First off, thanks for the response.
Using UPS's LTL service cost estimator it came up with almost $7,000 and that was assuming the lowest class, meaning the real cost if I were to use UPS's LTL would be closer to $10k.
Unless you have any other ideas, I'm thinking a UHaul roadtrip is going to be the most effective means of transportation.

I'd consider rail freight. Much less fuel involved; they're something like 3x more fuel-efficient than autos. Companies like CSX do this. I'm sure you can find many others by searching for "shipping by rail", "rail shipping", "intermodal transport", or something similar.

Here's the n00b page for CSX: New to CSX or Rail?. They have a Price Look-Up Tool towards the bottom of the page. Another biz called Ship by Rail has a similar tool on their home page, as well as a sample cost comparison: Seattle to Baltimore, $795 by rail, $1095 by truck. These might be good places to start...

Good luck.

USPS Media Mail. 70lbs max per box (108in length+girth limit too). 4,000lbs of books = ~60 boxes. Each box runs $27, so about $1,620 for shipping. Priced some quality boxes at about $110 for enough of them (75 pack), tack on another $30-40 for packing tape. Presumably the same amount of labor is needed to get them ready by this method than any other. Figure $2,000 to get your buddies some pizza & beer to help box them up, rent a U-haul for the day to bring them to post office (maybe will they pickup??), labels (recommend numbering boxes 1/60, 2/60, etc. to make sure they all get there), plus anything else you might need.

Never done this much media mail but it is EXACTLY what it is meant for (libraries)...recommend calling your local main post office and running the idea by them first.

G'luck and be sure to document it all for tax purposes (if you need the deduction).

Have you actually made a contact with the library to see if they want your donation? If so, I am assuming that you have already asked them if they can either pay for the transport or if they are aware of a less expensive method. You would still get the tax deduction for the books but not the transport.

Basketb926 said:First off, thanks for the response.
Using UPS's LTL service cost estimator it came up with almost $7,000 and that was assuming the lowest class, meaning the real cost if I were to use UPS's LTL would be closer to $10k.
Unless you have any other ideas, I'm thinking a UHaul roadtrip is going to be the most effective means of transportation.

Dear Basket,

Unless you have time constraints, one of the trucking company's LTL services would cost you between 2-3K. plus metro area surcharges if any. 4000 lbs does not seem to be that big of a load. So you may be able to save even more. However trucking companies typically ask for how many pallet spaces the goods are going to take. One pallet is L=48" x W= 40" x H= 48" If these books can fit on 8 pallets at the most, you can definitel do it for less than 3k.
Here is one of the trucking companies that might be able to help you. Remember it does not need to be your local company. It is always a good idea to buy insurance as well. Echoglobal Logistics= 800.354.7993

Check trucking companies. I used have 2 or 3 tons of clay shipped to me and the shipping was only $300. The shipping actually cost more than the clay (dirt is cheap - pun intended). Prices have probably gone up since gas prices have gone up, but I would think that that is your best bet. You would prbably have to work with them to get the boxes of boxes palletized, but once they are on pallets - the rest is easy.

Good luck.

I transported my books media mail when I moed, and used Fedex ground for everything else. Make sure you pack the stuff well - one of my boxes accidentally split during transport, and it actualy arrived in two separate boxes, but gingerly repacked by the USPS crew, with a note that said my thesis (which happened to be in that box) was interesting and asking me to send a copy to an email address if I would

All those shippng companies have a minimum charge. My overall move cost for my *stuff* (around 1200lbs, but a lot of weirdly shaped things, like rc airplanes in bicycle boxes and stuff) from MA to CA was $1700, and the minimum for a storage company would have been $2500. I put the heaviest stuff in the trunk of my car (tools, cast iron cookware, etc), and got that transported for under $1000 more (didn't pay extra for fast shipping, and it took 18 days).

But the books went media mail, and actually arrived very quickly - around 5-8 days each box. Very cheap, and as I said, the exception was the one box that split open because I was careless in my packing. I lost nothing though.

LTL, POD and all the other freight options were more expensive than Media Mail + Fedex.

PM Sent. I can help you out.