When moving to a new home, it is important that you know how to safely prepare your car for auto transport if you are planning on taking it with you. Because of that, we have made our helpful Car Shipping Guide that will tell you everything you need to know about how to prepare your car for auto transport.
Packing Items in the Car
Leaving your things in your car, especially valuable items is not a good idea. A few personal items like clothes, blankets, and bedding are ok as long as they are confined to the trunk. The general rule is to keep the total weight under a hundred pounds. It’s important not to pack too much because excessive weight might cause damage to the car. You should also keep in mind that you shouldn’t pack any items that you might need because you will not get them until they are delivered.
Car Insurance
During the transport, your vehicle will be insured by our auto shipping company. All of our trucks are required to maintain general liability, physical damage, auto liability, and cargo insurance coverage. As part of our car shipping services, we keep the certificate of liability insurance on file to make sure that your car gets the protection it deserves.
Door to Door Services
Our movers will try their best to collect your car from your home. Sometimes our trucks might need to do the pick-up from a nearby prearranged location. With weight restrictions, local laws, and one-way streets, the truck might have to find an alternative meeting place. However, we will call you before the pick-up and make the necessary arrangements.
Our Terminal to Terminal Services
Our terminal to terminal auto transport services will move your car from a terminal that is near you to another terminal that is near your new home. We have terminals in all major cities in the US. If you don’t mind waiting a few days until one of our trucks delivers your car to a terminal close to your new home, this is a great option.
Picking Up Your Car
If you can’t be there for the car pick-up, you need to make sure that someone is there to sign the Bill of Lading upon pick-up. If you can’t find someone you trust with this responsibility, you might want to consider using our terminal to terminal car shipping services. When delivering your car, if you or your representative can’t be reached or are unavailable to receive the vehicle, it will be taken to the nearest terminal. If this happens, you will have to pick it up yourself or contact us to arrange delivery to your home.
Preparing Your Car
Your car should be able to run, roll, brake, and steer when it is picked up and while in our possession. If your vehicle is unable to do so, it will be considered as an inoperable vehicle, and you might have to pay additional fees. Inoperable vehicles usually require more physical labor and more time to load, which causes logistical delays. The best way to move inoperable vehicles is to arrange a specific car carrier with all the necessary equipment and labor needed to move the car. We advise you to repair your vehicle before shipping if you want to avoid any additional charges.
Transporting Your Car
We don’t offer drive-away services, but you need to know that your vehicle might be driven at both your old home and your new one in order to be loaded and unloaded from the car carrier. Sometimes, the driver might have to drive your car to a designated pick up or delivery point. That depends on the local restrictions or accessibility to the car carrier. The rest of the time, your car will be kept on our car carrier until it gets to your new home.
Preparing Your Car for the Move
If you are shipping your car to another state, here is a checklist of things you need to do first:
- Make sure that your vehicle is not leaking fluids.
- Check that the car battery is secure and not leaking. Check also that the battery’s fluid levels are low enough to allow expansion.
- Make sure that your car is clean, which can help with an accurate pickup inspection.
- Make sure that you leave only about a quarter of gas in the tank. Full tank of gasoline will add to the weight cost of the transport.
- Turn off or disconnect any anti-theft devices or alarms. There might be problems and unnecessary expenses if your alarm goes off during the shipping process.
- Remove all of your personal items except the standard vehicle items, like the jack and spare tire.
- Make sure that the radiator has enough fresh antifreeze.
- Repair any tears or open seams on your convertible top. If you have one, to prevent fast-moving air from damaging it further.
- Open a window slightly in order to relieve pressure caused by temperature and elevation changes. This allows the vehicle to breathe and lowers the risk of your windows blowing out from the temperature and pressure changes experienced during the move.
- Remove all items that did not come with the car such as any removable radios, toll passes, tags, garage openers, etc.
- Remove any loose parts like spoilers, bike racks, fog lights, grill covers, side mirrors, etc. If you can, you should lower or remove the antenna.
Our Car carriers
In most situations, your car will be shipped on one of our open car carriers that can fit eight to ten cars. These are the same type of trailers that are used to transport new cars to car dealers. The trucks are larger than our regular cargo moving trucks, with a weight limit of eighty thousand pounds. That includes the truck, trailer, and cargo, according to the Department Of Transportation regulations. With this limit, the weight of the carrier is almost always at capacity. Therefore you shouldn’t leave any personal possessions that add additional weight in the car.
Our enclosed car carriers are safe and diverse, which is why they are usually more expensive. An enclosed car carrier can only carry four to six cars, depending on their height or length. It has a hydraulic lift gate that allows easy loading and unloading. However, you need to remember that the height and their lack of maneuverability of these trucks prevent them from traveling in some rural streets or areas with low hanging streets or low clearance bridges.
Now that you have read our car shipping guide, we hope that it will help you prepare your car for the move. If you are looking for a reliable moving company that will help you with your relocation, then contact Long Distance Movers, and we will help you move to and from anywhere in the country. We are looking forward to your call!
