Concerns regarding safety will always arise when shipping a car. These are true concerns because your car is your priced possession and you don't just want to ship it without making sure that it will arrive safely at your destination.
Having these concerns in mind, some car owners think that as long as their car is in the hands of the vehicle shippers, their job is over and they can just wait on their laurels for their car to land. But that is obviously not the case, car safety is the concern of both the auto shipper and the car owner. In this article let me present to you some principles that you can follow in order that you can help the auto shipper ensure the safety of the vehicle shipping process.
What can you do on your part?
1. Maintain an open communication
Keep the communications line open between you and the vehicle shipping company. Shipping a car is a two-way process and as such, you have to cooperate with the vehicle shipper. Now this can be a bit difficult because you will be moving as well therefore you really have to make an effort for this.
2. Be open about vehicle specification
There are certain car dimensions that are beyond the capacity of the truck to ship and if the auto shipper will insist on shipping it, it will be too risky. It is therefore necessary to inform the vehicle shipper of your car's specifications so that if they are not capable of shipping it, you can look for a company who can.
3. Inquire about ground clearance
Ground clearance is the distance between any flat surface (usually the ground) and the part of your car not designed to touch the ground. It is usually measured reckoned as the distance between the ground and the gearbox. Since your car will be driven up and down the cargo truck, it just right to know your ground clearance to avoid bumping parts of your car against hard surfaces.
4. Is your car running?
You need to inform the vehicle shipping company if your car is running or not in order to avoid unnecessary delays. If the company is duly informed, they can prepare the necessary equipments to winch your car up and down the truck and delays can be avoided. If your car is in good running condition, then there should be no problems.
5. Have a spare key
It is very important to have a spare key before you hand your car over to the driver because in the rare case that it will be lost, you still have your own. This might sound obvious but it is most often ignored by most car owners.
6. Inform the vehicle shipper of your cars features
If your car has some modifications, accessories and extensions, you need to inform the vehicle shipping company in order to avoid unpleasant surprises and unnecessary delays.
7. Prepare your car for shipping
After you have done all of the above, prepare your car for vehicle shipping. The company's website will have information on how to prepare your car for it so try to read it as well. The most basic of this would be to reduce the content of your tank to about a quarter and to remove all personal stuffs.
These are the things that you can do on your part to ensure that your car will be safe while in transport.