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How to ship appliances

The right mode, how to prepare it, what drives the price and the mistakes that cost money. Best modes: White glove / final mile, LTL.

Short answer: Ship a single appliance to a home with a final-mile service that brings it to the room of choice; white glove adds unboxing, placement and packaging removal. Pallets of appliances to a store or warehouse ship LTL, and full containers or trailers by truckload. Keep units upright in factory packaging and strap them to a pallet.

Updated November 3, 2026 · By the GetShippingRates team at Armstrong Transport Group

Step by step

Preparing appliances for shipping

  1. Keep the factory carton and foam; ship refrigerators, washers and dryers upright.
  2. Strap the unit to a pallet with corner boards so a forklift can move it.
  3. Secure doors and drums (washers need shipping bolts reinstalled).
  4. Pick the delivery level and note whether the old unit needs haul-away.
  5. Ask the receiver to inspect for damage before signing.
Cost

What drives the price

  • Weight and size of the unit
  • Residential delivery and liftgate on LTL
  • Room of choice or white glove placement
  • Haul-away and installation, when needed

Freight class: Boxed large appliances commonly estimate at class 85 to 125 by density. Check yours with the free freight calculators; the carrier’s NMFC item sets the final class.

For real prices see pallet shipping cost, the freight rate index and reefer shipping cost.

Avoid these

Mistakes that cost money

  • Shipping a refrigerator on its side.
  • Signing a clean delivery receipt before uncrating, which makes concealed damage hard to claim.
  • Forgetting the liftgate on a residential LTL delivery.

More home and furniture guides

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to ship a refrigerator?

It depends on distance and delivery level. A palletized refrigerator to a business dock ships as one LTL pallet; to a home, room-of-choice final-mile delivery is the usual choice. Get a quote with the dimensions and delivery ZIP.

Do appliances have to ship upright?

Refrigerators and freezers should, to protect the compressor. Washers, dryers and ranges ship upright on a pallet as a rule too.

Can the delivery crew take the old appliance away?

Many final-mile services offer haul-away for an added fee; request it when you quote.

More shipping cost guides

  • Shipping cost calculator — Billable weight for parcel, LTL, truckload, air and ocean, the mode that fits, and a dated LTL price range.
  • Pallet shipping cost — What 1 to 12 pallets cost to ship by LTL, by distance, from 97,000+ real shipments.
  • Freight shipping rates — How each mode is priced, and LTL price per 100 lb by weight and distance from real shipments.
  • LTL vs truckload — Where LTL stops making sense: pallet counts, weight, linear feet and transit, with real LTL prices.
  • Air freight rates — How air cargo is priced: chargeable weight, weight breaks, surcharges and door-to-door charges.
  • Ocean freight rates — FCL vs LCL, container sizes, revenue tons and every charge on an ocean freight quote.
  • Freight rate index — Median all-in truckload price per mile by equipment, distance and city, from hundreds of priced lanes.
  • Reefer shipping cost — What refrigerated LTL and reefer truckloads cost, from real quotes on 16 lanes.
  • White glove delivery cost — Curbside to white glove with assembly: what the two-person delivery leg costs in 16 US cities.
  • Broker vs. carrier direct — When a direct carrier contract beats a broker, and when it doesn't.
  • Volume LTL vs. partial truckload — The 6-to-18-pallet gray zone: how each is priced and handled.
  • Where to get a freight quote — Carrier sites, marketplaces, brokers and instant-rate platforms compared.
  • How to ship anything — Mode, packaging, freight class and cost drivers for furniture, machinery, produce, hazmat and more.
  • Shipping to Mexico — Cross-border freight: border crossings, the documents each side needs, and the US leg's real cost.
Live quote

Get a quote to ship appliances

Pick the mode, enter the lane and freight, and see live rates in seconds where the mode supports it. Armstrong Transport Group's team handles the rest.

Prefer to talk? Call 877-240-1181 or email info@getshippingrates.com. Shipping several modes? Request a free multimodal shipping review.

Final Mile quote

  2. 2 Shipment
  3. 3 Contact
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