Auto Transportation - Open Carrier

By Tom Kearns

It often happens that a customer avails himself of a service without realizing they had any choice about it. There may be so many issues to consider, the most vital of which is the estimated price and reliability, that you might never think of the existence of multiple carrier types. The trucks offered by any sensibly sized company are not merely great big trucks or trailers hauling a bunch of cars. The owner who would rather not drive endless miles by himself and who will have his car shipped safely had better have some notion of the technical differences between the various methods offered by standard companies.

There is air and water shipping which are a separate special subject. Within a country, cars are most commonly shipped over land, either in open carriers or in closed carriers. Open carriers are the more common, quickly operated, and cheaper type, though often through oversight than necessity. They accommodate about a dozen vehicles and are reliable enough to be used by anybody, as long as the precise purposes and circumstances of the transport are estimated. Long-distance transportation had perhaps better be done by closed carriers, since cars in open carriers are open to road debris, dirt, inclement weather, and plain vandalism or theft. In fact, even short distances are sometimes better traveled when sleet, sun, sand, or hail threaten to turn your car from that beautiful cherry red to patchy brown. Even if you have made sure any such damage is covered by insurance (preferably, the company's), the resulting fuss in most cases is not worth the trouble.

Owners of expensive or rare vehicles prefer closed transportation, but the method is likewise popular among people who can afford to protect their ordinary Mazdas and Pajeros, even at the cost of higher prices. The price is made steeper by the closed carrier's capacity to transport only 2 or 4 units.

Essentially, then, the advantage of open auto transport is its relatively economic cost. Even driving a car by your own means to a remote destination is likely to cost more, because of the gas prices, especially if your car has poor gas mileage. Driving your own car even across a single state may incur expenses and involve unforeseen damages which are otherwise easily avoided when shipping the car with a company.

An open auto transport truck is hardly an uncommon sight which is testimony not only to its popularity but its reliability. Such trucks are around 80 feet long by 14 feet high and are restricted to only those roads capable of handling them, those without low bridges, sharp turns, or overhanging tree branches. Factories trust these vehicles routinely to transport their finished products to show rooms and lots.

Open transport is likely to be more flexible in its options, offer convenient time-frames and perks. Open-carrier customers have the option of shipping their car on the top rack (further away from thieves and vandals) or even in tow behind the truck (perhaps further away from hostile natural elements). - 30331

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