Car shipping in Dallas

DFW is two big cities and a ring of suburbs that have grown into each other. Much of the recent growth has gone north, up the Dallas North Tollway and US-75 toward Frisco, McKinney, Prosper and Celina, and that's where many of the cars we're asked to deliver end up. Fort Worth, Arlington and the mid-cities between them make up the rest of the map. Getting a carrier into DFW is easy, with I-20, I-30, I-35 and I-45 all converging here. Most of the planning is about where in the metroplex it's going.

The market runs on corporate moves. Companies have brought headquarters and regional offices to Plano's Legacy area and to Las Colinas in Irving, and each of those relocations comes with employees' cars, often two or three per household. Dealers and wholesale buyers add a constant flow on top, moving inventory to and from the large dealer auctions around the metro.

We arrange door-to-door service across Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties. These come up most, and here's what each usually means for the truck:

West Coast relocations are the biggest inbound stream. California to Texas brings cars from Los Angeles, San Diego and the Bay Area, usually by way of I-40 or I-20 into the metroplex. People moving the other way, often for a job or to be near family, use Texas to California.

Heading southeast, Texas to Florida typically leaves DFW on I-20 through Shreveport and Jackson before joining I-10 toward Florida's Gulf Coast and Orlando. In state, Houston is a quick run down I-45, and Phoenix-bound moves follow I-20 and I-10 west. Families relocating with several vehicles should look at multi-car shipping, which keeps the cars on one schedule.

DFW streets are generally friendly to big trucks. The snags tend to be toll tags, tower garages, half-built neighborhoods and the occasional tight older street:

• Take your TollTag off before pickup. An NTTA tag on the windshield can register tolls as the truck travels the Dallas North Tollway, the President George Bush Turnpike or the Sam Rayburn Tollway. Remove it and keep it with you.
• Uptown and downtown towers: the car is unloaded on the street and you drive it into the garage. Let the leasing office or concierge know the delivery window.
• New subdivisions in Frisco, Prosper and Celina: construction traffic, unfinished roads, and streets that map apps don't know yet. Send us a pin, and pick a nearby completed road as a backup meeting spot.
• The Park Cities and Preston Hollow: narrow streets and big trees often mean meeting the driver on a main road such as Preston Road or Lovers Lane.
• Dealer and auction moves: have the release, gate pass or dealer-trade paperwork ready when the driver arrives. Our dealer and auction transport page covers what's needed.

North Texas hail is a real planning factor, roughly March through June. A severe storm can dent a car on an open carrier just as it would in a parking lot, so drivers watch the radar and wait out a line of storms rather than drive into it. That can shift a delivery by a few hours. If the car is new, freshly painted or valuable, enclosed transport in spring is worth considering.

Relocations peak in summer, between school years, when corporate transfers and family moves overlap, so book four to six weeks ahead for June through August. In the fall, the State Fair of Texas at Fair Park and big game days in Arlington snarl traffic on a handful of weekends. Ask for a weekday delivery if you're near either.

If you're flying in for the new job while the car follows, choose the airport closer to where you'll be living: