Unless you are in the industry, or you have experience shipping cars, you may think shipping "enclosed" is no different than asking for blue instead of red, or asking for a 2 day shipping speed instead of a 5 day. The "how" is often overlooked when it comes to transports, and when your shipping a small Amazon package, that makes a lot of sense. However when your shipping an exotic or high value car, its important to understand the differences in equipment in the auto shipping world, as they are certainly not created equal. Furthermore, top quality equipment is often a tell tell sign that a carrier is highly invested in their job and takes it seriously. You have mega six and seven car enclosed stacker trailers, often with lift gates. These are usually at the very top in terms of cost and quality vs other enclosed units. Some notable manufactures are Featherlite, Kentucky, Dorsey, and ATC. Watch this video of an unload on a 2022 Blue Corvette, being delivered to the Kansas City area, by Sterling Auto Carriers - one of the ELITE level companies on the airRyd auto shipping platform.



These trailers are the cream of the crop, and if you have a high end exotic, it's hard to go wrong with a lift gate trailer. The second tier of trailers would be your 2-3 car enclosed units. Some notable manufactures in this class would be Featherlite, ATC, Sundowner, Haulmark, Cargo Mate, and Pace. These trailers offer expedited service, and are usually what your car will end up on if you are doing a regional move, or a local move. Because they don't haul as many cars, you'll pay a higher premium usually to move your car in a 2-3 car enclosed unit. They are in most cases more simple, safer, and easier to load then a bigger, six car enclosed. You also don't have to worry about leaks from top deck cars onto lower cars on the bottom. One downside however would be that not all 2 cars enclosed units have the right ramps to load low profile cars. While bigger 6-7 car trailers often have a very large and extended ramp or lift gate, a 2 car unit has a smaller door, that sits higher off the ground. So it is imperative that these carriers have race ramps, or aluminum extensions off of the ramp door so that they can load even the lowest of cars.

Here is another example of a very nice enclosed Kentucky Liftgate trailer, from another ElITE level car hauling company - Southwest One Transport loading a 2022 Saleen Mustang :



Finally, one car enclosed trailers are sometimes used when a customer wants a dedicated service. While very rare in the industry, they do exist. It will usually run at least $1.50 a mile to have a one car unit haul your auto. However, be careful what you wish for, because although a one car unit can be a higher end service, it can also be a new trucking entrant, with very limited resources and experience, who just barely put together enough funds to get a one car trailer - to break into the industry. So be aware of what you are asking for.

So each type of enclosed unit often offers a slightly different level of service and reliability. But one should also consider the actual quality of the enclosed unit. There are some very badly beat in 2 car haulers, with bent axles, bashed in side skins, and rusted out insides that are still on the road today hauling cars. Same goes for six and seven car enclosed units. Some are an axle fire away from destroying all six cars inside their trailer. You can see YouTube videos of this happening. These trailers are highly specialized and need to be adequately maintained and cared for in order to be safe to use. Neglected equipment is without question one of the biggest factors leading to auto transport damage. So it is essential that the carrier has solid equipment, and that the equipment is being properly maintained.

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