It is recommended you budget around $1 to $4 per mile to ship a food truck from one location to another within the United States. According to industry reports, food truck entrepreneurs tend to splurge around $1000 on food truck transportation.
The exact amount it will cost to ship a food truck in the United States will depend on certain vital factors. Most often, these factors will include your location, the weight as well as the size of the truck to be shipped.
The cost of the truck, gas, and cargo maintenance will all have to be considered extensively when it comes to calculating the cost of shipping a food truck.
Also, note that the expenses that come with hiring a food truck shipping company vary depending on the distance it needs to travel and the truck’s size. However, you must make sure to research shipping companies and get quotes from multiple companies before deciding.
Factors That Determine the Cost of Shipping a Food Truck
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Characteristics of the product
One thing you have to understand is that there are a whole lot of ways the food truck you intend to ship would impact how much you pay.
Food trucks, particularly customized ones, come with a whole lot of components and characteristics. All these will be considered by the shipping company, especially the fragility of those components and the protection they require.
Food trucks can be as short as 10 feet or as long as 40 feet. Owing to that, the size of your truck will impact the cost of shipping it.
Also, note that the average weight of a food truck is around 10,000 pounds (4,536 kg). Heavier loads will most definitely mean more charges, as such it can be difficult to stipulate what an average food truck size and weight should be.
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Shipping destination
You should also note that the destination you want your food truck to be shipped will factor a great deal when it comes to how much you’ll spend on your food transportation services. If, for example, the plan is to ship your food truck a very long distance, across the country or even internationally, this will have a gigantic impact on the overall cost.
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Liability
You shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the right insurance coverage when taking the risk to move your food truck. Please note that your overall expenses will also depend on whether or not you require additional cargo insurance coupled with your carrier’s basic liability (about $2 per pound for trucks).
Ensure to reach out to your nearby food trucks for help to ensure that you are fully conversant with your alternatives when it comes to ocean and air carriers.
Ways to Save Money When Shipping Your Food Truck
It is very much possible to save money when shipping your food truck in the United States. You can choose to obtain multiple quotes, check shipping company reviews, compare prices, and ship during the off-peak season. You need to carry out extensive research and ensure that the services and fees for food truck shipments match your needs.
When looking to ship a food truck, it is recommended you work with the carrier’s small-business specialist to ensure that the carrier’s costs and services align with your business’s standard shipping requirements, which would most often encompass the mode of transportation and delivery times.
Also note that a good number of carriers maintain a record that is known as a “scorecard,” which more or less tracks service and cost.
Pickup and delivery, willingness and eagerness to respond to customer service inquiries by the shipper, and access to online status data, as well as the accuracy of that content, are all service-related considerations that shippers are advised to take into extensive consideration when picking a carrier.
Popular food truck shippers tend to utilize a few varying ways to ship a food truck safely and securely. Transporting a food truck involves using a shipping container or trailer. It is necessary to factor in all of the costs involved in order to get an accurate estimate of the total expense of shipping a food truck.