Transporting my Camaro from Florida to Upstate New York

[DAVEN1256]

I am looking for some thoughts, opinions, and/or recommendations on transporting my 1968 Camaro from the Orlando, FL area to Upstate NY.......To the Binghamton area which is at the intersection of Interstate 81 and NY Rt. 17 ......and then transporting it back to Florida around four months later.......About 1200 miles one way.

I will be going up there for the summer and fall and would love to have my car up there with me. I would be going in mid to late June or early July and returning in late October or early November.

It is a frame off restoration. I've owned this car almost 45 years, spent 15 years and about 80K restoring it so great care is of the utmost importance. An enclosed trailer would be a must!

I am thinking of two different ways I could go. One, hire a transporter.....or two, possibly rent a truck and single car enclosed trailer and haul it myself..........As far a renting a single car enclosed trailer, right now, I don't have the first clue where you would go to do it.

I AM NOT a "money is no object" guy so price will be a consideration.

Thanks in advance,

Dave

[67conv6cyl]

To rent truck and trailer to haul yourself one way with your fuel expenses would cost more than  $1300. If you own truck it would be well worth just renting trailer, however if you need to rent both one way you could get it shipped cheaper by a trucking company.

I had a 1967 camaro shipped from Washington state to North Carolina for $2,100 less then 2 months ago. Independent drivers bid on them if there going to certain areas with other cars on carriers and they want to fill there car haulers.

[68 Ragtop]

Hire a transporter. Post a picture of your car so I can look for it at the Syracuse Nationals in July!

[Charley PHX]

My $0.02 input (keep the change)... here are a few possible considerations (if not already on your radar)... these are in no particular order... maybe it may help??

• 1) Timing & seasonality may affect shipping timeframes. Some top-tier carriers are already committed in support for top-tier summer shows.
• 2) If you have flexibility around pickup & delivery (either or both ways) this may open up more options? More flexibility = more options.
• 3) Look into storage options at your destination. This too may open up shipping options? You'll probably need to be there to take delivery, and put car into your storage arrangement (if applicable).
• 4) Ask: If carrier/transport company uses in-house drivers & equipment; vs. brokering loads to outside contractors. Is their reputation at stake, or some no-name 3rd party?
• 5) Also: If you do use a carrier: Find some way to put a GPS tracker on (or in) the car!
• 6) In PHX (AZ) there are a couple places that rent trailers and RV's. Maybe Orlando has something similar?
• 7) Also in PHX there are a lot of private party trailer rentals on Craigslist. Their rates are about the same as the established locations (where I would prefer to deal with anyway).
• 8- Enterprise Truck Rental offers 3/4 and 1-ton truck rentals with towing capability. (The trailer rental agency here is familiar with their equipment and endorses it.)
• 9) Another consideration certainly would be one's comfort level (which itself might depend on support from the rental service). And don't forget insurance considerations, etc.
• 10) And still another consideration: DRIVE TIME (& time off work, etc.) tradeoffs.

I may have some future feedback on experiences with the last few items. The first 5 points are from past experience.

67conv6cyl quotes $2100 for recent coast-to-coast shipment (independent carrier), not sure if enclosed or not? I have current quote for $3950 AZ-to-PA (enclosed, 1-way, "big name" carrier, guaranteed delivery date). I figure the fully-loaded round-trip costs will be roughly comparable either way (considering rental w/fuel & mileage, etc. vs. transport w/airfare, car rental, etc.). Considering all this, at the moment I personally am leaning towards the D.I.Y. option for upcoming use...

[Charley PHX]

a little more explanation:  http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=20686.msg188308#msg188308

your experiences may differ (I hope!!)...  in my case, had to settle for transport option #4, b/c last-minute issues w/car closed the doors on preferred options #1, #2, & #3

[camaronut]

"Car 'disappeared' for 4 days during transport from PHX AZ to Morgantown PA last summer (& again, even longer, on the return trip). Truck driver had every disaster/excuse imaginable (except for 'the dog ate it' - LOL). I now believe the many disasters were total BS and I got played. Pretty sure it was 'joyrided' during the period it went MIA. Finally delivered at 8:30pm, the night before show start (I had planned for 3 prep days between delivery & show). Judges said underneath it looked like it was driven in the rain! (It was loaded with freshly painted undercarriage & detailed under hood)."

Reliable Carriers seems to have a good reputation. 

But  --  from what I read above - if you have a truck, I'd do it myself and rent a trailer.

[dansz28]

I have been looking also to have my 68 Z28 shipped from Phila to Myrtle Beach. It's almost finished w/ paint and I've been shopping around. It seems the best carrier I found is Horseless Carriage. $2100. They have good reviews and insured. Another company, American Auto had a 1 star review of 148 reviews. A little cheaper but Stay Away. Good luck and let us know if you find a good one!

