Recently, we have finished the transportation of 1956 Ford F-100 truck from Missoula, MT to Livonia, MI. The distance of this shipment was 1,870 miles in an enclosed trailer and the cost amounted to $2,931.00, that is $1.57 per mile.
The car was operational when we received it and it was driven on board by itself. There were two factors influencing the pricing for this shipment. First of all, this truck is seventy years old and secondly, it started its journey in western Montana that is far off from the regular routes of enclosed carriers.
The route
It is an 1,870-mile drive that travels through the northern Rocky Mountains, the plains, and the Great Lakes region.
Located in Western Montana along the I-90 highway, Missoula is the starting point for this journey; in addition, the highway plays a major part in this journey. Drivers travel eastwards across the Continental Divide at Homestake Pass, pass Bozeman and Billings until they get to Sheridan, Wyoming.
From here, the drivers continue with the Interstate 90 until they get to Gillette, then enter South Dakota, where they pass Rapid City, the Badlands, and Sioux Falls; the highway then touches southern Minnesota and enters Wisconsin through Madison, where they reach Chicago, which is located at the southern end of Lake Michigan.
The final stage of this journey sees the Interstate 94 moving eastward around Lake Michigan through Gary, Indiana, through Southern Michigan via Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor. Livonia is located in the western area of Wayne County in Detroit, Michigan.
Shipping a seventy-year-old truck
An F-100 built in 1956 is very different from an F-150 built today, and the distinctions come in small packages.
First there’s the driveline. The truck is operational, and that’s what it means when we say “operational” on the order, but a car seventy years old being operational is different from a car built today being operational. Old fuel systems have a tendency to vapor lock. Carbs flood. Points and condensers are selective about their timing. We tell the customer to expect a driver to start this classic car twice – once when picking it up and once when delivering it. And that’s exactly what happened with this vehicle.
Next the brakes. An F-100 built in 1956 came out of the factory with four wheel drums and no power assist. Why does it matter? Because when a driver needs to position a vehicle in a trailer, the ability to brake precisely at low speeds is crucial. Drum brakes on a seventy-year-old truck mean more pedal pressure and more stopping distance.
The weight is about 3,300 pounds – lightweight for a pickup, at least in terms of today’s standards. A lighter truck will feel more affected by movements of the trailer, and therefore the securement will be inspected more frequently during a long-distance drive.
The next point is the tie-downs. Today’s trucks are designed with proper tie-down points as an integral part of the vehicle frame; however, a truck built in 1956 was not. The frame of the vehicle is sturdy, but tie-down points are based on experience and not listed in manuals, and soft straps over the tires eliminate that issue completely.
What $1.57 per mile reflects
There are three underlying elements here.
The first one is enclosure. Enclosed trailers haul less trucks per trip, cost more, and form a smaller percentage of the fleet. This premium applies to all enclosed trips.
Second, there is the source. Missoula is a real constraint. The West of Montana has a fraction of the traffic the metropolitan area has, and enclosed haulers are specialized in hauling trucks from big cities to big cities. The truck must be either deadheading to Missoula, or it needs another load in the area to make the trip economical. And those miles will be factored into the price.
Finally, there is distance. In this case, it plays against the price. When the distance is 1,870 miles, the fixed costs of the haul (pickup, loading, securing, and delivery) fall on many miles. On a 350-mile trip, the very same costs will fall on fewer miles, making the cost of haul exceed $2.40 per mile.
Enclosed transport
There really wasn’t any other open option worth talking about in this case. Here you go for the standard on any old vehicle, and the path ends the discussion.
I-90 that goes from Montana to Wyoming to South Dakota is located in mountainous terrain, where the weather can be very changeable all year round. In addition to all this, gravel, road spray, and hailstones will fall onto the open bed unimpeded, as far as more than a thousand miles. Seventy-year-old paint and chrome will not withstand that the same way as a fresh clear coat will.
Here chrome is particularly important when it comes to a vehicle of such type. It is known that the grille, bumpers, and trim of a restored F-100 account for a considerable part of its value.
Transport summary
- Origin: Missoula, MT 59808
- Destination: Livonia, MI 48152
- Distance: 1,870 miles
- Service cost: $2,931.00
- Cost per mile: $1.57
- Vehicle: 1956 Ford F-100
- Condition: Operable
- Trailer type: Enclosed
- Route: Missoula, MT → I-90 east over Homestake Pass through Bozeman and Billings → Sheridan and Gillette, WY → Rapid City and Sioux Falls, SD → Madison, WI → Chicago, IL → I-94 east through Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor → Livonia, MI
