Shipping a trailer or camper is easier than you may think. There are a lot of situations where shipping is easier and cheaper than moving the trailer yourself.
If you purchase a trailer or camper out of state it might make more sense to have a transporter take care of getting it to you, especially if it’s an older trailer which has been sitting a while and may not even be road worthy. If you want to send your vintage trailer to a specialist shop and don’t have time to do it yourself. If you are moving and need it shipped to the new house. There are plenty of reasons why you would want to transport a trailer but if that’s what you decided to do then you need to know how to do it right.
There are two ways to have your trailer or camper transported, pulling it or loading it onto another trailer. Typically pulling is the best option because it’s cheaper and quicker but for an expensive vintage trailer or trailers with damage having it loaded onto a step deck or similar trailer and hauled as freight may be the better option.
Once you’ve decided to ship your trailer the next step is to find a transporter.
If you want your trailer pulled then the best place to go is uShip. uShip is kind of like the eBay of shipping. You post what you need transported and carriers will bid on the job. Insurance is a concern when doing this though. There are some companies that are insured and licensed that will pull the trailer for you but most of the people on uShip that do this type of work will just be a guy with a truck looking to make some money. uShip doesn’t check insurance information; it’s up to you to make sure the person you hire is legit. If a company bids on shipping your camper do a search at fmcsa.dot.gov which is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website to make sure they have insurance and that it’s up to date. Without an insurance company if damage occurs you don’t really have any options to get compensated unless the guy is really nice or you go to court.
Your other option is a freight shipping company or an auto transport company that specializes in trailer shipping that will haul the camper off the road. They will be more expensive but if your trailer isn’t road worthy then this is your only option without fixing it. Also this way will be much quicker if you are looking for insured transport, but if insurance isn’t important to you then finding someone on uShip will be quicker.
Once you’ve found a company and scheduled pick up the next step is to prepare the trailer.
If you have a camper then make sure you secure everything inside. You don’t want things falling and making a mess and or causing damage inside. Anything that can move should be taken out or strapped down.
Second make sure the tires and axles are in good road worthy condition and that the brake lights work. The best way to do this is to take the trailer for a ride a few miles.
If you don’t have a truck or can’t borrow one then do what you can, especially if it’s an old trailer that’s been sitting for a long time. Lift the trailer up and make sure the tires spin. Fill the tires up and make sure they hold air and have enough tread left. Test the lights. There are power cords out there that can connect to the trailer from a socket on the wall. If that isn’t a possibility at least make sure you have spare bulbs ready for when the driver gets there in case the brake lights don’t work. Also make sure your driver knows what kind of electrical connector is needed for the trailer if it isn’t the normal 7 blade connector. If using uShip upload a picture with your post or if using a company make sure they know what a special type of connector is needed. Or have the converter ready with the trailer.
Article was written by MIG Auto Transport – migautotransport.com.