Technically speaking you aren’t allowed to put anything in your car. I’m sure you’ve been reading our blog carefully and already know that but, just in case you missed it, I’ll repeat myself. It is unlawful for a car transporter to ship ANYthing inside your car, but they will often let you get away with a few belongings because it’s a very lightly enforced rule.
However this isn’t true for all items. Certain items are not worth the trouble, for you or your driver.
Obviously anything illegal shouldn’t be in the car. It can turn into a nightmare for us, the driver and most of all you. Not only can you be charged with whatever the punishment is for having the item but you could also be charged with attempting to transport it. I recommend avoiding anything sketchy completely (pills, paraphernalia, etc).
But just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s legal to ship it. Weapons of any kind have special requirements on how they need to be shipped. Under no circumstance should guns, knives, ammunition, or explosives (including fireworks) be left in the car. No driver will knowingly ship a car with those items or any related item in it. No alcohol should be left in the car either, there are laws on how to properly ship legal drugs and unfortunately it doesn’t say to put it under your seat.
Every state has it’s own set of rules and because these trucks are usually crossing state lines we will not ship plants/living things (also because the driver will not take care of whatever you leave) or chemicals/household cleaners (also because we don’t want to create hazardous conditions inside of the car or have a chemical fire on our hands). In addition don’t ship cash or valuables. This is just a suggestion, anything inside the car is shipped at your own risk so don’t ship anything you can’t stand losing.
If you are shipping to another country remember that no items are allowed inside the car whatsoever.
This list isn’t all inclusive. I’ve tried to cover all of the bases but my best advice is to use common sense. If you don’t want to do that then you can always ask me (or your broker)!