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transporting our VW camper-bus

I was wondering if anyone here could recommend an auto-transport company to move our 72 bus from Michigan to Florida. Here's the back- story:

My wife and I moved to Florida for career reasons and had to leave a half-finished rebuild of my wife's dream car: a red and white 72 bus. It was a project she and her father (a good mechanic) started but, as these things often go, time ran out. He has continued to plug away at it and it should be ready soon. Now comes the dilemma of getting it here.

I have come to the realization that paying for the transport will probably be equally as expensive as flying up there and driving it back ( 1500 miles ).

Anyone have a company they've worked with and trust?

Reply to
MSJoneser
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You'd be better off renting a U-Haul and a car trailer, and hauling back yourself. These transport companies hire independent truckers who will take as much time as they need to make the trip, meaning if they go to Michigan and pick up your VW, they will make many other trips before arrival in Florida, meaning your VW could visit Nebraska or New Jersey or both along the way. The transport driver will move it off and on his carrier as necessary to move other vehicles. If its on the bottom, something above it will leak fluids all over it. Each time your VW is secured to the trailer, they will stretch and rip away at the undercarriage. If they lose it, its your insurance company that pays the loss, so it must be fully insured for

100 % replacement value by you, not them. Better to rent the smallest diesel U-Haul truck and the full car trailer, not the front wheel only trailer and do this yourself. You can pick your rest points and keep out of trouble. It will cost more but its worth the expense to protect your investment. I once used U-haul to transport my '55 Chevy Belair from Phoenix to Raleigh, NC and had no problem except a bad tire that U-Haul came and fixed while we were stopped in Knoxville, Tn for the night. Pease of mind is worth the extra dollars. Bill S in AZ
Reply to
Bill S

Sounds like a good option. Inspect the Uhaul truck and trailer before accepting it. They receive a lot of punishment. Ramps missing or damaged, winches (HA!) broken, lock rings broken (Can't use your own padlock to secure your stuff)

And yea, inspect the tires and test the brakes. Lights too so you don't get pulled over for something stupid like broken brake lights on the trailer.

Jan

Bill S wrote:

Reply to
Jan

Well that's all well and good and I'd like nothing more than all the free time and money in the world to go up there and rent the equipment and bring down our little bus. But that's just not going to happen.

My options are A) to fly me or my wife (or both) up there and drive it down or B) put it on a truck (where maybe some oil leaks on it and maybe some guy drives it off and on a few times meanwhile she gets a scenic tour of Nebraska. Option B is nice because it probably won't cost much more than a couple of one-way tickets and the gas expenses down and we save the bus from all those miles (and the mountains).

Has anyone reading this used a transport company or have one they could recommend?

thanks for the input.

SJ

Reply to
MSJoneser

We used this company

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after lots of research. We were very pleased with the move our restored 1966 VW beetle it was quick and dependable it worth the extra $$ over an open carrier . Door to door service as well we left in my MIL garage in WA. state they picked it up while we were in Florida They put plastic sheeting between the cars so no fluids leak on your car. Good Luck I would not hesitate to use them again . Tony

Reply to
tropical

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