How to Get Your Vehicle Ready When Transporting It Across the Country
Are you moving across the country, and need your vehicle to be transported to your new home? A vehicle transport service can save you the unnecessary trip back and forth that is involved with moving it yourself, and save you a ton of time. Here are some tips that you should follow to prepare your vehicle.
Avoid Filling Up the Gas Tank
As tempting as it may be to fill up your gas tank before transporting your vehicle, this is actually not recommended. Having a full gas tank only adds additional weight to the vehicle, which makes transporting your vehicle difficult to do. When the vehicle is put on a trailer with several other vehicles, all those full gas tanks can really add up. That's why you should not fill up the gas tank, even if gas is cheaper back at home.
Remove All Personal Belongings
Another thing that can add weight to a vehicle is to have it packed with personal belongings. Your vehicle transport service will likely request that these items are removed to cut back on the vehicle's weight, but also because they are not responsible for anything that is lost, damaged, or stolen. If you were planning to use your vehicle to transport other personal items, make alternate plans for those items to reach its destination.
Inspect the Vehicle
You'll want to make sure that your vehicle is not damaged during its trip. It's a good idea to make notes of any existing physical damage to your vehicle before it is moved and then check again after it has arrived at your new home. Take photos of the vehicle as well so you have documentation. While your vehicle should be fine on its trip across the country, documentation will help prove that damage was caused during the transport.
Remove Toll Transponders
Do you currently have a transponder in your vehicle to automatically pay for tolls? You'll want to remove these before your vehicle starts its journey. You do not want to be surprised by a bill for every single toll that the transport vehicle went through, and it is likely that you'll be automatically charged a toll if the transponder is still on your dashboard. These typically have to be visible, so you may be fine putting it away in your glove box.
Reach out to your vehicle transport service if you have more questions about the prep work you should be doing.
