What Happens If the Freight Truck Cannot Reach My Driveway or Road?

If a full-size freight truck cannot make it down your road or into your driveway, tell your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before the shipment is booked. The carrier decides how a stop is served by how its truck can reach and unload at the site, and the two alternatives to a curbside stop at the house are pickup at the carrier's terminal or pickup at the Chicago facility. What Is Curbside Delivery with Liftgate for a Walk-In Tub? describes the standard handoff that this page is the exception to.

How a Walk-In Tub Normally Reaches the House

Every Ella walk-in tub ships fully assembled by LTL (less-than-truckload) freight from the Chicago facility. The tub rides on a pallet inside a crate, so it is far too large for a parcel service and travels with other freight on a truck fitted with a liftgate, the hydraulic platform on the back that lowers the pallet to the ground. Before the truck comes, the carrier calls the phone number on your order to schedule a delivery window. On the day, the driver lowers the crate to street level and brings it to the curb or driveway, and that is where the carrier's job ends. Drivers do not enter the home, unpack the tub or carry it inside. Moving the crate through the door and into the bathroom is the job of the customer or the installer.

That routine assumes the truck can park at or near the house. A narrow road, a driveway the truck cannot enter, or a site the carrier flags as limited access changes what the carrier is willing to book. How Shipping Is Quoted: Weight, Distance, Liftgate Delivery, and Accessory Shipping walks through the whole trip from the Chicago floor to the curb, and everything below is about what to do when that last step is the problem.

Tell the Team About Access Before the Shipment Is Booked

Freight carriers classify a delivery by the physical delivery point, not by the name on the building. A stop inside a residential area, or one the carrier flags as limited access, falls under the carrier's residential classification, which means curbside delivery with liftgate service. A commercial delivery is one where the truck can unload at a business location, typically with a loading dock or a forklift, so no liftgate is needed. Ella's Bubbles books the shipment at the service level the carrier assigns and cannot reclassify a site the carrier considers residential.

This is why access needs to come up when you give your delivery address. When an address raises a question, the team asks you to confirm the delivery type before the shipment is booked, and may ask whether you need liftgate service, whether the address is a business or a residence, and whether you would rather pick up at the terminal. Give the exact delivery address and mention the narrow road or tight driveway at that point, while there is still a choice to make. Why an Organization's Address Can Still Be Classified as a Residential Freight Delivery explains how carriers make that call.

Option One: Collect the Crate at the Carrier's Terminal

Pickup at the carrier's terminal is one of the delivery types the carrier recognizes. No delivery to the site takes place, so the truck never has to reach your road at all, and the carrier treats the stop as a commercial delivery that needs no liftgate. The team can set this up when the order is booked, which is why the question about terminal pickup comes up at that stage rather than after the tub has left Chicago.

Once the crate is in transit, the shipment confirmation with the tracking number arrives by email, so check your inbox and spam folder for it. The carrier's tracking page shows whether the crate is moving or waiting at a terminal for an appointment, and it usually lists the carrier's phone number so you can arrange the pickup directly.

Collecting a crated tub yourself takes the same preparation as a pickup at the factory:

• Choose the vehicle from the spec sheet. The crate leaves as one unit, so use the shipping size and shipping weight printed on your model's spec sheet, not the tub's actual size, to pick a truck or trailer with enough bed length and load capacity.
• Bring helpers and straps. A crated walk-in tub is heavy and awkward, and larger models need several people. Ratchet straps and moving blankets keep the crate from shifting.
• Inspect before you leave. Check the crate for damage, confirm the door side, drain side and therapy package match your order, and make sure the accessory boxes are inside.
• Keep it upright and covered. Transport the crate the way it is packed and leave the packaging on until the tub is in the bathroom.

Option Two: Pick Up in Chicago

Customers within driving distance can skip the carrier altogether. Tubs are collected at the warehouse and production facility at 2700 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL 60608, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Central, with no weekend pickups. Pickup is arranged in advance through where you purchased or with the team at (800) 480-6850, so the tub is built, tested, cleaned, wrapped, crated and waiting when you arrive. Do not go to the corporate office on South Carpenter Street, because nothing is collected there. Picking Up in Chicago: Arranging Pickup of a Tub, a Replacement Part, or a Returned Shower Unit at the Roosevelt Road Facility covers the vehicle, the helpers and the inspection at the loading dock.

If Curbside Delivery Is Still the Plan

When the carrier does agree to deliver to the house, a tight approach makes the usual delivery-day preparation more important, not less.

• Answer the scheduling call. The carrier calls the number on your order to set a window, and someone able to receive and inspect the shipment has to be there. A missed call from an unfamiliar number or a full voicemail box is the most common reason a delivery goes quiet.
• Line up your installer or two able helpers for the delivery day. The crate needs to come off the curb the day it arrives, and the driver will not carry it in.
• Clear a path from wherever the crate will be set down to the door.
• Inspect the crate and photograph anything that looks off before you sign, and keep every piece of packaging until the installation is complete.

If the expected date passes with no call, check the phone number on your order, search your email for the shipment confirmation and use the tracking page to reach the carrier. For a tub bought through a retailer, the retailer arranges the shipping and is the one to call. My Order Has Not Arrived and Nobody Called. What Should I Do? lists the checks in order.

Related Guides

• My tub arrived damaged. What should I do in the first 48 hours?
• Missed Freight Delivery: Redelivery Charges and How to Reschedule
• Can My Walk-In Tub Ship to the Freight Terminal for Pickup Instead of My Home?

Common Questions