Is Flatbed Auto Shipping a Viable Alternative to Open Carriers?
When you ship a vehicle, one of the first things you’re going to have to figure out is how you want it shipped. Most customers just go with the standard: open auto transportation. Open transport services are cost-effective, fairly quick in terms of pickup dates and transit times, and are usually a lot easier to find.
Open transport is cost-effective because carriers can easily load multiple vehicles onto their truck, lowering the cost for each customer, and are considered the standard method of shipping a vehicle for this reason. Because they’re standard, they’re also the most prevalent on the road, which means faster dispatch times, shorter pickup windows and often faster transport times.
Flatbed auto shipping offers none of these things, and really it’s not a good alternative to an open carrier unless you absolutely need a flatbed transport truck. Flatbed transporters ship specialized freight, usually the kind that can’t be shipped by a standard transport truck.
Flatbed shipping is most often used for large vehicles, particularly things like construction equipment or modified vehicles that are taller or heavier than their stock counterparts. Things like limousines and oversize pickup trucks, especially monster trucks or trucks built for offroad adventures, are shipped via flatbed trucks.
Flatbed haulers are a lot harder to find because they are few and far between. As a niche part of a niche industry, flatbed auto shipping companies don’t haul just any vehicle – they will, if you really, really want them to, but it’s going to cost a lot more than a standard truck would and it’s going to take a lot longer to find a carrier willing to ship it.
Flatbeds usually ship only one vehicle at a time – maybe two, if they have the space, but usually they don’t because they only ship larger vehicles. They also take longer to find because they just aren’t as prevalent on the road, so at the end of the day flatbed auto shipping will never be a viable alternative to an open carrier for a standard-sized vehicle.
If you are interested in shipping a vehicle and need some help getting started, take a minute to fill out our free online auto transport quote request form. It takes only a minute and will get you a free quote to ship any vehicle right away. We work with only top-rated carriers and can assist in shipping any vehicle on any kind of truck. You can also contact us any time at 800-930-7417 to speak to an agent. They can give you a quote, answer questions, and help you place a reservation any time.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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