Does EC Props ship or deliver?

Two ways an order leaves Sherman Way

In your own vehicle, your driver and crew collect the order on the terms of EC's pick-up policy, from the call ahead about truck size to the pads and tie-downs.

With a shipper, the arrangement is yours to make. EC's policies page names two shipping companies EC can refer renters to, based on previous customers' use of them, and asks you to contact them directly to arrange pick-up, packing and shipping, so the booking is settled between you and the shipper. The shipper collects at the same will-call dock as any crew, on the release conditions further down this page.

Sizes from the book, not weights

A shipper planning a load asks for weights as well as sizes, and the weights are the half EC cannot supply: "E. C. Prop Rentals does not have the ability to weigh any items being rented, nor do we give estimates on the weight of any items being rented." EC's book gives each line a stock number and a description, with a size where the line states one. Send the shipper all of it for every line on your hold list, with the count your order takes; the count in the book is EC's stock of the line, not your order and not what is on the floor today. Ask the front office what size truck the order needs, too, as EC's policies invite, and pass the answer on with the sizes.

Some lines bring pieces of their own, and every piece belongs on the list the shipper plans from. F-0055, the 8 by 16 foot chain link panel, names F-0056 support feet in its line; S-2238, an emergency sign 182 inches wide, is marked as 2 pieces; and F-0190, the boiler and furnace unit on a castered base, asks for all pipes and gate valves to be specified, in a list the book cuts short. EC's cobra head street light set up is five lines in the book, with a pole, L-0482AT or L-0482AS, among them, and the Street Lights guide lists all five: the two pole lines, the arm, the light fixture and the cart.

The table gathers examples of long, wide and castered pieces with their sizes as EC's book gives them. It is a sample, not every large piece EC carries. The book's descriptions of L-0482AT, L-0482AS, L-0482D, B-0236, S-2238, S-1398 and F-0190 stop short, so ask the front office for the rest of each before the shipper plans the load.

Paperwork cleared before the shipper loads

A shipper's truck at the dock is not enough to release an order; the paperwork has to clear first. Two of EC's conditions decide it: "You must have a valid certificate of insurance before you will be allowed to pick up or begin loading an order." and "Orders will not be released until all account details are verified and received." Until EC has both, the shipper's truck cannot load the order.

A shipper's certificate cannot stand in for yours. In EC's words, "You cannot use another company's certificate of insurance." EC adds that the company listed as Insured "must match the company submitting all paperwork to be active in our system and the company that will be providing payment" for the order. The certificate of insurance section of EC's policies points to a sample certificate that shows all the sections needed for coverage, and any other certificate question goes to the front office.

Where the order is paid by card, EC takes only a business or corporate card, and the name on it has to match the company on the invoice and the insurance certificate, so neither a personal card nor a card in the shipper's name can pay for it. The card is authorized for the invoice's exact amount, and any change to the order after that could delay the pick-up, so settle the list before the card is authorized. EC's credit card policy also asks for a call to check the account status before a crew is sent, and that call comes before the shipper is dispatched.

At the dock: the shipper's truck, hands and pads

Book the shipper with enough people to load. EC's employees cannot help load or unload a truck, car or van, a limit EC's policy attributes to its insurance, and the policy asks for enough crew members with the driver, so a driver who comes alone loads alone.

The truck has to be at the dock for the release. A proper vehicle on site is a condition of releasing an invoice, unless the front office has agreed to a partial pick-up, and EC "will not sign out an invoice and allow a person to wait outside with the rented items for a vehicle to arrive after our normal business hours for pick-up." If the shipper plans to collect in more than one trip, ask the front office first whether it will agree to a partial pick-up.

Everything that protects the load arrives on the shipper's truck: pads, ropes or tie-downs and any packing materials, because EC does not supply expendables and does not pack orders. EC's hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, with the loading dock closing at 4:30 PM for pick-ups and returns. EC asks renters to allow enough time to load, so schedule the shipper's arrival with loading time to spare before 4:30, and take any other timing to the front office.

What a referral to a shipper does not change

EC's policy sets it out in one sentence: "A referral to a third party shipping company in no way alters your responsibility for timely pick-up and return of your rental order, your obligations under the terms and conditions of the rental agreement, or your obligation to pay California sales tax for your rental order."

The return runs on EC's 7 day rental week, where an order picked up on a Wednesday is due back on the following Tuesday and "Wednesday is day one of your rental period." Confirm the due date with the front office before pick-up day, then book the return so the truck bringing the order back reaches the North Hollywood dock by that day. It needs enough hands to unload and the time to do it before the 4:30 PM close, since EC's employees cannot help unload either. Check the pick-up and due dates against the holiday closings on EC's policies page, and phone the front office if the return needs a grace day.

The rental agreement is part of the hand-off too. EC's rental policies say the standard agreement "is signed as-is, with no amendments, revisions or riders, at time of pick-up by your crew, before loading, and our representative handling the sign out process." When the shipper's driver is the one at the dock, agree with the front office ahead of time who signs for your company.