There are many situations where you’ll need to ship your car, whether you’re traveling across the country or across the world. Luckily, there are many methods that allow you to ship your vehicle anywhere you need. All you need to do is find a company with good internet reviews that fulfills your needs, and you can have your car where you need it. However, there are many different types of auto transport carriers that can move your vehicle. It’s important to know the differences between them, as they determine how long shipment takes and how safe your car is during transit.
Land Transport
The most common form of auto logistical transport service is land transport by way of a truck carrying a vehicle trailer. In this method, you’ve your car put onto a trailer attached to a truck that will drive your vehicle to anywhere you need it to go. However, not every truck and trailer are the same and can be broken down into several categories.
Open
Open vehicle transport is the most common type of land transportation. It’s called open transport because the trailer that holds the vehicles is open to the air and doesn’t fully cover the car during transportation. This is typically the cheapest option and is often very easy to book because of how frequently people use them. However, there is still some variance between open transports that you can check out below.
Single Car
A single car open transport is when a trailer is capable of holding just one vehicle. Your car would sit on top of the trailer, completely secure and by itself during the whole transport. This method of transport means that you don’t need to wait for other vehicle deliveries or worry about other vehicles. However, it’s quite expensive, as you pay for the whole transport instead of splitting it with other customers.
Single Level
A single level open transport carries several cars in one transport, meaning your car is with just a few other cars. It’s still a relatively quick method, and you don’t need to deal with other customers. It’s cheaper and more common than a single car open transport.
Multi-Level
Multiple level open carriers are very common for transporting vehicles, as they can transport the most vehicles in one trip. They offer the cheapest rates and are very easy to book, but they carry a lot of cars on each transport, which can slow down the transport.
Enclosed
Enclosed shipping is very different from open transport in the protection it offers. The carrier keeps all the cars in transport inside an enclosed trailer during the entire trip. This offers a lot of protection to the vehicles, protecting them from debris and weather throughout the duration of the journey. It also protects the privacy of your vehicles during transport. The biggest problem is that these transports are much less common and cost a bit more due to their space constraints. But you can still find and book them by calling ahead and setting a shipment date.
Single Car
Just like the single car open air, these transport trailers are capable of carrying just one vehicle to their destination. They are generally more expensive than open air shipment and can require a bit of planning to properly book. Occasionally, shipping companies use cars or motorcycles to move these transports, as they can carry only one vehicle.
Single Level
A single level enclosed transport holds a row of cars in its trailer. All the cars are inside the trailer, protecting them from outside weather and damage. They also offer a lot of privacy to your vehicles. They can be a bit slower to transport your vehicle if the other cars aren’t heading to the same place. These haulers are usually tight on space and carry fewer cars than open single level transports.
Multi-Level
The multi-level enclosed transport also has a lower limit to the number of cars it can carry, and they sit lower to the ground to clear bridges and overpasses. They are cheaper than single car and single level transports, on average.
Water Transportation
When you need to move across the world or just across a body of water, you need to use water transportation methods. These usually involve a boat that loads your vehicle and carries it across the water. These shipping styles can vary greatly in price and duration; it all depends on where you are going and how long it will take to ship your vehicle. There are two kinds of popular water transportation for vehicles: ferries and cargo ships.
Ferry
Another form of vehicle transport that plenty of people use is water transportation. The most common type of water transport you’ll see is the ferry. These are large boats that bring cars across smaller bodies of water, such as lakes or rivers. They commonly carry passengers as well, allowing people to take short day trips with their cars.
Cargo Ship
Another popular form of vehicle shipment across water is cargo ships. These huge ships carry all sorts of cargo across oceans and seas to different countries and states. They can take a while to ship your vehicle but are the cheapest way to ship a vehicle across the world.
Air Transportation
Sometimes, you just need speed to get your car to where it needs to go. The fastest (and probably most expensive) kind of vehicle shipping is air transport. This kind of transport usually uses a plane to transport your vehicle and fly it to a new location. The main problem is that they can’t always bring your car to a convenient place, as the plane needs a runway to land. This can limit the transport of your vehicle greatly. You can sometimes have a helicopter move your vehicle, but this can be very expensive and is usually only done in emergencies.
As you can see, there are many different types of auto transport carriers and ways you can move your vehicle. The trick is choosing the right one for you. The best way to do that is to find and compare companies, get reviews, and learn about their extra features, such as door-to-door shipping.
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