Dodge Ram TRX & Ford F-150 Vehicle Transport | Our Top 9 Tips for a Succesful Vehicle Shipment

These are our TOP 9 Guidelines and Tips when shipping a Dodge Ram TRX or Ford F150 Raptor :

• 1.) A TRX Truck weighs quite a bit more then any standard 1500 Truck, coming in around 6400 lbs , so this obviously affects the transport cost. They are on average about 30% more to ship then a standard 1500 pickup. It also means a good deal of your larger semis that haul 7-10 cars are not often as interested in these loads, because they cause them to be overweight on one axle or another, when shipping with several other units. This is why many of these TRX's are often shipped by smaller 2-3 car style trucks, as they don't have the same weight issues as a larger semi would.


• 2.) No shipping company or trucking company you contact is going to put your RAM on their own trucks most likely. Even if you contacted a trucking company directly, more than likely it will have to be "brokered" out to another trucking company. This is because of the way freight moves. It makes no sense for a company that has a truck 6 states away, to go after one unit thousands of miles away. They have to stay on route, and pickup loads directly on their route to make money, so going way off route for one unit is never something trucking companies are very willing to do. It simply makes no financial or logical sense in most cases for them to go after those loads. They will also most likely end up brokering your load and dispatching it out to yet another trucking company ... we see it all the time, in fact sometimes a load will be double and triple brokered. Which is also what happens if you use a service like USHIP or SHIPLY which we do not recommend at all.
  
  THE #1 factor in this industry in ensuring you end up with a good experience is the REPUTATION of the transport provider. If they have no Google or Yelp or FB reviews, then why in the world will they care if something goes wrong in the course of your transport ?
  
  If for some reason you do want to search through trucking companies however, we do have the only publicly accessible trucking CO database, that tracks their DOT, MC, insurance, loads completed on airRyd , etc etc, here however : Trucking Company Search
  
  
• 3.) Average Coast to Coast cost to ship one of these as of today, (direct trucking rate) is running between $1900-2300 currently, (AUG 23) depending on the specific route. So any cost above that number is likely going to go to a broker to get the job done, or as a brokerage fee most likely.






Actual Shipment Delivery Condition Photos - 2023 Dodge Ram TRX shipped to Idaho, USA




• 4.) The particular route your trying to move the TRX on is always going to be the most important factor in determining the cost. For instance a route from Miami to Dallas, will be less expensive to ship ( in most cases ) , VS a shipment from Fargo, ND to Tuscaloosa, AL, even though the ND to AL route is not even half the distance as FL to CA. Why ? Because the availability of trucks / demand for loads from trucks on a route, is far more important then how far the shipment is going. You need large amounts of trucking companies wanting and competing for loads to bring the cost down. When there is no demand for loads on a given route, you can absolutely expect to pay a higher $$ per mile by a significant amount.


• 5.) The TRX is very wide, and very heavy, and therefore it is not advisable to try to ship enclosed, as most enclosed trailers have a maximum of 81 inches in clearance. Some lifgate Kentucky's have more, but the vast majority of enclosed trailers will not be able to load a TRX enclosed. Furthermore, if you do attempt it, you actually have even greater damage risk in our opinion, because now you are risking wheel rub on the interior fenders of the trailer, or a deck dropping onto the top of the TRX. (Enclosed haulers are far more limited on height VS open transport trailers, so they are known to drop decks very close to SUV's when shipping enclosed. ) So with the risks, the cost, and the reduced supply of trucks that can even load a TRX enclosed, we do not ever recommend shipping them enclosed.


• 6.) Every TRX has a GPS tracker. We often are hearing from clients about trucks whereabouts when a TRX is in transport. Let us make this very clear - these are truck driver's, not robots. They have to eat, sleep, take a piss, do their laundry, take breaks, the list goes on and on. They also are limited by the FMCSA on total hours they can legally drive per day. The current law allows 11 hours of driving MAX per day. So your TRX very well may be stopped for hours at various locations while it is in transport. This is 100% normal. Nothing at all to be alarmed over. Secondly, we would say that approximately 80% of all transporters driving trucks now in the car hauling industry are going to be Ukranian, Russian, or of eastern European descent. Many only speak minimal English, or have thick accents. This is not the 1970's. Very few red blooded Americans are getting into trucking anymore. It does not pay enough. It is a 10/10 tough job and transport rates to drivers have not increased nearly enough to account for the never ending inflation in this country. So, the only people really left willing to drive are first and second generation immigrants for the most part. Not trying to be political, but that is the reality. Go hang out at your local Love's truck stop and watch for car haulers if you don't believe me. The good news is they do a good job at what they do. What they do not do well is communicate. They often don't text and or call back clients as rapidly or quickly as they would like. This is also incredibly normal. All of these companies are DOT licensed and FMCSA regulated. They all must carry cargo insurance. So it's nothing to worry over when you don't get a text right back from a driver or dispatcher, that actually is the norm.


