available to you. The next thing to know is what does the tub packaging look like.

Shown below are pictures of tub packaged for delivery via common carrier.

Pick-Up At Our Factory

Visitors are always welcome. If you live in the Northwest or will be in the Seattle area, please stop by. We’ll show you how our tubs are made and, if you have purchased a tub and are ready, you can pick up your tub and take it with you if you’d like. If you pick up your tub in Seattle factory, there are no shipping charges, but if your home state charges sales tax we are obligated to charge Washington state sales tax. If your home state doesn’t charge sales tax you are exempt, but we will need to make a copy of a suitable picture ID such as your driver’s license.

We get customers dropping in from all over the United States, and the world for that matter, to visit us and look at our tubs first hand. Seattle has great restaurants along with many attractions and the Northwest is an exceptionally beautiful area. If you are lucky the sun might even put in an appearance.

We are conveniently located just south of downtown Seattle. If you pick up your tub here, the best vehicles for the purpose are a pick-up truck, van, small trailer, or an SUV or minivan. While it is possible to load the tub in station wagons this is not practical or safe for anything other than a very short trip. Please bring rope or straps to secure the boxes and a tarp if you are using a pick-up.

 

Common Carrier

We select only the best trucking companies to handle your tub. Because we ship a substantial volume with these companies, we have been able to negotiate very low shipping rates. Our first goal though, is to make sure that your tub gets there safely. So, we give primary consideration to the carrier’s ability to deliver the goods intact to save you the disappointment of receiving a damaged hot tub. A careless forklift operator on an 8000-pound forklift can make kindling out of a hot tub in a heartbeat.

With common carriers, the cheapest and simplest approach is to pick up your tub at the nearest terminal. If the nearest terminal isn’t convenient and/or you live in a rural area, you may be able to arrange for delivery to a business near your home that has a forklift offloading capability. Examples include: feed stores, lumberyards, etc. Home delivery is the third option. These options are discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs. In each case we will provide you with a tracking number – so you can monitor the progress of your shipment on the carrier’s web site – and the phone number of your local terminal. Prior to the shipment’s arrival you should contact the scheduling desk at the terminal to arrange for the pick-up or delivery of your hot tub.

 

Terminal Pick-up

Most customers pick up their tub at the nearest freight terminal. There are hundreds and hundreds of freight terminals across the country so we can usually locate one close to you. It is important that we discuss the terminals and carriers that are available in your area with you to make sure that your pick-up is as easy as possible. Once a carrier and destination terminal are decided on and the tub is picked up from us, we email you the freight tracking number so you can monitor the progress of your hot tub on its trip and plan for picking it up.

Pick-up is available Monday –Friday during normal business hours. That said, most larger terminals, near metropolitan areas, operate 24 hours/day Monday thru Friday. With proper coordination, it is possible to arrange for pick-up during non-business hours. Generally, terminals are closed on Saturday and Sunday. In metropolitan areas, the closest terminal may not always be the best one. Once you arrive with your pick-up truck or van, the folks at the freight terminal will load the hot tub boxes into your vehicle with a forklift or hand truck Just give us a call to find where the closest truck terminal is to your home.

 

Business Delivery

Many businesses are happy (in the name of good customer relations) to let you ship your hot tub to their premises. Good examples are building supply stores, lumberyards, hardware stores or feed stores.

Other possibilities are manufacturing companies, grocery stores, auto shops or garden centers. The only requirement is that the business has a forklift capable of unloading a palletized load of 6-700 pounds or a dock high loading dock that would allow for a pallet jack to offload the palletized tub.

Picking up your hot tub at the terminal or business

The same considerations apply to picking up a tub at a terminal or business as they would at our shop. The best vehicles for the purpose are a pick-up truck, van, small trailer, or an SUV or minivan. The bottom box for 6′ diameter tubs and smaller is 45″ wide x 75″ long and fits neatly between the wheel wells of a standard pickup truck. If you have a compact pickup, you can place one of the two stave boxes at each end of the bed with the stove between the wheel wells. Then you can rest the tub bottom box on top of the stave boxes and wheel wells. The bottom box for 7′ diameter tubs is 51″ wide x 87″ long. If you are using a minivan or SUV you might have to un-box the items that are in the bottom box and hand stow them depending on the size and accessibility of the compartment area. It is possible to get the hot tub and stove into fairly compact area. Pictured, to show you an example of compact packing, is a 6 x 3 tub, Snorkel® Stove and deluxe addition package that was picked up (somewhat against our better judgment) in a Subaru Outback station wagon. The disadvantages of a sudden stop with this load are fairly clear.

 

Residential Delivery

We have contracted with long haul carriers that also have the ability to make their own residential deliveries making this a practical option. Residential delivery can be a convenient choice at a modest extra cost, but there are some considerations to be aware of. Generally, unless otherwise requested, deliveries are made with a semi truck-trailer rig. This means that there must be reasonable access room for the truck and trailer to enter and exit. On most residential streets, this is usually not an issue. If delivery is to a residence with a long driveway or access road, it must be paved, no tree limbs blocking the trailer and with an adequate space to turn around,. Our carriers all use trucks with power lift gates so that the tub boxes (or assembled tubs) can be lowered to ground level. However, the carrier’s responsibility is only to drop the shipment curbside or in your driveway. While some drivers have been very helpful to our customers, moving the shipment from the drop point is your responsibility and you should plan accordingly.

If your residential location is one where delivery by a semi rig might be a problem, you can request delivery in a smaller truck when you call the dispatcher to schedule your delivery. Most terminal locations have smaller box trucks that they can use to make deliveries where semis are not practical. Deliveries are made in the morning and the dispatcher will typically give a 2-3 hour window for delivery. They are usually pretty good about indicating when, within that window, your delivery will arrive. Deliveries to rural residences are also available, but, depending on location, may be made only on a once a week frequency.