Open Auto Transport in Burlington, WI
Your vehicle rides on one of our own nine-car haulers, loaded by the crew that works the lane. Out of Burlington and southeast Wisconsin, across the Midwest and the lower 48.
Need a date and a number?
Give us the two ends of the lane and what the vehicle is. That is the whole quote.
Get a Free Quote Call or text (414) 667-7447 · USDOT 3739382 · MC 1323099What is open auto transport?
Open auto transport is the method you have seen on the interstate: vehicles strapped to a two-level steel deck, in the weather, moving several at a time. It is the method most vehicles ship on, and at Dawley Logistics it happens on equipment we own and dispatch ourselves from Burlington, Wisconsin.
- Our equipmentNine-car haulers, not a hired stranger
- Two decksUpper and lower, loaded to fit the set
- Cost-effectiveSeveral vehicles share one truck
- Midwest lanesMinneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit
- One priceQuoted once, held to at delivery
What fits on an open hauler
A loaded hauler runs about 75 feet nose to tail, and every slot on it has its own height limit. The spec below is what decides where a vehicle rides on an open hauler out of Burlington.
- Everyday cars
- Sedans, coupes, hatchbacks and wagons, any deck position
- Trucks & SUVs
- Half-tons, three-quarter-tons and full-size SUVs, usually the lower deck
- Roof racks
- Cargo boxes and bike racks come off before loading
- Ride height
- Mild lowering is fine; very low clearance is an enclosed liftgate job
- Loose parts
- Spoilers, mirrors and covers secured or removed, not taped
- Fuel level
- A quarter tank is plenty and keeps the weight down
Is an open deck safe for my vehicle?
Yes, with one caveat worth saying plainly: open auto transport exposes the vehicle to the same weather it would meet being driven. Nothing more, and a good deal less road time.
- Strapped at the wheels, so the suspension carries the load and the body is not pulled down
- Condition photographed and written on the bill of lading before the straps go on
- Rain, dust and road film happen; stone chips are rare and salt is the seasonal one
- Vehicles are spaced so doors and mirrors clear their neighbors
- The same walk-around at the drop, against the same paperwork
- Adequate, industry-leading coverage on our trucks and required of every partner carrier
Inoperable vehicle transport from Burlington
A project car, an auction buy that will not start, a vehicle with a blown transmission — all of it moves out of Burlington and southeast Wisconsin, as long as we know before the truck is dispatched. A non-running vehicle needs a winch and a clear path onto the deck, and that changes which hauler we send.
- Tell us what it cannot do
Does it start, roll, steer and brake? Those four answers decide whether it can be winched on or needs a forklift at the yard.
- Rolls, steers, brakes
If it does all three but will not start, it is a routine winch load and most lanes take it without drama.
- Seized or no wheels
Possible, but it needs loading equipment at both ends. Say so early and we will tell you what the pickup point has to provide.
- Keys and access
Leave keys with the vehicle and clear a straight approach. A car hauler cannot winch around a corner in a tight driveway.
Disclose the condition at quote time and the number holds. Find out at pickup and the load has to be rearranged, which is the one thing that moves a date.
UTV and side-by-side transport
Side-by-sides ship on the same open decks as everything else, and they are a regular part of our southeast Wisconsin work: north for hunting season, south with the snowbird run, out to a dealer lot after a sale.
- UTVs and side-by-sides load and strap like any other wheeled unit
- Soft tops, doors, mirrors and whips come off or get tied down
- Cargo beds empty — gear rides in your truck, not on the deck
- Lift kits and oversize tires are fine; tell us the height with them on
- Fuel low, battery connected, keys with the machine
- ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles are case by case, not automatic
RVs and campers are the one thing we do not haul, on any deck.
When to book, and why the calendar matters
Open auto transport capacity is not flat across the year. Two or three weeks of notice buys you a choice of pickup days; a few days of notice means taking whatever slot is still open on a hauler already routed.
Wisconsin adds its own rhythm to that: the southbound rush before the first hard freeze, and the northbound one when the lakes open up.
- Jan–Mar: winter lanes, salt season
- Apr–May: northbound peak
- Jun–Aug: show and auction season
- Sep: fleet and dealer resets
- Oct–Dec: southbound peak
Booked around the peaks? You get more pickup dates to pick from, same held price.
