Domestic vehicle transportation using open-air trailer   by Lee Ann George

in Autos    (submitted 2011-04-28)

If vehicle transportation is just wrapping your car on plastic, putting it inside a box, stuffing it with newspapers and mailing it, then it would be a lot easier. Unfortunately, it's not and it's a tad more complicated than that. There are a lot of things to consider in order to make it right and that is why you need to know a lot of things to.
In this article, we are going to talk about domestic vehicle transportation using open-air trailer and I will show you how you can go about this undertaking. Now mind you, there are hundreds of vehicle shipping companies to choose from out there and it you don't know how to look for the best one, you might well end up picking the lousy one. So here are the tips in choosing a vehicle shipping company:
1. Call up a broker
This is perhaps the easiest way to go about vehicle shipping. If you call a broker, you will instantly have access to a lot of shippers and you will also have a lot of shipping quotes to compare. This is primarily because they are known to a wide network of shippers and that is why they can do all the nasty work for you. If you want to take matters into your own hands, read on.
2. Search for reputable companies
It is important that you know the reputation of the company that you are about to hire because you definitely need to be able to trust it. If the company is not known to have enough successful deliveries, then you cannot be sure if your car will be delivered safely and you won't have the peace of mind when it hits the road.
In order to know that the company you are interested in is of good reputation, you need to go to the website of the Better Business Bureau and check for companies with good ratings and pick from there.
3. Compare vehicle shipping quote
Contact at least three companies that you are interested in and ask for a quote so that you will get an idea as to how much it would cost to ship a car. Compare the quotes that you have gathered and pick the one that will give you an affordable price. If the prices are too high, don't hesitate to negotiate with the shipper.
4. Get an insurance coverage
Even if it will make the shipping cost higher, you must not ship your car without insurance coverage. Not only is it illegal to ship a car without it, it's also risky. So you must ask your shipper to give you at least a liability and cargo coverage as this is the minimum required by law.
5. Open-air trailer
Open-air trailer is the standard service that the vehicle shipping comapanies will give you unless you will ask for a closed one. This is so because it is cheaper and works just fine for most shipping needs. You must have seen those huge trucks running down the highway full of cars, that is the open-air trailer vehicle transportation.
6. Prepare your vehicle for shipping
After you have decided on a carrier, the last thing that you need to do is to clean up your car so that it is ready for shipping. The purpose for this is to know the current condition of your car. Make sure that that content tank is reduced to about a quarter of so that leaking can be avoided.
You must have seen those huge trailers loaded with cars, that is what you open-air trailer. This is the standard vehicle transport service that a shipper will give you when you inquire about auto shipping. The reason behind is that it's reliable and that's why you can be sure that your car will arrive safely.

About the Author

Lee Ann George is an expert in Auto transporting services. She loves cars and Harley Davidson motorbikes.