Hauling a boat cross-country by truck — who've you used and what did it run?

Question

Bought a trawler in the PNW that needs to come to the Great Lakes (couldn't pass up the owner-direct deal). Looking at over-land transport for a 14' beam. Who have you actually used, and roughly what should I budget per mile so I know whether these quotes are sane?

hauler_hank · Answer

Transport guy here. Over 12' beam you're into 'wide load' / permit territory and sometimes pilot cars, which is where the price jumps. Ballpark for a standard-height load is $3-6/mile loaded; over-width adds permits per state. Insist on quotes that itemize permits separately so you can compare apples to apples.

perkins4108 · Answer

Prep matters: shrink-wrap anything that can peel off at 65mph, pull or secure electronics, and photograph EVERYTHING before it leaves. Damage claims live and die on pre-transport photos — same as insurance, same as everything on a boat.

trawlerTom · Answer

Itemized permits — that's the tell I was missing, two of my quotes buried them in the total. Thanks Hank, re-requesting both.

Hauling a boat cross-country by truck — who've you used and what did it run?

3 replies