• 7.) Your dealer your buying the TRX or Raptor truck from does not have any special connection to getting your truck moved cheaper or faster. Many out their like to assume that when they buy a vehicle at a dealer, it might be wise to let that dealer also handle the shipping for them. Little do they know, the dealer typically has worse options then an established transport provider, and often will just "instant dispatch" a vehicle to any carrier that calls in on a load that they post on Central Dispatch. Furthermore, you can count on those dealers trying to make a large fee for doing so. We have seen dealers trying to make anywhere from $500-1000 brokering one single car. It is not uncommon at all. They also often do not understand the differences from one top quality carrier to the next not so great carrier, and will make bad mistakes that end up costing them and or their client thousands of dollars. We have seen dealers hand off the wrong vehicle to transporters and not realize it until its thousands of miles away. Dealers rarely perform checks on carriers or their equipment, as far as their concerned, as long as your a member of Central Dispatch, then they are totally fine sending any load to that carrier. We have seen some very serious consequences of dealers handling transports that do not take it seriously. And keep in mind, once a carrier picks up a load, and the dealer signs off on the transport bill of lading, that dealer no longer has any liability or responsibility at that point. And since they are not freight brokers authorized by the FMCSA, there is virtually zero recourse if anything goes wrong in the course of the transport. You are wrong if you assume the dealer will just "take care of it" - they might, but they have no obligation or responsibility to do so.


• 8.) When it comes to scheduling and dates - the word FLEXIBLE must be present if you also are wanting a better company to haul the truck for you. No one can guarantee or promise exact days / times etc. It does not exist in this industry. And by trying to impose your will on a company, by making them give you a "yes" to your requests, your only harming your own pocket book and your own sanity.
  
  There are NOT options just sitting out there in the ether for us to pickup. Some people think we can just schedule a load for this day or that day. That would be totally incorrect. The way the process works is that we have to put the load out onto the networks and load boards, and trucking companies will start inquiring on that load. They will text into us with offers, like "hey we can grab your TRX in Dallas between 9/3-4, and deliver within 5-7 days to Seattle, WA. " And with any particular load, we might locate 1-3 offers at most to move it, and in many cases, none of these options will land on the exact date that a client wants. This is precisely why you have to be flexible when shipping a car, so that when a good option presents itself, (keyword being "good" ) you have the flexibility to make it work, rather then trying to demand a date that no one can promise you on the front end of a transport. Furthermore, when you demand a particular date, you drastically reduce the potential option pool that may exist to move a vehicle, and thus by doing so you also increase your chances of damages, or mishaps, because now we have to send the load to whatever company can get it done on the dates your requesting, REGARDLESS AS TO THE QUALITY OF THAT PARTICULAR TRANSPORT COMPANY. And the only option that might exist, may not be a great option ! But we have no choice because of the stringent date requirements. So, again try TO BE FLEXIBLE, don't be one of those types.




• 9.) RELAX - at the end of the day, you have to find some peace and be able to relax when shipping any vehicle. So if the idea of the truck on a trailer going 2-3000 miles is to much for you to stomach, then you may want to consider just flying out and driving the truck back. Being stressed out every minute it's on the road isn't good for your health, and it's not any fun for the driver, the dispatcher or for us. So consider your options carefully. If you choose to ship it, then buy some gummies and relax. Lol.

Anyway, with that also, we recommend you check out our YT channel for even more information if needed at : Auto Transport For Dummies To get a quote from us, please go to airRyd.com

For even more information on the world of auto transport, be sure to check out our growing YouTube Channel at Auto Transport For Dummies

Happy Hauling out there folks !!

Written By: Wes Hopkins / Founder of airRyd.com & Auto Transport For Dummies

Wes has extensive experience in the auto transport industry, having been a professional car hauler himself for over 5 years before launching the YT Channel, "Auto Transport For Dummies" as well as airRyd.com - which is now a leading provider of auto transport services. He also has appeared on sites such as "Shoutout Arizona" for his outstanding achievements in the industry.

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