Car hauler
Car haulers are used to transport cars from the car factory to the car showroom or to the doorstep of the customer. Recently introduced redesigned models are easy to operate and has made car loading and unloading smoother and faster. Some car manufacturers outsource the transportation of cars and sports utility vehicles from the factory to the end user to third party transportation and cargo operators who have wide experience with cargo operations via sea, air and land. But some manufacturers transport cars using their own transportation network, especially when transporting cars within a particular country where production facilities are located.
Third party cargo operators are hired for transportation of cars across wide national boundaries and to far off destinations. Shipping cars in car haulers is the cheapest means of transporting cars. Transporting cars via land and air is costly. Buyers of luxury cars often hire or insist the services of costly car hauler operators to transport their cars to their doorsteps.
The main parts of a car hauler are the hydraulic and pneumatic components, electrical accessories, specially fabricated custom made parts, axle and suspension components, enclosed and screw trailer parts, air tank, valves and associated parts and other miscellaneous minor accessories. All the parts used in assembling a car hauler pass through stringent quality control processes because of the huge loads and the rough operating conditions that the car haulers need to tackle.
The market is flooded with car haulers of different sizes and makes, which are used for transporting small, medium and large cars. Even though modifications can be made in the car haulers to accommodate cars of different sizes, nowadays cargo operators prefer custom made car haulers designed to accommodate cars of particular sizes. The number of cars that can be accommodated in a car hauler depends on the hauler's height, length and width and also the additional spaces that can be created to accommodate additional car accessories or even small cars, if any. Small car haulers are used to transport up to 3 cars, but recently introduced large car haulers haul more than 10 cars over huge distances. Some cargo operators discard car haulers that are older than 48 months, because within that time the cost invested in a new car hauler would have been recovered. Not only that, when the car hauler fleet starts ageing, frequent servicing and the need for additional spare parts will take more time and money. Also the cargo operators do not want to spend time on maintenance and repair but concentrate on increasing their market share by transporting more volumes.
Car haulers, which transport more than 10 cars, are mostly double storied haulers, which are longer than haulers used to transport two to three cars. In most Asian countries small cars are transported in three tier car haulers. In each tier or storey about 3 to 4 small cars are accommodated. The structure of such a type of car hauler resembles that of a big truck than that of a car hauler used in the U.S and Canada. Not only that, the zig zag roads in Asian countries make it difficult to introduce long car haulers used in North American regions where long, wide, straight roads are common.
Open car haulers are powered by engines, which are very powerful and have the pulling power to pull heavy loads. Fully enclosed car haulers consume more fuel because they are heavy and have additional accessories that need to be powered. Such haulers use hydraulic lift gate loading facility to load and unload vehicles. Cars are individually covered to prevent any damage to their exteriors during transit. Covering the cars with tarp protects it from fluids leaking from other vehicles loaded above it. Enclosed car haulers protect cars from potential hail, road debris and vandalism damages. Transporting cars in enclosed trailers is costlier than transporting them in open trailers. Costly luxury cars are usually transported in such haulers. Only experienced drivers can deliver the goods to the customers in good condition
Popular car hauler manufacturers compete with one another to introduce newer designs and additional user-friendly features. The new models with improved designs are much sought after by cargo operators and other transport agencies. Some of the popular car hauler brands are the American Hauler, Haulmark, Vintage Trailers, R&R Trailers, Mac-Leander, Take 3 Trailers, Imperial Trailer, Econoline and Maxi-Dump.
Selecting the right type of car hauler is a time consuming exercise. Product data from a large number of manufacturers needs to be compared and analyzed. The different product specifications after sales service offers warranties and availability of spares and replacements needs to be given careful consideration. Popular car manufacturers normally place large orders for car haulers. They also give the specifications about the length, width and height of the car and thus the car hauler manufacturers are able to come up with innovative designs suited to meet the transportation needs of particular brands of cars. However large cargo operators normally go in for haulers that can be used to transport not only cars but also other light and heavy vehicles. They wish to cater to the needs of the large corporates and also the individual customers, who may be relocating across wide geographic distances. These cargo operators mostly prefer models with added attachments and other accessories which help to create additional spaces when transporting heavy large vehicles. The additional operating space helps to carry more vehicles, when transporting light smaller vehicles.
Almost all car hauler manufacturers also market spares and accessories that needs frequent replacement. Even though manufacturers offer a two year warranty for the complete car hauler unit, most manufacturers offer 3 to 5 year warranties for other specific components in the car hauler. It is a common knowledge that the time in which the car hauler stays off the road equals to the money lost. So, almost all manufacturers today have 24-hour servicing teams, ready to answer a call from their clients anywhere in the country. Ordering the various parts and accessories has been further simplified through the online ordering process. However proper training and follow-up for the car hauler operators is an absolute necessity to ensure proper output and long-term trouble free service from the car haulers. The operators must be trained to fix minor problems than call up the service centres for each and every minor defect. This will save lot of time and money.
Other articles
