Can I Get A Specific Spot on the Car Carrier?

It’s pretty common for customers to ask “Is it possible to guarantee that my car is loaded in a specific spot on the car carrier?”

In fact, some customers even offer to pay more to ensure that their car is loaded on the transporter in a specific location.

In most cases, it is not possible to guarantee that your car is loaded on the transporter in a specific location. If you have a specific spot on the car carrier that you would really like, we can request that your vehicle is loaded there and if it is possible the driver will oblige. It is just not possible to guarantee that location on the car carrier.

Why We Can’t Guarantee Location On Car Carrier

Loading a car carrier is a very complicated task, especially a 10-car open transport. Not every spot on a car carrier accommodates vehicles of the same size, shape or even weight. Certain vehicles fit better in specific locations on the car carrier. To ensure that the carrier is able to get fully loaded, the driver has to load cars onto the carrier in the spots where they fit. The U.S. DOT has weight restrictions, not only for the total weight of the car carrier but also how much weight is distributed to each axle. That means that a vehicle’s weight must also be taken into consideration when loading the car carrier. If a vehicle is loaded in the incorrect position, the driver may be fined for being over-weight on an axle.

The dimensions of your car are not the only criteria the driver has to think about when loading a car carrier. In most cases, it is not possible to load or unload around a vehicle that is already on the car carrier. So the order that the vehicles are picked up and delivered are significant. Driver’s do their best to avoid moving a vehicle that has already been loaded on the carrier in order to load or unload a different car. If a driver is hauling privately owned vehicles, the load is likely to have 9 or 10 separate loading and unloading locations. When this is the case, geography may dictate where a vehicle is loaded onto the car carrier.