Pros and Cons of Using Enclosed Car Shipping

Car hauling has the potential to become a very successful business, thanks to an industry that continues to thrive despite a few hiccups in recent years. But when starting one’s hauling business, there are many different choices that one must consider along the way; one important decision is choosing whether you’ll be hauling cars with an open or enclosed trailer.

Enclosed car shipping is superior to open car hauling in several ways, though it does still have its drawbacks. Today, we’ll be discussing the various pros and cons to enclosed car shipping in order to help you decide whether or not you believe it is worth the investment – let’s dive right in.

Pro: Provides Additional Protection

The biggest benefit of offering enclosed car shipping is that enclosed trailers offer far more protection to the cars that you haul, due to the fact that they are, well, enclosed. Cars that are hauled in open trailers run the risk of getting damaged due to weather and road conditions, which is bad business for both you and your customers.

If a customer’s car is damaged during the transportation process, they may potentially try to come after you, or at the very least, leave a bad customer review which will reflect negatively on you.

To avoid any damage to vehicles, it’s generally much more safe to get an enclosed trailer instead. 

Con: More Costly

On the other hand, enclosed car shipping is much more expensive than open car shipping, in several different ways. Firstly, the trailers themselves will cost more money upfront, with the price difference being in the thousands. Enclosed trailers are anywhere between 30% to 50% more expensive than open trailers, so you’d be spending much more money.

The other factor to consider is fueling costs. Enclosed trailers are larger and thus weigh more, so your vehicle would have less miles per gallon due to the weight difference.

Pro: Transport More Expensive Vehicles

Another benefit of choosing enclosed car shipping over open car shipping is the fact that you’ll likely be capable of transporting more expensive vehicles. Those looking to move luxury, exotic, and vintage cars are more likely to prefer enclosed trailers for their shipments, and will pay more money as a result. Therefore, having an enclosed trailer will allow you to take these higher-paying jobs, which means more money for you. 

Con: Fits Fewer Vehicles

Yet another negative of choosing enclosed auto transport, however, is the fact that enclosed trailers don’t fit as many vehicles as open trailers. If you’re a carrier looking to haul as many cars at once as possible, then you’ll be disappointed to learn that even the largest enclosed trailers fit 6-7 cars maximum, while large open trailers can fit up to one dozen.

If you only plan to haul a handful of cars at any given time, then this isn’t much of a big deal; but those who want to haul as many cars as possible will probably prefer to use an open trailer instead.

Hopefully this guide has been some amount of help to you, and has allowed you to decide whether or not enclosed auto transport is the best option for your car hauling business. If you want to get the most out of your auto transport business, then consider trying out Super Dispatch – its an all-in-one platform for moving cars, packing in both a transportation management system as well as a load board for finding and taking new loads. Try it for free today!

Published on November 3, 2022