While shipping via truck is the most common choice to move a vehicle throughout the U.S., you may also want to consider sending a car via rail. Open-air auto transportation is a highly efficient method of vehicle transportation, since carriers are able to carry multiple vehicles in a single shipment. Open auto carriers can fit 10 tabs in one load, making open transportation the easiest and most economical way to transport your vehicle. Open car carriers can carry 10 vehicles at a time, making them both cost-effective and easier to organize than enclosed trailers.
Since open hauling is the more popular choice when it comes to vehicle transportation, more open-air carriers are available. Well, when it comes to car shipping, you have plenty of affordable vehicle transportation options. Unless you are transporting a highly valuable car and/or collectors or classic cars, it is likely wisest to go with open-air carriers when choosing your vehicle transportation options.
When it comes to auto shipping, many consider enclosed car shipping a much safer option than open-air auto shipping, but this is not strictly true. One benefit of enclosed car transportation services over open car transportation is the various ways in which enclosed car transportation trucks can load vehicles. If you are concerned that open auto transportation will give your car sufficient protection, keep in mind that carriers move millions of vehicles in this manner each year.
Depending on your budget, as well as what level of protection you prefer, you may want to decide between open and enclosed transportation. The only real reason to avoid choosing open transportation is if you are moving high-end vehicles, which need specific handling and additional protection. There is a small possibility your vehicle could get damaged if you opt for open transportation shipping.
While there are risks involved in open transportation shipping, there are things that you can do to minimize those risks and help ensure your vehicle is secure throughout the trip. Your vehicle will be protected from the elements if shipped on a covered truck, and the cost of transportation will also be fairly affordable, since businesses are not booming during the winter months, and the demand for vehicle transport services is far lower than the busier summer months, when the majority of home moves occur. For the ultimate in security, consider having your car shipped in an enclosed truck: cars in open-air trailers are exposed to the elements and are susceptible to damage and theft, so the additional cost will be well worth it if you are moving during the winter months or are moving a high-end car.
Shipping by enclosed carriers or a door-to-door service could make shipping your vehicle in a trailer pretty expensive. If you have time and you do not want to pay extra, door-to-door shipment may be an excellent option for moving a car without driving. While terminal-to-terminal shipping is cheaper, remember it is also slightly slower and may require leaving your vehicle in a terminal for at least several days.
The more common, cheaper way of moving your vehicle across country is by open-jaw, terminal-to-terminal shipping. No matter what your reasons are, or how long your stay, hiring a vehicle moving company to ship the car for you might be the wisest choice you can come up with.
A professional auto transportation company will handle all of the arrangements needed to help transport your vehicle to its destination, so you do not have to stress or be overwhelmed by planning your trip. Car shipment companies will handle transporting your car from start to finish–all you have to do to send your vehicle cross-country is to get your car ready and show up for the pre-shipment check-in. If a car transporter who is moving your car is not responsible for delivering it in a timely manner, then they do not have any financial incentive to get your car delivered in a timely manner.
Instead, you can allow a trusted car shipment company to take care of the transportation of your car while you rest easy on an airplane, confident that you and your car will arrive at your destination in one piece. Shipping is a far safer way of moving a vehicle cross-country: using trusted auto transportation services will limit wear on your car, minimize your chances of accidents, and keep your car protected from adverse weather conditions. Since cheap car transport services are usually provided by open-topped auto transportation carriers, the vast majority of off-the-lot vehicles are shipped by open-topped auto transportation trucks.
In most cases, vehicles transported by open carrier trucks are delivered in excellent condition, and you may potentially save a few bucks. If you operate a taxi business or another enterprise looking to transport a fleet of cars, you can probably get a discount from an auto transportation company to ship them in bulk.
While costs will vary depending on a few different factors, including vehicle size, the time of year, timeframe of transportation, and transportation distance, you can expect to pay around 30% to 40% less for an open-jaw vehicle transportation. If you are making the decision between trucking vs. driving, make sure to figure out the real cost of driving the car cross-country, including all expenses. When shopping around for car shipment quotes to move your vehicle from one state to another, ask companies to provide an estimate on your vehicles transportation time before booking. You might think that shipping a car would be expensive, but when you add the costs of driving a long distance, along with the cost of gas and hotel stays, you might realize that you are paying similar amounts.
Open-air shipping is certainly a more economical option, as multiple cars can fit in one shipment. When you have a car that needs to be shipped, you have the option of shipping the vehicle on either open-air car carriers or enclosed carriers.
Enclosed carriers also only transport about four or five cars at once (sometimes less), so customers get their cars back much faster. A new enclosed vehicle carrier, equipped with top-of-the-line safety gear, can cost around $500,000. New, enclosed vehicle transportation drivers are among the best-paid drivers in the car-shipping business.
