We recently completed the shipping of a 2026 Lexus TX from Torrance, California to Leander, Texas. This process involved the shipping of the car 1,348 miles by enclosed trailer, and incurred shipping fees totaling $2,265.00, or $1.68 per mile.
The vehicle was driveable upon pickup. This per-mile price range falls at the top of the scale for the distance shipped, and that is due to the combination which we have alluded to before but never fully explained. Enclosed shipping of a large vehicle.
The route
This 1,348 mile drive starts at Torrance, winds through the desert southwest, and finishes up at Leander.
Torrance is located in the South Bay of Los Angeles. Motorists transition to I-10 heading east, and after climbing out of the basin area, they will go by Palm Springs and across the Colorado River at Blythe.
The journey takes place for nearly its entire length on I-10. I-10 takes motorists through Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Las Cruces; and El Paso, Texas. The lengthy drive through Texas goes from there through Van Horn and Fort Stockton and Junction.
The route turns north from San Antonio via I-35 toward Austin and uses US-183 heading north. Leander is located in Williamson County to the north end of the metro, just like the road we used in our Honda CBX move.
Why enclosed costs more on a big vehicle
Every enclosed load is a premium. For a large unit, the premium is greater, and it multiplies rather than simply adding.
Enclosed trailers have dimensional limitations, and open decks do not. The open deck has a roof made out of air. The enclosed trailer has a roof and walls made of actual material, and a door opening with a limited height. That limitation is the key limitation, before deck length.
The three-row SUV strains against all of those limits. The Lexus TX measures just over 200 inches long and just about 70 inches tall. It fits very well in an open trailer slot. In an enclosed trailer, it eats up a significant chunk of the interior space in every dimension.
The pool of carriers reduces by two. There are fewer enclosed carriers to begin with. Of those, there are even fewer that can fit a three-row SUV. Less competition is less competition.
Capacity tends to go down to the ground as well. An enclosed trailer typically hauls between two and seven vehicles. Loading an SUV pushes that number more towards the lower end, so the rate needs to reflect those units that were sacrificed to make room for it.
So don’t just ask for enclosed space. Soft side or hard side, and what the height of the door opening is. In a large vehicle, those things will make or break your estimate.
It’s a completely valid decision, not an error. A person who wants their new vehicle to show up unscathed can have it that way, and we don’t dissuade them from it. We explain to them why it’s that high.
What $1.68 per mile reflects
There are three items, each contributing to the same end.
The enclosed premium is the foundation and applies to any booking that is enclosed.
The vehicle size multiplier is applied based on the rationale mentioned above. In case of a sedan making an enclosed trip on the same route, the value would be closer to the $1.34 we published for a 1,407 mile enclosed sedan route.
The only variable pulling against us is distance. The 1,348 miles mean there is quite some ground covered by the costs associated with pick-up, loading, securing and delivering.
The lane is positive. The I-10 route between Southern California and Texas is one of the most consistent freight lanes in the country.
Enclosed transport
The trailer walls were durable enough for the sandy environment and road splashes along the full course of the route, especially since on an entirely new unit with delivery miles, this is the very essence of the thing.
The loading process was easy since the proper equipment had been allocated. It is true that the TX was operable and it is high enough, which means that the inclination of the ramp was never going to be an issue. What was important was whether the trailer could accommodate this unit given its height and footprint.
Securing process was done via soft straps on the tires rather than chains over the suspension.
Transport summary
- Origin: Torrance, CA 90505
- Destination: Leander, TX 78641
- Distance: 1,348 miles
- Service cost: $2,265.00
- Cost per mile: $1.68
- Vehicle: 2026 Lexus TX
- Condition: Operable
- Trailer type: Enclosed
- Route: Torrance, CA → I-10 east through Palm Springs, Blythe, Phoenix and Tucson → Las Cruces, NM → El Paso, Van Horn, Fort Stockton and Junction, TX → San Antonio → I-35 north to Austin → US-183 north → Leander, TX
