How is a walk-in tub delivered, and what is lift gate service?

Your Ella walk-in tub ships fully assembled in a crate by LTL freight from the Chicago facility, and the final leg is handled by a third-party freight carrier that calls you to schedule a delivery window once the crate reaches the terminal nearest you. The standard service is curbside delivery with a lift gate: the driver lowers the crate to the ground on the truck's lift gate and brings it to your curb or driveway, and that is where the carrier's job ends. How your walk-in tub ships and how to prepare for delivery day covers the packaging and the path into the house, and this page explains the appointment call and exactly what lift gate service does and does not include.

What Lift Gate Service Means

A lift gate is the hydraulic platform on the back of a freight truck. Lift gate service means the driver uses that platform to lower your crated tub from the truck bed to the ground, so you are never asked to unload a crate from a truck yourself. Walk-in tubs travel as less-than-truckload freight on a custom skid inside a plywood crate or a reinforced corrugated box, and without a lift gate the only way to get that off the truck is a loading dock or a forklift. A commercial delivery to a shop or warehouse with a forklift avoids the lift gate, which is why the delivery type is recorded as residential plus lift gate or commercial plus lift gate. That delivery type is handled after the order form is submitted and then shown on the invoice you confirm, so it is worth a glance before you approve it.

Lift gate service covers the move from the truck to the ground and to your curb or driveway. It does not include crossing a lawn, entering the home, carrying the crate to a unit or up stairs, unpacking the tub or moving it to the bathroom. Drivers do not enter the home, unpack the tub or carry it inside. Moving the crate from the curb to the bathroom is the job of your installer or two or three able helpers, which is the main reason to have your contractor lined up before the delivery date rather than after.

How the Delivery Appointment Works

1. Your tub leaves the facility and you receive a shipment confirmation with a tracking number by email.
2. The crate travels through the carrier's network to the freight terminal nearest your address.
3. Once it arrives at that terminal, the carrier calls the phone number on your order to schedule a delivery window. You get an appointment window, not an unannounced stop.
4. On the day, someone who can accept, inspect and sign for the crate needs to be there for the whole window, because the driver cannot leave the crate otherwise.

If the tracking shows the tub sitting at the terminal and nobody has called you, check for missed calls from an unfamiliar number first. Then use the carrier's phone number on your tracking page to schedule directly, or call the team at (800) 480-6850 to find out which carrier has your shipment. Make sure the phone number on your order is one you answer, since the carrier works from that number alone.

Getting the Crate Past the Curb

If you need the crate placed in a garage, on a patio or anywhere beyond the curb, that is a separate carrier service called inside delivery, and it has to be requested before the tub ships. It is not offered by every carrier or at every address, so the team checks it for your specific delivery. Inside delivery moves the crate to an agreed spot on your property and stops there. It does not include placing the tub in the bathroom or any installation work, and your installer still carries the tub in and sets it. Ella does not offer white glove delivery, room placement or setup. Can I tell the delivery driver where to leave my walk-in tub? explains why the driver cannot add a service at the truck that was never booked, and why the time to ask is when you confirm the order. Nothing is added to your order until you, or the dealer who placed your order, approve the carrier's charge for the added service.

A garage or covered area is the ideal place for the crate to wait if installation is not the same day, and keeping it crated until the installer arrives is the best protection for the finish.

What to Do at the Curb Before the Driver Leaves

The few minutes while the truck is still in front of your house are the most important of the whole delivery, because a freight claim depends on what is written on the delivery document. Inspect the crate on all sides and photograph it. Light scuffs and scrapes on the outside of the container are normal, since the packaging is designed to absorb damage so the tub does not have to. Anything more than that, a crushed corner, a puncture, a broken skid or a tilted crate, should be photographed, written on the shipper's delivery document, and signed by the driver before you sign. Damage that is not on the delivery documents cannot be claimed properly.

Then remove the case and the packing material and inspect the tub itself, both visually and operationally, because concealed damage must also be reported within 48 hours of receipt. Report damage or missing items within that window to the team at ellasbubbles.com/support or (800) 480-6850, and to your dealer as well if you purchased through one, since they hold the order. Keep all packaging until the installation is complete. Delivery day: inspecting, moving, and preparing your walk-in tub the right way shows a real Transfer60 arriving and being inspected, and it adds the one step installers skip at their peril: remove the panels and aprons before the tub is moved.

Planning the Day

• Measure the path from your main entrance to the bathroom against the shipping size of your model before delivery day, so you know the crate and then the tub will clear every doorway and turn.
• Have your installer or two or three helpers booked for the delivery window, since the driver leaves the crate at the curb.
• Keep the phone on your order charged and answered during the days the crate is at the terminal.
• Have a camera ready and know where you will sign, so you can note any concern on the delivery document in front of the driver.
• Keep the crate, skid and packing material until the tub is installed and tested.

Where your order stands between purchase and the carrier's call is described in I just placed my walk-in tub order, what happens next?, and the way distance and destination type shape the freight booking is in How Shipping Is Quoted. Because every tub is assembled and tested to order, your Ella dealer or the team confirms the timing for your specific order.

Related Guides

• Can the freight truck leave my walk-in tub somewhere other than curbside?
• Shipping and Delivery Policy
• What Happens If the Freight Truck Cannot Reach My Driveway or Road?

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