Hey Scott,
I know you said you’re all set with the box but a few guys mentioned shipping with a U-Haul box and I did that once with an 18 horse so I thought I’d share it.
It was the "Shorty Wardrobe" box ($7.95). I had to do a couple alterations to it but it worked out pretty good.
I Gorilla Glued shut the pre-cut openings/flaps and cut my own. I removed the throttle handle and lower unit from the motor and shipped those in a separate box. Buyer was aware that some assembly would be required and a slightly higher shipping with the extra boxes. I also shipped a tank and hose to him.
I wrapped the motor in plastic, blocked and braced it in the box with thick styrofoam padding, filled in the empty space with more packing material and Great Stuff expanding foam to fill in the spaces and lock it all in, then more thick padding on top locked in with the expanding foam.
I Gorilla Glued the flap down, went around length and girth with wide clear tape, and topped it off with duct tape.
Rochester, NY to Texas, FedEx Ground, it was a little pricey but buyer was ok with it saying he doesn’t come across too many good used motors down there that often.
So, I sold a motor but it’s a lot of extra work to increase its chances of surviving the trip undamaged. I might ship a smaller one but I don’t think I want to do an 18 again.
