Enclosed car transport means your car rides inside a trailer with walls and a roof. Open transport means it rides on the two-level carrier you see on the interstate. Enclosed costs more, and most cars don’t need it.
Open transport is the right choice for most cars, SUVs, pickups, and minivans. Enclosed makes sense for a rare or valuable car, a fresh restoration or paint job, a custom build, or a car too low to get up a standard ramp.
Geyers Towing runs nine open car carriers between Maryland and Florida with its own drivers. Geyers does not offer enclosed transport. If your car belongs on an open carrier, Geyers can give you a quote if you call.
Why Choose Enclosed Car Transport?
Most cars that get shipped go on open carriers and arrive fine. Enclosed transport is for the few that shouldn’t be out in the weather at all.
Protecting Your Investment
Say you’re moving a 1967 Shelby Cobra across the country. On an open carrier it spends days in the rain and the gravel spray, in view of everyone at every fuel stop. Inside an enclosed trailer, none of that reaches the car. A chip in modern paint gets touched up. A chip in fifty-year-old lacquer means matching a color nobody has mixed in decades, and a scratch across original chrome means finding a part that may no longer exist. The same goes for any classic or exotic car with paint or trim that would be hard to match.
Preserving a Showroom Finish
Fresh paint, a wrap, or a show finish is another reason. Sun, road film, and the occasional hailstorm on an open carrier won’t hurt a factory finish, but they can mark a car that was detailed the morning of pickup. Some finishes can’t be spot-repaired at all. Matte paint and vinyl wraps have to be redone a panel at a time, because a touched-up patch shows. New clear coat is still curing for weeks after it’s sprayed and picks up grit and water spots that a cured finish wouldn’t. A convertible with an old or torn top is in the same position, since a week of weather on an open deck can put water inside the car. In a trailer, the car arrives the way it left.
Added Security for Valuable Cargo
An enclosed trailer also keeps the car out of sight and behind a locked door at every stop. An open carrier parks overnight at truck stops and rest areas with every car on it visible from the road, which is fine for a family SUV and less fine for a car that draws a crowd. Some enclosed carriers advertise GPS tracking and climate-controlled trailers. Not all of them have either, so ask.
Cars That Can’t Use a Standard Ramp
Some sports cars and lowered cars sit too close to the ground to drive up the ramps on an open carrier without scraping. The problem is the angle where the ramp meets the deck. A car with a long front overhang or a splitter catches its nose on the way up and its underside coming over the top, and the driver may end up putting boards under the ramps to get it on at all. Many enclosed trailers load with a hydraulic liftgate instead, which lifts the car up level with the deck and removes the angle. If your car has a front splitter or only a few inches of clearance, tell the carrier before you book.
Types of Enclosed Trailers
“Enclosed” covers three different setups.
- Hard-sided trailers have rigid aluminum or composite walls and a roof. They seal the car off from weather, debris, and view, and they are what show cars and the rarest collector cars often travel in.
- Soft-sided trailers stretch heavy vinyl or canvas over a frame. They keep out rain and most road debris and usually cost a little less than hard-sided, but they aren’t sealed.
- Single-car trailers carry one vehicle. The car is loaded once, unloaded once, and goes straight to its destination instead of riding a multi-stop route. They cost the most per car.
Before you compare prices, find out which setup each company is quoting. “Enclosed” alone does not tell you whether the trailer is hard-sided, soft-sided, or dedicated to one car, and those differences affect both protection and price.
Open vs. Enclosed Car Transport: How to Decide
| Open carrier | Enclosed trailer | |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure | Weather, sun, road grit, in full view | Walls, roof, locked door |
| Best for | Daily drivers, family SUVs, pickups, most used cars | Rare, high-value, freshly restored, custom, or very low cars |
| Cars per trip | More | Fewer |
| Cost | Lower | Higher, usually 30 to 60 percent more |
| Availability | Most car carriers on the road are open | Fewer trucks, so a pickup date can take longer to line up |
There are far fewer enclosed trucks on the road, so an enclosed pickup can take longer to schedule and the trip itself can run a few days longer. Open carriers are easier to book on short notice.
