Off Road Electric Kick Scooter Build

[Technochicken]

It's been a while, and I have a couple small updates. So, I'm a college student now, and taking all sorts of fun general requirements like multivariable calculus, physics 1 mechanics, and intro biology. Despite having a ton of work, I've managed to make make time for the important things in life, like working on my scooter.

To get my scooter to campus, I had my parents UPS it from Atlanta to Cambridge. In a box. All 75 pounds of it.

Unfortunately, the scooter did not survive its journey unscathed. The packaged seemed to confuse the Portland UPS office, and it spent a day going in an out of the city. By the time I got the package, the box was very sad looking. More sadness appeared when I opened the box.

The first casualty was the metal brake cable noodle, which had been completely crushed:

Also barely visible in the picture above is that the two corners of the rear suspension arm are bent inwards. Somehow UPS managed to bend 1/4" aluminum plate in the shipping process.

The deck of the scooter must have taken some serious knocks during shipping as well, as in two spots the polycarbonate top layer of the deck managed to de-laminate from the carbon fiber bottom layer. Functionally, this doesn't make a difference, but it doesn't look good and can't really be fixed without completely separating the two pieces and re-gluing them. It's a good thing I did make the polycarbonate extend beyond the edges of the carbon fiber, or the carbon fiber would surely have been cracked.

I brought the scooter to MITERS to do some repairs:

I replaced the crushed brake noodle:

In the process of fixing the scooter, I found a few more things that had been damaged. Somehow, the plastic guard and carbon fiber at the front of the deck got huge gouges in them, and the carbon fiber was split at the edge:

Also, one corner of the battery box was skewed, as can be seen below. I may end up just plating the entire outside of the box in aluminum, to give the batteries a bit more protection.

Thats it for now. Sometime in the relatively near future I plan on making fenders for the scooter, so I can ride it in wetter conditions.

[TLHarrell]

It truly amazes me that they actually are still in business with the way they treat their cargo, and with the prices they charge! Absolutely ridiculous how much damage it sustained. Do be sure to document all that and file a claim with UPS. This is way beyond the driver simply "rolling" your box up to the door... this is absolutely negligent and downright destructive on their part.

[mDust]

Originally Posted by TLHarrell

It truly amazes me that they actually are still in business with the way they treat their cargo, and with the prices they charge!

I have no connection to UPS, but I've shipped and received hundreds of parcels through them and have never experienced anything further than the dented corner of a shipping carton. I've never received anything that was broken during shipping. It's likely one less than careful employee or maybe one facility that may be lax on policy. If stuff like this happened all the time, they really wouldn't be in business.

Just due to this scooters weight, how was it packed? Sorting machines used by UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc all flip packages end over end. They rely on sufficient packing material and methods to avoid damage. Slapping a fragile sticker on the side doesn't change anything. Something this heavy needs special packaging.

[Technochicken]

Originally Posted by mDust

Just due to this scooters weight, how was it packed? Sorting machines used by UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc all flip packages end over end. They rely on sufficient packing material and methods to avoid damage. Slapping a fragile sticker on the side doesn't change anything. Something this heavy needs special packaging.

It was packed in 3 layers of heavy-duty bubble wrap, all in a cardboard box that some furniture had been shipped in. Honestly, it probably should have been packed in a wooden crate, but I still don't think that poor packaging alone explains all the damage that occurred.

[mDust]

Originally Posted by Technochicken

It was packed in 3 layers of heavy-duty bubble wrap, all in a cardboard box that some furniture had been shipped in. Honestly, it probably should have been packed in a wooden crate, but I still don't think that poor packaging alone explains all the damage that occurred.

No, the other part of the equation is the flipping end over end. It's not an inherently gentle process. The typical light package isn't subjected to much (f=ma), but heavy stuff will beat itself up.

Was there any fill? Did you buy any insurance on it? Send some pics in and see if you can get the shipping fee refunded.

[Technochicken]

The main thing that I don't think was the fault of the packaging was the the gouges to the plastic and carbon fiber in the front. At some point, the package must have hit some hard, sharp corners for that to happen. Nope, no insurance. I may try sending in some pictures, but I've fixed the functional problems already, so anything left is just cosmetic.