What you REALLY need to know.
When shipping a car, M&M VEHICLE TRANSPORT offers two options, Open or Enclosed, depending on your needs; Open, which is the most common, economic and effective way to ship a car, and Enclosed, for extra protection or vehicles with special requirements; however, you may want to know how our trailers really work and how your valued car is going to be handled and treated during the delicate process of relocation.
OPEN AUTO TRANSPORT: The most common is a two-level multi-car carrier with room for up to 7- 9 vehicles. These trailers have a skeletal tube steel design, constructed using metal beams and bars that surround the transported vehicles. The double-decker design is subdivided into a number of loading and storage ramps that can be lifted and tilted independently of one another with a hydraulic mechanism, a control box mounted on the trailer itself, that allows the ramps to be aligned on a slope. The loading is made by the ramps and cars are secured with chains, tie-down ratchets or wheel straps, following the industry safety standards, after which the ramps can be tilted in any direction to optimize stacking. To load vehicles on the top deck of a double-decker trailer, the rear half of the deck can tilt and be lowered hydraulically, forming a drive-up ramp to the upper deck. The top deck is usually loaded first and off-loaded last, since the presence of cars on the lower deck can make it impossible to lower the top deck ramp. Some trucks are equipped with an “overhead”, an extra storage space mounted above the truck cabin, accessible via the top ramp. The size of the transported vehicle, order of pick-up and order of delivery must be strictly taken into account when loading, for the first car on should not be the first car delivered or else the entire trailer has to be unloaded and reloaded. To make everything fit, some cars are backed on to the trailer or driven on nose first to maximize space or meet height or overhang restrictions. Longer vehicles go on the top level, smaller on the bottom.
ENCLOSED AUTO TRANSPORT: These trailers are custom made with hard-sided or soft-sided walls and side paddles as well. They can only carry a few vehicles at the same time (up to 7). They operate with hydraulic lift gated, a system only available with enclosed auto transport and necessary when loading low ground clearance cars. These hydraulic power units operate lifts (elevators) that lower completely to the ground. Some of these trucks are climate controlled to prevent weather damage, cold or heat. Vehicles are secured with nylon wheel tie downs or chains. Straps go over the tire (not the frame or chassis to prevent scraping the undercarriage). Chains are attached to holes underneath the vehicle on the frame and then onto the trailer.
OUR DRIVERS: They are professionals in every sense of the word; driving school licensed and with a CDL (Commercial Driver`s License) Class A, with wide experience in handling and transporting vehicles; Individuals with specific skills and experience required for this kind of delicate job. It takes enormous ability (like theirs) to study and locate what car goes on what deck, considering the size (load can`t be over-length or too high), making the vehicles fit together perfectly, not to mention their great expertise to maneuver a trailer of such dimensions. It is their job to make sure the load is DOT legal, according to height, weight and length. Our drivers are familiar with low bridges, wires, gravel, low-hanging trees, all which can damage the vehicles. They are also experts in dealing with bad weather, freezing cold conditions, frozen decks covered in ice or windy weather. A truck driver is considered number 2 in the top list of most skilled conductors, right behind the F1-pilots. As you can deduct from the above, we have it all covered at M&M AUTO TRANSPORT; we have the resources, the knowledge, the expertise and the staff you need to have your vehicle shipped in the best, more economic and safest way.
Call us now 877-957-4878