What to Ask an Enclosed Carrier
Enclosed trailers aren’t all the same, and the price reflects it.
- Hard-sided or soft-sided. Both count as enclosed, and the quote should say which you’re getting.
- Ramp or liftgate. A liftgate is a hydraulic platform that keeps the car level while it’s loaded. If your car is low, ask for one.
- Whose truck. Many quotes come from brokers who post the job for a carrier to pick up. That’s legal and common, but the truck that arrives may not be the company you spoke to. Ask for the name and USDOT number of the carrier that will actually haul the car.
- What the insurance covers. Ask for the cargo insurance certificate, the coverage limit, and whether the limit covers your car’s full value.
An enclosed quote should tell you exactly what equipment will be used, who will haul the car, and what coverage applies while it is in transit. With those details, you can decide whether the added protection is worth the higher price or whether open transport will do the job.
If open transport is the better fit for your car, Geyers Towing serves the Maryland-to-Florida route with its own fleet and drivers.
Get an Open Car Transport Quote from Geyers Towing
Geyers Towing does not offer enclosed car transport. It runs its own fleet of open car carriers between Maryland and Florida with its own drivers and no brokers, and confirms the price and date before you reserve a spot.
- Drivable cars, SUVs, pickups, and minivans
- Maryland pickup Fridays, Florida delivery Mondays
- Snowbird season fills months ahead
- USDOT 1029740, MC 859181, on the FMCSA SAFER record
Or request a quote online. Route details are on the car transport from Maryland to Florida page.
FAQs About Enclosed Car Transport
Is enclosed car transport worth it?
For most cars, no. A daily driver comes off an open carrier needing a wash and rarely anything more, and the enclosed trip costs a good deal more. It’s worth it for a rare or collector car, a fresh restoration, a custom build, or a car too low for a standard ramp.
Which cars should go in an enclosed trailer?
Classic and collector cars, exotics, cars with fresh paint or show finishes, custom builds, and lowered cars that need a liftgate to load. That includes a car that isn’t worth much on paper but would be hard to replace for you.
Is open car transport safe?
Yes. Open carriers are the standard way cars are shipped. The car is exposed to weather and road grit, and a stone chip is possible, the same as it would be if you drove the route yourself. Wash the car, photograph it from every side before pickup, and go through the inspection sheet with the driver at both ends. Our guide on how to prepare your car for transport covers the rest.
Why does enclosed transport cost more?
Because the trailer carries fewer cars. The truck and the driver cost about the same either way, so the cost is split among fewer cars. FreightWaves, which covers the freight industry, puts enclosed at 30 to 60 percent more than open, depending on distance, vehicle, and demand. Get a quote for each and compare.
Does enclosed shipping come with better insurance?
Not automatically. The coverage is the carrier’s cargo policy, not the trailer’s. Enclosed carriers often carry higher limits because of the cars they haul, but the limit is whatever that company bought. Whether the policy covers marks that were already there or anything left inside the car depends on the policy, which is one more reason the inspection sheet at pickup matters. Ask for the certificate and the limit either way, and check that the limit covers your car.
How do I check that a car carrier is legitimate?
Ask for the carrier’s USDOT and MC numbers and look them up on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER site, which shows whether the company is active and authorized to carry vehicles across state lines. At pickup, read the bill of lading before you sign it. That is the record of the car’s condition.
Does Geyers Towing offer enclosed car transport?
No. Geyers operates nine open car carriers with its own drivers between Maryland and Florida and does not have enclosed trailers. If your car is a drivable car, SUV, pickup, or minivan and open transport fits, Geyers can give you a quote if you call. If your car needs an enclosed trailer, you’ll need a carrier that has one.
