Cross-country car shipping involves some of the longest distances that are difficult to cover. In this case, this transportation was from a 2022 Honda Civic sedan from San Jose, California, all the way to Lansdale, Pennsylvania. This is a total distance of 2,911 miles and a total price of $1,400 using an open trailer. Below is the information regarding the path used and the process involved in open trailer car shipping.
What 2,911 Miles Actually Means on a Cross-Country Shipment
The route from San Jose to Lansdale runs almost up to the maximum permissible limit within domestic automobile transportation. Thus, the point of departure is in Santa Clara County of South Bay Area while the destination point is located in the state of Pennsylvania, approximately 25 miles to the north-west from Philadelphia. On its route the carrier should pass through as many as ten states and several mountain ranges.
The time required for such cross-country automobile transportation should amount to seven to ten transit days on an open carrier. Under Hours of Service requirements for truck drivers, they have up to eleven hours of operation per day during which they can move approximately 400-500 miles. Accordingly, a 2911 mile route may be covered in six-seven working days plus pickup/delivery.
High freight density on this route is one of the factors that should contribute positively to the transportation process. First of all, the shipper will not have difficulty in planning his schedule and secondly, he is likely to enjoy favorable prices due to absence of any additional fees for staging.
How the Route Played Out
From San Jose, the plane took the interstate of I-80, passing through the San Francisco bay area. In Oakland, it crossed over the Bay Bridge before heading east. The interstate of I-80 is the primary east-west interstate in this route and makes up most of its length.
In California, Interstate 80 runs over the Sierra Nevada mountains from Donner Pass into the Nevada high desert. Interstate 80 runs east through Reno and out to Salt Lake City, Utah. From Salt Lake City, I-80 travels northeast through Wyoming via Cheyenne into Nebraska, where it crosses the Missouri river in Omaha.
I-80 passes through Iowa and Illinois and goes through the flattest freight roadways in the nation. Auto carriers travel through this segment continuously because they are carrying their cargo either east or west; therefore, this is a good segment for multiple cars.
From the Illinois and Indiana state line to Ohio, the route heads further eastward following I-80 to reach Pennsylvania. The truck carrier then made a left-hand turn and followed I-76 after reaching the Ohio and Pennsylvania state lines. This interstate highway is called the Pennsylvania Turnpike and heads east through the Pennsylvania cities of Pittsburgh, across the Appalachians, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia.
In total, the route traveled through ten states. It passed through California, Nevada, and Utah first. Then, it continued through Wyoming and Nebraska, followed by Iowa and Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio until finally reaching Pennsylvania.
What the Honda Civic Was Loaded Onto
The open carrier accounts for almost 90% of all transportation for automobiles in the United States. This is how vehicles are normally transported, and the Honda Civic is just the kind of car that was meant for this process.
The open vehicle transporter is a double-deck truck, which can carry from seven to ten cars in one shipment based on their sizes. The top deck is loaded first as the tailgate lowers due to hydraulic lift and becomes a ramp. Vehicles drive onto the deck, and they are fastened in four places using straps and tied down to the chassis of the automobile.
Because there is no wall nor any roof on open trailers, the transportation process exposes the vehicles to weather elements and road debris. However, for the case of 2022 Honda Civic, this is not normally a cause for concern since it is a very well-protected production vehicle that will not require special attention in order to survive in regular highway conditions. In the same way that a classic and expensive car might be exposed to unnecessary weather exposure while using open transportation, such concerns will never apply to a standard car like the Civic.
Open trailer transportation provides some obvious benefits for the case of a Civic. First, because of a larger number of possible carriers, the scheduling process is faster. Second, because of a bigger number of cars shipped together, the costs per shipment decrease. Moreover, the standard size of the Civic allows placing the Civic within the load together with several other vehicles.
Transport Summary
- Vehicle: 2022 Honda Civic Sedan
- Origin: San Jose, CA 95123
- Destination: Lansdale, PA 19446
- Distance: 2,911 miles
- Trailer type: Open carrier
- Total cost: $1,400
- Primary route: I-80 east across country, I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) east to destination
