Idaho to Colorado Car Shipping Guides

Moving to Colorado

• Chains have to be in the truck from September, not just in a blizzard

  CDOT's rule requires commercial vehicles with a combined weight over 16,000 pounds to carry chains or alternate traction devices from 1 September to 31 May across more than 1,400 centerline miles, including I-70 and stretches of US 40, 50, 160, 285 and 550. It applies regardless of conditions on the day. Failing to carry them is a $500 fine, and blocking the road because you did not is up to $1,000 plus a surcharge. It is worth knowing because it explains a September quote that prices Colorado like winter.

• The chain law is about the passes, not about the state's worst weather

  NOAA counts 76 billion-dollar weather disasters in Colorado between 1980 and 2024, and just 3 of them were winter storms — against 42 severe storms, 16 droughts and 12 wildfires. The mountain rules exist because a single stuck truck closes a pass with no detour, not because Colorado winters are the costliest in the country. On the Front Range the likelier disruption to your shipment is a summer hailstorm.

• Almost everyone lives on one line, and the rest is mountains

  Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Pueblo sit along I-25, where carriers run regularly and a pickup is easy to arrange. West of Denver the road climbs into the corridor the chain law governs, and mountain towns are served by drivers making a deliberate trip rather than passing through. A pickup in Aspen, Durango or Steamboat waits longer and costs more than the mileage from Denver suggests.