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Open Carrier Auto Transport
What is auto carrier transport? This is the first question one
may ask when confronted with the above stated term. Most
probably, all of us who live in big cities, major transit towns,
towns/cities along a major highway and most certainly those who
live in a port city have seen
auto carriers
even if they did not know they are the ones. These are the long
trailers you often see carrying several vehicles being
transported from one place to another. Because of various laws
in place, vehicles on transit cannot be driven and has to be
transported one way or another to its final destination. For
example if a car is destined to a landlocked country, it cannot
be driven through the countries it has to transit through thus
this form of transportation.
So what is open carrier transportation? This is where the
carrier is OPEN so one can see the cars and indeed it is open to
many other things like the elements of nature and poor road
conditions as exists in many African countries especially.
However even with good roads , weather (bad) , dust ,rain and
other unforeseen events like flying stones thrown by other cars
can damage the cars significantly especially the ones on the
lower deck as these transporters always have two decks. This
form of vehicle transport is actually the standard way in most
countries; over 90% of cars are transported this way as opposed
to closed carrier transport, which is also used in a few cases. |
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Why do so many go for open carriers? First because it's the
standard way of doing it and more importantly it is CHEAPER. It
is much cheaper compared to the
enclosed carriers that it makes more economic sense. In many
instances, vehicles get to their destinations with minimal
damage or none at all despite the obvious disadvantage of being
open to the elements.
So how does this method compare to a closed carrier transport?
there are many differences to each, and it's important to know
what€™s what so you€™re not paying too much for something you
don€™t need or regretting not getting it when you do need it.
Open carriers are just that: they are open to the elements.
However, open transport is the industry standard and 90% of all
trucks out there transporting vehicles are open trucks. Open
trucks are just like the trucks you see carrying new cars to be
sold or to foreign destinations. They typically have a capacity
of ten standard-sized cars. Unless you request otherwise, this
is what your vehicle will be shipped. |
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Open carriers are cheaper than their enclosed counterparts are
because there are so many more of them. It is ten times easier
to find an open carrier than an enclosed carrier, because
enclosed carriers do not have many cars to haul. An enclosed
carrier can carry only two vehicles at a time, and because their
services offer more protection, it comes at a much higher price
(typically 75-100% more than an open transporter). However, if
you are shipping a classic car or a high-end luxury vehicle, it
is a better bet to ask for enclosed shipping€”if your vehicle is
just a regular sedan, it€™s much cheaper to go with an open
transport.
One of the many misconceptions about open transportation is the
fact that your vehicle is not as safe as it would be in an
enclosed container. While this is technically true, (your
vehicle is not exposed to the elements and road hazards), it is
much more cost-effective to ship on an open carrier and damage
to
transport vehicles on an open carrier is rare. You may hear
horror stories about rocks and ice damage to vehicles being
shipped in the open, but more often than not they€™re isolated
incidents, and the vast majority of vehicles are transported to
their destination without a scratch on them. Although most
vehicles transported in an open carrier do arrive well, owners
are often horrified at the site of their new cars with all the
dust and the rare dent here and there but for now it seems to be
the way to go unless the car being transported is so precious
thus not worth risking in the open. |
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