Generally, when you want to transport a tiny home, you have two main options: Haul it yourself or have it shipped using the services of a professional transport company.
Both options have pros and cons, so let’s break down each one in a little more depth.
When you use your vehicle to haul your tiny home from one location to another, you eliminate the hassle of hiring a professional service. However, this comes with a couple of caveats:
- Do-it-yourself transport is riskier. When enlisting a professional transport company’s services, you can rely on a minimal risk of damage. This lower risk is only sometimes the case when hauling the home yourself, as you have to account for potential road dangers and the reliability of your vehicle.
- Personal experience is required. To avoid a long, costly, or potentially hazardous hauling process, you must have expertise in transporting larger shipments.
In contrast to moving your tiny home yourself, a transport company will outsource the job to someone else.
While this is possibly a more expensive process, it also offers several advantages over a do-it-yourself approach:
- Professional quality. Shipping companies use licensed professionals to transport your home, so you know that you can expect a high quality of service.
- No chance of personal vehicle damage. Large loads like a tiny home can cause massive wear and tear on your truck, especially when driving long distances. A transport company eliminates this risk.
- Less work is required. Moving a tiny home yourself is a stressful and labor-intensive experience. Using a professional company’s services will enormously reduce stress and work.
- Fewer size limitations. When you haul your tiny home yourself, you’re limited by how big of a vehicle you can access personally. Transport companies can ship a much more comprehensive range of small home sizes.
If you’ve decided on using a transport company to ship your tiny home, you might wonder how to compare different services and pick the best business.
While choosing a company, in some ways, comes down to a matter of personal taste. Generally, you should focus on qualities like customer reviews, a reliable and professional website, the company’s shipping services, and where the business bases itself (i.e. if they are close to the pickup or dropoff locations.)
It’s also strongly recommended that you verify that the company has the proper shipping licensing and credentials at some point in the preparation stage.
To make the shipping process smoother, you’ll want to follow this quick checklist before shipping:
First, you’ll need to select a transport company and ensure they can ship your home from the right pickup location to the planned dropoff location. After this, calculate the estimated cost of shipping so you can budget accordingly.
Another critical step is securing loose parts or unstrapped appliances that you’ll be shipping with the tiny home, as these components can often get knocked loose during transport.
The cost of shipping a tiny home varies based on the distance traveled, the house size, the time of year, and what transport company you use. As you might expect, a greater shipping distance and a larger home will typically result in a higher transport cost.
To get a specific estimate, you can ask the shipping company directly or even use an online calculator to ballpark the price range.
Concerning the time it will take to ship your home, try looking at variables like the distance between shipping points, the size of the house, and whether it’s a busy time of year for transport businesses.
Shipping a tiny home in the United States is easier and more efficient than ever. Using a professional shipping service might surprise you at just how simple and stress-free the process feels.
Check out the resources provided by Ship a Car for more help and information on shipping tiny homes and other equipment across the country!
