What is the Best Way to Ship a Pickup Truck?
Pickup trucks have been around pretty much since the invention of the automobile. They’re great workhorse machines that are common especially in the United States. Originally designed as a cab-on-chassis, so farmers and agricultural workers could customize them as they needed, today pickup trucks come in a wide variety of sizes depending on the needs of the consumer.
Over the years the pickup truck has changed drastically, but it’s still built to be a work vehicle first and foremost. As such, pickup truck lines come in a wide array of sizes, from small, commuter-type pickups to large, heavy dually pickup trucks, and everything in between.
That’s why the question “what is the best way to ship a pickup truck” can be hard to answer. It depends a lot on the type of truck that you’re shipping, first and foremost. How big is it? How tall, how wide? Does it have an extended cab? Is it a dually? Is it lifted, does it have an extended bed?
These questions are only some that prospective shipping companies will ask you as you search for a company to transport your pickup truck. In this article, we’re going to discuss the various types of pickup trucks on the road, what you can expect when shipping them, and the best ways to go about getting them moved.
Article Overview
The different types of pickup trucks
There are a lot of different types of pickup trucks out there on the road. They range from small pickups like the Ford Ranchero, to massive ones like the Ram 3500 HD. How they’re handled, though, will be different.
The smaller the pickup truck, the easier it’s going to be to move it. Pickup trucks that take up only as much space as a car are preferred. These are your Rancheros, the pickup trucks that are only a bit larger than the car.
Most pickups, though, are sizes you are likely familiar with. They’re smaller than the really big ones, but they’re not as small as the tiny ones. These are the ones that can be tricky, because not only are pickup trucks bigger than cars, but they have a lot more submodels, too.
Because pickup trucks originated as customizable agricultural vehicles, they’re considered work vehicles. So they have to be big enough to, you know, handle outdoor work. The submodels available for all the different pickup trucks give consumers lots of options, depending on what they need their truck for.
The biggest trucks are the hardest to move, though, because they’re just really, really big. Sometimes, they’re so big they can’t fit on a standard car carrier truck. When that happens, flatbed trucks will need to be used to move them. But we’ll talk about that more in a minute.
How pickup truck size affects price and availability
Simply put, the bigger the truck, the more expensive it’ll be to ship, and the more difficult it is to find a carrier willing to haul it.
That’s a pretty simple explanation for a nuanced subject, though, so we’ll break it down.
The smallest of pickup trucks are about as easy to move as a regular car. They don’t take up more space on the truck than a regular car, and they’re priced about the same.
Medium-sized trucks – or, to put it another way, standard pickups – are also not too difficult to ship. We’re talking about a pickup the size of a stock F-150 without a lift or anything. These can also fit on a regular ten-car hauler, usually on the bottom rack.
Pricing for medium-size pickup trucks is more than the smallest pickup trucks, of course, because they’re bigger and heavier. But It usually isn’t too much more, and finding carriers for them is usually pretty easy.
The biggest pickup trucks, though, cost the most to ship and take the most time. These are pickup trucks that are naturally big, such as the Ford F-350 Super Duty. This also includes medium-sized pickup trucks that are lifted or otherwise oversized. (an example of an oversized medium truck is the Ford F-150 Raptor).
They’re harder to find trucks for because of their size, and they’re more expensive because of their size as well. Finding carriers to haul the biggest pickup trucks will take more time because there are not nearly as much trucks on the road that can handle a pickup of that size.
We’ll discuss how we handle oversized pickup trucks in the next section.
How we handle oversized pickup trucks
Oversized pickup trucks require either a smaller carrier, such as one with a three-car wedge trailer, or a flatbed truck. They’re often moved by smaller, single-deck trucks (such as a wedge) because they take up two spaces and they’re really tall. Flatbed trucks usually move the largest of the pickup trucks.
There are also another class of pickup, such as the Ford F-450 or F-550, which are often used by utility companies or fire departments. These tend to be among the biggest pickup trucks you can find commercially, and they often require flatbed or lowboy haulers due to the additional equipment on them (such as booms).
Regardless, when shipping an oversized pickup truck, we need to know the size and dimensions of it. As long as we have accurate length, width, height, and weight of your pickup truck (or larger truck), we can haul it.
Be prepared, though, as it takes time to find a carrier who can handle such a large truck. It doesn’t always – sometimes, there’s a carrier on the route in the area that can move it right away. But many times they simply are not in the area your vehicle is shipping out of. But we work hard to find carriers for all our customers, and we’ll ship your oversized pickup truck as well.
Ship your pickup truck today with American Auto Shipping
If you’re interested in shipping a pickup truck with American Auto Shipping, you can get a free quote online via our free quote request form. Just fill out the form and see your price instantly! You can also book your order if you like the price, and we have a live chat feature should you have questions.
You can also contact us any time at 800-930-7417 to speak to one of our representatives. They are industry experts who know all the ins and outs of shipping a pickup truck. They can answer your questions, give you a quote, book your shipment, give advice, and much more.
So no matter what you’re shipping or where it’s coming from or to, let American Auto Shipping help you get it moved today.
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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