What changes when the carrier owns the hauler
Open auto transport is where our own equipment does the work, so this is the service where the difference between a carrier and a call center shows up first.
We route the truck
Your vehicle is slotted onto a hauler we are already routing, by the people who know where it is. Nothing gets posted to a board and left to see who bites.
The set is planned
Deck position, drop order and height clearance are worked out before the truck rolls, which is what keeps a delivery from waiting on three other unloads.
Documented, then fixed
Damage gets written against the bill of lading with you, the process pauses with the carrier, and you have an action plan within 24 hours, usually sooner.
Worth shipping, or worth driving yourself?
For a short hop with a spare weekend, driving wins. Past roughly a day behind the wheel, the math turns. Here is the trade, without the sales pitch.
Your time, your odometer
- Fuel, food, a hotel and the days off work all land on you
- Every mile is wear, and on a long haul that is real money later
- Weather and construction are yours to deal with
- You still need a way home, or a second driver
Someone else drives
- The odometer does not move and the tires do not wear
- You fly, work or drive the other vehicle instead
- Several vehicles on one truck is what keeps open car shipping affordable
- One price, agreed before anything is booked
Shipping something where a stone chip is a real problem? That is the case for covered trailer transport, and we will say so rather than sell you the cheaper deck.
Four steps from quote to keys
-
Describe it once
Both ends of the lane, the year and model, ride height, and whether it starts.
-
The number comes back
Priced against the lane, not against a guess. Nothing is held until you agree to it.
-
Loading day
The hauler meets you where 75 feet of truck actually fits, and the walk-around happens before the straps.
-
Unload and sign
Same bill of lading, same inspection, keys in your hand. Pickup around Burlington and delivery at the far end each run same day to three days, lane depending.
New to the whole thing? The auto transport and car shipping overview lays out every service we run, and snowbird car shipping covers the seasonal round trip in detail. Shipping in or out of the city rather than the suburbs? Car shipping in Chicago, IL is the same open deck on our busiest lane.
Our own trucks work the Midwest corridor. The brokerage covers the rest.
Dawley Logistics is a carrier first, based in Burlington, Wisconsin. Our open nine-car haulers run Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit as the bread-and-butter lanes, with coverage across the Midwest plus Kentucky and Tennessee, roughly a 500-mile radius. Beyond that, DS Brokerage, our sister company, moves vehicles anywhere in the lower 48 on carriers we vet ourselves.
Questions about open auto transport
Does my vehicle get rained on during open auto transport?
Yes, and it is worth saying plainly: an open deck exposes the vehicle to the same weather it would meet being driven, with far less road time. Rain, dust and road film happen; stone chips are rare, and salt is the seasonal one. The condition is photographed against the bill of lading before the straps go on, and walked again at the drop.
What has to come off my car before it loads on an open hauler?
Roof boxes and bike racks come off. Loose spoilers, mirrors and covers get secured or removed rather than taped. Cabins and cargo beds come down to essentials, with up to 100 lb of non-valuable items allowed to ride along. Mild lowering is fine; very low clearance becomes an enclosed liftgate job.
Can a side-by-side or UTV ride on an open hauler?
Yes, and they do every week out of southeast Wisconsin. Soft tops, doors, mirrors and whips come off or get tied down, cargo beds ride empty, and lift kits and oversize tires are fine as long as you tell us the height with them on. ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles are case by case, not automatic.
Where do your own trucks run?
The Midwest corridor: Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit are the bread-and-butter lanes, with coverage across the Midwest plus Kentucky and Tennessee, roughly a 500-mile radius of Burlington. DS Brokerage covers the rest of the lower 48 on carriers we vet ourselves.
How fast can you pick up?
Usually same day to three days out, and delivery runs the same, depending on the lane.
Can I leave things in the car?
Up to 100 lb of non-valuable personal items. Keep valuables out of the vehicle.
What happens if my vehicle is damaged?
We pause the process with the carrier and document the damage against the bill of lading with you. Dawley mediates the claim, and you have an action plan within 24 hours, usually sooner.