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Transcar helps Airmen ship vehicles

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nick Wilson
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  A transportation service responsible for shipping service members' vehicles worldwide, called Transcar, has a facility here to make the vehicle process easier for everyone.

Airmen need to go to Transcar's vehicle processing center as soon as orders are received to get an appointment. Upon arrival to the main office, members will show copies of orders to a staff member for a vehicle transportation briefing.

"As soon as (Airmen) have their orders, they should come in with their registration, ID card and five copies of orders," Donald Hall, American Auto Logistics vehicle processing center manager, said.

These documents are used to fulfill U.S. customs requirements. Airmen also need to have federal Department of Transportation numbers for their vehicles', which are numbers certifying the vehicle was made to U.S. federal safety standards. According to Mr. Hall, this number can usually be found on the driver's door, under the hood or in the engine bay.

"If they are missing, it doesn't stop your shipment, but it could delay it," Mr. Hall said. "But we'd explain to the person that they'd have to get in touch with the Environmental Protection Agency. It takes about a day or two (to complete when one follows) through with the paperwork. If the DOT number is missing, then if the vehicle was ever registered in the U.S. (it can be obtained from) carfax.com and printed out, and U.S. customs will accept that."

All items that aren't physical parts of vehicles must be taken out of the vehicle, and all vehicles must be thoroughly cleaned before they can be shipped.

"What it comes down to is that you can't have any dirt in your car. Even the undercarriage has to be totally dirt-free," Mr. Hall said.

Airmen can schedule an appointment at the auto hobby shop, clean their vehicles themselves or go off base to meet the cleanliness requirements to ship their vehicles.

"We do the undercarriage," Mr. Hall said. "But the member is still responsible for the outside, to wash it like normal, vacuum everywhere on the inside - no grass, leaves dirt or food particles. The same rule goes for the trunk including the fact that the spare has to be clean and every spot in your engine compartment just like it's coming out of the show room. It's pretty intense."

Ensuring vehicles are physically operational and contain no more than a quarter of a tank of gas are other things Airmen must do too. If a vehicle cannot move under its own power, it cannot be shipped back to the U.S.

Mr. Hall urges everyone to go to the vehicle shipment office as soon as orders are received to book an appointment.

"Don't wait until the last minute to make an appointment," Mr. Hall said. "We can get you in, but if you just come in and you want to ship tomorrow the vehicle is not going to be properly cleaned or will have too much gas. You have to be briefed, and you need to be prepared."

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