Open, enclosed, and expedited car shipping across Colorado, planned around the Front Range, the tunnel, and the weather.
Fast, secure pricing in 30 seconds.
Colorado
Colorado auto transport is two different jobs. One is easy, along Interstate 25, and the other is seasonal, everywhere west of it.
Ship Guy is a licensed auto transport broker. We book vetted carriers across Colorado, and we do not own the trucks.
Interstate 25 runs the Front Range from Fort Collins through Denver and Colorado Springs to Pueblo. Most of the state lives along it. Interstate 70 climbs west through the Eisenhower Tunnel to the ski towns and the Western Slope.
This page covers the Front Range, the mountain corridor with its traction law, and the Colorado Springs bases. It also covers the ski-town season, the hail, and what altitude does to a car.
Most pickups happen within 1 to 3 days along the Front Range. The mountains and the Western Slope run 2 to 5 days.
Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, and Kansas City take about a day from Denver. Dallas, Phoenix, and Las Vegas run two. Chicago and the coasts run three to four.
From September through May, a traction law applies on Interstate 70 in the mountains. Carriers wait out closures at the tunnel rather than chain up a loaded trailer.
The Front Range
Four out of five Coloradans live within a few miles of Interstate 25, and so do the carriers.
Denver is the hub, with the airport on the east side for fly-and-ship. Interstate 70 and 76 leave it for Kansas and Nebraska. Boulder sits off US 36 to the northwest.
Colorado Springs is an hour south, Fort Collins and Loveland an hour north, and Pueblo two hours south. All four schedule quickly.
Denver’s older neighborhoods have narrow, tree-lined streets, and the driver meets you on a main road. The suburbs from Highlands Ranch to Broomfield are wide grids.
Interstate 25 closes a few times each winter for blizzards on the plains north and south of Denver. Those close for a day and reopen.
The Mountains
Everything west of Denver depends on one road through the mountains.
Interstate 70 climbs to the Eisenhower Tunnel at eleven thousand feet and drops to Silverthorne and Vail. It then runs through Glenwood Canyon to Grand Junction.
The traction law runs from September through May. Snow closes the tunnel approaches several times a season, and rockfall or mudslides close Glenwood Canyon in summer.
Ski towns bring their own rules. Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, and Steamboat have steep resort roads and homeowner associations that keep trucks out.
For those, the driver meets you at a lot in Silverthorne, Frisco, Eagle, or Glenwood Springs. Mountain deliveries run 2 to 5 days and carry a mountain surcharge.
Seasonal workers and second-home owners ship cars in each November and out each April. Book a few weeks ahead in both windows.
Lanes & Costs
Common lanes out of Denver, with estimated open-transport ranges. Colorado Springs and Fort Collins lanes shift by about seventy miles. Price your exact route above.
| Route | Corridor · distance | Est. transit | Est. open rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Springs, CO | I-25 · ~70 mi | Same day | $150–$240 |
| Albuquerque, NM | I-25 · ~450 mi | 1 day | $400–$570 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | I-70/US-6 · ~520 mi | 1–2 days | $430–$620 |
| Kansas City, MO | I-70 · ~600 mi | 1–2 days | $450–$650 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | I-25/US-287 · ~680 mi | 2 days | $500–$730 |
| Dallas, TX | I-25/US-287 · ~800 mi | 2 days | $560–$820 |
| Phoenix, AZ | I-25/I-40 · ~820 mi | 2 days | $450–$650 |
| Chicago, IL | I-76/I-80 · ~1,000 mi | 3 days | $700–$1,000 |
| Los Angeles, CA | I-70/I-15 · ~1,015 mi | 3 days | $750–$1,050 |
| New York, NY | I-70/I-80 · ~1,780 mi | 4 days | $1,000–$1,400 |
*2026 estimates for a running sedan on an open trailer, priced from Denver. SUVs and pickups add about 10 to 25 percent, with enclosed higher still. Mountain pickups carry a surcharge, and weather plus carrier availability on your dates set the real quote.
Texas, California, and Illinois send more households to Colorado than any other states. Those inbound lanes run full. The return legs price a little lower.
Interstate 25 lanes to New Mexico and Wyoming are cheap and quick. Vehicle size, condition, and the rest are in the cost guide.
Military
Colorado Springs is one of the largest military communities in the country.
Fort Carson rotates brigades and families year round, with the heaviest moves from May through August. Peterson and Schriever host Space Force units, and the Air Force Academy runs on the cadet calendar.
Buckley in Aurora and Cheyenne Mountain add more. Every installation has a gate, and the handoff is outside it.
Many families ship a second vehicle through us, since orders may pay for one. Ship Guy is a private broker with no military ties, and our military page covers PCS timing.