[dannystarr]

I am not going to go into a bunch of stories. But my friend moved from Napa, CA to Colorado. He was a retired police officer. When he unpacked all the boxes. ALL his badges, collectible law enforcement memorabilia, accommodations, trophies were gone. You can put them BURIED in a giant box like he did. They go through EVERYTHING. And I have heard some stories about parts changed with car transporters. I bought some cars to bring back to CA and did it myself. The last one was from Wisconsin to CA. If it is possible, you can buy an enclosed trailer at Trailers Plus for $10,349. Sell it for $8,500 after project? And borrow a truck? I used a suburban on the last 2 or 3. I really hate to see ANYBODY hire a transporter. Especially one that has been through the brokered system. I wish you were close to me, we could do it together. Good Luck!... Danny

[67nut]

Hire a Transportation Company, NOT a broker. You deal directly with a Transportation Company if something happens or an issue arrives.

Brokers put out bids to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that has a trailer or enclosed trailer. Many unscrupulous Brokers will hire out your cargo (car) at a price that is higher than what they tell you. The broker may require a down payment of say $1000. Then, when your cargo (car) arrives, you pay the transporter- and you don't get your car until you pay the price the Broker told the transporting individual. You're held hostage until you pay, and dozens upon dozens of phone calls won't get returned to you by the Broker. 

It's tuff to go to Florida when you live in Iowa to extract your pound of flesh. One pays a price for an education, and boy did I pay!

[maroman]

I  would consider buying a used trailer and rent a truck to pull it. Enclosed trailers are always being sold and are money well spent. It could be a good stepping stone to having the whole rig and be used as storage until you do.

[396 SS/RS]

I had my wife's CTS-Vsport and a '97 SS Camaro transported through a transporter buy it was brokered out on an open trailer from Mooresville, NC to Abilene, TX.
The CTS-Vsport had a film of transmission fluid from the front hood to the rear spoiler and imagine a car above it had a transmission leak and traveled through rain. The driver had dirty glove prints on the console lid. The SS had finish damage on the rear spoiler and bumper where a tie down strap evidently was flopping in the wind. I filed a claim for the paint damage but never was recouped.

I transported my '68 in an enclosed 24' trailer and it was as clean when it arrived as when it left. I paid $1450 I think about a year ago.

I agree, definitely go with a transporter and not a broker and make it known it is not to be brokered out!

[rocco376]

Several months ago, I sold a Porsche 911 GT3 on Bring A Trailer for a substantial amount of money.  The buyer elected to use Bring A Trailer's ship option, which I discovered, is a broker.  The guy shows up with a beat up dually pickup towing an old, enclosed 2 car trailer.  The DOT number was hand written in crayon on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper, stuffed in a sheet protector, and taped to the window of the pickup. The car was going from NJ to Texas.  I started to panic because I thought there was no way this guy could be legit.  I even called the new owner, and told him I was concerned.  The driver starts crawling all over the car taking pics, and I started taking pictures of him and his vehicle.  He starts trying to drive the car up the ramp of the trailer, and would've torn off the front spoiler if I didn't wave him off.  He finally got it loaded up, and the car arrived safely in Texas 2 days later. Definitely would not be my choice for shipping.

[GMAD_Van Nuys]

I hope the buyer of this 910 Porsche that sold recently on BAT for $2.5M doesn't use the same guy who transported rocco376's 911 GT3!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1967-porsche-910-3/

[Charley PHX]

Providing an update to my reply #3 above ("may have some future feedback on experiences..."). The intent is not to tell war stories, but simply to share experiences relating to original poster's question. This is probably too late to do OP much good, but maybe might help someone in the future asking a similar question...

I recently completed round-trip transport, using rental truck and trailer, from Phoenix AZ to Morgantown PA for this year's Camaro Nationals (5000 miles).

Actual expenses tracked pretty close to my going-in estimates. So I figure my trip cost (equipment + mileage + fuel) was roughly equivalent to the estimated cost for shipping + airfare + car rental. I.E. cost considerations were not a major decision factor. THIS MAY NOT BE TRUE FOR YOU... every analysis will be different!

The biggest factor for me, in the end, was the opportunity to either succeed or fail "on me" rather than depending on others (transports, drivers, etc.); after getting burned last year.

The devil is in the details: lots of variables in the cost-benefit equation, and some more variable than others. For me; a favorable fuel cost variance was roughly offset by unplanned trailer repairs ("on me" expenses per rental agreement). Personal tolerance for risk and adversity is also an important consideration. As also is one's TIME (away from work, etc.). I'm essentially retired so for me this is not a major factor.

My experience was not without issues. A double blowout with a broken spring in central Ohio (at 12:30am) could have been calamitous. I was unbelievably fortunate that the only illuminated pull-off for MILES, turned out to be the entrance to a trailer repair shop! I was happy to sleep in the truck till they opened the next morning! Another part failure occurred within walking distance of an Auto Zone store. There were some white-knuckle moments pulling trailer. But this got easier with experience. The trip was almost pre-empted at the last minute. Enterprise had changed their policy on out-of-state rentals (i.e. not allowed) subsequent to my reservation. I had documented previous promises, names & dates, etc. so they allowed me an exception to the new policy.

Would I do it again? Yeah. I think I would. Or maybe buy one instead (who knows)?!

[David K]

Can we get a few pictures of your car. Those that were there would remember.