Car shipping in Tucson

Tucson is a smaller and more spread-out market than Phoenix, and its shipments come in a few distinct kinds. Military families move on orders to and from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Students arrive at the University of Arizona, and parents ship the car home after graduation. And winter residents from the Midwest, California and the Pacific Northwest settle into Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke and Green Valley from fall to spring.

The city sits on I-10 roughly two hours southeast of Phoenix, right on the path of trucks running between Southern California and Texas. That's useful: a car going from Tucson to Houston, or from Los Angeles to Tucson, can ride a truck that's already passing through instead of one making a special trip. I-19 runs south from the city to Green Valley and Sahuarita.

We arrange door-to-door service across Pima County and into southern Pinal County. Here's what each area usually means on pickup or delivery day:

Seasonal residents from Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan arrive on Chicago to Arizona, and many of them winter in Green Valley, SaddleBrooke and Oro Valley year after year. California to Arizona brings both retirees and working-age movers from Southern California, a trip short enough to be delivered within a few days of pickup. Pacific Northwest households, a long haul down I-5, round out the winter crowd, along with a smaller group of Canadians on Vancouver to Arizona.

On I-10, the California to Texas lane runs straight through town, which makes Tucson to Texas, and Texas to Tucson, easier to schedule than the city's size might suggest. Military moves go everywhere: orders out of Davis-Monthan might point to Florida, Georgia, Nevada or overseas, and our military PCS car shipping page explains how we line pickup up with report dates. Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, about 75 miles southeast, is reachable too.

Tucson's pickup problems are mostly about access: who can get onto the base, where a truck can stop near campus, and whether a driveway in the foothills can take a car hauler at all.

• Plan to meet off base. Commercial drivers have to be vetted at the visitor center before they can get onto an installation, and a car carrier isn't welcome on base housing streets. Most PCS pickups and deliveries happen at an off-base address or a lot near the gate. The base sets the access rules, so meeting outside is almost always simpler.
• Near campus, use an arterial. Residential streets around Sam Hughes and the university are narrow and permit-parked. The driver will meet you on Speedway, Broadway or another main road. Our college student car shipping page covers who can sign for a student's car.
• Foothills driveways rarely fit a truck. In the Catalina Foothills and Dove Mountain, drives are often steep, curving and edged with boulders and saguaros. The car comes off at the street.
• Summer means mornings. Afternoon highs routinely reach the 100s from late May into September, so ask for an early delivery window.
• Watch the I-10 dust zone. Monsoon storms on the stretch between Tucson and Phoenix, around Picacho Peak, can stop traffic for a while. A few hours is the usual worst case.

Several calendars overlap here. Winter residents ship cars in from October through December and back out in April. From late January into February the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase fills hotels across the city, and roads near the show venues get crowded. The university's move-in week in mid-August and commencement in May bring clusters of student shipments. Military moves peak in summer, the busiest PCS season of the year.

If your date falls in August move-in or a summer PCS window, book four to six weeks ahead. The same goes for April, when winter residents all leave within a few weeks of each other. Outside those peaks, Tucson is usually easy to schedule.

Tucson International is close to the south side and works well for most arrivals. If you need a nonstop it doesn't offer, Phoenix is a manageable drive up I-10: