Our work was completed recently on a delivery from Scarborough, ME to Glendale, CA for a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe and a 1973 Ford Bronco on the same booking over a distance of 3,075 miles.
Having two vehicles on one booking is quite normal, and the price is charged differently than if it were shipped separately. This brings up an interesting question every time someone is moving a pair like this. What if the two vehicles require different things?
The route
From Scarborough to Glendale, the journey is 3,075 miles, a true corner-to-corner trip, stretching from the coast of Maine to the Los Angeles basin.
Since Scarborough is located right south of Portland, the driver takes I-95 south to New Hampshire and Massachusetts. From Boston, the driver continues the trip on I-90, known as the Massachusetts Turnpike, and heads west to Springfield and Albany, New York.
I-90 then goes further upstate to Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo, before crossing Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio. From Chicago, the driver takes I-80 west to continue on the central stretch of this haul from Iowa and Nebraska to Wyoming, via Des Moines, Omaha, and North Platte and Cheyenne.
From Salt Lake City, the truck takes I-15 south to St. George and Las Vegas, Nevada, before dropping down to Barstow and going further south to Glendale.
How multi-vehicle pricing works
The number itself may seem high, but split it down.
Read the cost per vehicle. At $5,800.00 per two vehicles over 3,075 miles, each of them went for $2,900.00, which comes up to 94 cents per vehicle per mile. This is a reasonable cost per vehicle in terms of a coast-to-coast enclosed booking, while comparing the total cost with a quote for one vehicle is useless.
One booking is better than two. Both of them travel with the same carrier, in the same truck according to the same schedule. One coordinator and one pick-up, one delivery and one arrival. Booking them individually means two carriers and two schedules as well as two opportunities for the delays.
They will arrive at the same time. It is crucial for customers who relocate, as separate bookings might be delivered in different time.
Deck space does matter, of course. Two vehicles take two slots, just like on a freight, as the carrier has to move two units. In other words, what you save in this case is not the deck space but the coordination.
And don’t forget to mention that it is two vehicles when giving your quote. Not one and then another.
When two vehicles need different things
This is the fascinating part of this specific booking, and it deserves to be addressed head on.
The Tahoe is a 2023 full-size SUV with factory clearcoat. On its own, this one would have been shipped open without a second thought. This is a daily driver and it is huge, and there isn’t anything that enclosed shipping would provide for it.
The Bronco, however, is a completely different story. A first generation Bronco is 52 years old and compact and lightweight, and it is currently worth a whole lot more than it used to be back ten years ago. A fifty-year-old finish simply doesn’t recover well after exposure to 3,075 miles of open air. It had to be enclosed.
In any case, the vehicle which requires a higher standard of protection determines the level of service. If two vehicles ship together, they ship equally. There’s no half-enclosed trailer. Either both are enclosed, or you book them separately.
We offer the trade to the customer rather than making that decision ourselves. Shipping them together would cost more than was required by the Tahoe alone. Shipping them separately would cost more in organization as well as shipping them separately. In this instance, the customer chose to ship them together, and that is what most do.
The size difference should not be overlooked either. The Tahoe exceeds 210 inches in length and tips the scales at more than 5,600 pounds. The Bronco has a wheel base of 92 inches and only weighs half as much. Two cars from the same country, separated by sixty years, sharing practically nothing on deck.
What the rate reflects
Behind the booking are three factors.
First one is the enclosed service. Enclosed trailers handle less volume per trip and comprise a smaller portion of the fleet, and this premium is applicable for both units in question.
Distance plays into favor of the customer. Being 3,075 miles, the costs of pickup, loading, securing, and delivery are spread out over a vast distance and that is why the number per vehicle is less than a dollar even with the enclosed service.
The lane is hot. Interstate highways 90 and 80 are major transcontinental lanes in the north and both New England and LA metros are large markets.
Enclosed transport and a fifty-year-old vehicle
The two vehicles were functional, and both went up to the deck by themselves. The Bronco was managed just like all the classics – one start for picking up, one start for dropping off, and then leave it be.
A 1973 Bronco has fifty-year-old rubber, fifty-year-old wiring, and fifty-year-old seals, as well as drum brakes with no power assist, thus influencing slow speed maneuvering on a deck. The straps were soft and placed over the tires of both the vehicles instead of chain suspension. It becomes particularly important when there are no tie down points.
Transport summary
- Origin: Scarborough, ME 04074
- Destination: Glendale, CA 91202
- Distance: 3,075 miles
- Vehicles: 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe and 1973 Ford Bronco
- Service cost: $5,800.00 total, $2,900.00 per vehicle
- Cost per vehicle per mile: $0.94
- Condition: Both operable
- Trailer type: Enclosed
- Route: Scarborough, ME → I-95 south through New Hampshire → Boston, MA → I-90 west through Springfield, Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo → Cleveland, OH → I-80 west through Chicago, Des Moines, Omaha and Cheyenne → Salt Lake City, UT → I-15 south through St. George and Las Vegas → Barstow, CA → I-210 west → Glendale, CA
