Towing cost

[robertglines1]

what is a reasonable charge to move a bus shell 245 miles...In this case from Cincinnati Ohio to Evansville Ind.what should I expect? was quoted $5 a loaded mile...Towable....I thought this was a little high..Should I check farther?

[bobofthenorth]

Almost exactly a year ago now I paid either $3 or 3.50 a loaded mile for Flanagans to haul me from Cortland, NY to Vineland, NJ.  I can't remember exactly what the rate was but the total bill was just under $1000, Streets & Trips puts the distance at 265 miles and my bill included roughly $100 of tolls. 

[robertglines1]

I'm looking at a parts bus and trying to figure out how much it will cost to have it moved.Thanks for the come back..

[bobofthenorth]

I think I may have got a "rate" because we were being towed to Luke's shop.  The first quote I got was closer to what you received ($1500 plus tolls).  When Flanagan's gave me their price my only response was "when can you be here?"  I'm not sure I'd want to make a 300 mile roundtrip in a pickup on those roads at this time of year for that price, let alone bring that wonderful wrecker that they did.

[bryanhes]

Robert,

Contact Ellen at Goldstar Transport 919-763-9696, she is the owner. She has a brokerage in Fl. She has transported many cars for me and I had helped a guy recently get a really nice Flxible Starliner hauled from Amarillo, TX to southern Ca. that had broke down on him taking it home. It was just over 1000 miles. She charged him $2600.00. She was giving me a deal as I send anyone I know to her. If there is ever a problem she makes sure it gets taken care of A+++ transport company.

Just tell her Bryan in Tulsa, OK gave you her name and she will make you a good deal I am sure.

HTH,
Bryan

[kyle4501]

I've had a few 'non-runners' hauled, so I may be able to shed a little light. 
The following are MY experiences, yours may be a little different.

Most heavy haulers charge by the hour the truck is away from their shop. The big wrecker with a hook/wheel lift was priced higher than the landoll trailer.

I have used 3 different haulers for 6 hauls, the one I like best really knows his rig & wastes no time, so his hourly rate is less than $4/loaded mile. The one I liked the least was the one that cost me 2 extra hours at $100/hr because he couldn't back up a trailer - that haul ended up costing well over $8/ loaded mile.

Something else that runs up the loaded mile charge is how far the shop is from the start or end point of the haul.

May I strongly suggest a landoll haul - less things to go wrong with the bus during the haul if it ain't touching the road. A Scenicruiser (with the bags deflated) on a landoll is 13'-6", so over height isn't a problem. If yours will be higher than 13'-6", you may need special permits.

Another thing that will reduce the charge is if the hauler can get a back haul - that way, you won't have to pay for the whole trip. 
Good luck.