Cross Country Shipping

Looking for suggestions for cross country shippers. I plan to use an enclosed transport and have quotes from a couple places, but would like some feedback from folks who have actually done this and we’re happy with the results.

This will be the most expensive vehicle purchase I’ve ever made and don’t want to deal with a shit show on transport. The cost of open transport would basically be a wash against the cost of flying out and driving home, but I’m going to just pay the penalty of enclosed shipment.

Fly/drive is not an option for me at the moment as I’m fresh out of knee surgery , any way.

Thanks for any info/input

Erik

 

Between what cities are you transporting?

 

PA to CA

 

@TucsonTundra1794
Who did you use?

 

Most of the car manufacturers use this company for the auto shows.

https://www.reliablecarriers.com/

What are you buying?

 

2021 TRD Pro. Last new vehicle I bought was a new Tacoma in 2006 for 27K, so this is a big dollar purchase for me.

Thanks for the lead

 

Wow, $4600. More than double what other carriers have quoted for enclosed shipping.

 

That is crazy.

 

I used Sherpa to ship my '21 Pro from Iowa to OR. I did that in Dec of '21 @ about $1,900.

This was NOT enclosed, and I was nervous about it. However, I made contact w/the contracted carrier (smaller company that picked up the contract) in advance. We talked a bit on the phone, and he advised that if I could wait an extra week or two... he'd pick my truck up first, so it would end up on top and at the front of the carrier (protected behind the cab). Truck arrived in showroom condition minus the rain and snow on the road, but overall I was happy.

I'd imagine going through a broker like that won't always yield the same result, but overall their customer service (sherpa's) was good; they remained in contact and kept me updated w/progress along the way.

I did search for enclosed transport, and at the time I was seeing quotes in the high $2k to low $3k range; most of which advised against using enclosed because of the Tundra's width . They were saying that it's hard to open and close driver's door in most containers.

But, gas has since gone up; and I'm sure if you're finding an enclosed shipper that is comfortable doing a full size truck, you'll be paying a bit extra.

So, point being if you're getting enclosed quotes at $2,500 or less... that doesn't seem too bad to me.

Congrats on the new rig, and hopefully the transport works out well for you

 

Yeah, I just got a quote for $2149 for enclosed and insured transport so I think I'll probably jump on that as they seem to be a reputable company...

 

Shiply.com

They came in lower then who the dealer recommended. You'll get a few quotes and I chose one that would get the truck here in 2 weeks. I spent 1,780 to get it from MN to AZ.

 

I realized I never came back and finalized on this...

I booked my enclosed transport through Roadrunner (they are just a broker) and they said all the right things to entice me to book with them. I gave a credit card deposit and almost immediately after got a bad feeling about booking through them, but can't explain why. They guaranteed a delivery by certain date and then I didn't hear from them for a few days. They basically will not pick up the phone or return a call once they've received your deposit, which I'm convinced is probably their fee because the remaining balance was due COD. Eventually I got a call and they said they had assigned a carrier who would contact me and should be picking up my truck in a couple days.

Then it all started to fall apart. The transport company was dropping off a car in a nearby city and were stuck because the person who was receiving was not there to pay the balance and were not responsive. It was the weekend and I was told to sit tight. I got a call or two from the actual transporter and I could not understand them at all, barely spoke English and struggled to explain what was going on. Meanwhile, Roadrunner was still not answering or returning my calls. By the way, during my initial period of inquiring about a booking, they were picking up the phone immediately but after getting my deposit, they went silent.

So after a few days of this bullshit, I called Roadrunner and left a message that I would be disputing the charge on my card and no longer wanted to continue with my booking. After I left this message, they called me back in 30 minutes to say they had abandoned the original transporter and had a contract with a new company who would be contacting me shortly. I demanded that Roadrunner give me the name of the shipper and and contact details. The new shipper was LAP Auto Transport. I googled them and it looked like they were a legit business that specialized in enclosed only transport. I was able to call them and speak with someone who confirmed the contract with Road Runner, so I immediately felt better about the whole deal.

From then on, the whole thing went as planned. They (LAP) picked up the truck with no drama and delivered in a timely manner. They always returned my calls and gave me cell number of the driver who gave me regular updates through text message during his journey across the country.

In the end, it was a positive experience, but I would never deal with Road Runner or another broker, ever again. You just have no control of who they book and even though they claim to only work with established transporters, the 1st people they chose were not dependable and in the end, I'm glad they did make the commitment. If I ever needed enclosed transport again, I would just call and book with LAP Auto Transport. They were awesome to work with. I would pay their quote and be happy to wait for them to have a transport solution for me.

I will concede that Road Runner did end up using a reputable carrier, but they did not make the promise by date because of all the issues with the original transporter and to be honest, I would rather just book with the people who will be handling my contract. It also worked out for me financially because I only paid the deposit. When the transporter showed up with my truck, I tried to give him the cash balance, but he insisted that his contract was not COD. He even called his manager to confirm and they would not take payment. I assumed that Road Runner or LAP would end up getting back to me about the balance but it has been almost 6 months now and I still have not been billed for the balance. I only paid my $500 deposit...