Car carriers range in size from rollbacks to ten car carriers. The kind of carrier that will end up transporting your vehicle depends on the distance your car will travel and the condition that your car is in.

Rollbacks:

These are the traditional tow trucks that you may see around town that pick up vehicles that have broken down. In the auto transport industry their most common use is for helping to load “hard to reach” or non running vehicles onto bigger carriers. This happens when a non running car could be behind the garage. The truck that is going to eventual transport the car might be unable to load it. Even though the truck may have a wench, it still may not be able to reach the car due to truck size or unfriendly terrain. In this case a local tow company will then be called to the location to help load the vehicle. These trucks are almost never used for distances over sixty miles.

1Car Flatbed:

These vehicles have replaced the rollbacks as the most common type of tow truck. The advantage over a rollback is that all four of your car’s tires are off the ground while the car is being transported. This is also one of the fastest ways to transport your vehicle. This is because once the carrier has picked up your vehicle; his next stop is to deliver your vehicle. These are commonly used for distances up to about 200 miles. Because larger trucks make better use of the driver’s time, once you get past 200 miles, drivers tend to use trucks that carry more cars.

2-4 Car Carriers:

The 2 car carrier is essentially a longer version of the 1 car flatbed. By adding another fifteen feet or so the driver can carry a second vehicle that is traveling a similar route to the first vehicle they are transporting. The 3 and 4 car carrier sometimes adds a place to put a vehicle over the cab of the truck. What makes the 3 and 4 car carrier different from a 2 car carrier is that with a 1 or 2 car flatbed the vehicles ride flat. In a 3 or 4 car carrier sometimes all of the vehicles travel at an angle. This is why the three car carrier is often called a three car wedge.

6-8 Car Carriers:

The 6-8 car carriers are basically just shorter versions of the classic 9 car carriers. These carriers exist because some routes don’t get enough vehicles being shipped on them to quickly fill a 9 car carrier. The reason why the drivers like these carriers is because they are shorter, they are a little easier to maneuver, and with fewer vehicles to load they can load the cars faster and get back on the road.

9-10 Car Carriers:

These are the car carriers that bring the new cars from the factories. This is the most common type of car carrier and therefore the type that you are most likely to see on the interstate highways.

1 Car Enclosed:

The advantage of enclosed transport is that the cars arrive clean. With a 1 car enclosed the transport is usually fast because the drop off of your vehicles will be the first stop after pick up.

2-3 Car Enclosed:

This is a longer version of the 1 car enclosed, it is important to note that the 1, 2 and 3 car enclosed carriers are actually trailers, like horse trailers, not part of the truck itself. The advantage is that the trailer is much closer to the ground so that with 15 foot ramps you only need 2-4 inch ground clearance to load and unload vehicles.

6 Car Enclosed:

These trucks look almost exactly like the many semi trucks you see on the road. This is because basically these trucks are just like all other semi trucks with two important differences. They have a second floor about 5 feet higher than the first floor. This two level design allows them to carry 2 rows of three vehicles with all of the vehicles being transported flat. The second difference is the elevator lift gate. This gate is similar to the lift gates on moving trucks and grocery delivery trucks, except that it is big enough to raise an entire car to either level before driving it onto the truck. The advantage here is that you only need a 2-3 inch clearance, so even highly modified cars can be shipped without scrapping their underbellies during loading and unloading.