Auto Transportation

Posts Tagged ‘cargo’

Parting with something valuable or dear is not the easiest thing for anyone, and if that thing happens to be your newly purchased dream car, that anxiety can be all the more intolerable. To make matters worse, if you happen to be relocating, or you bought your car in some other state other than yours, you would actually have to entrust some stranger or some service to transport your car back to you.

To reunite with your beloved car, you must make sure to use the services of a fully licensed and insured car transport company that specializes in transporting cars. Doing thorough research on the various car transporter companies and car transport service before deciding on one will minimize the risk of any damage or mishap to your car: Just like any other industry, the auto mover industry is marked by myriad prices and multiple car transport options.

Your first task involves choosing the right kind of auto transport service. Depending on the value of your car, and how badly you want to lessen the risk of damage, you have the option of an enclosed auto transport, open or fabric covered auto transporter to ship your car. The covered trailer type car carriers are definitely the safest and costliest options. If you have a tight budget, you can consider transporting your car on the multi-layer carriers used by car dealers. As your car will be just one of many cars of their total cargo, they will charge you less, but your car will still remain protected during car shipping nonetheless. You also need to decide whether to go with a auto transport company or with a car transport broker. A car transport broker typically does not have his own trailer while an auto transport company does. The broker has to make arrangements with the bigger car transport services to transport your car on their trucks. Brokers typically ask for an initial deposit, while the rest of the car transport payment is made, upon safe delivery of your car, to the car transport service that actually shipped your car.

Insurance is a must if you are considering transporting your car over a long distance. Generally your own auto insurance company covers the car, but sometimes the car transport companies offer a package in which the insurance costs are included. In any case, be clear of what is covered by insurance and what is not. It is safest to deal with an auto transport company that does offer a satellite tracking service. Most major transport companies offer this service for free. Keeping a constant tab on the route and the move helps keep you informed every step of the way during the car shipping, and reassured that your car will arrive home safely.

Shopping for the right auto transport company is intimidating for most people. It’s not a service that people use very often so it is difficult to know what features to look for. Although there are a number of decisions to make, let’s focus on the types of trucks and trailers that could be used.

Truck Types

Auto transport is carried out by one of two types of trucks: tractor trailers or hotshots. A hotshot is a small truck similar to a pickup.

Because hotshots are small they transport only one vehicle at a time. This means they are available faster because the shipper doesn’t have to find other customers to fill the empty slots. On the other hand, that means all costs of operation are shouldered by the one vehicle being transported so they are more expensive. Their small size means residential street navigation is easy and they deliver your car right to your door.

Tractor trailers transport anywhere from three to twelve vehicles at a time depending on the size of the attached trailer. The more cars, the cheaper the transport fee because costs of operation are spread among several customers. To be economical, the trucks need to run as near to capacity as possible. That means the auto transport company needs a significant lead time between a customer’s call and the shipping date so that they can find several vehicles headed in the same direction.

Another downside to tractor trailers is that they may not be able to travel in some residential areas because of the tight streets. You may need to meet the vehicle at a nearby parking lot to pick up your car rather than having it delivered to your door.

Trailer Types

The first decision about trailers is single-vehicle vs. multiple-vehicle. This decision isn’t made by the customer but rather dictated by the truck. Hotshots have single trailers; semis have multiple.

There can be cases where a semi transports a single vehicle, such as a vehicle won’t fit on a typical trailer due to size, modifications, or other characteristics. In this case it has to be shipped on a flatbed along with whatever other cargo the driver picks up. This is one of the more expensive ways to ship but may be necessary depending in your vehicle.

When shipping on a multiple vehicle trailer, there is a lot of debate about whether it is better to request a position on the upper deck or the lower deck. Cars on the upper deck are more exposed to the environment while the lower deck may get oil or other fluids dripping from above. In the end, it seems to be about the same.

Another option is a closed trailer. Most car shipping is done in open trailers, leaving the vehicle exposed to the elements. This is fine for most cars but if you have an expensive or collectable vehicle, it might be worth the extra expense of a covered trailer.