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The Best Way to Ship a Pickup Truck

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   The Best Way to Ship a Pickup Truck

Thanks to their heavy duty compatibility, powerful engines, and ability to haul, pickup trucks have become one of the most popular vehicles on the road today. These high utility vehicles come in a variety of sizes, weights, and dimensions, which can make them slightly more difficult to ship than the average car. Unlike compact cars and sedans, pickup trucks do not necessarily have a standard size and the additional weight and dimensions can be a factor when it comes to transporting a pickup truck. While smaller pickup trucks may fit just fine on a standard auto transport truck, others are too large  and require the use of a flatbed truck. Here are a few tips for choosing the right auto transport company and properly preparing your pickup truck for shipment.  

Research Auto Shipping Companies

The first step in shipping a pickup truck is to research a couple of auto shipping companies to find one that can offer the services you need. Since there is such a variation in the size of these vehicles, you need to find a company that can accommodate your exact truck. You need to choose a company that has the right equipment  to properly load and transport your truck safely. In addition, you want to compare pricing as shipping a large pickup truck is more expensive than shipping a compact car. Shipping costs are determined in part by the weight and size of your vehicle so you expect to pay a higher price for a pickup truck. Finally, you want to check the reviews to make sure the company is reputable and ask for license and registration verification. 

Plan in Advance

Make sure you plan several weeks in advance to find a carrier that is best suited for your needs. When shipping a large pickup truck, carriers might not have space on their haulers and it could take a few weeks to find space for your truck. If your truck is too large for a standard carrier,  it will require a flatbed truck for shipment and this could take even longer to find. You can talk to your auto shipping representative to get the specific information on what kind of carrier your truck requires. Planning in advance can also save you money if you are willing to be flexible on shipping dates. 

Prep Your Truck for Shipment

After your transport has been booked, you need to prep your truck for shipment. It is recommended to wash your truck so you can better document any scratches or dings. Next, you will need to take time stamped pictures of the exterior of your truck so you have evidence of your truck’s condition prior to shipping. You should remove any extra accessories that can easily be taken apart so they don’t get damaged during transport. Finally, you want to make sure the fuel tank is only a quarter full.

Shipping a pickup truck is not necessarily more complicated than shipping a regular car, but there are certain things that need to be taken into account to ensure your truck arrives safely. By doing adequate research, planning ahead, and properly prepping your vehicle, you will ensure your pickup truck is safely transported to its destination.  

Frequently Asked Questions

Honest Answers to Your Car Shipping Questions

Yes, we always ask for your specific pickup and delivery addresses, if the carrier can get right to the addresses you provide, they will. If the addresses that you give us are not safely accessible for a Multi-car carrier, however, you will need to make arrangements with the driver to meet at a nearby location where the carrier can safely get in and out.

People do it all the time (rarely for free) but the official answer is no.

Not what you wanted to hear, we know, but that is the honest answer.

We are not licensed to broker the shipment of household goods and, likewise, no car carrier that operates in the USA is licensed to transport them from state to state either. Despite what you might be being told by other car shipping companies you may speak with.

Remember, at the end of the day we're all salespeople, and the true answer to this question is not a great selling point.

You will hear a lot of companies tell you that you can put up to 100 pounds of items in the trunk, but that is not entirely true. That fact is that items of that amount are fairly common and the department of transportation is probably not going to split hairs and fine the trucker over items of that amount, provided they are not over their weight limit. They could fine them, however, if they see a vehicle stuffed full of personal items so the car carrier will most likely try to negotiate something with you to cover themselves against any costs they could incur. It's not something we can build into your contract though.

We have a short and helpful video on this topic in our user videos.

Only in rare cases and car carriers will usually charge a premium to make it happen.

All dates given by car carriers are typically estimates and projections.

For this reason (and to keep your cost down) we ask that you build in some flexibility and give us the earliest possible date you would be WILLING to release the vehicle, even though it may not be your preferred date.

We'll put you in direct contact with your car carrier and the driver will also typically call you the afternoon or evening before your pick up and delivery (they won't just show up unannounced, and if they do we want to hear about it). However, car carriers are out on the road battling traffic, weather and any number of other factors that can and do throw them off of their pickup and delivery projections from time to time.

If the projected dates we give you come and you are unable to make contact with your carrier, please call our office immediately so that we may help resolve the situation.

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will average 7 to 10 days. From there you can figure your transit time based on how far your vehicle is traveling, i.e. from either coast to the Midwest might average 3-7 days.

Yes!

Even better, we do not even ask for payment until we have you confirmed for pickup by a safe, reliable, fully insured, direct car carrier. If for any reason you do not ship your car with the carrier that we arrange for you, there is no fee.

The fees paid directly to the carrier however, (in most cases, their fees are not paid until your vehicle is delivered) are not directly controlled by us, so any requests for a refund of the carrier's portion would need to be addressed with the carrier directly.

Of course! And you are always backed by our Damage Free Guarantee policy.

Part of what you pay us for is to verify that the car carrier that we put you on is covered by the proper amount of insurance and that everything is up to date.

There is never any additional cost to you for this coverage, and their insurance is always primary.

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