Determining Your Auto Transportation Needs

The trailer transports cars on highway

Arranging for auto transportation doesn’t need to be a complex issue. In fact, if you simply consider a few critical factors before you attempt to schedule car shipping, the process should go smoothly. In addition to the start and finish times, you should think through a few important points before you begin, including the type of vehicle you have, the destination you have in mind, and the need to store the vehicle until you make other arrangements.

Transit Times

Distance, scheduling, weather, and road conditions converge to affect your auto transportation either negatively or positively. While each of these factors is sufficient in adding hours to your transit time, any combination of them could delay your auto transport significantly.

Shorter distances are naturally easier to arrange and complete, while longer distances must be carefully routed to avoid poor road conditions, including traffic and construction. High demand in scheduling can prevent you from finding a carrier on short notice. This is particularly true during the spring as well as during the month of October when senior citizens are traveling to and from vacation homes. Bad weather not only slows traffic down, but it can also lead to time-delaying accidents. In a similar manner, poor road conditions not only enhance the danger of traveling but they can also add hours or days to the journey.

Type of Vehicle

Whether you choose an open air transport or an enclosed carrier depends on the type of vehicle you are moving. For small-sized or standard vehicles, open air transport is usually sufficient to move your auto. Even though multiple vehicles are typically moved together, each one is tightly secured so that it remains in place.

When road debris, weather, and the unexpected are foremost in your mind or if you own a luxury vehicle, you might want to choose an enclosed trailer for your auto transportation needs. This style of vehicle is designed to offer the ultimate in protection, shielding your vehicle from smaller problems such as insects and pollen to larger issues such as rocks and acid rain. Although hard-sided enclosures deliver the highest level of protection, soft-sided transportation trailers offer shelter from everything but a direct hit from a hard surface.

Destination

While the distance required to transport your vehicle might be the biggest factor in determining your auto transportation needs, a number of other factors are directly related to this issue. For example, the need for door-to-door service is one that must be explained at the initiation of your contract because it influences how quickly you can expect transport to begin. Likewise, a remote location is either going to require a one-vehicle transport or more money to accommodate the trip. Whether or not you need to store your vehicle upon delivery is another issue that needs to be arranged at the onset of the journey. Plus, this scenario increases the overall cost of moving your car, truck, or motorcycle.

 

For a stress-free arrangement, determine your auto transportation needs before you call around for car shipping. Knowing what you need is half the battle in getting what you want.