shipping my truck - any advice?

[npauli]

After months of searching with very picky criteria (see sig), I finally found the exact truck I've been looking for - only it's 1600 miles away. I bought it, but just need to get it home. Any advice on shipping a truck cross-country?

1) What companies have you had good (or bad) luck with?
2) Anything in particular I need to pay attention to? All I know is to check companies on bbb.org.

Any pearls of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Mark Rinker]

List it on www.UShip.com (http://www.UShip.com).

Make sure the hauler that you select can provide proof of cargo insurance, a valid DOT# and MC#.

The low bid is often not the best bid.

[trbankii]

Flying out and driving it back isn't an option?

I'd agree fully with Mark. The "cheapest" option likely will not be cheapest in the long run.

[npauli]

I considered the fly & drive option, but it wouldn't save enough money or time to make it worth losing 2 days of my life, putting an extra 1600 mi on the clock, and risking a breakdown on the way.

[Big Green]

I'm suprised you had to go that far to find what you are looking for. Granted the 45k and the m/t might be a hard combo to find but there is one listed simular your dream truck on the St. Louis craigslist.

search for 2500hd and you'll find it listed on July 6th. It's got a few more miles (107k) but the price is decent.

Good Luck,
Big Green

[Mark Rinker]

Where is the truck located?

[npauli]

The truck is south of Tuscon, AZ. Going to Peoria IL.

[SoTxPollock]

One of the biggest Classic Car Auto Auctions is in Arizona and there are several Carriers that ship those very, very expensive cars and trucks to their buyers. If you can afford one of them I'm quite sure you would be happy with the results. Look up Craig Jackson Auto Auctions in Arizona they'l help you out.

[Mark Rinker]

http://www.uship.com/shipment/2002-Chevrolet-Silverado-25.../505909961/?i=1&p=50&s=134

Is this your listing? Nice looking truck - congrats!!!

[npauli]

That's the one. Thanks!

[AKMark]

I've made that exact drive with an old Grand Cherokee pulling a trailer. Not too bad and even lugging and with a few issues we made it in under two full days. You can knock that out on a weekend. Get a Southwest cheapo flight and make it work.

I'll try to drive whenever possible and here's why. Last vehicle I shipped got scratched up and the shipper tried to say it was listed on the damage sheet. My damage declaration sheet with his signature was blank in the damage block and he tried to accuse me of fraud. Took almost six months before our case was brought before the judge. Judge finally awarded me the suit when two other vehicles that had been hauled at the same time came forward and complained he had tried to do the same thing to them. The only reason we found the other guys, the first one who had been taken off the trailer wrote the plate numbers down to the other two vehicles since he was ticked about the condition of his vehicle. He found us, if he had not, it was at a standstill. The guy had done a really good job with the forging and it and had the judge convinced I was the one lying. Even with good pictures from before the vehicle was loaded, and what it looked like afterward. If you use a shipper, have the seller take pictures of it after it's loaded and tied down on the transport. Would've saved me a lot of headaches. I just felt bad because the guy who had bought my car from Ebay thought I was trying to scam him.

Just get it yourself, if you can. That way you only have one person to blame.

[tufcj]

Do some research here:

http://www.transportreviews.com/

Bob
tufcj