Difference Between Open and Enclosed Vehicle Transport

Moving from state to state or across the country, your best option would be to ship your vehicle because not everyone can drive for countless hours risking the health of their car in queer terrain. Shipping companies now make it easier for you to ship your vehicle practically anywhere in the US. At present, there are two vehicle shipping options available, open and enclosed vehicle transport, these two services differ in prices and condition. In this guide, we will provide you with the information that will help you choose the best vehicle shipping method.

Open Vehicle Shipping

Open carriers are the trailers you see when taking new cars to the dealerships and used widely for the state to state vehicle shipping. Under open vehicle shipping, vehicles are shipped in the open exposed to the atmosphere. They are the most popular mode of transportation mostly since the car is shipped in a long two-level trailer with 7 to 10 vehicles shipped at one time. This makes them cheaper and provides faster service due to their efficiency.

Enclosed Vehicle Shipping

Enclosed carriers trailers are covered to protect the vehicle from the dust, road debris, rain, and snow and are mostly opted for exotic cars, which need special care and experienced crew. It is a luxury service with an aim to provide added security and protection for your vehicle. Enclosed transport is an exemplary shipping method for owners who want to ship new cars, antique cars, and exorbitant vehicles.

What is the Difference Between Open and Enclosed Transport?

Before answering this question, there are many questions that you need to answer like, what type of car you have, what is your budget and then how soon do you need your vehicle.

Type of Car You are Transporting

The choice for choosing the best services for your vehicle is only two Open or Enclosed. If you are transporting an Exotic and antique car for an exhibition or a race track, naturally your best option would be to opt for Enclosed Transport protecting your car from road debris, sand, and bad weather. Enclosed transport service would provide you with an experienced crew who knows how to care for your exquisite vehicle with responsibility. Providing extra features like constant communication and updates, more excellent insurance protection, and a single-car trailer.

On the other hand, if your car is used or new, your best option is to opt for Open Transport. Open transport may have many disadvantages over enclosed transport, But in many ways, open transport is better, cheaper and provide faster services. Many new cars from the factories are shipped on open carriers, due to the efficiency, fast service, and availability. About 90 percent of the automobile carriers in the US are open transport. Open transport trucks are lighter and consume less fuel, which makes them an affordable mean of transport.

The problem that comes with Open Transport is inessential in nature like dents, scratches from spending ten to fifteen days on the road. Moreover, these problems can be avoided if you follow this little tip. When ordering request a 'Top Load' for Open trailers, the company would load your car on the upper deck of a two-tier carrier. This would protect your car from road debris, flying objects, and tree branches.

What is your Budget

Every choice comes down to, is it economical?

Open transport loads more vehicles than enclosed transport. For example, an open carrier can ship ten vehicles at one time while an enclosed carrier can ship up to seven at one time. This insinuates that the shipper can extend it's transportation costs covering more customers for open transport, hence making open carriers more standard and available.

An enclosed trailer is more expensive than an open trailer, due to containing additional hydraulics to help low-ground clearance vehicles. On the other hand, we have an open container which is less expensive. Hence, making it widely available.

Enclosed trailer due to their additional hydraulics and enclosed carrier makes them heavier, furthermore making them less fuel-efficient, which leads to increased fuel prices.

The nature of the vehicles shipped through the enclosed system requires an experienced crew.  Consequently, the transporter adds extra cost for labor. Hence, the price is passed on to the consumer.

The fact that an enclosed trailer is expensive as compare to open containers makes them scarce in the market with only 10 percent of trailers are enclosed. Hence making them expensive and not commonly available as open trailers.

How Urgent You Need Your Vehicle

Enclosed is a premium service and not commonly available as open transport, and the majority of people prefer using open transport. This means that shipping companies have more open trailers, making open transportation more affordable and cheap. Hence, your car will be shipped faster due to more demand and availability of service.

In the end, it depends on the customer to choose which service to select. We at ship A1 provide quality service and free Quotes. We are here to answer any queries you have and feel free to contact us.