What Types of Vehicles Can be Transported Over the Highway?

There are very few vehicles that cannot be shipped over the highway through a car transport company. A professional transporter equipped to move motorized vehicles will have all of the proper equipment needed to move a wide variety of vehicles from one destination to another. This includes owning enclosed and open trailers, as well as a wide variety of straps, screws, and other tools needed to secure these valuable loads. Following are some of the most commonly shipped types of vehicles.

Standard Cars

You can ship the car that you drive to work every day, or you can ship the priceless classic car that has been sitting in the barn for forty years. You can ship your collector cars, your race cars, and your pick-up trucks. If it can hold together well enough to be loaded onto a trailer and secured in place for a ride, then it can be moved to a new destination by an experienced car carrier.

You have to consider the value and condition of your car when selecting between the open and enclosed trailer. If you do not want your car exposed to dirt, flying rocks, wind, rain, and other elements of the highway, then you should go with an enclosed trailer.

Motorcycles

Motorcycles are more compact than cars, so they are much easier to transport for the most part. They fit easily into an enclosed trailer, and can sit on an open trailer if necessary. They are also easier to cover with tarps if you do choose to ship on an open trailer.

Off Road Vehicles

You can ship your four-wheelers, buggies, and other off road vehicles just as easily as you can ship a standard vehicle deigned to run down the highway. In many cases, these smaller sized vehicles are easier to fit onto a trailer, strap down, and transport safely.

Water Vehicles

It is also possible to ship boats and other motorized equipment that runs on the water. This type of load may need to go on a different type of trailer than the standard car, truck, or SUV, but an experienced car transporter will know exactly how to get it loaded and secured so it arrives at its destination ready to splash into the water.

Heavy Machinery and Oversized Items

If you have a piece of heavy machinery that needs to be moved, or perhaps something that is oddly shaped, you need to ask for a quote from a professional transport company. Make sure to inquire as to their experience moving such items, and make sure their trailers are safe for the weight of your items. There are professional transporters with considerable amounts of experience moving the most awkward, oversized loads. This is the type of carrier you want on your side.

For the most part, if an item can hold together long enough to be loaded, secured, transported, and unloaded, you should be able to have it shipped over the highway by a professional car carrier. Extremely heavy items just may take more work to find someone able to carry the weight safely and legally.

How are Car Carrier Drivers Trained?

Imagine you are about to place your vehicle in the hands of a car carrier for transport to a new destination. Say you just got a new job and are relocating across the country. You shake the hand of the driver and watch with an unsettled stomach as they load your vehicle for transport. You feel confident that the car carrier company you hired has trained this driver to move vehicles in this manner, but you still feel uneasy about the situation. Just who is this driver? How much experience does he have? Is he safe behind the wheel?

It is normal to feel this type of uncertainty when you are placing something as valuable as a vehicle in the hands of a complete stranger. Rather than worry about the safety, experience and training of this unknown driver, it is best to ask some questions of the transport company to see how they train their drivers. Ideally, you will ask about this prior to deciding which company you want to hire. Companies that hire experienced or educated drivers and then add on more training are more likely to get your vehicle to its destination safely.

To get your research started, consider this breakdown of the training most legitimate car carrier drivers receive before they start working on their own, and throughout their driving career:

1. Truck Driving School: many car carrier drivers start out going to a school that trains truck drivers to safely operate a semi truck. They receive training with all types of trailers, including commercial vans and flatbeds. Some schools will offer instruction on car carrier trailers as well, or that may be at the discretion of the student.

2. Over the Road Experience: many car transport companies require new drivers to have some over the road experience before being employed. This may not mean they have experience transporting cars. It just means they know how to safely operate a commercial truck of this caliber and have a safe driving history.

3. On the Job Training: new drivers should go through rigorous training and testing before they are put on the road by themselves. This often includes some time shadowing other drivers who have more experience. They learn the specific knowledge needed to load, unload, and properly secure vehicles for transport.

4. More Road Experience: even the most highly trained drivers need some initial experience out on the road before they can be considered among the best out there. It is through experience that they learn how to take excellent care of your vehicle.

5. Loading/Unloading/Securing: all carriers need to be trained on the best and safest ways to load, secure, and unload cars and other items. There are a variety of tools that are used for different types of loads, and there are many strategies that come into play. They need to know how to choose the best method for all three of these jobs for every single load.

When asking a company about the experience of their drivers, ask about all of the following:

• The amount of experience or education required for new hires to the company.
• The amount of on the job training provided.
• Company policies dictating behavior on the road.
• The amount of experience the specific driver taking your vehicle has on the road.

Notice these questions regard the policy of the company and the training level of the individual driver. It is important to cover all bases, since a statement such as “most of our drivers have ten years of experience” does not mean the exact driver you hire has that level of experience.


The Importance of Forklift Training

Most businesses need at least a few employees able to safely and efficiently operate a forklift. This is a piece of equipment used to lift heavy items into place, or to lift items up higher than a human can comfortably reach. Most warehouses operate forklifts to maintain inventory and move things around as needed, but there are other businesses that need to employee efficient forklift drivers as well.

For instance, any company in the logistics business will need to forklift train all of their drivers. Someone out on the road picking up items and transporting them to new destinations will come in contact with the forklift on a routine basis. They will need to use this piece of equipment to load heavy items onto flatbed trailers, or to move items into enclosed trailers. Once they reach their destination, these items will have to be lifted back off the trailer using another forklift.

There are a number of reasons a company may use a forklift rather than requiring employees to use their own strength to lift items:

1. There is greater risk of employee injury when they are required to lift heavy items or stack items up high. This means the company is at greater risk of paying out when these employees suffer injuries. This is far more expensive than just paying to certify employees in forklift driving.

2. It is inevitable that goods will be damaged when employees are required to lift heavy items every day they come to work. Even the strongest and most physically fit employees will have bad days, and their bodies may just give out at times. It is always safe and far less expensive to just certify employees to use forklifts, so the machinery lifts the weight instead.

3. Forklifts can do most jobs much faster than a human. Imagine the time it would take humans to climb up a tall ladder and secure boxes in high storage areas. You can use a forklift to put items in those high places in much less time. More work gets done every hour employees are on the clock. This makes for a more efficient workplace and a more profitable business.

4. When items are being moved for customers, a forklift gives greater peace of mind that mistakes are not going to be made. This relates very well to the transportation industry. When you are loading valuables that belong to someone else onto a trailer, they will always feel better when they see the forklift come out of hiding. There is a lot of anxiety over items being damaged or ruined, and most people trust a forklift much more than they trust a human who can make more mistakes or drop things.

It all comes down to making the customer happy and ensure a safe, productive work environment. Most industries have jobs where forklift training is essential for all employees. This is a critical piece of training that can actually help some people land jobs. If a company doesn’t have to waste time training a new employee on this important piece of equipment that is motivation to hire a particular job candidate.

Forklift training benefits the company, the employee, and the customer. It is a win-win situation any way you look at it, and that is why so many companies are heavily invested in offering this training to all employees today.


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