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Is There a Weight Limit for Shipping a Car?

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Is There a Weight Limit for Shipping a Car?

Before signing on the dotted line to have your car shipped across the country, it’s important to note a few special laws and regulations regarding auto shipment. If you are moving across the country, it might seem like the perfect plan to load up your vehicle with all of your belongings and stick it on an auto carrier. After all, you would save on renting a moving truck and you could kill two birds with one stone, right? Wrong! There are laws and regulations regarding the weight of your vehicle for shipment so don’t get caught paying hefty fines. Instead, familiarize yourself with the federal government’s weight limit for shipping a car. 

According to federal law, there are weight limits and regulations regarding commercial vehicles. If a commercial vehicle operator is in violation of these weight regulations they will be subject to a fine. This means that the fine will be passed on to you if your vehicle is not in line with the weight requirements. The total permissible weight of a cargo vehicle is dependent upon the number of axles on the transporting vessel. Drivers are required to weigh their trucks at certain weigh stations to ensure they are in compliance with the law. 

When your vehicle is being shipped, it is never actually weighed prior to loading it onto the vessel. The weight of your vehicle is determined by the make and model of the car and an extra 100 lbs is added to the estimated weight. This is why filling your car with all of your personal belongings is not a good idea. You don’t want to add any additional weight to your car that could cause the driver to exceed his weight limit. Not only is it illegal for the driver to exceed weight regulations, but it is dangerous to transport a load that is too heavy. The weight of your vehicle is definitely important so be mindful of weight restrictions when shipping your vehicle. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Your Car Moving Questions

The hardest thing for people researching car moving companies to understand is that the prices they are getting are not hard and fast gaurantees, but rather ESTIMATES of what one company thinks it will take to get a vehicle moved promptly versus another company's opinion of what it will take. Don't be fooled, there are not carriers committed to take your vehicle at these quoted prices, the company you choose will still have to get to work getting a carrier to commit to move it at the price they quote you.

Your total price breaks down into two parts, the broker's fee (or 'deposit' as everyone calls it) and the carriers fee (your COD amount) Make no mistake about this, EVERYONE YOU ARE GETTING SALES CALLS FROM IS GOING TO BROKER YOUR MOVE. In this industry, there are brokers who try to fool you into thinking that they are the actual carriers and there are an equal amount of carriers who sell themselves on the fact that they have a truck or two but are not being honest about the fact that they broker out 90% of the orders they book. Here is a quick easy way to tell, if a company takes an up front fee, whether they call it a deposit or any other name, they are a broker. Carriers do not take any payment until the vehicle is delivered.

In our opinion, you are crazy to do so. Have you ever been paid up front for the work that you perform for your employer? Why would you pay a fee up front when there are reliable and trustworthy companies like ours that won't ask for it until we provide you with your carriers details?

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will be between one and two weeks. 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.

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