That’s right; you can’t have any personal belongings in your vehicle when it’s being shipped. I receive a lot of questions about this from people shipping their cars, and the main reason is that auto transport companies can’t be held responsible for something happening to your precious family heirlooms. The insurance that is provided by the auto shipping companies only covers damages to the vehicle itself, not anything in the cab or in the trunk of the vehicle, and having a lot of stuff in the trunk can have some unwanted consequences when it comes to weight restrictions.

All trucking companies have to pass weight inspections every 500 or so miles to prevent unlawful shipment of certain things (among other reasons). If they don’t pass the inspection, the carrier becomes “stuck” at the weigh station, and this can cause unhealthy delays for anyone waiting on their vehicle to be dropped off. Typically they’ll squeak through with a “pass,” but if they’re too far over the inspectors have to go through everything to see what’s making them weigh more – and subsequently take it out. Rules are rules, you know.

But most rules are made to be broken, and the weight one is no exception. Typically, a ten-car open auto transport carrier will have 500-1000lbs wiggle room at the weigh station (which isn’t a lot, believe me), so most auto brokers will tell you that you can put up to 100lbs in the trunk of your car only. Now, you still can’t have anything in the cab (front and back seats), due to liability issues (as well as other, interstate transport laws and regulations), but you can have pillows and blankets and some photos and whatnot sitting in the trunk. This is because it’s not “personal effects,” it’s considered “junk in the trunk,” and while the carrier isn’t responsible, he doesn’t need to know, now does he?