The Pitfalls of Junk in the Trunk
Putting some items in the trunk of your vehicle sounds like a good idea – why pay a household mover to ship a bunch of your stuff when you can just put a few select items in the trunk of your car when it’s being shipped and kill two birds with one stone?
The logic is sound, but there are some things that could happen that you should be aware of before you decide to put anything in the trunk of the vehicle you’re shipping. For starters, you need to be aware of the fact that auto shippers aren’t licensed to carry any household goods, and if they get caught with any it could mean a big fine and the confiscation of any contraband. This means a government agency could conceivably seize control of your belongings…and not give them back.
Not only that but additional items in the trunk of your vehicle increases the weight of your vehicle, which can cause problems if there’s too much weight. Weigh stations that dot the highways are meant to keep the weight of heavy trucks in check – and by “heavy” trucks we of course mean commercial haulers, not privately-owned pickup trucks or the like.
Many areas of the country have roads that can’t handle vehicles that are too heavy, particularly bridges and overpasses, so you need to be aware of this fact when it comes to transporting your vehicle from one area to another with stuff inside. This is why it’s generally recommended that you only have 50-100 pounds of linens and clothing in the trunk.
A less-common danger is theft. Not theft from the auto transport driver or carrier, but from people that come up to the cars parked on the truck at night and rifling through them.
Your carrier will always lock the vehicle’s doors after loading and they will remained locked through the duration of the journey, but if your $3,000 stereo system is just sitting in the backseat, it’s easy enough for someone to break your window in the middle of the night, take off with it, and no one would be any the wiser.
Make sure to keep the cab of your vehicle completely clean, and if you have a high-end stereo hooked up to your vehicle you may want to consider removing it. Large antennas, particularly on smaller vehicles, are a dead giveaway to a nice system; avoid theft as well as damage to your system or other vehicles by removing any removable antennas and other exterior accessories from your vehicle prior to shipping. You can even put them in the trunk.
There are always dangers when shipping stuff inside a vehicle, but if you’re smart about it and you follow the instructions laid down by your driver or your representative you shouldn’t have any problems. Make sure to get a quote to ship a vehicle via our online quote form. You can also call us at 800-930-7417 to speak to an agent. They can give you a quote, answer questions, book a shipment, and more.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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