another car shipping question

I have a question on the same topic: If we have automobile insurance from the Continental US, will USVI DMV respect proof of Insurance. Will they allow, our vehicle registered and get license plate with continental US insurance policy?

I do not think it is an issue. I used Tropical in West Palm Beach, Fl and all they required is a "CLEAR" title and the vehicle must sit there for 3 days (maybe 4) days before shipping. I purchased a truck in Georgia and never registered it, and drove it to FL to ship, but they never asked for anything but a clear title.

Tropical was very good to work with and gave me a checklist of what to do to remove the vehicle once here in STX. Easy as 1,2,3!

INSURANCE - YES, i used my State Farm from Georgia to get my tags and no problem.

Good Luck

wgrll

This website has tons of info on shipping a car. Also, here is the web site for Tropical Shipping located at Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach, FL. (about a 20 min DRIVE north of West Palm Beach) http://wwww.tropical.com #1-800-367-6200 & (561)-881-3900.

This comment will probably be edited but have to say that for all the folks that think I don't give accurate info...well, I can assure you this is 110% accurate because I live in West Palm Beach and Tropical Shipping is not here. Everyone seems to get confused on the location of Tropical Shipping because it is always told as WPB because it is the nearest big city. Aw, man! Now everyone knows where I live.

wgrrl

Like to add that Tropical Shipping is located in the quarter of Kingshill St. Croix and the phone # is (340) 778-8767. Sorry couldn't find a 800 # for you.

Does anyone know if the shipping company will allow 2 vehicles per ONE container? ......or if there's sufficient space for 2 vehicles inside one container?

don't think it matters, you pay $1050 per vehicle up to 700 (sq/cu?). At least that is what they told me.

Some extra info about Tropical Shipping

If anyone was thinking they could pack everything they had in the car to save money won't be able to do that. Great idea but Tropical Shipping will only alow 30 cubic feet of stuff in car for free and there are certain restrictions to that too. Also, they don't go by weight. They charge $3.00 per cubic feet. One more thing...Cars only ship out Thursdays and Fridays. Car needs to be at the Port by noon the day before. When backed up it can take 2-3 weeks to get car to the island. Normally 3-4 days. Call as prices may change.

Sorry, but vehicle needs to be at Tropical 3-4 days PRIOR to departure for Customs and they WILL NOT allow anything to be shipped with the vehicle...NOTHING. Just went through this and i could not even leave my tool box in it. We can thank the 911 boys for this.

I called tropical about a car shipment and they said via land line that nothing could be shipped inside the trunk or back seat or bed of a truck. However, they did mention that if you show up with some things that needed to be shipped you could go to the "less than container full" section and pallet up what you need to get down there. What's the difference, in my car or on a pallet. I don't get it. Doesn't it go to the same place via the same barge?

Not sure if my imput helped but hey...

My friend and I just moved down to St Thomas about a month ago. We drove his car down to Riveria Beach and when we got there, we first had to go to consolidation to send our big boxes we had packed over. For 5 big boxes (2 plastic totes, 3 cardboard boxes) the cost was $80. Not bad at all. When we get back to the car shipping area, turns out my buddy only had a single sided, black and white copy of his title....

YOU MUST HAVE A COUPLE COPIES (both sides) OF YOUR TITLE, NOTORIZED for the process to go perfectly smooth. Being the title was backin Texas, he had to do a power of attorny with Tropical and have his uncle next day the title to them. The car then sat there for another week since it was too late to clear customs and get on the barge.

They did let us keep odds and ends in the car. It was a jeep cherokee and there were a number of loose items inside. The gas tank is only supposed to be 1/4 full, but the tropical guy let us go with 1/2 tank. I asked the guy about shipping stuff in your car, he said as long as it isn't above the windows, then you're usually ok. But he did mention everything inside is shipa t your own risk because they have no responsibility for those goods.

I didn't handle anything on the island side of things, so I'm not sure how that is handled. Hope this helps.

hmmmm...seems like the employees at Tropical Shipping don't know there job that well or just don't seem to care about the policies. It seems like it depends on the person who is helping you at the time. How are we supposed to plan our moves properly if we keep getting all different kinds of info. Good thing I live near Tropical Shipping and I wouldn't be so screwed if they decided to change the policies at the last minute.

Only thing I would say is follow the policies they tell you and you're better off. When you start to do things that go against the policies, thats when you risk delays. But from what I've seen, they will definitly work with you to make things go better.

hello there,I have a queston. Can I drive my work truck around ST John with my valid PA tags and Ins. and if so how long ?

Nope. 🙂 You won't be able to leave customs without a VI tag. You might be able to keep the insurance, not sure on that one.

Teresa

Teresa, not that I doubt your word, but on my last trip to STX, I saw, of all things, a CORVETTE with Florida license plates, in downtown C'sted. I'm from MO, so I guess they just had to "show me".

And I saw a work truck with Rhode Island tags out in Red Hook just this week.

I shipped 2 vehicles to STX when we moved here in late May. I had been told earlier that I would need to get a temporary permit in order to drive my car from the shipping company parking lot to the DMV but when I picked up my first car the shipping company said that it would be alright to skip that requirement. I drove to the DMV with my Virginia plates on the car and 3 hours later had titles, inspection stickers, and VI license plates for both vehicles, although one of the vehicles had never left the shipping company parking lot and no DMV employee got within 100 yards of the vehicle I drove there. Once I got both vehcles home I put the plates and inspection stickers on myself. So although it may not be legal, it is possible to drive around with stateside plates on your car for a while. In addition, I do not think I have ever seen a vehicle pulled over by a police car here for a traffic violation - I suspect that it does happen but certainly no where near the frequency that you see back in the states.

Okay, okay. Chalk up another blooper for me! 🙂 Sorry, I really thought that the license plates had certain hard rules.

Hey Bubba, I didn't know you were from MO! We midwesterners are starting to crowd the islands. 🙂

Teresa