Weather
Colorado weather changes by the hour, and a few patterns matter for a car on a trailer.
Front Range hail from May through August is the most expensive weather in the state. A car parked outside for pickup can be dented within minutes. We shift the window when a storm is forecast.
Spring blizzards close Interstate 25 and 70 on the plains for a day. Winter closes the mountain corridor more often, as described above.
Wildfire season closes roads in the foothills and the mountains from June through October. Smoke slows everything, and a carrier reroutes around a closure.
Altitude affects the car, not the shipment. A vehicle from sea level runs a little rough at first, and tires read low. An electric car loses some range in the cold and thin air.
Who Ships Here
Beyond the bases and the ski towns, three groups drive Colorado shipments.
The campuses in Boulder, Fort Collins, and Golden bring cars in each August. The Denver campuses do the same, and all send them home each May.
Newcomers from Texas, California, and the Midwest arrive on start dates all year. Most ship one car and drive the other, and corporate packages often cover the shipment.
Grand Junction and the Western Slope sit on the Interstate 70 lane between Denver and Utah. Durango, Cortez, and the Four Corners are the most remote corner of the state. Pickups there run 3 to 5 days.
If your employer reimburses the move, we produce the paperwork it asks for. The state-to-state page has the interstate details.
Your Options
Open transport is the everyday choice on the Front Range. The Texas and California lanes run on it.
Enclosed transport keeps a car covered against hail, road salt, and mountain grit. Cherry Hills, Aspen, and Vail keep enclosed carriers busy with collector cars.
A commuter car travels open without a problem outside hail season. Our open and enclosed pages compare both.
The Basics
The shipment is a price, a loading, and a delivery, with the mountains deciding the timing in between.
When you approve the price, a carrier on the corridor takes the booking. The driver records the car’s condition on a Bill of Lading at loading, and you sign it. The same form is your reference at delivery.
The how it works and preparation guides go step by step.
Why Ship Guy
We check the tunnel, the hail forecast, and the resort gate rules before a truck is dispatched.
Ship Guy holds active FMCSA brokerage authority and a $75,000 surety bond, both listed in federal records.
One coordinator carries your shipment from quote to delivery and can set up open, enclosed, or expedited transport. The services page has the details.
Colorado FAQ
Yes, with a meeting spot. Resort roads are steep, and most homeowner associations keep trucks out. The driver meets you at a lot in Silverthorne, Frisco, Eagle, or Glenwood Springs. Mountain deliveries run 2 to 5 days and carry a surcharge. In winter, a tunnel closure can add a day.
Yes, from September through May. Snow closes the tunnel approaches several times a season. A loaded carrier waits out the closure rather than chain up. Glenwood Canyon can also close in summer for rockfall or mudslides. We tell you when the corridor is in play.
Dallas to Denver usually runs five hundred sixty to eight hundred twenty dollars for a sedan. It is about eight hundred miles up US 287. Los Angeles runs seven hundred fifty to ten hundred fifty. That is about a thousand miles on Interstate 15 and 70. Both lanes run full, which keeps prices steady. Larger vehicles add 10 to 25 percent to those numbers.
We shift the window. Front Range hail from May through August can dent a car waiting outside in minutes. It is the most expensive weather in the state. A collector car stays covered on an enclosed trailer. We reach out the moment the forecast changes the plan.
Yes, Colorado Springs is one of our busiest military markets. Many families ship a second vehicle through us, since orders may pay for one. Every installation has a gate, and the handoff is outside it. We match the pickup to your report date. Ship Guy is a private broker, unaffiliated with the military.
It affects the car after delivery, not the shipment. A vehicle from sea level runs a little rough at first, and tires read low. An electric car loses some range in the cold and thin air. Nothing about loading or transport changes.
Yes, both are covered. Grand Junction sits on the Interstate 70 lane and schedules in 2 to 4 days. Durango and the Four Corners are the most remote part of the state. Pickups there run 3 to 5 days. A flexible date range helps in both.
Yes, student cars ship every August and return each May. Boulder and Golden have tight campus streets, so the handoff happens at a lot nearby. Fort Collins allows curbside on most streets. An adult signs at the meeting spot. Both windows get crowded, so reserve early.
Yes, cars that do not run ship out of Colorado every week. A winch-equipped carrier loads it, and the added work carries a fee. Tell us whether it can roll, steer, and brake before we assign the truck.
Both addresses, with the resort or community name for a mountain delivery. The year, make, and model. Whether it runs and rolls. Open or enclosed, and the dates you can work with. That is everything an accurate Colorado quote needs.
Get Started
A quote takes about two minutes, tunnel or no tunnel. Then tell us your town and dates, and we will plan around the tunnel and the hail.