When it comes to having your cargo moved, it can be confusing at best. This is by no means a full account of every area or situation in transport. We just listen to our customers questions and try to address them to the best of our knowledge. We hope these tips will make your experience less confusing.
*Brokers & Trucking Comapanies: Brokers are usually the "middleman" connecting you with a transporter/trucking company. They are bonded and insured.
Sometimes they are one entity. They are a trucking company that has a brokers license. They move what they can and find other companies to move what they can't.
There are many types of trucking companies from the one man/one truck independent to the large fleet of hired on drivers, and there are groups like us;
A small contracted fleet operating under an owners DOT/FMCSA authority and commercial insurance policy dispatched from one office. We do not broker loads or give them away to people we do not know, we rarely take deposits and we will not book your load if we do not feel we can keep the commitment to your time frame. In scheduling your cargo we ask for at least a 3 day pickup window with a target date and not set a certain day & time because we have no control over weather and life, and only have limited control over mechanics. We have only missed one target date in 3 years and there will never be a time where one of our customers has paid a deposit and is left waiting for days, weeks or even months for a transporter to arrive.
* Insurance: The United States Department of Transportation requires any Commercial Carrier or Carrier for Hire to maintain a minimum of $750,000.00 Commercial Liability Insurance and at least 75,000.00 of Cargo Insurance. Your Carrier should provide, at your request, a "Certificate of Insurance" listing the name, amount of insurance and the contact information to verify that the insurance is valid. Go one step further, call the agent. Make sure your carrier is insured to haul your boat, or camper, etc. Not all cargo insurance is the same. If a carrier tells you your personal insurance is good enough, beware. Once he accepts compensation for the transport he must comply with the law and though your cargo may not physically be harmed it could be impounded by DOT.
ATTENTION: Cargo Insurance covers the goods if damaged by the carrier or in case of an accident. It is not for mechanical failure (or stone chips, tire failure, broken glass to name a few) therefore, this carrier strongly suggests the shipper secures the proper insurance before shipping.
Also, many trucking companies are going to short range commercial insurance coverage to cut costs. These policies are written for transports within 300-500 miles from the billing address of the trucking company leaving an exception of 5-6 "out of area" loads per year. How unethical national transporters justify using this short range policy is that they don't believe they will have more than 5 or 6 out of area insurance claims per year so the insurance company will never find out.....basically, they're gambling with your cargo and their livelihood. You have the right to call their insurance company and give them the origination and destination points of your transport, and the type of unit you are transporting to make sure it is covered. We especially suggest this for boat owners.
Keep in mind just because a carriers insurance provider is a highly marketed and reputable auto, home, RV or Boat policy writer does not mean they offer a national, 48 state, commercial policy.
* US DOT Authority: While a US DOT number is required to operate any vehicle as a commercial for hire unit, a US DOT number alone does not authorize you to act as a motor carrier.
* MC ICC number allows a US DOT registered unit to operate outside of a 300 mile radius of the units registered address of business/residency. Without this authority, a USDOT recognized unit operating in another state or more than 300 miles from home base does not have authority and is operating illegally. A legal commercial unit should be displaying its US DOT and MC ICC numbers as well as the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) that the unit is registered to carry should be permanently adhered to the tractor (truck) and must be visible from a distance of 50 feet. Basically if an unmarked truck comes to pickup your cargo it may be operating illegally. If it has magnets - the driver may be removing them after pickup and dodging weigh stations. Please be careful, if he is caught by DOT your cargo could be impounded.
On the homepage of our site there is an icon for FMCSA where you can search any US DOT or MC ICC number. We encourage you to check out your carrier.
* Over Sized and Wide Loads: The US DOT requires special permits when transporting cargo that exceeds 102" wide ( 8'6") or 13'6" tall. Each state is allowed to set their own laws for their own roads so legal measurements do vary from state to state. Permits are acquired from each traveling state. Travel for these permits are mandated by each state, is usually restricted to 55 MPH during daylight hours only. Weekend travel, Rain, Limited Visibility, Rush hour traffic, Construction, etc. may prohibit an oversized load from traveling (each state sets its own particular criteria.)
Loads over 14' wide or 13'6" tall may require Pilot cars in some states which add to the overall cost of a transport.
There are sites out there giving loads to the lowest bidder, PLEASE BEWARE. You are allowed very limited information on these sites and may not find out important details until after you have accepted a bid and paid a deposit. Always ask for a haulers Motor Carrier number and check them out on the FMCSA site link available on our homepage. As a condition of acceptance make them promise you a certificate of insurance, better yet tell them you want to be a certificate holder on their insurance for this one load. It doesn't cost anything you just have to give them your name and fax number, after you accept the bid of course.
Hope this helps!!
